Science Museum, South Kensington

Having just spent a budget weekend in London, we were delighted to find that the Science Museum was a as good as we remembered! We promised to take the kids down into the basement for the hands-on section, but there were so many other hands-on areas we ran out of time! My five year old particularly liked the hands-on exhibit that gives you a small electric shock each time you touch it - kept passers by entertained for ages! Plenty of places to take your packed lunch, but actually two teas & two ice creams weren't too bad either in the first floor cafe. Shame that the Red Arrow flight simulators were so expensive, but generally fun & educational at the same time & a great place to while away a wet Sunday afternoon.

We were surprised when a friend told us that the Science Museum was a great place for toddlers, and it was with some apprehension that we gave it a go. Our verdict - it's a brilliant place for young children! For a start it's free, so you don't need to worry about trying to get your money's worth. We visited with a young toddler, and spent most of our time in three areas: Launchpad - although aimed at older children, there is lots to do here, lots of levers to pull and buttons to press as they begin to learn basic scientific principles. It can get very busy in term time with school groups. The Pattern Pod - a small exhibition tucked away on the ground floor which has various activities exploring patterns in nature, including mosaic tiles, textures and a virtual fish tank on the floor. Because it's a bit out of the way it is less busy. The Garden - located in the basement, this area just for toddlers is amazing. There is a water table with currents and boats to float, building blocks, sound and light activities and lots to do. Pushchairs need to remain outside and it can get busy, but a toddler can spend ages here. Just outside are some steps, where you can sit and have a drink and a snack. In addition to these areas the museum is full of real and model cars, spaceships, planes and so on which most little ones will love looking at as you pass through. I would fully recommend this museum for children of all ages!

The Science Museum is simply staggering! there is so much to see and its free to get in. It is spread over four floors so allow yourself plenty of time and there is plenty to interest all ages. Who can fail to be impressed by the cars stacked up the walls or the Apollo rocket engines. The Harrier plane hovering above your head or the worlds weather systems changing the globe as you watch. Go it is amazing and for £5 you can experience a 4D rocket show.

For us this is the best museum we’ve ever experienced for our children. It was fabulous – non-stop pleasure for them. For mid morning on a school day, for four hours, our children had a great day out that didn’t cost us a penny. Take little ones (aged six and under) to the Basement, where you’ll find a snazzy picnic area and a fantastic interactive ‘family science room’. Inside the family room the highlight of this space is the water area where children not just play they’re also be learning about floating and damns. It was educational just watching them as well as just being a pleasure to see them having such a great time. There are water aprons provided for this area. What I also admire about The Science Museum is not just their approach to making all displays appeal to young children there also have what they call ‘explainers’ on hand to do just as their job title describes. Young, approachable and clearly childfriendly museum staff at various times during our visit introduced themselves to our children and would explain how the display they were playing with works and why. This earns the museum top marks in my rankings. They even taught mum and dad a few things about science. The second child-focussed interactive gallery, which is probably targeted at older children, although don’t let this put you off, is on the second floor, and is again a great space for families. Once again our children spent hours on this floor, and we even managed to fit in a bubble show. They were loads of displays for the children to become involved with that at times it felt like they were spoilt for choice. In between exercising our brains we took time out to refresh ourselves at the café in the Basement with reasonable priced sandwiches and drinks, and then later with a drink at the Juice Bar. A fabulous day out that makes science child’s play for all the family.

Lots of things for the children to get involved in - the water play in the basement is excellent as is launch pad highly recommended.

been several times but yesterday was the best. For the first time I put the buggy into the coat room - Soo worth it makes it easier to get around. The launch pad is geat for kids so hands on and handy areas for picnics makes it very family friendly. Always take spare clothes if you go into the garden water play down in the basement then the kids can run free (dodging the helicopter parents) My only grumble is the access from the Tube not easy but dont let it put you off every time i have been someone has helped me with the 3 sets of stairs.

A very exciting and educational day out. We traveled there by bus which made the day more special. Inside we started in the transport hall looking at the old cars and planes and then moved through the space section and up to the launch pad. The kids spent ages going round all the interactive exhibits. It was quite busy but they didn’t have to wait too long for a turn. The café is great and we don’t mind buying lunch as the museum is free to get in. The gift shop is good too and sells lots of education toys which make cool birthday presents.

The Science Museum in Kensington, London is a great fun place to take kids – and they can learn a bit when they go there too! There are a number of different galleries that you can visit including the ‘Exploring Space’ one where you can see space rockets and the ‘Who am I’ one where you can see what you will look like when you are older and what your voice would be like if you were a member of the opposite sex. There are a couple of cafes throughout the museum and there is also a picnic area where you can eat your own food. It is buggy friendly and there are plenty of toilets and baby changing facilities available.

We love the Science Museum, we’ve been there loads as we tend to end up there when the queues next door for the dinosaurs are horrible. The interactive bit in the cellar is superb – wet but superb! The big turbine halls are stupendous and the hanging aeroplanes, cars and buses hanging for m the ceiling fifty feet above your head really appeal to the smalls. They’re also slap bang next to the space rockets. The new Welcome wing has a lot of good interactive stuff along with a really good café – it’s worth eating here even if you have managed to get into the dinosaurs next door – the science museum is much better food.

The Launch Pad on the third floor is brilliant for kids, perhaps one of the best kid-friendly museum areas in London. They have two big rooms of experiments, all of which children do themselves. It offers a great example of learning through play. Our children loved the huge bubble-blowers, the bridge building (which they actually walked over when they completed it) and the sand pulleys. We also liked the gift shop outside which sold really great educational toys at very reasonable prices – we stocked up some birthday gifts while we were there! The rest of the museum is also excellent, but the Launch Pad is the best for kids.

We have been coming to the Science Museum since my child was very small. ‘The Garden’ in the basement is the perfect sensory experience for toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have a great water table with boats to put through channels and gates to move and open, we’ve spent many hours just on this one table. They also have a climbing frame where children can push beanbags through a shoot and wheel them over to a pulley to hoist them up again – which is a great place for kids to make friends. There’s a good picnic area, with seats made from recycled plastic, by The Garden and loads of space for running about.

This is an amazing place to take the kids, if you can go early or during term time you will avoid the crowds and see a bit more. I was with young children so spent a lot of time in the basement (called ‘the garden’). Here they have a large interactive room full of fun things such as a climbing frame with pulleys and buckets, a water canal/lock system with boats, large lego bricks to build with, and different things to touch and feel. Even the youngest toddlers can have a lot of fun here. Once they get to around 6 or 7 they would probably get more from the older children’s area upstairs (the launchpad). We brought a picnic with us and ate it just outside the basement where there are lots of places to sit. Toilet facilities were great. And it’s free to get in which is a real bonus when you don’t want to spend too much on a day out.

Just come back from the Science Museum with two exhausted kids - was definitely the right thing to do on a rainy afternoon in London. My girls are 2 and 5 and there was loads for them to do even at this age - they both particularly enjoyed the 'In the Garden' interactive play in the basement area and it was tough to tear them away from it when we had to go. We also bought tickets for the IMAX Deep Blue Ocean which was really worth it (although some bits were scary for the younger one). The bookshop on the way out has some great books, so even though the museum was free, I came home having spent quite a bit (but happy with the purchases!). Food, toilets and baby changing facilities were all excellent.