London in the school holidays with a 4 year old

[Motherhippo]

Hi,
Wasn’t sure where to post but hopefully I’ll get some tips/advice.
With the summer holidays nearly upon us I wanted to take my daughter 4 (nearly 5) to London for the day. I was thinking a museum some lunch somewhere,a park and then home.
We do not live in London - about an hour away by train.
I appreciate that the already overcrowded city will be absolutely heaving with the added extra of all the family/school kids that now have got 6 weeks of nothing to do.
Have you lovely people got any advice on places to go, better times to avoid the worst of the crowd etc? I want my daughter to enjoy herself and not be overwhelmed by the amount of people - probably an impossible ask I know.
I think she’d enjoy the Natural History Museum because… dinosaurs and the Science museum due to it being so interactive. But I know these will be the busiest museums to go to. Is there a better time to go? Midweek? We or does it literally make no difference in the holidays? If we went later and maybe did the park in the morning would the crowds have thinned a bit? Or again is it literally just a mosh pit from open til close?

Any suggestions/advice/dos and don’ts would be appreciated.
please and thank you

https://museummum.com/

Have a look at some of the listings here. I'm not a fan of the NHM in the holidays and the dinosaur display isn't great. The science museum has a bit more to offer and they have Wonderlab which has loads of interactives.

Or you could do the V&A museum of childhood in Bethnal Green which has just been revamped. Get there early though or much later, after about 3.

Also nice are the Diana Memorial Playground and the Fountain (take swimmers) which is pretty near the South Ken museums so a good combo. The 'adult' V&A in South Ken often has some brilliant kids craft sessions on, for free, and is so much less busy than the other 2.

(OH and the big V&A has a paddling pool in the central courtyard which a 4yo would love)

@Motherhippo

Would she be happy to sit on the top deck of a bus as it goes around looking at different places?

https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours

It does stop near the Museums in South Kensington, so you could hop off there for a look around and then jump back on.

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/garden

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/activities-for-families-and-kids.html

Thanks @Thepottingshed for the shout out!

To answer the question, the main museums in South Kensington (NHM and Science Museum) will be incredibly busy in summer. I suggest going the last 90 minutes of the day to avoid the worst of the crowds. Weekends are usually a bit busier than weekdays, and strangely Fridays have been almost quiet in London this year, but I don’t know if that will be true in Summer. Most of the US and Europe go back to school by mid August so the last week or two of the Summer holidays are usually quieter than the start.

NHM has a new nature garden opening this week with activities running in the summer. Depending on arrival time I’d suggest starting with Kensington Gardens (Diana Memorial Fountain), then moving down to gardens at NHM then inside for the last hour for Dinos. That would be a doable schedule and distance.

And if you want somewhere quieter, the Postal Museum, Hyde Park Learning Centre and Discover Story Centre in Stratford are perfect for that age.

Lots more summer holiday ideas here: https://museummum.com/summer-london-2023/ and let me know if you have any questions!

I've never met a child yet who doesn't love just to jump on a standard London bus ( not a sightseeing one) and sit upstairs- try to get the front seats. It's popular from age 2 until they stop going out with their parents, then they carry on don't it in their own! The DLR is hugely popular with all children owing to the fact it has no driver and it's not much bigger than a toy train, despite being real. Children like to sit at the front ( I find as long at its mid afternoon not rush hour and children are polite) people are usually more than happy to let them sit at the front and pretend to drive! There's a replica golden hinde in the river near London bridge - might be interesting? Riding the Thames clippers is also something fun for children. Avoid rush hour again. Museums can be packed in the holidays so have a plan b if it's too much. I've creams in fortnums Ice cream bar? (Booking needed though) mine loved that for a year at that age. Weather is so variable it's quite hard to plan for certain in advance. I'm sure it will be fab though.