The Ministry of Time Travel is a series of adventures created at for young people & families visiting The National Archives (TNA). We welcomed audiences to the world of The Ministry of Time Travel (MoTT), a secret organisation based at the heart of TNA, to use the evidence from the past to safeguard time itself!

About the project

Created at Coney in 2021, we developed the world of the The Ministry of Time Travel with The National Archives to engage new young family audiences through a series of adventures. Through an exciting combination of digital storytelling and interactive gameplay, The MoTT was a unique and immersive world for family audiences to explore history together.

We kicked off with The Pickles Mission in September 2021. In this phone based adventure, the task was is to help Beatrix save Pickles the dog, who discovered the missing World Cup trophy in 1966. Players faced the challenges from Beatrix and help her to overcome TADAH, an evil group who want to change the past for their own gain. This mission returned in 2024.

In 2022, we invited audiences to solve a very royal mystery – The 1671 Crown Jewels Heist. Audiences arrived at the MOTT’s mysterious Misfires Room at The National Archives and virtually met ministry operatives Ola and Jay, to help them decode strange time signals from 1671. However, as the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, we need to head out into the building to solve the mystery of The Locked Door.

In 2023, we developed MoTT Training Mission, which presented players with five exciting challenges highlighting records, stories and photos from The National Archives’ exciting collections, under the tutelage of the Chief Timer herself.

In 2025, we launched MoTT Spies, to coincide with the Mi5 exhibition at The National Archives. A new adventure saw families trying to uncover the truth about The Chief Timer’s assistant, Kevin, and the plan he is plotting.