Becky T.
Yelp
I generally liked this museum, though there were a few aspects that made me go from love to really like.
Cost: The museum itself is free, though you go past a register with "Suggested Donation £5" signs that strongly encourage the fee, and 3-5 of the exhibits do require a separate admission fee.
School kid: Even in July, it was very busy with school groups during the week. Though many are well behaved, it made certain moments a bit challenging.
Staircases: One Tip about navigating the museum - Be careful about which staircases you use, since some don't allow you to exit on the 1st floor, and the 2nd floor doesn't connect all exhibits.
The exhibits themselves are laid out pretty well amongst the floors. A few specific ones to mention:
- Exploring Space (ground floor): It has huge life size items, including rocket engines hanging from the ceiling, which are amazing to see, and also a real piece of the moon. However, the exhibitions are very dimly lit, so reading about some of them proved difficult.
- Making the Modern World (ground floor): Has a lot of smaller exhibits on side, but big draws are the life size cars, trains, and airplanes throughout, including Ford Model T car (1916), Lockheed Electra plane (1935), Apollo 10 craft (1969), 1-2 person cars from 1950s, and a plethora of other exhibits
- Our Lives in Data (ground floor): Smaller exhibit that explores how data is being used, and I really appreciated the real-life relatabiliry. For example, it discussed how data is used from Oyster transit cards to see stations' busiest times, and how this data is used for forecasting, along with posing questions about privacy.
- Flight (3rd floor): Lots of life sized airplanes and engines, from WW II military to early 1900s planes to a corporate jet. One plane to find us Vickers Way (toward middle), since this was the first plane used to cross the Atlantic in 1919. (It gives more appreciation for today's carriers!) There is a platform in the middle to get a better vantage point, but at times it was hard to find the information boards.
- Information Age (2nd floor): This is a very noisy floor, with lots of different t sounds and music playing from the different exhibits. If that kind of thing drives you mad, I recommend skipping this part, because it is a bit distracting.
- Cosmos & Culture (1st floor): This has smaller items on display, which goes above and around the ground floor exhibits. Children may be less enthusiastic here, since a lot centers on clockmaking and sundials.