h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

Mama thinks the London Transport museum is probably the best museum for pre-schoolers in London. She is quite annoyed that she found this out scant months before my Splendid Big Brother became a schooler, but the reason for that is that it costs actual money to get into. Still, for the price you get unlimited visits for one year, which Mama feels is a legitimate way to both reward Londoners while also fleecing the tourists and so we did, eventually go. And boy did we have fun.

The premise of the museum is simple. Stick a load of transportation devices old and new in a large room, let the kids climb all over quite a lot of them, have a model tran circling about and also make it so they can drive the tube. Plus, especially for my Splendid Big Brother, they also have talking horses! We nearly didn’t get any further than that, which would have been a shame as it is quite near the start. No wonder that on the day we all first went, the primary school groups were out in force. Which was great for my Splendid Big Brother, because he just tagged along with them and their storytelling in old train coaches experience. With a will. First with his hands up to answer the questions*, nearly got himself volunteered as an actor in the play, until the teachers realised he wasn’t one of theirs. Later visits have shown that in the holidays they have activities for all comers. You’ve got to be careful though – they do them on the floor and if you are sprinting round a corner escaping from Mama you can come a right cropper as you trip over a huddle of five year olds doing some colouring in.

Anyway, I also enjoyed heaving myself up and down the stairs of old buses, climbing on and off the seats on the trains and hiding behind the wheels of practically everything. I also liked the play area that the museum has near their café and all in all this is really a place that knows its target audience and goes all out to please them.

Mama is bugging me to talk about the eatieries. There are two. A temporary affair down by the play area, which sells your basic coffee and cakes selection, and a sort of bijou restaurant affair near the exit which is nice and has attentive staff but which has the smallest portion of chips known to man. Or, in this case, toddler. It’s probably best to venture out into Covent Garden Market and find some food there, especially as you can also sit down and watch the buskers and street entertainers doing the thing.

Well, you can if you are Mama and my Splendid Big Brother. If you are me, all you will want to do is chase the pigeons.

*This is something that would surprise his current teachers. He usually doesn’t bother with the hands up bit. Mama is told.

Dam, I also forgot to say, peobably because my kids were not interested, that you get this card at the entrance and have to search out the stamps/ hole punches dotted around the exhibits. Each one has a different shape! It's so cool!

You gotta have something for the Mums and Dads.

Thank you for this series. I have such strong memories of visiting a lot of these museums as a child. I still have a postcards we brought at the London Transport museum when I was 5 or 6. I remember climbing on and off the buses a lot, and going to covent garden afterwards.

I also have lovely memories of the Science Museum which we went to repeatedly. I was the eldest of four, and we used to go to London for the day until we moved up North when I was 7.

One of the things that makes me sad about not having children is knowing that I'll never take them to the Space Gallery at the Science Museum.

[Amy P]

Sometimes I wish I didn't live so far from London, because this kind of stuff will be so much fun when is older. My parents do live an hour outside though, so although day trips are out we can go down there and have a mini-holiday.

reddit.

If you ever want extra income, Sol, you should publish your Toddler's Guide to...London. I don't have kids but now really want to take my niece & nephews to the Transport Museum, it sounds like great fun. It's an hour & a half by train to London, and they all love the train, so we could have a grand day out.

Deb

It does have to be said that I sometimes take London for granted. There are a lot of things to do here, even in the wet. I should be more appreciative.

for deb. I would never have thought that the Transport Museum would be such a hit myself. It sounded deathly dull to me before we went. But then I am not an under ten year old. And it is, so there you are.

Oh and Z, if you ever fancy taking my two to the Space room, then you are most welcome. It's not the same, obs, but neverthless, it is entertaining.