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

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

We go to the Science Museum a lot. This is because Mama finds herself in South Kensington with me and time to kill quite often, and so when it’s raining she often takes me here on the grounds that some of the rooms are really big and there is plenty of room to run around.

Just like my Fabulous Big Brother before me, I really like the Space room. It’s dark and mysterious with shiny things hung from the ceiling. My Fabulous Big Brother’s favourite thing was always a diorama on the left of the launch of one of the first rockets. Mama feels this is unfortunate since it was basically one big bomb, and this doesn’t make for a nice improving tale with which she can embellish the experience. I prefer the revolving globe where they project satellite images of different aspects of terrestrial life as seen from space. This is lucky as Mama is also quite entranced by the one where everybody switches their lights on, one by one, all over the world. Sometimes, usually when Papa is with us, we play hunt the Russian references. This is surprisingly difficult.

We spend less time in the room with all the cars, trains and boats now that I can walk. Mama has been told off once too often for letting me touch the machinery. This is a great shame as I love machinery. The family (both sides) engineering gene is strong in this one. Of course, what I most love is to take it all apart, so they might have a point.

Sometimes Mama takes me upstairs, especially when the Museum has a temporary exhibition on. Mama finds some of the permanent displays a bit dead fly for her liking – displays of things without much engagement in their context or significance which sit there collecting dust and mummified insects*. But some of their exhibits in passing are as whacky as anything you find in the Tate Modern and considerably more grounded in something inherently interesting. Mama thinks.

Her favourite of recent times was the anatomy of an orchestra they put on, which led to strains of the Planet Suite by Holst echoing round the ground floor, distracting Mama for just long enough for me to climb over the token barriers to get at the Stephenson’s Rocket. After that we had to go and have a look, and Mama enjoyed very much the experience of going through different ‘rooms’ and sitting with different sections of the orchestra, listening to the music from each instrument’s point of view. There were also some interactive elements, but Mama couldn’t get the hang of conducting and we went and sat in the bass section so Mama could relive her youth. Until the school party in the percussion section got their hands on the drums, cymbols, more drums, more cymbols and a few more drums and really let fly right in the middle of the war section, startling me something wicked. Oh how I cried and clung to Mama as she hastened out of there, her hands over my ears. Still, also an authentic experience, Mama says. The Brass section were invented to deafen the basses.

Also somewhere on the upper floors is a play area for older children with all sorts of interactive games with a vague connection to something scientific. Mama does not like this area. It is absolutely heaving with medium sized bodies and she has no hope of keeping an eye on both me and my Fabulous Big Brother at the same time. Especially as I can’t reach anything and just want to run around getting underfoot.

Mama is also a bit trepidatious about the Garden in the basement. This is a secret play area for the under 6s, secret because unless you know that’s what the Garden is you would probably never go there and find out. All that’s there is the picnic area for schools and such and the domestic appliances exhibition which is almost always deserted. This is a shame, Mama feels. Large steam driven pumping equipment leaves her a bit cold, but early models of washing machines she can get quite enthusiastic about, especially as there are buttons to push so you can watch them spinning around. Anyway. The Garden. Yes, well, the thing about the Garden is that somebody decided that a water section would be a good idea and when she first took my Fabulous Big Brither there, all unsuspecting like, she ended up having to hold him under the hand dryer in the toilets for 45 minutes to get him dry again. Basically we don’t go there unless it’s a really sunny day (in which case we’ll be in Hyde park most likely) or Mama has bought a spare set of clothes because I, too, love splashing about in water.

There are other things to play with in the Garden, but really, with water about, who would bother with that?

There are also cafés. Mama’s favourite is called the Energy Café. It’s in the first gallery, the one with all the early steam engines, the ones that weren’t used for locomotives. The ones that Mama largely fails to really understand how they worked. Anyway, the Energy Café has, for a tourist attraction in central London, okish prices and we sometimes go there for lunch is Mama is feeling particularly rich or fed up. Mama recommends the salad plate, which I also enjoy eating bits and pieces of. And the coffee is ok too. She says.

*Mama has been digging around on the website and notes with amusement that the museum calls these ‘objects rich’ galleries. Hahahahaha. Oh deary me.

[Amy P]

These entries are giving me a yearning to visit London for a museum trip. One day...

Deb

reddit

Sol, an even better kept secret than the Garden and the downstairs food area are the free teachers After Hours events. There's food, drinks, demos and freebies and you get to go and play with the exhibits with no pesky kids around!
( http://sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators/teacher_cpd_and_events/teacher_zone_at_lates.aspx Ssshh!)

OMG. I am so going to try to muscle in on the teacher thing. How cool is that?