LISTINGS KIDS

Kids: Animal magic

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ.
Lambeth North

T: 020 7416 5000. www.iwm.org.uk Fascinating tanks, uniforms and weaponry fi ll this museum, along with code-breaking machines and other artefacts from the
era. Exhibitions include The Children’s War, while older children can visit the haunting Holocaust exhibition.

KENSINGTON PALACE

Kensington Gardens, W8 4PX.
Bayswater/High Street Kensington

T: 0844 482 7777.
www.hrp.org.uk
Dating from 1689, Kensington Palace is the former home of William III and Mary. The state rooms are open to the public, with fi ne art displayed alongside ceremonial dresses, including those of the present Queen.

LONDON AQUARIUM

County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7PB.

/ Westminster/Waterloo

T: 020 7967 8000.
www.londonaquarium.co.uk
A must-see collection of sharks, piranhas, sea horses and other aquatic wildlife. Touch pools enable hands-on experiences with skates, rays and crabs. April marked the end of its �5 million refurbishment.

LONDON DUNGEON

28-34 Tooley Street, SE1 2SZ.
/ London Bridge

T: 020 7403 7221.
www.thedungeons.com
Older kids revel in bloodthirsty displays, medieval torture and grim discoveries. Some exhibits will spring to life, so weak-hearted ones be warned: it’s not recommended for children under eight due to the gore. Pick up fast-track tickets to beat the queues.

LONDON WETLAND CENTRE

Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Barnes, SW13 9WT.

Hammersmith

T: 020 8409 4400.
www.wwt.org.uk/visit/wetlandcentre
Forty hectares of wetland make a change from the city hubbub. The variety of wild birds include bitterns, teals, fi nches, waders and skylarks. Most weekends feature talks and wildlife walks, including searching for grass snakes, and conservation in action.

The Horniman Museum’s new exhibition should keep the children

informed as well as entertained, says Pat Riddell

If the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of Origin of the Species haven’t caught your child’s attention, then the Horniman Museum’s Robot Zoo should spark their imagination.

Running until 8 November, the exhibition — visiting the UK for the fi rst time
— is a menagerie of moving creatures that gives an insight into animal anatomy. The eight larger than life-size robot animals include a chameleon, giant squid, rhinoceros, giraffe, grasshopper, platypus, housefl y and a bat.

The robot animals have cutaway sections showing everyday machine parts that have been used to approximate their internal organs, with pistons representing muscles, brains as computers and fi ltering pipes serving as intestines.

They move realistically thanks to hydraulics — the robot chameleon rocks as it turns its head, looks around and fi res its tongue at its insect prey, while the platypus swims in breaststroke style.

Interactive exhibits let visitors explore the animals’ world: video technology shows the chameleon’s ability to camoufl age itself, for example. Evolution never seemed so exciting. www.horniman.ac.uk

IMAGE: HORNIMAN MUSEUM

KIDS

GOLDEN HINDE

St Mary Overie Dock, Cathedral Street, SE1 9DE.

/ London Bridge

T: 0870 011 8700. www.goldenhinde.org Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of
the world was a key contribution to the emergence of England’s maritime strength. The replica of his 16th-century galleon has been moored at this site since 1973.

Platypus

HAMLEYS

188-96 Regent Street, W1B 5BT.
Oxford Circus

T: 0870 333 2455. www.hamleys.com
Shop with every toy you can think of and more.

HMS BELFAST

Morgan’s Lane, Tooley Street, SE1 2JH.
/ London Bridge

T: 020 7940 6300. www.iwm.org.uk Genuine World War II battlecruiser with nine preserved decks to explore on a guided tour.

W2L SUMMER 2009 59