Wed, 9 March 2016, 5:38 pm: My final post about London’s Science Museum is this review I wrote for Trip Advisor. If you like me, go “like” it.
I poked around a couple of floors of the Science Museum on 9 March. My takeaway: the seemingly random assortment of recently historical odds and ends isn’t worth a full afternoon of valuable time in London, but the limited engagement specialty showcases are, if they happen to focus on your particular passion.
Admission to the general areas of the museum is free; you only pay if you want entry to any of the temporary installments.
Anyone who shares my fascination with space exploration would’ve loved the “Cosmonauts” exhibit that closed a few days after my visit. I gazed up at replicas of Sputnik and marveled at the accounts of dogs in orbit and Soviets in competition with NASA for half of the entire time I spent at the museum. “Cosmonauts” was, to me, well worth the fourteen pound admission charge.
I also would’ve happily forked over the same amount to see the Leonardo Da Vinci temporary exhibition which was open concurrently, but my time was limited.
Walking the general areas of the museum, I didn’t see half the stuff other reviewers mention. I found a narration-free video which I surmised was about how steel is created. I found a room with a plane and a truck and a bunch of cars mounted on the wall, which explained how…. er… what was that explaining? A room nearby had glass display cases showing farmers tilling soil with cattle, which is thematically connected to the transportation display because… um… because the plow and the green Volkswagen both move?
There are large, sometimes mostly empty rooms scattered between steam engines and a 1930s movie camera and turn of the century locomotives and other tools that might capture the attention of engineering hobbyists but most people will stroll past with little more than a nod. “Yep, I guess trains used to look like that. Now, why is this old television set so close to the steam engine section?” “Why is the ‘how glass is made’ display right next to the bulls working that dirt?” Even the items accompanied by explanatory captions don’t tend to have a context for their placement.
Other reviewers speak of being pressured to pay upon entry to the museum. That was not my experience. I demurred when asked if I wanted to donate and was waved ahead with a friendly smile.
The coat/bag check counter is on the bottom floor. I wasn’t about to pay the one or two pound per item fee, so I wandered the galleries with my sweater and jacket tied around my waist and my Jack Bauer manbag still slung over my shoulder.
If Da Vinci and outer space get your motor runnin’, you’d have loved the Science Museum in early March. If not, you’d likely have filed the place under “wish I’d chosen a different museum.” Check the website before you plan your day to be sure the temporary exhibits interest you.