Natural History Museum, South Kensington

The Natural History Museum is a great London attraction, not least because it's free! We visited during term time and it wasn't busy at all which was good for us. Our toddler is obsessed with dinosaurs and was very impressed with all the dino related exhibits, especially the moving, roaring dinosaur. She enjoyed the room with the life-size animals too but was too young to appreciate some of the skeletons on display. Definitely somewhere we'll be visiting again next time we're visiting London.

The best thing about the Natural History Museum is that it's free. This means that you can tailor the length of your visit according to the mood of your little ones, rather than feeling that you must extract the most value possible from the experience. Having said that, it does get very busy, especially in the school holidays, so it's really worth getting there as soon as it opens, or waiting until later in the day. This is particularly important if you want to see the dinosaur attraction, as you can find yourself in a long queue at busy times. The dinosaurs are the key attraction, but very young children may find it difficult to appreciate as a lot of the exhibition is just skeletons and information panels. There are a few moving models, including quite a scary T-Rex at the very end. The attraction is viewed from an elevated walkway which can be accessed by a lift. There is really too much to see in one visit, so it's worth checking the website and planning the areas that you most want to see beforehand. Our toddler son particularly enjoyed the mammal area with the lifesize blue whale and other large animals. The creepie crawly area also appeals to little ones, whereas fossils and minerals will probably attract less interest. If you have a pushchair it is easier to access via a side entrance on Exhibition Road. You might also find that the queue here before the museum opens is smaller. There is lots here to interest little ones, and with a bit of planning you can have a great time.

I wish we lived next door to the Natural History Museum! We have visited several times over the years and the kids still haven’t seen it all. This is because the major and most popular exhibits always have to come first on every visit, so we always queue to see the T-rex and then visit the mammals area, and interactive rooms - and never get any further! The children always have fun, though there have been times when the museum is so busy that it becomes unbearably hot. Our visit when my son was a toddler was a disaster – it was too crowded to let him loose and he hated being strapped in his buggy. Tantrums ensued, and we ended up having to leave! Visits in the last 3-4 years have been more productive, and the activity packs are perfect to keep school age children happily occupied. The cafe area is best avoided at peak times, as whenever we have been it takes forever to get served or get a seat –The last couple of times we have taken a packed lunch and sat outside for a picnic. An absolute must do for every family and it’s FREE.

This may go against all other reviews yet I’m going to say that children need to be of school age or have a genuine interest in natural history to appreciate the wealth and value of the displays here. There are countless displays to see here that if you’re a natural science enthusiast, then it does warrant a full day’s visit. Our children (aged four and two) loved the creepy crawly house and were mesmerised by the ant display. Unfortunately for the children many of the exhibits in here and across the museum have been placed above a young person’s head. If the NHM is reading this, please can you put some stools across the display areas as my back was sore from lifting the children to see the exhibitions. The bird room is impressive as is the large dinosaur skeleton at the front entrance. We enjoyed travelling on the escalator that takes you through a sculpture of planet earth, and my son liked the earth quake stimulation room. Displays are interactive and informative, stimulating discussions and questions yet I just felt my children needed to be just that little bit older to understand why they were there. One for us to revisit when I’ll have some more wrinkles and our children have a few more birthdays under their belts.

We visited the Natural History Museum recently on a Sunday, we got there about 10.30 and didn't have to queue although get there much later and the queues build up. The dinosaur section is excellent and little ones can enjoy it too, the walkway is exciting for them and the animatronic T-Rex is the main highlight. We went to the Age of the Dinosaurs exhibition which finished early September but had some more animatronic dinos too. It's easy to forget there's so much else to do and see here, the Earth Galleries are worth a visit: the children loved the extra long escalator which travels up into the earth and the earthquake simulator. There are lots of great hands-on exhibits for them. The blue whale skeleton is breathtaking and there's too much to see in one day really. Toilets are easy to find, there's a nice big baby change and baby feeding area on the ground floor near the main entrance and there are a few places to eat. It's best to take your own food as it's pricey to eat at the Natural History Museum, there is a picnic area. But if your children are like mine and eat all their food by 11am then you can be forced to buy something here. Accessibility is generally good although a lift was broken which made things long-winded getting around the Earth Galleries with a pushchair. Overall this is an unmissable day out. Admission is free but you'll part with your cash in the cafes and shops!

Great museum with lots of activities for the kids and plenty of picnic tables and cafes. We always go down to the basement to do some rubbings and look with the microscopes. Dinos get very busy from 11am onwards. Good free parking on a Sunday in the roads opposite

And best of all it's free! The natural history museum has also recently introduced Explorer backpacks for kids. A free little packs with maps of the museum, binoculars and activity sheets. They can be picked up from the main information desk on the day.

