The Science Museum, London, UK

The foundation of what is now the Science Museum harks back to the Great Exhibition of 1851. That exhibition was such a financial success that the profits were used to establish permanent collections, the first of which is what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, just across Exhibition Road. The name Science Museum started to be used in 1885 but the East Block, still the current main entrance, was started in 1913 but not fully opened to the public until 1928. It has been London's premier museum of the physical sciences and technology ever since.

The Science Museum continues to expand, with the Wellcome Wing opened in 2000, with an IMAX 3D cinema, two simulator rides, and the hugely popular interactive LaunchPad has been enlarged and relocated to the 3rd floor.



The Science Museum has moved with the times and is unique in being both a museum with important historical artefacts and an interactive science centre. It is therefore able to both inform and entertain the whole family.

Science Museum entry is free but there are fees for the cinema, the simulators and any special temporary exhibitions.

Go to the Science Museum website.

If you cannot visit the Science Museum you can still buy some science gifts and toys from their online shop. Better still, you can get some fabulous reproductions from the Science & Society Picture Library. If you are visiting the Science Museum, then the Picture Library is just next door and, if you ask nicely, you can look through their entire collection and get a one-off print for your home or office.


If you have recently visited the Science Museum, share your experience and any photos from your visit!