Science museum/Natural history Museum

[prufrock]

so tomorrow I am being good mummy and good DIL and taking dd (4.9) and ds (2.9) on the train to London to visit my Step Mil for lunch (DD is refuting my assertation that they really will make an onion into a volcano for her at Benihanas). Afterwards (so about 2pm) we were going to go up to the museums for a couple of hours. Am I mad? Will the queues be horrendous? I haven't been for years, and then it was without kids. So what are the best bits to do for a smash and grab visit? I've promised them dinosaurs, so we will have to go to NH, is it worth trying to go to the Science Museum basement as well?

Thank you very much for any suggestions

both made dd1 have a panic attack

so no recommendations from me, sorry

I'd do Harrods

i'd only do one if you haven't got much time.

Well, I love the science museum, so its worth a go. Its probably better in half term because there are less organised school trips, which mean a lower children to adult ratio....never bodes well lol!!!!

Just go. Theyll love it im sure.

I would stick to the NH. There's enough there for at least a whole day and it would be stressful to do the whole entrance thing twice, needlessly.

Make it easy, scale down your plans and I reckon you'll have a great time. It's a fab place. DS1 went there for his birthday a couple of weeks ago.

Personally I would go in early and do the museum first before the queues get too bad. You need to be prepared for possible adverse reactions to the dinosaurs - they can be scary for a 2.9 yr old....

Did the dino's with ds (then 4.8) last summer. Was going great until there was a fire alarm and they chucked us all out! Fortunatly the Science Museum next door was still letting people in but the queues were horrendous (we jumped them - sorry!). Ds loved the Science Museum, especially the airplane gallery (top floor).

Afterwards did the London Eye before visiting an Italian restaurant just near Waterloo. Ds was brill: but not suprisingly he fell asleep on the train back to civilisation :-) (Midlands).

I took ds1 to the British museum on Monday, and it was sooo empty! It was great! Far less stress then the others. If you do see the dinos, my advice would've been to go early, not in the afternoon!!! Last hols, we arrived at 10am and it was dead(no pun intended). I nipped to the loo leaving kids wih friend, came back out, and the whole dino section was mobbed!

Thank you all. We followed your advice and went in the morning - although it did mean leaving the house at the ridiculously early (for the holidays) time of 8am

But we got there at 5 past 10, and waltzed straight in, for which I felt very grateful to you all. I felt even more grateful to when we left at 12.40 and saw the queues to be security searched! Both children loved the animatronic T-rex, and the chocolate Brownies. We then did the blue whale gallery, creepy crawlies and the shop, and it was time to go.