Natural History Museum
Before we moved to London, I had been here several times, meaning I have seen a lot of the biggest tourist attractions. Paul had been once - for 2 days. This leaves a bit of disparity between what I've seen and what he's seen. I've been trying to talk him into some of my favorites like the Victoria and Albert Museum, or the Churchill War Rooms, but last weekend, we decided to settle upon something new for the both of us. 2013 resolutions in action!
On a beautiful Sunday, we headed over to the Natural History Museum. It was lucky for us that the weather was great, because we spent 15 minutes standing outside in line to get inside. Guess when all the museums are free, they get to be popular with locals and tourists alike.
Since the only thing we knew about the museum was the dinosaurs, we decided to come up with a plan of attack once we got inside to make the most of our trip.
First up was food. Too many children to deal with on an empty stomach. We ate at the quick cafe, but later found out there was a true restaurant that looked like a much better deal.
Next, we meandered backwards through the museum.
First up was the reptiles and sea creatures. My favorite was the Komodo Dragon (stuffed of course), while Paul loved the giant clam shell. Hopefully our next home will have space for a 2ftx5ft clam.
Next was the room of mammals. All around the outside are stuffed mammals like horses, zebras, bears, etc. In the middle are the mammals of the larger variety, including a whale, elephant and rhino. It can be a bit overwhelming, even for adults. They have things stuffed into every nook and cranny!
After that, we decided to go ahead and wait in line for the main attraction - the DINOS! Here you actually start up above the exhibit on a walking platform and look at the fossils from above. After viewing a mechanical T-Rex (really?) you get to make your way a long the bottom and get some history on the dinosaurs. Were they warm blooded? Cold blooded? Omnivores? Carnivores? In almost every instance, they couldn't get any true answers, but still interesting to think on.
While that was the grand attraction for us, there is still more to see.
We wandered through the room of rocks, which included precious stones and pieces of meteorites, along with many other rocks Paul could tell you lots about.
We also wandered through the hall of birds - just like the mammals, there were birds everywhere of every variety. My favorite was the hummingbird display, until I realised that this at one point was decoration in someone's home. Poor hummingbirds.
Even if you don't care about any of the exhibits, the building itself is amazing. Despite looking hundreds of years old, it was a built for purpose building in the late 1800's, with all kinds of things related to the purpose of the museum woven into the architecture. From the monkeys and butterflies all along the columns, to the flowers painted on the ceiling of the dome, nature is all around the building. I'm pretty sure we will be making a repeat trip here to fit in everything we didn't see and perhaps visit our dinosaur friends once again.
On a beautiful Sunday, we headed over to the Natural History Museum. It was lucky for us that the weather was great, because we spent 15 minutes standing outside in line to get inside. Guess when all the museums are free, they get to be popular with locals and tourists alike.
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| Outside of the museum - in the winter, they put an ice skating rink out front for skaters. |
Since the only thing we knew about the museum was the dinosaurs, we decided to come up with a plan of attack once we got inside to make the most of our trip.
First up was food. Too many children to deal with on an empty stomach. We ate at the quick cafe, but later found out there was a true restaurant that looked like a much better deal.
Next, we meandered backwards through the museum.
First up was the reptiles and sea creatures. My favorite was the Komodo Dragon (stuffed of course), while Paul loved the giant clam shell. Hopefully our next home will have space for a 2ftx5ft clam.
Next was the room of mammals. All around the outside are stuffed mammals like horses, zebras, bears, etc. In the middle are the mammals of the larger variety, including a whale, elephant and rhino. It can be a bit overwhelming, even for adults. They have things stuffed into every nook and cranny!
After that, we decided to go ahead and wait in line for the main attraction - the DINOS! Here you actually start up above the exhibit on a walking platform and look at the fossils from above. After viewing a mechanical T-Rex (really?) you get to make your way a long the bottom and get some history on the dinosaurs. Were they warm blooded? Cold blooded? Omnivores? Carnivores? In almost every instance, they couldn't get any true answers, but still interesting to think on.
While that was the grand attraction for us, there is still more to see.
We wandered through the room of rocks, which included precious stones and pieces of meteorites, along with many other rocks Paul could tell you lots about.
We also wandered through the hall of birds - just like the mammals, there were birds everywhere of every variety. My favorite was the hummingbird display, until I realised that this at one point was decoration in someone's home. Poor hummingbirds.
Even if you don't care about any of the exhibits, the building itself is amazing. Despite looking hundreds of years old, it was a built for purpose building in the late 1800's, with all kinds of things related to the purpose of the museum woven into the architecture. From the monkeys and butterflies all along the columns, to the flowers painted on the ceiling of the dome, nature is all around the building. I'm pretty sure we will be making a repeat trip here to fit in everything we didn't see and perhaps visit our dinosaur friends once again.
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