Science Museum (London)

...have fond memories of the Science Museum from their school days - driving from a far-flung school on a coach for an hour or two, with the requisite packed lunch and spending money. Some may have just stumbled across it on a visit to the capital; others may have made it a well-planned family excursion. Moreover, if you have never heard of the museum, then you are probably in a select minority. A timeless classic, this is a must-see whether you are ...
...The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial College and Queen's Tower, The Royal Albert Hall, and The Albert Memorial, amongst others. The close proximity of all of these means you can spend a whole day being cultured with science, natural history, art and design, and architecture. Hyde Park a short walk away is ideal for a picnic too.
 
Its central location means getting there is not particularly ... more

Most people will have fond memories of the Science Museum from their school days - driving from a far-flung school on a coach for an hour or two, with the requisite packed lunch and spending money. Some may have just stumbled across it on a visit to the capital; others may have made it a well-planned family excursion. Moreover, if you have never heard of the museum, then you are probably in a select minority. A timeless classic, this is a must-see whether you are 7 or 77.
 
The museum is located in the heart of London's South Kensington, in the area affectionately known as 'Albertopolis'. Following the Great Exhibition, the area was developed with the intention of raising awareness and promoting the arts and sciences. Prince Albert (hence the name), consort to Queen Victoria, partook in organizing the exhibition, the profits of which went on to transform the land, giving rise to The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial College and Queen's Tower, The Royal Albert Hall, and The Albert Memorial, amongst others. The close proximity of all of these means you can spend a whole day being cultured with science, natural history, art and design, and architecture. Hyde Park a short walk away is ideal for a picnic too.
 
Its central location means getting there is not particularly difficult. The nearest underground station is South Kensington (Circle, District and Piccadilly lines), which has an underpass tunnel directly to the museum, and is a 10 minute walk. The station is not the most user-friendly for disabled or those with buggies as there are stairs to negotiate. My advice would be to take a District or Circle line train as these only require two sets of stairs to get up. Bus routes close by include the 9, 10, 14, 49, 52, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414, 430 and C1. For those travelling by car, there is very limited parking spaces. Street parking on Exhibition Road and Queen's Gate is available, but this is metered and expensive. In addition, South Kensington has recently become part of the congestion zone, so during weekdays that is another £8 fee. Imperial College does have a car park next door to the museum, but this does fill up quickly, and again is pricey.
 
Entrance to the museum is now free (along with the other two neighbouring museums), although you can make donations if you wish. The front doors are at ground level, so after you have dealt with the assault course of the Underground, you will not be struggling with stairs here. The whole place is equipped with lifts, so is completely accessible. Open from 10 am until 6 pm each day (except for 24th, 25th, and 26th December), there is plenty of time to explore the exhibits, and the daily opening - including bank holidays - means it is possible for those with busy work commitments to make the trip.  Bank holidays, and school holidays are extremely busy. The best times to visit are usually in the morning, and the strategy I've found is to go to the top floors and work your way down to avoid the congestion!
 
The museum houses its exhibits over seven floors, each floor generally being specific to a particular area of science. The museum has not changed significantly over the years; just tweaks and rearrangements, with modern bits here and there - the old favourites remain such as the space section. Maps are available free from the reception desk, and there are touch-screen machines dotted around the place to help with navigating and other information. Describing the exhibits in detail would probably involve writing a small book, so forgive me for not going into enormous depth. Despite the fact that up to 90% of the museums articles are stored out of sight in the basements at any one time, you still need a full day to just get round most of the exhibits! Wear comfortable shoes!
 
The museum is full to the brim with real life objects, whether they be an early 'not-so-pocket-sized' calculator, a full-sized biplane suspended from the ceiling, or the curious RoboTuna (a robotic fish, which apparently does have its uses!). Displays also have useful and detailed explanations written alongside them, such that the museum is informative for both young and old alike.
 
 
. : Ground Floor : .
 
This floor probably has everything you expect from the traditional view of science: space rockets, enormous engines, and weird inventions from the 20th century.
 
The 'Energy Hall' never fails to impress with its collection of sturdy machines, one of which dates from the 18th century. The elegance of the Mill Engine (if engines can ever be elegant) is supported further by its sheer size. What is even more remarkable is that many of today's engines work using exactly the same mechanisms.
 
If you are after something a bit more out-of-this-world, then you can stroll a little further where you reach the 'Space' area. There are few places you can actually visit to see such items, but the Science museum has a handsome number of interesting space objects. Here you can view satellites, rockets, and space landers. Two space rockets are actually suspended above your heads walking through, so do not forget to look up! And, where the real thing is not possible to display, some very realistic replicas have been built, as demonstrated by the Huygens Lander which made an epic journey to Titan. There are some detailed exhibits in here giving a very good insight into the history of rockets, a demonstration of the purpose and mechanisms of satellites, and some more modern aspects make a welcome appearance such as the AMPTE model (Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer for those who didn't know!), which is currently used to monitor what 'stuff' the sun in emitting and how it interacts with Earth.
 
Having found your way through moon landing gear and such things, you find yourself with more earthly objects in the 'Making the modern world' section. There is definitely something for everyone in here. Bustling with items that have revolutionised the world, you can chart science and technology advances through time. A particular favourite is Stephenson's Rocket.
 
At the very rear of this floor is an area, which generally changes, and hosts more contemporary science exhibits. There is currently a small gallery designed for small children here where they can play with various things.
 
 
. : First Floor : .
 
