Wonderlab at the Science Museum

Oops, it’s been well over a week since my last post. I feel like sometimes I really get into the groove of blogging, and manage a post every few days, and then my mojo goes and I have to force myself to start typing.

Earlier this week Frida and I visited the Wonderlab at the Science Museum, and I was so impressed that I wanted to write about it in case anyone was thinking of visiting.

The Wonderlab is a hands-on zone for children to explore different scientific phenomena, such as energy and light. The museum states it’s designed for ages three upwards, but I think there was enough suitable for toddlers to make it well worth a trip.

Although the Science Museum is free, the Wonderlab costs around £7 for an adult – though it’s £14 for an annual pass, so I chose that option. Frida went in for free.

Highlights for us included an amazing rotating model of the earth orbiting the sun which children can walk on, a light table (I really appreciated that this was at toddler height), a room with changing lights, and some very cool displays involving ice and steam.

For older children there were so many amazing looking zones, including slides with differing levels of friction, pulley systems which raises them wholly into the air, and building materials. I think this is definitely a place we will be coming back to for years to come.

We went during the week which meant there were a lot of school children visiting at the same time, which did feel a bit overwhelming and noisy. I think next time we go we’ll try to go late afternoon when hopefully the school trips will have left for the day. This is a “problem” in all the main London museums (though actually it’s fantastic – I’m so proud of our free, world-class museums and that they cater so well for children).

The Science Museum also has a more toddler-focused space (“The Garden”) in the basement with water play, mirrors, instruments, and space for free play. It’s a brilliant place to visit with children, especially if you’re prepared for it to be a little busy.

Frida was quite tired when we went as we had just come from the Natural History Museum, where we visited the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition (which was amazing but the photos were quite high up and not very big so I had to put Frida in the sling so she could see them properly, which wasn’t ideal), but she had a great time and I’m already looking forward to going back at a slightly less hectic time.

I’ll leave you with a video I took of Frida enjoying the changing lights – so cool!

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