Dinosaurs in the Wild

If you have a dinosaur fan whether big or small or don’t have a dinosaur fan but want to have a family day out with a difference then look no further!

As you know Mahi is a Dino mad (so was lucky when she was younger but not as much now) so we have been to many shows and exhibitions to quench his thirst.   However, never did I think Dinosaurs in the Wild will be the best Dinosaur event we ever went to! 

This is a very interactive and immersive experience.you are provided with 3D glasses and will need to wear them at some occasions. You will travelling back in time to dinosaur times  and enter a special scientific lab which deals with the dinosaurs. You are assigned into small group and have your very own tour guide too! There’s so much to see and do from examining dinosaur poo, to seeing a live autopsy of a dinosaur, seeing baby dinosaurs hatch and most importantly see dinosaurs roam around freely to, oh wait.... an emergency! We need to evacuated! Children screaming, parents holding on tight to their kids.... RUN!!

What happened you ask? We’ll go see it for yourself! Hahahaha. A terrific day you will never forget about. I guarantee you. 

Greenwich

Greenwich is a place we often visit since the kids were small! It has so much to offer for all members of the family! You got the Thames right at its doorstep, the different Museums, a huge park to run around and so many nice places to eat!

Mahi has been learning about space and can’t stop talking about it. So the perfect place to take him to learn more? The Royal Observatory in Greenwich!

The last time I was there was when Laksha was learning about space in nursery so about 5years ago. Mahi was just a tiny baby. How time flies? 

Since it was half-term, they had plenty going on. The first thing we did was to watch a special show in the planetarium itself about a teddy bear going on a space safari! It was the same show I took Laksha too when she was smaller...ahhhh! The show is not too long and made especially for children so easy for kids to learn (without knowing it!). You had to pay extra for the show (on top of admission price) but it wasn’t that expensive. 

Once the show was done, we went to visit all the other rooms and saw fascinating photos, played a few games and took part in an arts and crafts workshop. We also stood on the Greenwich line which I was more excited about!

If that didn’t entertain the kids enough when you visit, you can also enjoy the national maritime museum (free) which has 2 play areas. Cutty Sark is a few minutes away too again holding kid friendly events during half-term! 

If your kids are a bit older the Queen’s House is one of the stately homes with lots of history. As an adult my favourite part of Greenwich is the Painted Hall in the Royal Naval College! It is absolutely stunning and you may have seen the room in a few shows too! You have to pay extra to see the Hall but the museum attached to it is free!

If you are visiting around the Christmas period, they have an outdoor ice rink too! But make sure you check the website as if it is really wet, they will close it (which happened to us!)

If you are planning to spend a few days in the Greenwich are then why not also visit Eltham Palace which is just a bus ride away from Greenwich! It has lovely gardens and grounds with a very modern interior which you wouldn’t expect of a palace! It is an English Heritage Site so free for members!

Pack a picnic and you are guaranteed an excellent family day out! And all within reasonable costs!

An Ancient-Egyptian themed day out

DISCLOSURE: This was written 4 years ago and I'm have added on more things as Mahi is now learning too with other things we have done!

We are mad about ancient Egypt! 

Their interests started through me and at school. Since I’m also an Egyptian enthusiast, we had long discussions about ancient Egypt and watch documentaries.

 When Lucky was learning about Ancient Egypt in Year 4, to cultivate that interest more, I wanted to take her somewhere that helped her learn more about ancient Egypt. Although I knew British museum has a huge section on Ancient Egypt, I didn’t think that would be enough as Laksha loves a hands on experience. So I googled about more places to learn about Ancient Egypt and came across the gem that is Petrie Museum.

Located on the UCL campus in Euston Square and a few minutes walk away from the British Museum, this museum is free. Since it was half term, they had lots of activities going on such as a young archeology pack, a brilliant activity book, card games, colouring and dotted around the museum were dressing up costumes and computer games. It is a small museum but the treasures we saw were mind-blowing. Our favourite queens statues and ornaments were there. The wealth of information from such a small museum was amazing. The helper was also very helpful when we were looking for specific things. She was oozing out knowledge and so helpful. A great afternoon spent.

Now that Mahi is learning it too, I wanted to take him somewhere else and we ended up at the Horniman Museum. The display they had was extremely small unfortunately but it as a great museum in terms of learning about different cultures around the world. 