Going up a level in one of the see-through glass lifts, you come to the floor, which has an interesting mix of themes. 'The Challenge of Materials' section provides a very interesting look at innovative ways of using materials. What could have been an incredibly boring section, is instead spiced up with the likes of steel wedding dresses and quite a cool bridge composed of glass and supported by a network of undeniably thin wires. It apparently interacts with you in light and sound, although it never has when I have been there - perhaps I am not stimulating enough for it...
Atop of the surprisingly sturdy bridge, you can peer down over the engines - a good photo point.
 
Moving on, one reaches a telecommunications section with all manner of historical artifacts here. The country bumpkins amongst you will welcome the agriculture section, with some interesting displays to remind us of farming tradition. The good old Ferguson tractor give the whole a exhibit a certain 'touch'. Moving further along the floor, a fairly detailed section of all sorts of various measuring instruments used to map the earth, and weather devices. Here you can mingle with theodolites, graphometers and waywisers. It would be a shame to tell those who don't know what these things are, so I set it as a task for you to find out! Nonetheless, some remarkable pieces of equipment to see - some real pieces of history, as well as science, here. And finally, at the rear of this floor, is a section dedicated to us as humans. There are lots of little bits and pieces to have a go at here, including some really revealing ones. One particular exhibit takes a snapshot of your face, and allows you to see how it will look at various points in the future. This can be remarkably frightening if you are young, when you suddenly start to see your face morphing into mums! Learn all about genetics, a touch of psychology, and marvel at the completely white peacock that is currently displayed there, and what it represents.

 . : Second Floor : .
Heading up one floor gives an unusual mix of aviation, mathematics, computing, and nautical related themes. A special Spitfire exhibit has been on this floor for some time now and is due to close at the end of this year. The aeroplane has been stripped right back to allow you to glimpse the very basic structure. To complement this, there is some material illustrating some of the stories surrounding the Spitfire, information about the makers and contributors of the machine, and some nostalgia in photo and film format; this makes for an interesting break from the science surrounding the rest of the museum.

The central part of this floor is dedicated to mathematics and computing through the ages. This section seems to have changed very little in 20 years, and I do think a handful of the displays and explanations are perhaps a little tricky for most of the general public to really appreciate. Nevertheless there is wealth of unusual and fascinating displays, and many are mildly interactive. Take a look at some incredible number crunching devices with cogs rather than bottoms, and some curious pieces of glassware which have no edges and lend themselves readily for a discussion on topology. You could be forgiven for thinking some of the displays are pieces of art: certainly a section not to pass through without having a glimpse.
Further along, you quickly bump into a change of theme, and are greeted with models of ships, boats, and all other things that generally float. This is a quite specialised section, and probably not to most peoples interests or tastes, but worth a brief look at some beautiful replica models.

. : Third Floor : .
The last of the main floors introduces you to a mix of science and history. At one end the gallery is stuffed full of material relating to health and medicine, exploring technology that can help with diagnosis and treatment, from both past and present. This section of the museum has much to see, with a range of interesting hands-on exhibits.

Adjacent to this is another section with links history to science, and contains some stunning collections of pieces. Highly recommended for those interested in the scientific antiques and equipment.
. : Fourth and Fifth Floors : .
 
People are usually too tired by this stage if they have worked their way up the building, but congratulations if you do make it this far up! Unsurprisingly these tend to be fairly quiet floors. Floor 4 has numerous mock scenes related to medicine - from a life-size set-up resembling a hospital theatre, to slightly more 'archaic' forms of operating; plenty to look at, but less factual knowledge from these displays.

The top floor introduces the visitor to veterinary medicine. A full scale model of a horse showing muscles, vessels and tissues is particularly impressive, as are the small displays dotted about the floor.

. : Basement : .

The basement is centred around children. 'The Garden' helps the youngest children (3-6) play and learn at the same time, getting them to explore basic science, whether it be through construction (or destruction!), or playing with lights and sounds. There are helpful, trained staff to helping them with their learning. Launch pad is for slightly older children, and they can undertake a range of interesting activities such as building bridges, and playing with bubbles. Despite not being a child, I have popped down there recently, and have to say it is not as interesting as it once used to be, but is a chance to just let the kids go free and mad for 15 minutes.

Hopefully, that gives you a flavour of what to expect, but there is plenty more to see in this museum. Some exhibits are temporary, and you can expect something new to appear every so often. The museum does have an IMAX cinema (these are cinemas designed to provide a feeling that you are actually 'in' the film through some clever modifications), however, a charge is levied for this: £6/£7.50 for children/adults respectively.

There are 2 eateries within the museum; one is self-service, serving sandwiches, cakes, and some hot food. The other is more restaurant-style, serving a whole array of meals. Like most museums, prices are inflated, but it is possible to take along your own picnic and eat it in the museums 'picnic' area. Otherwise, if it's a pleasant day, why not take a 10-minute stroll to Hyde park and picnic amongst the trees and flowers? There are a few shops close by too, to buy snacks and lunch, including a tasty crêpery close to South Kensington station.

I can't talk about a museum, without mentioning the shop. All children seem to have an in-built desire to buy a pencil and eraser. Here though, you will find much more. The shop is packed full of gizmo's and gadgets ranging from lava lamps, executive clocks, more down-to-earth potato powered clock kits, posters, educational games and kits and flying devices. Prices are reasonable, and there is a wide selection of cheaper items for children. The museum also has a dedicated bookshop which stocks a fairly large selection of science related books, ranging from general interest, to more specialised topics, for the more ardent reader. A wholesome collection of fiction books also exists, for both young and old readers. Books being books, they are not cheap, so a good search on-line would probably lighten the load on your wallet.

Overall, a good museum with a lot to see (perhaps too much!), and an excellent day out for all the family. Exhibits tend to be well explained, and at a level most people can understand. Galleries are generally very accessible, except during school holidays when it gets frustratingly hectic.

Let me know if there is anything vital missing, and happy museum-ing! 

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