Natural History Museum was a hit!

It was really easy to get to from the tube. There’s a tunnel walkway that leads directly to the museum with obvious signs and branding to help you get into the dino experience.

I would absolutely book in advance. We were about 15 minutes late for our time but there was quite a huge queue for those people who hadn’t booked. It doesn’t cost anything to book the entry although I’d thoroughly recommend donating if you can.

Dinosaur Gallery

For us, this was by far the best part of the visit. The dinosaur gallery is exactly the sort of thing that grabs both kids’ attention, with huge skeletons, fossils and, of course, the T. rex. The 5-year-old was completely fascinated, while our 10-year-old was old enough to actually stop and read some of the information too.

There’s loads to look at, so you could easily spend a good chunk of time here. The dinosaur gallery is free and permanently on display, although it can get busy.

Other things to see

We also explored some of the other galleries, including the huge blue whale in Hintze Hall, the mammals and some of the Earth/volcano areas.

There is a lot to see, though, and with a 5-year-old you definitely don’t need to try and do everything.

For us, the dinosaurs were the clear winner, with the other galleries being more of a wander-and-see-what-catches-their-eye experience.

Additional experiences

There are additional paid exhibitions and experiences, but we didn’t do any of these on this visit. One of the exhibitions was closed as it was going through a seasonal changeover, so rather than spend extra money, we stuck to the free galleries.

Honestly, I don’t think that took away from the day at all. There is so much included with general admission that I wouldn’t necessarily feel you need to book a paid exhibition, particularly with younger children.

There are plenty of things for children to spot and interact with as you go around, but I’d describe the museum more as an explore-and-discover day than a traditional hands-on children’s attraction. (Perfectly paired with the Science Museum next door if you want more hands on. We usually do both in the same day but it was one of the only few days of the year that the Science Museum was closed!)

Now… the main gift shop.

It is A LOT with children.

It’s huge, busy and absolutely packed with things they will suddenly need. There are toys, books, fossils, animals, dinosaurs, science kits, clothing and all sorts of other goodies. We got a £1 dino glider and slime for about £3 after a lot of negotiating with an overwhelmed 5 year old.

My tip: skip the big main shop and go to the Dino Store by the dinosaur exhibition instead.

It’s much easier to manage with kids, particularly if dinosaurs are their main interest, and there are plenty of smaller/pocket-money options too. The museum actually has several shops, with the Dino Store located at the exit of the Dinosaurs Gallery.

There is a cafe and main restaurant. We tried the restaurant last time with pizzas at around £15 ish, but this time we brought a packed lunch and sat in the picnic area downstairs.

It’s airconned which is helpful when the exhibits need to stay at specific temp usually warmer with lots of people.

We found it difficult to find but just find a lift of stairwell and head down. There was a school group down there but there was still space.