Top Five Museums for Rainy Days
The bad weather’s been relentless the last couple of weeks and it’s been difficult to spend time enjoying any outdoor pursuits. Luckily, London is packed with fantastic, forward-thinking museums that have kitted themselves out with everything you need to keep the family entertained on rainy days. So this week we thought we’d share our top five rainy day museums with you:
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Discover Children’s Story Centre, Stratford
The Olympic and Paralympic athletes and crowds may have left the area, but there are still reasons to head to Stratford for a family friendly day out. Such as the Discover Children’s Story Centre…
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BDT goes large: National Railway Museum, York
Babydaytripper has gone large this week with a review of the National Railway Museum in York, instead of the usual London-based day out. Normal service will resume next week. In the meantime, and given we’ve been out and about a bit further afield over the summer, here’s the first of our new series of reviews of baby friendly destinations outside the big smoke…
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National Army Museum – Kids’ Zone Soft Play
The galleries of the National Army Museum in Chelsea take visitors on an interactive journey through British military history – but it’s the Museum’s fantastic soft play area which has families with small children heading there in their droves.
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What’s on at the weekend? – 11, 12 August 2012
Two weeks of Olympic fun draws to a close on Sunday and, while you may now have an impressive knowledge of cycling tactics, gymnastic routines and dressage movements, what will you do when it’s all over? Here are babydaytripper’s suggestions for making the most of the final days of the Games, and what else is on in London this weekend…
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What’s on this week? – Olympics special edition
I must admit to having been obsessed with the Olympic action this week and amazed by the fantastic atmosphere in London. Quiet public transport, hardly any traffic – it’s easier to get about than ever before! If you’re looking for ideas to entertain your kids this week, here are babydaytripper’s suggestions…
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Museum of London Docklands
I love this Museum! If you’re looking for a great place to take your family, the Museum of London Docklands has something for everyone. Located in a stunning early nineteenth-century former sugar warehouse on West India Quay in London’s Docklands, the Museum tells the story of the docks, the River Thames and London’s role as an important centre for global trade.
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What’s on at the weekend? – 2, 3, 4, 5 June 2012
Following on from our summary last week of the river pageant, procession, lighting of beacons and other official events taking place over the Diamond Jubilee holidays, here’s our view of what else is on this weekend…
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Dulwich – Picture Gallery and Park
We were hoping for a bit of fresh air this week, but the incessant rain meant another museum-based babydaytrip. Nevermind, there are more museums and galleries in London than you can shake a stick at and this week it’s another good one, Dulwich Picture Gallery. The rain cleared whilst we were inside the Gallery, so we headed across the road for a stroll in Dulwich Park once we were done – bonus!
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Bank of England Museum
If you have an interest in all things financial, or don’t have a clue and feel you ought to know more, the Bank of England Museum could be for you. Located within the Bank of England itself, this free museum tells the story of the institution from its foundation in the seventeenth century until the present day.
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Wellcome Collection (are you incurably curious?)
The Wellcome Collection bills itself as a “free destination for the incurably curious”, which is possibly the cleverest tagline for a museum/gallery that I’ve ever seen. Being of a curious persuasion myself (then again, how many people would admit that they’re not?), as soon as I read about the Wellcome Collection it went straight to the top of my “to visit” list. And so we went along to see how it shapes up as a destination for curious babydaytrippers…
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Horniman Museum and Gardens
I have to declare an interest in the subject of this week’s post: the Horniman is my local museum and my son and I have spent many a happy hour there. Behind its attractive Arts and Crafts exterior, this quirky South London museum houses the eclectic collections of the tea merchant and philanthropist, Frederick John Horniman. With 16 acres of gardens, an aquarium, and its famous, stuffed Victorian Walrus (yes, really), the Horniman Museum is a great, family-friendly destination.
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Crystal Palace Park
After our successful trip to Greenwich Park a couple of weeks ago, this week we set off to explore another of London’s fantastic, green spaces: Crystal Palace Park. Although the Crystal Palace that gave the area its name is long gone, the Park retains a number of quirky attractions that make it worth a visit.
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What’s on at the weekend? – 24, 25 March 2012
Every week babydaytripper highlights events and activities that are happening in London at the weekend. This weekend we’ve got new exhibitions at the Horniman and Geffrye Museums, Marilyn Monroe, a designer sample sale and contemporary graphic art…
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Greenwich Park and National Maritime Museum
If you live in London, the chances are that you have been to Greenwich at some point. One of the capital’s prettiest and most historic areas, with its bustling market, quirky boutiques and riverside location – it’s an appealing, if touristy, place to hang out. But unlike many areas of London, Greenwich’s charm only increases once you have children, with its fantastic park and Royal Museums offering all you could need for a family day out. The Borough was bestowed with Royal status this year to mark the Queen’s Jubilee and Greenwich Park will host the Olympic equestrian events this Summer, making 2012 the perfect opportunity to discover (or rediscover) Greenwich’s charms. There’s too much to do in one day, so this time our babydaytrip took in Greenwich Park and the National Maritime Museum.
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The Foundling Museum featuring Quentin Blake
If, like me, you loved Roald Dahl’s stories as a child (and still do), you’re probably also a fan of Quentin Blake’s unique, spidery illustrations. It may come as a surprise though, to know that Blake recently designed four series of works for hospitals in the UK and France. The works, which were created to have a therapeutic effect on the residents of the hospitals in question, are being exhibited at London’s Foundling Museum until 15 April 2012.
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V&A Museum of Childhood
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds. SuperTed. Sooty and Sweep. He-Man. Care Bears.
If these names fill you with nostalgia for the toys, books and TV programmes of your youth then you will love a trip down memory lane at the Museum of Childhood. An outpost of the V&A situated in Bethnal Green, the Museum unites the V&A’s collection of items relating to childhood, both antique and modern.
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Museum of London
Exterior view of the Museum of London
The Museum of London may not be much to look at from the outside, but venture beyond its unassuming exterior and you are taken on a fascinating journey through London’s history. From the earliest Thames Valley settlers, through invasions, plagues, fire and war, there’s a lot to cover. Luckily, the well-designed galleries lead you through history, imparting information in manageable chunks with plenty of opportunities to interact with the exhibits.
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Geffrye Museum, Hoxton
Interested in interior design? Then a trip to the Geffrye Museum of the Home could be for you. Located on Kingsland Road in Hoxton, just a stone’s throw from the City of London, the Geffrye Museum’s permanent display consists of eleven rooms decorated in the style of different periods from 1600 to the present day. The museum shows how the changing lifestyle of the urban middle classes in Britain over the past 400 years affected the design of their homes, complete with furniture and artefacts from each era. We visited during the Geffrye’s ‘Christmas Past’ exhibition, for which the period rooms had been decorated to demonstrate how the festive season was celebrated throughout the ages.
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