Natural History Museum Reviews 78

I visited the museum today with my family. 3 adults and 2 children. We had prebooked our tickets. We were all very disappointed with the visit. I appreciate that entrance is free but was amazed at the number of people allowed entry. The tour was chaos. Poor signage and people moving around in all directions. I even saw 2 children riding around on scooters. Absolutely ridiculous to allow such a dangerous thing.There was no time or space to look at the exhibits properly or read the labels. I definately feel it is unlikely that I will visit again. I believe it would be better to charge a small entrance fee and restrict admission numbers. This would enable visitors to explore the exhibits fully and gain the knowledge on offer.

Awful experience, I'm deaf and non-vocal with limited mobility, I'm a wheelchair user.

Lack of signs, difficult to navigate, couldn't locate lifts.

The only places which were sign posted and accessable was the shop and cafe, no surprise there!

If you're wheelchair bound there's better places to go with a far better experience.

My wife took me to the Natural History Museum for my birthday to see the space exhibit .
Luckily she got tickets so we went strait in passing 2 very long ques of people waiting to get in.
We went to information to ask how to get to the exhibit as there were NO signs to follow.
We got a Museum book with a map which was in 3D so it was hard to follow .
We had to go to the Blue Zone so the instructions were :- Go down to the end of the corridor turn left , Then go to the end of that corridor and then turn left ,then when you get to the end of that corridor turn left, then at the end of that corridor turn left and the blue zone is at the end of the corridor.
At this point for people that have NOT been to the Museum it is a square building.
and THIS was the information we got from 3 different information points.
so round and a round we went.
We did finally found some one that took us to the room we needed.
To say i was NOT a happy teddy was an under statement also remembering the place was packed push chairs running into us , back packs swinging around hitting you, children running round shouting and screaming and treating the exhibit like toys.
If only coloured tapes had been put on the floor to follow or maybe put up signs to follow I may have had a better experience.
Then to top it all of when we went to go home some one decided to shut the station.
We found out later it was because there was too many people passing through the station BUT NO note on the gates to tell you WHERE the next closest station was.

Very bad lines if you dont have a ticket, which is free!!!! I think that more advertising about booking tickets for free online should be given. We waited in the freezing cold, whilst those who know about the tickets get tp go right through. THIS TICKET SYSTEM IS A SCAM!!!!!

It’s free, I mean that’s good but it gets so busy and the items you can buy from the gift shop are rubbish! They break apart so easily. Also very expensive!

Before buying ticket for exhibit I checked online and by phone the disabled access and facilities. I was assured the museum was fully disable accessible.
I went to the designated disabled entry point - Central Gates - which were locked tight and no way of entering. Had to walk to the East entrance where as soon as I arrived entry was stopped. I asked about disabled access and was told if I was "incapable" they could call for a wheelchair. I was totally humiliated as the people around me sighed and stared. I then walked down Exhibition Road to join the very long and slow moving (if I hadn't paid for the exhibit I would have gone home. Finally reached the entrance after about half an hour of standing and shuffling to see a sign for members and ticket holders!
Once inside I asked for directions to the exhibit and was sent in entirely the wrong direction with the only access via escalator. Once upstairs I wandered, looking for signs or museum staff - none to be found. Eventually came to a staircase where non-museum personnel were able to give me very clear directions to the exhibit on the ground floor and on the opposite side of the museum (shame their own staff had no idea where to direct me). The only way was down a staircase with little or no handrails taking me back to where I had started! At no time were there signs to direct you towards lifts. By this time I had been going around in circles for 45 minutes. I eventually found the exhibit where the staff were very helpful, allowing me entry despite being out of my ticket time and pointing out there were seats inside. Such a shame that on this occasion the museum's statement "We aim to provide a friendly, accessible environment for all our visitors and the widest possible access to our buildings, exhibitions and collections. Visitors with access requirements and their accompanying family members and personal carers can skip the queues to enter the Museum. Talk to our staff at the entrance for assistance when you arrive" failed totally.

Really enjoyed the experience

I went to see Our Story with David Attenborough at the Natural History Museum and left feeling disappointed. For something so heavily promoted and associated with someone as influential as David Attenborough, the experience is surprisingly mediocre and not well curated.

The space itself is small and feels unfinished — the ceiling isn’t even covered, so you can clearly see lighting rigs and cables overhead, which really breaks the immersion. The choice of imagery is also underwhelming; considering the extraordinary archive and storytelling available, what’s shown feels safe and uninspiring. Sound quality is another issue — at times David Attenborough’s narration is difficult to understand, which is frustrating given that his voice is central to the experience.