The next stop is British Museum where we saw lots of mummies much to Mahish's delight! We also took part in a family workshop looking at images used in Ancient Egypt and created an image of our own!

Although not in London, we visited the Tutankhamun exhibition in Dorchester where we saw so many mummies but also important artefacts and objects. I was engrossed and the kids were engrossed too. This was the only museum that involved a cost but it was reasonable price. There were activities for kids too so they learned while playing! 

If you know any other Ancient Egypt places to visit in London?

Wonderlab at The Science Museum

Our last outing before back to school was The Science Museum in South Kensington were they are holding a special paid exhibition called Wonderlab.

Lucky is learning about electricity and said she struggles with the concept of it so this was the perfect for her as one of the areas they concentrated on was electricity.

Located on the 3rd floor, the exhibition has several areas such as force, space, electricity, chemistry and a couple more. The whole area is super interactive and good for all ages! It was an excellent exhibition to put knowledge into action but would have been great if the staff could explain the science behind it. It was written down but somebody actually telling the kids what and why it was happening would have been extremely useful.

There were also regular shows on and we watched the one a bit electricity.

It was approximately £10/person and spent a good 3hrs in the exhibition itself so didn’t get the chance to see the rest of the museum as we arrived quite late. You can easily  make it a whole day at the museum. A perfect educational day out if on a budget!

Bananaman

Bananaman is a comic book character from Beano’s character and now coming live on stage!

It is performed at the very intimidate Southwark Playhouse, a 3-Mins walk from Elephant and Castle station. We got tickets to see preview at discounted prices thanks to Littlebird. Since Mahi has a big love for Superheroes , I thought this will be right up his street to see Superheroes in a different light! A comedic superhero!

I knew we would expect laughs but dear of dear, we were crying rivers! The songs, the acting, the ‘villains’ and Mr Bananaman himself were out of this world hilarious! The whole production was amazing and it’s always amazing to see how productions are made using the selves so efficiently.

Southwark playhouse is a nice venue. They have a cafe which offers food which is reasonably priced. It is also accessible.  

Basically, please go and watch it! You won’t regret it! It’s only here for a limited time too! 

Slava’s Snowshow

Another Christmas Eve treat for the kids! I’ve been wanting to go to this for the past 2 years so glad to get the money to do so 🙈 Anyways, we set off to the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank centre to see the show. Lucky was a bit anxious as she’s a tad scared of clowns but thankfully, they were very funny clowns!

The whole show was great. The clowns were amazing and funny. We loved when we were engulfed by spider web, played with humongous balls and finally being caught in a snow blizzard! It’s great for big and old and will definitely recommend it. Even during the break, they kept us entertain! 

My personal mental note is to again book tickets in advance so we get front row seats as front row people definitely had more fun!

Go and watch it next time! It’s on every year, I believe and one not to be missed!

Santa at Rainforest Cafe

On Christmas Eve, we and the kids set out to see our last Santa of the year. Located in Piccadilly Circus, we went to Rainforest Cafe which also had Santa’s Grotto. Now, if you’ve never been to Rainforest Cafe, what have you been doing all this time??? We discovered this jewel 2 years ago and not only did the kids love it, my husband (whose very picky) loved the whole atmosphere. The food is basic and overpriced, I won’t deny it, but do go for the whole atmosphere! There gorillas, elephants, leopards which move and a massive fish tank with special fishes including piranhas there! The staff are very friendly and if it’s your birthday, the whole restaurant sings for you!

For Santa’s grotto, you had to book and pay in advance and given a time. At the time of your booking, they also send you a questionnaire asking for your kids names, their teachers, what their favourite subjects are, what they hobbies are and what gifts have they asked for. I loved that as it will make the whole experience so personal. We’ve been to many grottos over the years and none have done this!

You get a good 15mins to spend with Santa. We were welcomed by elves and taken to Santa’s cabin. The cabin was nicely decorated with a very good Santa. He memorised the whole questionnaire (kudos to him) and ask them all the questions. He gave them a massive goody bag and adviced them to listen to their parents! When we came out, Laksha was so shocked that Santa knew so much about her! She kept asking me how he knew things about her! 

Once Santa was done, we went to our table and had our lunch amidst the animals and fishes!

Definitely the best Santa we’ve seen this year! Overall, since Laksha was born, the 2nd best Santa we’ve seen!