London For Kids (1 Viewer)

[dunderhead]

Myself and a couple of my colleagues are gonna be in London for 2 days in a couple of weeks with ten kids.

Can Thumped recommend any good shit to hit up that would go down well with 12 year olds? Already in the bag will be changing of the guard Buckingham Palace . (Christ). A West End Show. Bit of a stroll around Westminster/Embankment area.

Either Science Museum or Natural History Museum. Any pro/cons to make a case for one over the other?

A bit of shopping for them. Best place to buy crappy tourist rubbish?

Any other little nuggets for me? budget is maxed out at this stage so FREE stuff only

cheers

 

[seanc]

Not a kid expert but fwiw.

NHM is always mad crowded, you'd be queuing hours to see the dinosaurs. Amazing place though. The Science museum has loads of good stuff though. I've been there a couple of hundred times and still find new stuff. They're next to each other, you can decide on the day.

Camden market is good for tatty rubbish. I say that because, if you then take a stroll through Regents park, you'll get to have a peak into bits of the zoo without actually paying. You'll see the aviary and the giraffe stables (Yes they are really tall stables). And the canal and park are nice anyway.

Harrods is always great. And depending on what the kids are like, they might enjoy the window shopping in that area (god help them).

 

[dunderhead]

Thanks man

 

[shitepipe]

Greenwich? Maritime Museum, Observatory, Royal Park, etc.. bit outta the centre but that might be a welcome relief

 

[dudley]

If you're there when the English kids are yet to be on their Easter holidays, Legoland is a total win. We rented a zipcar and I think got there in 40 minutes. Beautiful drives to get there too.

My daughter was absolutely blown away by the Harry Potter museum/experience too.

 

[therealjohnny]

I enjoyed this and noticed they do lots of kid's activities too

THE CARTOON MUSEUM

www.cartoonmuseum.org

 

[seanc]

Oh, Skygarden. I think it's free but ticketed. Go in the daytime, the London skyline is rubbish at night.

 

[seanc]

Booking your visit - Sky Garden - London

Access to the Sky Garden is free of charge. A limited number of tickets are available each day, please book them through our booking system.

skygarden.london

by the way.


Also pretty cool and free is Leake Street:

Leake Street Arches

Eat, Drink, Paint and Play at Leake Street Arches; a celebration of urban art, dining and entertainment located underneath Waterloo Station.

www.leakestreetarches.london

It's quite a sight to see. Again, depends on what the kids are into.

Betwixt them is London Eye, Aquarium, Film Museum, lots of other tourist traps. But also Tate Modern, which is mostly free and " The Bridge from The Harry Potter Movie", as my Eastern European friends call it.

 

[magicbastarder]

dunno if they still do it, it was over ten years ago i was there and i think 6 quid in, but one of the highlights of our trip was a tour of the darwin centre behind the NHM. the research and actual science end of the NHM.

 

[chris d]

Go to London, I guarantee you'll either be mugged or not appreciated. Catch the train to London, stopping at Rejection, Disappointment, Backstabbing Central and Shattered Dreams Parkway.

 

[egg_]

+1 to Camden Market, my kids loved the exotic-ness of it when we were in London a few years ago

 

[Anthony]

NHM, get there early! Like, before it opens. Even then you'll still be in a queue at the doors for a bit. You probably have to pre-book these days.

 

[magicbastarder]

this book is a good read, about richard fortey's time working in the NHM.
my favourite anecdote from it was about the lad who worked in goods inwards who everyone knew was an alco, but no one knew where he kept his drink. as goods inwards in the NHM involved taking delivery of and sometimes defleshing animal caracasses, no one would say boo to him anyway. but the chap liked fortey and once when he was down chatting, he asked fortey if he'd like a nip. fortey demurred, and yer man decided to have one anyway, and stuck his arm almost up to the shoulder into a rotting whale, pulled out a bottle of bushmills, and poured himself a shot.

Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural Hi…

'Dry Store Room No. 1' is an intimate biography of the …

www.goodreads.com

 

[David Kronenbourg]

South Bank is nice. BFI, Tate and whatnot

 

[seanc]

Not a kid expert but fwiw.

NHM is always mad crowded, you'd be queuing hours to see the dinosaurs. Amazing place though. The Science museum has loads of good stuff though. I've been there a couple of hundred times and still find new stuff. They're next to each other, you can decide on the day.

Camden market is good for tatty rubbish. I say that because, if you then take a stroll through Regents park, you'll get to have a peak into bits of the zoo without actually paying. You'll see the aviary and the giraffe stables (Yes they are really tall stables). And the canal and park are nice anyway.

Harrods is always great. And depending on what the kids are like, they might enjoy the window shopping in that area (god help them).

Strange, I just noticed I said "Harrod's is always great", I actually meant HAMLEYS, the toy store. Though I suppose Harrod's is worth a gander as well. Hamleys is good for kids of all ages.

 

[seanc]

I've just been reminded of the existence of the Horniman Museum

Homepage - Horniman Museum and Gardens

An inspiring, surprising, family-friendly, free Museum and Gardens in south London. The Horniman connects us all with global cultures and the natural environment, encouraging us to shape a positive future.

www.horniman.ac.uk

It has been for me more often a place to drink cans on a nice day.

It has a natural history bit, aquarium. Butterfly house, a GALLERY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Brains in jars. Basically all the things a Victorian collector of curiosities would collect.

It might be a bit out of town depending on where you're based. But I remember seeing it advertised heavily at T2 in Dublin airport. It's a hidden treasure kind of thing.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

I've just been reminded of the existence of the Horniman Museum

Homepage - Horniman Museum and Gardens

An inspiring, surprising, family-friendly, free Museum and Gardens in south London. The Horniman connects us all with global cultures and the natural environment, encouraging us to shape a positive future.

www.horniman.ac.uk

It has been for me more often a place to drink cans on a nice day.

It has a natural history bit, aquarium. Butterfly house, a GALLERY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Brains in jars. Basically all the things a Victorian collector of curiosities would collect.

It might be a bit out of town depending on where you're based. But I remember seeing it advertised heavily at T2 in Dublin airport. It's a hidden treasure kind of thing.

Sounds like my dream home.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Aside from the aquarium, fish creep me out.