I think I’ve mentioned before that my 6 year old is crazy about dinosaurs. She loves reading about them and playing with her toy dinosaurs. We’ve recently been watching all the old Jurassic World films in the hope we may go and watch the latest film Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. My daughter has even go herself the Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom and I have to say the stickers make a pleasant change from the ones she used to collect (Frozen!).
Last month we had a great trip to experience Dinosaurs in the Wild on the Greenwich Peninsula in London. It got me thinking whether there were any other places I could take her, so I’ve dawn up a list of 10 things to do in London with dinosaur crazy kids. I’m sure there are more so please drop me a comment if you know something we should check out.
10 things to do in London with dinosaur crazy kids
Londoners will probably have been to the Natural History Museum several times. It’s such a great place to take children, it’s free (except for paying special exhibitions) and is open all year round. It’s out go to place if we want to chill out and never fails to entertain and educate the children.
The Natural History Museum has a lot of dinosaur content including a special Dinosaur gallery. I have to admit it’s looking a little tired and dated but it still really popular with my children. Highlights of the free dinosaur gallery at the Natural History Museum include the first fossil ever found from a Tyrannosaurus rex; an Iguanodon, one of the first species ever described as a dinosaur; the skull of a plant-eating Triceratops and an Oviraptor egg.
Last month we visited Dinosaurs in the Wild, an immersive experience which transports you back 67 million years to watch living dinosaurs in their own habitat. My children just loved the whole experience and totally believed everything they saw. Us adults enjoyed the experience too! The good news is that Dinosaurs in the Wild has been extended until the 2nd September so I would totally recommend this as a Summer holidays treat.
Did you know you can go and visit the Crystal Palace dinosaurs? These are some of the earliest interpretations of some of Britain’s most well-known dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park in south London. They were designed and built in 1854 by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, based on the advice of British palaeontologist Richard Owen. Sadly they were based on information about dinosaurs at the time so are completely inaccurate. They are still worth a visit though!
The Grant Museum of Zoology is a little gem of a collection based at University College London. It’s free to visit but has limited opening hours so make sure you check their website before you visit. The Grant Museum of Zoology is one of the oldest natural history collections in the UK, and is the last remaining university natural history museum in London. It is home to 68,000 zoological specimens which include part of an iguanodon leg bone, and bones from the spine, as well as specimens dating back to the time of the dinosaurs, including marine and flying reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and pterosaurs.
More ideas for dinosaur crazy kids…
When my children were little they loved a trip to Little Dinosaurs, Alexandra Palace. This is an indoor soft play place for kids with a nice cafe and outdoor space too. I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of soft play but this was a great place to go when it was raining and kept the kids occupied.
I wanted to include ZSL London Zoo which is a favourite place of ours. It’s a brilliant day out and a great place to see some of the animals which are closely related to dinosaurs.
When I used to live in South London I loved a trip to the Horniman Museum and Gardens. It’s a lovely museum with a huge collection. I really want to visit so we can see the Prehistoric Garden featuring a dinosaur sculpture.
If you’re looking for something completely different then how about a round of dinosaur-themed mini golf? There are 4 such courses around London – Mighty Claws Adventure Golf in Chelmsford, Jurassic Encounter in New Malden, Mr Mulligan’s Golf in Sidcup and Dinosaur Escape, Northolt. We’ve only been to Dinosaur Escape so far but the theme certainly made our round of crazy golf fun!
We are so lucky to have a dinosaur themed soft play cafe on our doorstep. My youngest had her birthday party at Jurassic Perk last year and it’s a really fun place to take the children to burn off some energy if you’re in West London.
