Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

'' As the winners of 'Kids Love London' Best Family Fun Award in the Visit London People's Choice Awards we are delighted to be supporting National Family Week. ''

Website: www.nhm.ac.uk

In 2007-08 a total of 1.6 million children visited the Natural History Museum with their families. This amounts to 42% of our total annual visitor numbers.

Families arrive at the Natural History Museum for lots of reasons: a fun day out, to attend a specific exhibition or event, something new to do on a rainy day, helping with homework, personal interest or ticking off a list of tourist destinations. At the core of all these reasons for visiting is that the family is above wanting to spend time together. Research has indicated that the amount of social activity within a family is a key predictor to a child's success in learning at school. We offer activities for both adults and children and every activity we develop encourages conversations within the family, museum learning staff and later at home.

The activities and programmes we offer to families include:

We provide initial engagement activities, both facilitated and self-guided, to introduce the collections , our scientific work and to build confidence in accessing and using our gallery spaces e.g. handling trolleys in the galleries and following gallery trails. For more specific family visitors, we have Investigate, Earth Lab, Nature Live and soon the Darwin Centre will open. These Learning spaces provide facilitated hands-on activities with museum specimens and scientists.

On some weekends and holiday periods we have a range of other popular activities for families, these include: family workshops, storytelling and puppetry and costumed historical characters.
During the first National Family Week, from 25th to 31st May 2008, an extensive range of family friendly activities will be on offer at the museum. See attached list below:

All activities:

Admission: free, some are bookable please check at the information desk
Nearest tube: South Kensington
Website: www.nhm.ac.uk/education
Visitor enquiries: 020 7942 5000

Hands on Nature Evolution:
Visit the handling trolley in Lasting Impressions and take a closer look at some interesting specimens with the help of science educators.
Dates and times: every Saturday, Sunday and holidays 14.00-17.00 (times may vary, please check at an information desk)

Crafty Nature Exciting Evolution:
Roll up your sleeves and join artists for exciting craft workshops. Use interesting materials to make fun creations based on natural history themes. This workshop is in Fossil Marine Reptiles and is suitable for children under seven.
Dates and times: first and third Saturday of the month. 11.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.00

Gallery Character Annie Darwin:
Meet Annie Darwin in lasting Impressions and hear her stories about her father Charles Darwin and see related specimens.
Date and times: 30 May, 11.30*-13.00 and 14.00-15.30

Natural Puppet Tales:
Join Judy Preece and her puppets in lively storytelling workshops based on discovering amazing facts about the natural world. The workshop is best suited to families with children aged seven and under.
Dates and times Last Sunday of the month 12.30 and 14.00
Admission: free, to reserve a place please visit the information desk in the Central Hall.

Family Earth Lab:
Join our Science Educators in Earth Lab on the Mezzanine Level in the Red Zone to explore the wonder of fossils, rocks and minerals Sessions are set up to allow everyone to join in at their own level and there are a range of fun activities to choose from.
Dates and times: 11.00 to 13.00 on weekends and holidays.

Climate Change Ice workshop:
Learn about Climate change and make your own iceberg using an ice cube in this fun session.
Dates and times: 25th - 31st May Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, 14.00-17.00
Location: Wildlife Garden or Learning Room 1 and please book at the information desk

Investigate Centre:
Get a feel for how scientists work by having a go yourself. Bring your own questions, or use some of ours in this hands-on science space. Come and explore hundreds of real nature specimens.The Investigate Centre encourages you to look closely at real objects use the many tools provided to find out more and become a scientist for the day.
Dates and times: weekends and school holidays, 11.00-17.00 (last entry 16.30)

Nature Live Events:
From dinosaurs and deep-sea fish to evolution and climate change; this topical programme of events brings together scientists and visitors to explore the natural world. Events are held in the Marine Invertebrates gallery and the studio seats 60 people. For more details and a current programme, please see the website.
Dates and times: weekends and school holidays, 12.30 and 14.30

Explorer Backpacks:
Grab your binoculars, put on your backpack and take a mini-adventure around the Museum; these bright red backpacks are a fun way to explore the Museum's galleries. Choose from themes including birds, mammals, oceans, primates and monsters.
Open: Every day, 10.00-17.00

Dippy Floor Puzzle:
Enjoy the wonder of our 26-metre-long Diplodocus with this soft toy floor puzzle. It's free and available in the Central Hall underneath the Diplodocus dinosaur. Complete the puzzle and get a funky Dippy sticker.
Dates and times: Every day (not available on busy days) 12.00-17.00

Bookasaurus:
Grab a funky fabric-based dinosaur book and follow a trail through the Museum, finding out what dinosaurs ate, how sharp their teeth were, what dinosaur footprints are like and lots more. Suitable for families with children under five.
Dates and times: Every day 10.00-17.00 (times may vary)

Jurassic Ark:
Take the Jurassic Ark trail, gather clues and discovering the animals that lurked in the shadow of the dinosaurs. This fun-filled family activity pack includes code-breaking activities, a crossword, word search, stickers, free poster, eraser and pencil. When you've finished, you can claim a 10 per cent discount in the Museum Shop.
Dates and times: Every day, 10.00-17.00

Volunteer Focus Points:
Come and explore real specimens, with the help of our enthusiastic volunteers on our handling trolleys, using different natural history-themed activities.
Dates and times: Tuesday-Thursday, 10.45-14.00 Saturday-Sunday, 11.15-15.00 (times and locations may vary, please check at an information desk) in Creepy Crawlies, The Power Within, Mammals.

Volunteer Learning Activators:
Look out for our friendly volunteers roving the galleries and discover more about the natural world, using Museum specimens from mammal skulls to fossils.
Dates and times: Tuesday-Thursday, 10.45-14.00 Saturday-Sunday, 11.15-15.00 (times and locations may vary, please check at an information desk).