The Natural History Museum London

Over the summer we took a trip to the Natural History Museum in London. We have taken the boys once before and they loved it and Joe was desperate to visit again. Luckily our great friends Ruth Darren and Finlay were visiting London at the same time so we all met up and visited together.

What absolutely amazes me is that is it free, I can't get over this as it must cost a fortune to maintain and run, and there is always something new to see. 

Joe and Fin loved the planet earth section and found going up the escalator into a red glowing planet really exciting, to be honest they whizzed around this section buzzing from one stand to another looking at the pictures, trying the interactive features. Whilst the rest of us took our time and read the notes attached to the exhibits. It was quite difficult to read and keep one eye on that pair buzzing excitedly around. They loved the earthquake simulator, and found the whole section around that very interesting.

But what they really wanted to see was the dinosaurs, last time we visited Joe was only 2 and found it really frightening, it was great that this time he really enjoyed it. And spent some time looking at all the species, marvelling at how huge they are. 

At this stage us adults were feeling a little jaded it was such a hot day. We decided to visit the cafe bar, I must say it was lovely great service and good options for snacks, yet great quality and not badly priced. As we were eating out later that day we bought lots of nibbles to tuck into, the children enjoyed cold juice whist us adults enjoyed a well-deserved glass of wine. I would never have considered eating here but do you know what? It is a great option the meals looked very good. 

Once refreshed and refuelled we visited the Animal section, this is my favourite section, it has everything from the tiniest insect to whales. The boys were amazed at the sheer scale and size of some of the animals, and fascinated to see some that are now sadly extinct.

The last thing I must mention is the building itself, you see people wandering around enjoying all the exhibits but don't consider the building, which in itself is a work of art. The Kensington site opened it doors in 1881, when it was built Sir Richard Owen insisted London needed a dedicated history museum and worked with Alfred Waterhouse to create a building that not only housed artefacts of historical importance but had them built into the very fabric of the building.  

All around the museum there are Dodo birds, Monkeys and Dinosaurs carved and moulded into the columns. Once you start looking you notice they are everywhere, and are stunning, and if you, like us are night of the museum fans, you can imagine them coming to life at night and wreaking havoc across the halls of the amazing building. I just love that film, wouldn’t it be wonderful.

If you are planning to visit, give yourself a whole day there really is so much to see and do. And the Natural History Museums is worth making a special trip to.