For the price of an adult ticket, this is simply not good value.

That said, I went with my 4-year-old daughter and she absolutely loved it — and watching her enjoy it was genuinely lovely. For young children, it works, and they seem captivated by the visuals and atmosphere.

Conclusion: only worth considering if you’re going with kids, and even then the ticket price still feels too high for what’s offered. As an adult-focused experience, it’s not worth it.

The Pokemon exhibition is a disgrace, it was a small corridor with 2 TV screens and a couple of wall posters. There were no interactive consoles, video games, guides dressed as Pokemon or life-size Pokemon to have your picture taken with. This was an obvious money making scam, the merchandise area was 5 times the size of the exhibition with over priced tat featuring only a couple of the characters when there are 100's. I thought nothing was priced until I was shown a minuscule number next to the barcode, this sharp practice should not be allowed. There were no Pokemon books, I was hoping to purchase the latest latest ones. This exhibition is not for fans or collectors and must be just for tourist who don't understand the exchange rate.

I get it’s free and they rely on donations but something really needs to be done about the amount of people in at one time. Can’t see half of the exhibits because you’re spending your time trying to negotiate a path through people.

The exhibits are amazing and really interesting when you get to properly concentrate on them.

Nice place, cool people. I was with my kids, it was awesome.

What has happened to what was a favourite museum? Just visited the Wildlife Photography exhibition after an absence of some years and had such a poor experience. Paid for timed entry but there seemed to be no management of numbers and it was very difficult to see the exhibits - we felt constantly in someone's way. It was also much smaller than you might expect for £18 pp. And to add insult to injury, the number of appeals for donations was oppressive - both via notices and verbally by the stewards. Having paid £36 for both of us to spend 15 uncomfortable minutes in the exhibition, paying more money was the last thing on our minds.

We arrived just after lunch time so decided to get some food we waited in line to be offered 3 items on the menu we all decided to have the chicken schnitzel and wedges which was soooooo expensive I know it's London but.......! Well when we sat down our lunches we stone cold for the price I paid i would expect hot food .
Apart from that the museum is brilliant if i go again I will definitely be taking a packed lunch

I’ve been coming to the history museum for years and decided to visit today after not being able to visit for a good few years. What the hell has happened to the natural history museum!!! Where are all of the dinosaurs too?! My 8yo was left feeling really deflated.
I’ve also never seen the place so crowded in my life and could hardly move with everyone pushing and shoving to see past you.
Overall we left feeling very disappointed but I will give it a few more years before I return in the hopes it gets good again.

Glimpses of some amazing exhibits . Booked tickets only to find out blue whale room closed ! Should have been informed . But the worst thing about this place is the number if people . It’s out of control . Children running everywhere , people just doing selfies next to dinosaurs . Rude obnoxious screaming kids running amok , prams everywhere , babies rolling round on the floor , hardly any staff - probably hiding . Couldn’t wait to leave . By being ‘free’ you just get freeloaders who have no real interest in exhibits . Non school days once or twice a week would also help .I would be more than happy to pay an entrance fee to enjoy the museum not to go through that again .

Went on the Zoology Spirit Collection Tour. A hidden gem, this behind the scenes tour, away from the busyness of the main galleries and into the bowels of the museum was FANTASTIC.
Matt, our guide, was engaging, knowledgeable and good humoured. We saw a giant squid! Samples from Darwin’s Beagle expedition! A too long earthworm and a coelacanth!
Amazing and enthralling, I would definitely recommend this tour for budding scientists and geeky experts alike. We left feeling very inspired and exclusive. FABULOUS. Thank you Matt and NHM. 😊🤩🦑

Lovely exhibits .Map was useless to follow. Not impressed with lack of interactive opportunities. Appreciate it's a museum first but more hands on interactive things for children would be lovely. Signage not that good we had to ask for directions often. We wouldn't go again

I tried to book tickets for an upcoming event but it didn’t work, the first link they sent wasn’t working, the second link they sent I had to wait 30 min to have access… after more than 2h later, all the tickets are sold out.

Pokemon event booking system is a complete farce.

My kids love to visit the museum and find it a ton of fun - especially visiting the dinosaur exhibit with the animatronic T-Rex.

Main issue is the crowds during peak periods - I wonder if the museum should put in place a mandatory charge for visitors who are not UK resident. Would help with the crowds and address any funding issues…