Science Museum

For anyone plotting a day inside the Science Museum, a bit of forethought brings big rewards. With its central spot in South Kensington, families, solo travelers, and school groups converge beneath soaring ceilings and the echo of school trips, especially during weekends and school holidays. Most exhibitions are free, but a handful—like the IMAX cinema and certain special exhibitions—require paid advance booking. Mornings generally see school groups, while late afternoons mellow out for quieter discovery. A midweek slot or early arrival offers the smoothest journey through the wonders within.

• Best time to visit: Weekdays, outside UK school holidays; early mornings or late afternoons for fewer crowds
• How to get there: South Kensington Underground station (Piccadilly, Circle, District lines); a five-minute covered walk via Exhibition Road; bus routes 14, 49, 70, 345 stop nearby
• Accessibility: Step-free access throughout; lifts to all floors; free wheelchairs available; accessible toilets; quiet spaces for sensory needs
• Average visit duration: 2–4 hours for main highlights; half a day with IMAX or special exhibitions

Spanning seven floors and a dizzying range of human achievement, the Science Museum invites visitors to take in everything from space capsules to Victorian steam engines. Staggering objects—like the original Apollo 10 command module—stand beside interactive zones where young and old tinker, press, and marvel. For a true sense of the museum’s scope, highlights demand a careful ramble, with attention paid to the iconic and the offbeat. Around each corner, another piece of progress comes to life under glass or with a flick of a switch.

• Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery – High-energy science demos, mind-bending puzzles, and flame tornadoes ignite curiosity in this hands-on science playground (entry fee applies).
• Exploring Space – Rockets, satellites, and the orange-scorched Apollo 10 module. Snap a photo beside a full-size model of the Eagle lunar lander.
• Making the Modern World – A breathtaking gallery featuring Stephenson's Rocket, the first jet engine, and Crick and Watson’s DNA model—a walkable timeline of innovation.
• Flight Gallery – Hanging biplanes, early jets, and even Amy Johnson’s Gipsy Moth biplane tell the story of how humans conquered the skies.
• Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries – A deep dive into the medical revolutions that changed—and saved—millions of lives, with rare artifacts and strange surgical tools.
• Hidden gems – Tucked among the big hitters, find the Oramics Machine, a whimsical early instrument for electronic music production, and the lesser-known history of clockwork automata.
• IMAX: The Ronson Theatre – For visual immersion, the wraparound IMAX screen launches audiences into the depths of space or the wonders of the micro-world (ticket required).
• Cultural fact – The Science Museum was founded in 1857, and generations of Londoners have grown up following its ever-changing collection.