How busy could the Natural History Museum be this Thursday?

[Happyclappy20]

Hoping to take my 6.5 year old on his first trip to London this Thurs. We are a 2 hour train ride away. Will the queues be terrible? Any tips?

You can skip the queue if you have a membership.

I’m on the train home from the science museum (next door) , we got there about 11.30, queued for about 15 mins to get in, had no problem finding a table for lunch, it was busy but not hideous. Get there early and you’ll probably be alright. Enjoy.

Animals, earth galleries, insects etc... Busy but can see things.

Dinosaurs... Horrendous.

We queued for 45 mins to get in during half term. But was busy but manageable once inside

Just to update you. We arrived at 10.40 today and walked straight in. Did dinosaurs straight away and it was nice and quiet. Got very busy by 11.30. We left at 1.30 and the queue was about a 25 minute wait (overheard them being told)

Check @NHM_Visiting on Twitter for queuing information, it's not constantly updated but is a good guide.

Yes, it will always be busy in school holidays, less so in the summer as it's spread over more days. Afternoons are less busy than mornings.

Took my niece at half term last year - huge queue to get in - but they got us out of the queue because my Dn is disabled and let us straight in.
mostly was fairly OK (my neice loves the rocks and geology stuff and that wasn't very busy) but the dinosaurs were packed out - neice couldn't see a thing from her wheelchair and I felt very claustrophobic - we just wanted to get out of there ! Most things weren;t too bad though (although with younger kids it is always the dinos they want to see - most people had thier kids up on th ero shoulders so they could see over the crowd.)

Central London is a nightmare due to protests. You may want to find another place to visit until after the 28th. Sorry

The protests are really only an issue if you're driving. They have caused me no issues going between South Ken where the museums are and more central areas this week.

It will be horrible! We live in West London and so go to the museums regularly and have done for 20 years. We went on Sunday morning and got there for opening at 10am and it was already queued round the corner - and we even used the previously secret side entrance! I’ve never seen it so busy - so much shoving and pushing and the dinosaur area actually felt dangerous. The dinosaurs are also rubbish. They used to be fab but t-Rex is in a little side area which only has one way in and out so it was an absolute ‘rammy ‘ as they’d say in Glasgow and the walkway with the small dinosaurs is now closed. Rubbish!!

Natural History Museum will be rammed and the dinosaurs will be so stuffed it won't be enjoyable.

There's an impressive dinosaur skellington at the Natural History Museum in Oxford, go there instead if you can.

The Horniman is packed throughout the holidays, from private schools kicking out until the state ones go back - anybody who works in education in South London will be there at least once with their children; it's the easiest way to be sure of bumping into someone you know .

Get there for opening at 10am, or even before - sometimes the main entrance opens at 9.30 during the holidays. Otherwise the Exhibition Road entrance is a better bet as it’s usually quieter. Head straight for dinosaurs and you should be OK. Go to the Investigate centre in the basement which is a learning centre where you can get hands on with loads of real specimens. The educators there will be able to tell you what other activities are happening. Do lunch early or there are plenty of cafes locally.
It’s been busy this week but not as bad as it gets during half term - they tend to be worse.
I would say it’s amazing and always worth a visit, but then I might be somewhat biased... 😉

It'll be manic I would imagine. So many other ppl with want to do just that during holidays.

I went yesterday and both the nhm & science museums, which are next to each other, were rammed. I barely saw anything properly as I was moved along by the sheer weight of the crowd.

I went during an inset day a few years ago & that was a much nicer experience. Maybe that would be a better time to go? You could book a cheap hotel & make a mini break out of it.

Like PP, I also felt pushed along by the crowds. I think the museums need to get a bit of a grip on this as it can’t be safe especially in the dinosaur area. I know the museums being free have loads of positives and it’s great for families but they’re just so busy now.

Weather forecast is good, which always moderates the numbers a bit (if you want to see rammed, then ou need a nice wet/cold half term!)

But yes it will be busy, and yes it can be very crowded in the popular ar as such as the dinosaurs. (We always avoided half term because the crowds could be horrid, though I do tend to agree that queues move at an OK rate and crowding isn't too bad in most parts once inside)

Postal museum is a good place to visit - and you can book a ride in the Mail Rail on site (if not already sold out). The tickets are for any departure during the hour following the time on your ticket - you don't have to be there on the dot for one train at that time.

It's close to Coram's Fields , which would be a good place for a run-around before/after.

We went last Summer and it was awful. It was so busy you couldn't stop to look at anything. We couldn't wait to get out of the throng

Top London tip for the natural history : buy tickets online in advance for one of their exhibitions (like the wildlife photography) for for the time you can comfortably get to the museum (say 11.30). Rock up at 11 and tell the man at the front of the queue you have tickets for the 11.30 slot. You will be let straight in, no queue!

In terms of if it is worth it, if he is interested in the content and not freaked out by crowds then I would go for it.

We went on a Sunday in hols and it was very busy - first time I've ever had to join a loooong queue to get in to the building. The dinosaur gallery was very busy but, actually, we were in the minority in actually reading the displays - most people just walked through and you could block out the bustle if you were really interested!

The Museum of London is a great option too as is the Transport Museum in
Covent Garden. You have to pay for the Transport Museum so it won’t be as busy.

We are currently members so get to beat the queues, but before that, we would pay extra to travel up before 9.30am so we get there when it opens, see the dinosaurs, see another couple of exhibitions, eat our lunch as it starts to get really busy, then go somewhere else at midday. Hope you have a fab day.

We went on a rainy half term. It was the longest queue I have seen outside of a theme park. We only bothered literally because we were meeting friends inside.

It’s always busy but particularly during school holidays.