A Day and Night at the Museum

Luckily, they do, as a recent trip to the Natural History Museum proved...

A buzz of anticipation

I'll never forget the feeling of first setting eyes on that vast and intriguing place. It was on my first trip there with my mum, dad and brother.

For me, it was such a thrill to see this huge, magnificent building looming up ahead and to feel the buzz of anticipation as we walked through the big wooden doors into the enormous, echoey foyer.

I can remember my dad smiling at our reactions as we came face to face with the famous life-sized cast of a Diplodocus, apparently known affectionately as 'Dippy'.

It was awe inspiring and I was hooked.

So, as part of my daughter's birthday celebrations, we decided a day trip to the museum was a good idea, and I'm so glad we did.

The look on their faces

Taking photos of the kids as we walked up Cromwell Road towards the museum, I recognised the same expressions of wonderment on their faces that my dad had seen in my brother and me.

Even spending fifteen minutes queueing in cold, drizzly rain didn't seem to bother them, and once inside they were just as awestruck as I had been all those years ago...

Dippy was still in situ, evoking the same gasps of astonishment he has been commanding since 1905 and it was great to watch the kids' mouths drop open as their eyes travelled up and up to meet the past.

The rock and fossil exhibits were a definite crowd-pleaser and kept the kids amused for a whole hour - the scary animated dinosaurs and gory insect life were fantastic.

What a day!

It was a very long day, but apart from the odd moan and groan about tired feet and being hungry/thirsty/needing the toilet, the whole day continued pretty much as it had started, with lots of oohing and aahing at the incredible array of artefacts. They learnt so much in a relatively short space of time and were full of questions.

With so much on offer, it's hard to believe that the museum is free to visit! How fantastic to be able to take your family somewhere so educational yet so much fun, all for the cost of a train ticket.

We all had a brilliant time, but with so much to see it's no surprise that we didn't get round everything in one day. You really could spend a whole day and night there to get round everything which was sadly not an option, so we've vowed to return soon.

Night at the Museum, anyone?

I did notice some posters whilst there, advertising a 'Night at the Museum'; a spooky experience no doubt inspired by the film of the same name.

As much as I love the place, I'm not sure I'd like to come face to face with a huge robotic T-Rex in the dead of night...

Jayne, Working Mum and Freelance Editor