We had a fantastic day out on a Sunday before the schools broke up with our 3 yr old, 6 month old and Grannie. So much remembered from my own childhood still there, and even Chi Chi the panda for Grannie! 3 yr old loved the large mammal area, and also hunting round for animals she knew (meercats!) Was very busy, but we didn;t feel trapped or on a conveyor belt at any time as there is plenty of space to keep moving, even with a pushchair. Lunch was expensive, but we did easily find a table with high chair without waiting more than 5 mins which was more important at the time. Loos were fantastic, particularly baby changing room with seperate breast feeding room - amazingly clean. Also really loved the hands on sections with staff to allow children to touch crocodile skina nd tortoise shells etc. Plenty to go back and see on repeat visits.

Quite possibly the Darwin Centre where you ca go on an interactive tour of the museum collections. However, this is the place to go to see fossils and dinosaurs and my two love it. Its a great day out, although the food is surprisingly not child friendly. You can get around the museum with a pushchair, but its a bit of a faff and there are so many visitors that you can't help but clip a few ankles. We like looking at the stuffed birds and going up the escalator which runs through a giant rotating globe. You can't really go wrong especially as its free

The Natural History Museum is really awe inspiring, but its certainly true that you need to try to pick a quiet time to get the most out of it. If you can manage a weekday, the dinosaur exhibit is the one that the kids will remember forever, but my visitors also got a lot out of the fossils on the walls down the corridor. The collection of stuffed birds is also one of the best in the world, and if your children are learning about wildlife, they'll love the chance to practice their identification skills. The interactive insect room is well worth a visit as well.

It’s got to be done! Pick a day when you don’t have to queue, or get there on time for opening at 10am. Get along to the animatronic T-rex before the crowds, the smalls love it and it really does follow movement with its evil little eyes and then snap at it, sending smalls squealing, which you can only see if there aren’t many people about! But even if the place is heaving, it’s such a hit with the children it’s worth it. Even the moth-eaten stuffed birds are a great favourite of ours, the vast blue whale lives in the memory (I remember it from my first visit) and the massive dinosaur skeleton in the front hall is iconic. Try the entrance around the side, on Exhibition road, it’s sometimes much easier to get in and you can go straight up the escalator into an exploded globe and check out the earthquake simulation!

We went to the Natural Histroy Museum on Good Friday and when we saw the queues to get in I thought to myself that I must be crazy bringing my two kids here on what is probably the busiest day of the year. As it happens, we queued around 20 mins to get in, just managing to avoid the rain clouds. Once inside, it was packed, although the museum manages the crowds and queues in way that would make Disney or any major theme park proud. The kids got explorer packs for £1 each from the information desk and we were off. It remains a fantastic day out with fascinating exhibits to entertain the whole family. Although the Dinosaurs - with the superb animatronix T-Rex - clearly the most popular of the exhibits to see, our kids loved the new 'Investigate' centre in the museum's basement area. Here, children can handle fossils, animal skins, bones and so on, and using equipment like scales, microscopes and rulers discover more about the stuff that is showcased around the museum. The trip was worth this bit alone.

The Natural History Museum is popular with adults and children alike – there are lots of displays and it is very child friendly. The displays have been arranged to make them appealing to children and there are lots of interactive areas where children can push buttons and try to answer questions on the displays. The dinosaur display is very popular with children as the creatures look very realistic – especially the T-Rex which growls at you as you walk past. There is a nice picnic area in the basement of the museum with lots of tables – there is also a café here if you don’t want to bring your own food.

The Natural History Museum is great for kids as there are so many activities, buttons to press and a hands-on science room. We like choosing a book from the book shop, animals, birds or dinosaurs and then ticking them off when we find them in the museum. My child adores going up the earth escalator – you travel through an ornate copper globe – and we end up going over and over. Also, a wonderful new Italian restaurant has opened here selling fantastic salads and quiches and delicious cakes – and they will give you a free large bottle of water if you ask for one.

We love the natural history museum! I have been bringing my daughter here since she was one and a half; at one point we were going every two weeks. It is brilliant for pre-school kids who can go during term time when it is quiet and there’s no queuing. Kids can run about the halls and be amazed by the animals, dinosaurs, geological and earth areas and science rooms. Little ones can use ‘explorer packs’ which are free at reception and include a back pack with a clip board, activity paper, pencils, binoculars, and a great explorer hat. In the basement there is a large picnic area so you can bring packed lunches.

Our two and a half year old son particularly enjoyed the life-sized anamatronic t-rex! The whole place was easily accessible with two pushchairs. We had lunch in the larger cafe, it seemed a little pricey but you get a lot of food for your money and it was very tasty. Good choice of food for kids, either a sandwich pack or a half-portion of the adult options.

A great insider secret to the NHM: The Investigate Room in the basement. The Investigate room is a hands-on labratory with microscopes and specimen trays. There are trays of animal skins, shells, feathers, preserved bugs. You could spend hours here and watch as your child falls in love with science. During term time, the room is generally booked by schools during the morning and free in the afternoon. Ring ahead during school holidays, as it is worth the trip just to use this room.