Museums and toddlers!

[Rook]

Hi

I'm looking for a great museum to take a lively 2 year old. Would appreciate any recommendations from anyone who may have been recently ( eg perhaps somewhere with good areas for younger children etc)

Horniman is great, but in your view do any one of the major museums cater particularly well for toddlers?

Thank you !

[The Nappy Lady]

Science Museum has an amazing area for children of all ages.

Natural History for the dinosaurs but it can be a bit scary! (Animatronics bit).

[Debs123]

I took my 5 and 3 yr old to the London transport museum today at Covent Garden and they loved it.There is an indoor picnic area so you can take your own food. The adult ticket is valid for a year (all kids go free) and there's load to touch/climb on. But if you have the choice - don't go in the school holls, it was packed - but we still all had a great time!

[Fuschia]

London transport museum - trains to climb in etc

Science museum has both launch pad and an area aimed at smaller children in the basement (take spare clothes as there is water play)

Docklands museum has a good area aimed at small children too - mud larks and so does the maritime museum at Greenwich

[Fuschia]

Not a museum, but try the discover centre in Stratford

It's fantastic

[pincushionqueen]

The two areas really suitable for the under 5's in the Science Museum are the Garden (in the basement) and the Pattern Pod (I think it's on the ground floor) both are amazing!!

[little h]

our boys love all the museums mentioned on here. Especially the transport museum and the science museum (our almost 4yr old loves the space bit and the planes - and the interactive bit on the ground floor near the restaurant at the back. In our experience though, if you want to see any of the science museum then go to the basement bit last - you'll never get out of it otherwise!)

enjoy :-)

H

[mrs.lotte]

Bethnal Green museum of childhood has lots of interactive stuff for children (and grown ups, my husband spent a LOT of time with the Meccano)

National Army museum has a great soft play area

Science museum great but packed, museum of London at Docklands quieter, great play area and cafe too.

Have fun

[????]

I'd add Docklands museum (soft play/activity area) and the National Maritime Museeum at Greenwich (interactive play area and creative room - possibly better for slightly older ones).

[Carbonara]

Transport Museum

Discovery Centre.

Aquarium at S Bank (expensive)

Can I make a plea? There are loads of really good educational inter-active sections in museums, and every time we have gone, the 7 and 9 year olds have been trying to get into the exhibits and do the experiments, only to have a parent encourage a 2 or 3 year old to push in and monopolise the exhibit, have fun pulling the levers etc but with no understanding. Find a genuinely toddler-friendly section. Museum of Docklands has a great section in the basement.

[Fly]

Imperial war. Ours calls it the scary dark and loves it

[cupatea]

It's a bit further away, but the National Army museum next to the Chelsea Pensioners Home off the Kings Road is great. There are lots of exhibits plus a fab soft play zone in the basement which my 2 year old daughter loves. Free entry to the museum plus only ?2.50 or so for an hour in the soft play. Cafe isn't too bad either!

[crystal7]

Love the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green (Overground to Shoreditch then 15th min or so walk). Sandpit and puppets for toddlers and lots of old toys for parents to reminise about. Cafe nice too. Docklands is also great for toddlers and easy to get to.

[bluesuperted]

You make an interesting point but 2 and 3 year olds should be encouraged to explore and be curious, yes it is annoying for 7 and 9 year olds but they may have learnt a few very helpful social skills like waiting, patience and empathy for those less able than themselves; to me that's a better lesson for life than just getting on with the experiments. And with the v short attention spans of little ones the incursion into their own explorations is likely to be short-lived.

I don't think toddlers/preschoolers or children should only be kept in areas focused on their age group either - despite showing what you consider to be no understanding, little ones learn so much from seeing what the next stage is and what older children/adults are up to.

Carbonara Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Can I make a plea? There are loads of really good

> educational inter-active sections in museums, and

> every time we have gone, the 7 and 9 year olds

> have been trying to get into the exhibits and do

> the experiments, only to have a parent encourage a

> 2 or 3 year old to push in and monopolise the

> exhibit, have fun pulling the levers etc but with

> no understanding. Find a genuinely

> toddler-friendly section. Museum of Docklands has

> a great section in the basement.

[hpsaucey]

I'll second this. I work in a Museum, and although not speaking for all Museum's, would say that in ours many exhibitions - although aimed at maybe a certain age group - Key stage 1 and up/teenage to adult etc - are usually designed to be inclusive to most age groups. We would certainly never want anyone to feel excluded from an exhibit/exhibition. I guess its down to common courtesy for ANYONE visiting to be mindful of the needs of other visitors - be it exploring toddlers or older children really getting in to the exhibits.

H

bluesuperted Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You make an interesting point but 2 and 3 year

> olds should be encouraged to explore and be

> curious, yes it is annoying for 7 and 9 year olds

> but they may have learnt a few very helpful social

> skills like waiting, patience and empathy for

> those less able than themselves; to me that's a

> better lesson for life than just getting on with

> the experiments. And with the v short attention

> spans of little ones the incursion into their own

> explorations is likely to be short-lived.

>

> I don't think toddlers/preschoolers or children

> should only be kept in areas focused on their age

> group either - despite showing what you consider

> to be no understanding, little ones learn so much

> from seeing what the next stage is and what older

> children/adults are up to.

>

> Carbonara Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > Can I make a plea? There are loads of really

> good

> > educational inter-active sections in museums,

> and

> > every time we have gone, the 7 and 9 year olds

> > have been trying to get into the exhibits and

> do

> > the experiments, only to have a parent encourage

> a

> > 2 or 3 year old to push in and monopolise the

> > exhibit, have fun pulling the levers etc but

> with

> > no understanding. Find a genuinely

> > toddler-friendly section. Museum of Docklands

> has

> > a great section in the basement.

[Carbonara]

Those of us with older children wanting to get the best out of carefully structured educational material were also parents of toddlers, of course!

I'm not saying 'banish the toddlers' or any such thing. But if a child is absorbed in a process, as planned and provided by the museum at considerable expense, why should that be the moment they are interupted so that a toddler can have a bit of a romp? Why does that have to be the moment that the older child learns to appreciate the needs of younger children? I am only suggesting that indulgent parents of toddlers recognise that older children's needs can be respected too.

Of course toddlers should be in musems and encouraged to be curious and find things out (as mine were), but not if older children are expected to be sabotaged by parents who think their toddlers rights to push in and interrupt other people's enjoyment and engagement are paramount. Remember I used phrases like 'push in' and 'monopolise' and that parents 'encourage' both.

Launchpad at the Science Museum has some great exhibits and some take a bit of time to generate results and understand them. Older children can't get the benefit if a toddler interrupts every single time. It isn't aimed at toddlers.

[Fuschia]

As a parent of an older child AND toddlers I can see Carbonara's point. Our oldest one will spend a while helping watch our little ones (3 under 5) in the children's garden area before we go to the launch pad /

- whenever we can we take an extra adult or go with another family so we can split into two groups though so he can really concentrate on the activities

There is, though, in the launch pad the thing with the plastic lentils and the winch basket which is about as far as my little ones get, they love it! They don't tend to stray far from there