If this is your first trip, I would recommend focusing on the main attractions. These include the blue whale and Guy the Gorilla in the Hintze Hall, Mary Anning’s fossils, the volcano and earthquake gallery, and the fish, reptiles and birds collection. However, if this is one of your regular haunts, check out one of the Tours at Natural History Museum London. It’s time to dive deeper….
Different Tours at Natural History Museum London
The Natural History Museum offers a variety of guided tours. The Secrets of the Natural History Museum focuses on .the architecture and history of the building. There is a new Space themed tour or alternatively a Museum Highlights Tour (which would be best for first-time visitors), You could also try Science of the Natural History Museum or even a Gardens Tour. We chose the Spirit Collection Tour. Read on to find out more.
Behind the Spirit Collection Tour
My kids love pickled creatures so the Spirit Collection Tour was an obvious choice for us! There is a minimum age of 10 and I don’t think younger kids would get much out of this tour. Plus, the Museum wouldn’t trust them next to the precious glass jars of specimens…
The tour takes you into areas not open to the public to see highlights from the spirit collection. You will learn more here about how the scientists preserve, catalogue and study the 20 million plus specimens. Find out what staff would save first in the event of a disaster! The boys enjoyed learning more about the use of CT scanning. You get to see a slide of what’s inside the belly of an angler fish!
In addition to the main exhibit room, your guide will also show you the dissection room and the lab with flesh-eating bugs. The bugs strip skulls and skeletons clean!. You can’t go into this lab (and wouldn’t want to as its apparently very stinky!). However, there’s a screen with a live camera feed on the window.
Our guide asked at the start if there were things we particularly wanted to see or know about. Then, he tried to tailor our visit accordingly. My youngest son wanted to see a giant squid so was thrilled to see and learn more about it.
The highlights
Highlights for us were the giant squid, Darwin’s tortoise (rediscovered on an office desk!), specimens with notes actually written by Darwin, and the coelacanth. The latter was originally thought to be extinct but a few fish have now been discovered.
Another highlight was the guide himself. He was so knowledge and enthusiastic about the collection and could happily answer our many questions.
As a staunch atheist, Darwin is a hero for my hubby. He said it was amazing to see the notes that Darwin had written. The kids found it hilarious to see the tiny male anglerfish with the comparatively giant-sized female (usually 60 x larger!) and to learn more about their mating behaviour!
The Logistics of Tours at Natural History Museum London
The nearest tube is South Kensington (on the District and Circle Lines and Piccadilly). If its raining or cold, follow the signs inside the tube station “To the Museums” to the tunnel which leads to the V&A, NHM and the Science Museum. Then pop out where its signed to NHM and you will be in the new dinosaur garden. Alternatively, if the weather is nice, head outside and walk down Exhibition Road or Cromwell Place, checking out the quirky cafes and shops on the way. It’s only 5 minutes.
The tours are limited in number. For the Spirit Collection Tour, it is a maximum of 10 so you definitely need to pre-book, which you can do here. You don’t need to book separate entry to the museum. Your ticket also gives you free bag storage and you will need to use this if you have anything bigger than a handbag. Tickets are £35 per head (for both adults and children) so its not cheap. However, it is a fascinating experience and you can then explore the rest of the museum and make a day of it.
What next?
I hope you enjoy one of the guided Tours at Natural History Museum London. For other fun and different things to do with older kids in London, why not also check out some of my suggestions here.
