entertainment for a 16mo in London on a rainy Sunday - last minute please help!

[greenandpleasant]

please help, I need to find something to do with ds who is 16 mo and only just walking but full of energy. preferably somewhere with lots of space and stuff he can look at or touch easily and can stagger about without annoying too many people. it needs to be mainly indoors as he spends a lot of time on hands and knees or bum still so outdoors is not ideal in this weather.

please don't say soft play, we've been loads and it gets so busy at the weekend with older ones. (yes ds is pfb)

thank you in advance.

Which area? London is a big place!

museums in south kensington

oh any area, we're in N London but can travel to anywhere central / zone 1. anyone been to the National gallery with small children? thinking he is too loud and sticky and keen to touch the pictures?!

Aquarium

May I be so bold and suggest the Tate Morden.
It's Free...My boy and his friends and others just play on the huge ramp (don't ask me why!!!!) you can buy a coffee eat you own food. Basement/ground floor baby changing the best. The other floors baby changing are a bit weird. Just have fun stopping him from touching a few paintings. Look at the boats on the river. If its not raining it's a safe place for them to run around, just along the South Bank no traffic. I've done this with my mate for a few years, our boys are now 4 years old

Snakes and Ladders or one of those indoor play areas.

Battersea Park Children's Zoo

Feeding the ducks at the park (just put their wellies and waterproofs on)

yes, tate modern is great. we go a lot & rarely look at pictures . my 2 are 6 and 3....

Oh yes Tate Modern is good

I've been to the National gallery with the boy & DH, okay but too crowded for him to crawl around. Try the Wallace Collection nice staff, painting off the ground not so crowded. South Ken top of my list Good suggestion Fabio

or the V&A museum of childhood in bethnal green. lots of space, toys to play with and its free!...we had a great day there.

def. V&A in bethnal green, you'll enjoy it too (all your old toys/ ones you wanted!)

I'm in N London too and wondering what to do with my 15 month old. We'd normally go to Tate Modern but DD has now started trying to touch the paintings which are hung lower down and I get fed up chasing after her.

What about Science Museum? Apparently there's a play area in basement??
Or, what about british museum? which is where we'll probably end up as can;t be bothered to traipse all the way to south ken. BM will probably be very crowded but you can always go to the upper section of great court which is quieter and has lots of roaming/crawling space.

Ooh, might try mamado and pomum's suggestion and go to Bethnal Green instead.
What a fab idea!

Fantastic, many thanks all for suggestions. I think the Museum of Childhood wins for tomorrow but now have good list of outings.

see you there FeelingLucky!

did you enjoy it?

Yes, we went along and all enjoyed it. So much space to roam, and exhibits were excellently displayed so small people could look at them just as well as the bigger adults. Cafe was a bonus too. And DD loved the beach bit upstairs.
Perfect for a rainy sunday afternoon so thanks for the recommendation. We'll definitely be going again.

How about you, greenandpleasant? did you manage to go?