4
So much to see, so little time!
I hadn’t been to the Natural History Museum in a really long time so I was excited to be going back. The last time I visited I had much better mobility so it was interesting going as a full-time wheelchair user. Entry to the museum is free but there are some paid exhibits.
I found it slightly difficult to find the entrance as I had to come from Earl’s Court Station, which is the closest accessible Tube station. The closest station is actually South Kensington, and the route from the station to the museum entrance is clearly signposted. But there is no step-free access at South Kensington, and I found it more difficult to find the entrance via the route I had to take.
Once I’d made it to the entrance, I had a really good experience. The staff were incredibly helpful, suggesting the simplest routes into the museum for me so that I didn’t have to navigate winding queues. There were lots of staff and volunteers around, even some that were showing some interactive items which could be touched and held; and you could ask the team questions about them too.
The museum is so huge that it was impossible to see everything in one visit, but I enjoyed everything I saw. I went to one paid exhibit which had captions throughout, and this seemed to be consistent across any video materials. I also saw some cool access features, such as a mirrored display so that it could be easily seen from lower down.
The thing I struggled with the most was just how busy the museum was. We had made sure to avoid the school holidays, but it was still really busy with younger families and school trips. There were some exhibits where it was more noticeable, for example the dinosaurs and fossils exhibit.
There was lots of access information on their website that I was able to check before the visit, which was really helpful. It all seemed accurate when I visited. The information includes visual guides about some of the exhibits, details about hearing loops, captioning, wheelchair hire, and audio guides available when visiting the museum and more. There were also lots of accessible toilets available throughout the museum, and these were clearly marked on maps. There was also a Changing Places toilet.
I hadn’t been to the Natural History Museum in a really long time so I was excited to be going back. The last time I visited I had much better mobility so it was interesting going as a full-time wheelchair user. Entry to the museum is free but there are some paid exhibits.
I found it slightly difficult to find the entrance as I had to come from Earl’s Court Station, which is the closest accessible Tube station. The closest station is actually South Kensington, and the route from the station to the museum entrance is clearly signposted. But there is no step-free access at South Kensington, and I found it more difficult to find the entrance via the route I had to take.
Once I’d made it to the entrance, I had a really good experience. The staff were incredibly helpful, suggesting the simplest routes into the museum for me so that I didn’t have to navigate winding queues. There were lots of staff and volunteers around, even some that were showing some interactive items which could be touched and held; and you could ask the team questions about them too.
The museum is so huge that it was impossible to see everything in one visit, but I enjoyed everything I saw. I went to one paid exhibit which had captions throughout, and this seemed to be consistent across any video materials. I also saw some cool access features, such as a mirrored display so that it could be easily seen from lower down.
The thing I struggled with the most was just how busy the museum was. We had made sure to avoid the school holidays, but it was still really busy with younger families and school trips. There were some exhibits where it was more noticeable, for example the dinosaurs and fossils exhibit.
There was lots of access information on their website that I was able to check before the visit, which was really helpful. It all seemed accurate when I visited. The information includes visual guides about some of the exhibits, details about hearing loops, captioning, wheelchair hire, and audio guides available when visiting the museum and more. There were also lots of accessible toilets available throughout the museum, and these were clearly marked on maps. There was also a Changing Places toilet.
