please help me plan a day in london with 4 and 6yo... BRITISH MUSEUM??

[noonar]

i'm taking my dds for a day out in london at half term and would be greatful for some suggestions for my itinerary. i think the british museuam would appeal to them...has it got mummies and dinosaur bones, or is that the natural history? it, is, isnt it. which is best,for a 4 and 6yo, IYO?

... anyway, advice would be appreciated on what to do after the museum. ooh, how about the london eye- would that be too far and would we queue for hours?

British Museum has the Egyption stuff, but, tbh I find it incredibly dull. It is old-school traditional museum with very little hands-on for little ones.

The Natural History museum is great. It has a fair bit of dinosaur stuff.

The basement of the Science Museum is fab for kids.

My 6yr old dd loves the Natural History museum - the British Museum had too much writing for her - she just likes to look!
London Eye is great if the weather is good and it is right next to the London Aquarium.

Are you travelling by train? You can good 2 for the price of 1 offers www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/Destinations/specialoffers/_2for1.htm?2FOR1ZooSpecialLozenge

thanks alot squeaky. how long would you spend there?

Science Museum, right next door to Natural History Museum, is great for children. Lots of hands-on stuff for them to do.

thanks ell- will take a look. we did science museusm last time we went- twas great, i agree.

what about museum of childhood at V and A- any good?

Museum of childhood is good - it's at Bethnal Green. There are lots of things to look at but also toys, sandpit, dressing up that the children can actually do.

oh, is it not on the same site as the V and A?

Natural History, Science Museum and V&A are all next door to one another in South Kensington (near Harrods).

They are free to get into so you don't have to spend loads of time in order to make it worth it.

It depends on your kids how much sticking power they have. I think you would feel that you have done a good job in 2 hours (just going into two or three galleries plus the shop), but could easily spend a whole day there.

No, it's a separate museum - but still part of the V & A www.vam.ac.uk/moc/your_visit/index.html

One of our favourite museums is the Museum of London, in the City (near the Barbican). It is free and traces the history of London from before the Romans up to the present day.

The Transport Museum is also very good.

ah, thanks.

My two (a bit older) loved the science museum, loads of hands on stuff.

Area inside for eating your own picnics, or the sandwich lunches for kids in the cardboard boxes are not bad value from the takeaway counter bit beside the picnic steps. (I got one too).

My kids always LOVED the Tate Modern even at a younger age. The main lobby exhibit always interest the kids and then they love to have a good laugh at the modern "art" piles of junk. The escalators are fun, the rooms nice and big. And then you go and walk up and down the Thames, (feed the seaguls) and walk across the Millenium bridge to top it all off.
They were actually less interested in the Science and History museums. The British Museum is really difficult with young kids, especially if one is still in a buggy. I would wait a few years for that one.

If you go to the Tate Modern, take a walk down the south bank towards London Bridge and let your chidren go on the Golden Hinde replica ship -lots to explore and spaces to explore, they can pretend they are in 'Pirates of the Carribean'.

If you think they'd like to have a look around a real WW2 naval ship, you could take them to seee the HMS Belfast, also moored near London Bridge.

Also, a ride on the Thames in a Thames Clipper boat is exciting.

If you go to the Natural History Museum/science museum, you are near St James Park where there's the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. It is full of wonderful attractions for children (teepees, pirate galleon, sand pits etc) and it has a nice open air cafe. If your children are happy to walk, it takes about 30 minutes to get there from the museums, otherwise it's a short-ish taxi ride.