Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Natural History Museum


After visiting the Science Museum, we walked around the corner & went to the Museum of Natural History (the HUGE museum we saw before). The line in front of the museum was HUGE, so we found a 2nd entrance on the side & entered there. This museum was also free, so we were excited to see what it had to offer. In the front corridor there were statues of mythological gods & an huge escalator that led up into an "earth." We decided to go up & see what we could find. This wing of the museum was all about geology & the earth. It was neat to teach the kids about the different levels of the earth & what happens to create volcanos, hurricanes, tornados, & earthquakes. There was even an earthquake room (that looked like a supermarket) where you stood while the entire room shook like an earthquake. It was fun & the girls asked to "ride the room" several times before we moved on.



After exploring all the rocks & geological creations, we went downstairs into the cafe for some yummy snacks including a death by chocolate cake. Mmmm. Bladen played with my new hat the entire time. Who knew a hat could make such a great toy?


After our snack, we went back out the side entrance & made our way around to the front entrance of the museum. This place was amazing. The exhibits were works of art themselves. There were SO many captivating & amazing things for the kids to see & do. In the front entrance we were met with a brontosaurus skeleton. The kids went NUTS! They LOVE dinosaurs! I knew we were in for a great time!


There is an entire section on dinosaurs. It was like a huge dinosaur museum, but it was only one small wing in the museum. You could literally be in here for days looking at everything!


The thing I loved most about it was the animatronic dinosaurs. They had 2 raptors & a HUGE T-Rex. Poor Lorien was scared out of her mind & we literally had to carry her around them so she didn't have to look at them. She had her hands over her ears & her eyes shut so she couldn't see or hear them. Taya LOVED them! She wanted to get up close & touch them. She kept waving & singing to the T-Rex. It was HILARIOUS!




We wanted to see what Bladen would do next to a T-Rex head. He just stared at it like he had no idea what was going on. We got a good laugh at that.


After seeing & learning all about dinosaurs we made our way into the mammal wing of the museum. I heard that the blue whale exhibit was extraordinary. Unfortunately, the blue whale exhibit was under construction, so we couldn't see it up close & personal. But they did allow us to peek inside the room so we could see how big it was. I can't believe that thing can swim!! It was the biggest thing I've ever seen in my life. It was three times the size of the dinosaurs we saw. It was amazing!

After the mammals exhibit, we went to the human body exhibit. This one was hands on fun! You start out in a room that simulates a baby in the womb. Cadence was a little creeped out at this one, but Lorien had lots of questions. It was very interesting. The rest of the exhibit was about how our bodies develop & how our minds develop as well. There was a whole section that was the point of view of a toddler. Everything in the room was "bigger" than normal. You could see colors differently. There were toys to explore just as a toddler explores the house. Cadence was pushing every button she could find. She was loving it.


Finally, at 5:30, they made the announcement that the museum was closing soon, so we had to leave. Taya managed to escape 4 adults & ran out the building before the rest of us without even looking back. We were panicked running after her, but she could care less where we were. The little pill!! But for anyone planning a trip to London with or without kids. . . this is hands down a MUST-SEE! We had a blast here & we learned SO MUCH! Thank you for such a wonderful learning experience!


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