"It's really annoying"

It's really annoying. It says the ticket is free but it isnt free. Without donation you cannot book any tickets. The people who donate can go straight inside. The free one, need to wait for 2+ hours in line.

"I have been coming to this museum from…"

I have been coming to this museum from childhood onwards. My most recent visit was the most disappointing.

The dinosaur exhibit used to be much better, the walk way is now out of action. I used to love the Darwin, ecology and human biology exhibits but all these have gone and the mammals exhibit was closed. There are a lot more 'pay for' areas.

I wish it could rewind back 20 years or so.

"Not for Londoners"

Couldn’t wait to get out, just too busy and it felt unfriendly for regular folks. Visit was less than thirty minutes and most of that was trying to leave. Happened to visit three other London museum's recently and all were better than this. I get how popular the place is but it’s just not worth it! I’ll stick to the Science Museum or V&A which felt much better and welcoming.

"Such a shame, but a miserable place to spend a weekend"

Went there on a Sunday in late September 2023. Went with the family, so wife and 2 boys 6 & 3 years old.
The queue for entering was very long, although booking via the website removed the wait, so why weren’t the hundred people queuing told about the online booking option? They weren’t queuing for fun!
Being bombarded with donation requests both online and on entering was a bit desperate. Rather than walk in through a grand entrance we were sidelined off to a row of plastic donation stands similar to when leaving a toilet and you are asked to press to say if you had a good experience or not. Very depressing.
The dinosaur exhibition was pointless as absolutely shoulder to shoulder packed. So the kids really saw nothing and hated it. Even though it was not a particularly hot day the museum was stiflingly warm and airless. So much so I needed to use my inhaler which I very rarely need.
There were no staff about and the ones that were looked harassed and unhappy, much like us and everyone else there.
The map is pretty poor, I’ve been around the world and it must be one of the worse ones I’ve used.
There are very little interactive displays for children, it really is a last century visitor experience, almost as old as the collections, so different than so many museums who have modernised.
I was warned by several people never to go at a weekend, but that was the only time we could go as we do not live in London. How we wish we had listened, but what an inditement! Perhaps a weekday outside of summer would be better, I would definitely suggest that if you are considering visiting. But really not sure if we'd want to risk go through such a miserable experience again.
Better if you can to go to the equivalent museums in Edinburgh and Glasgow which we have visited and where it’s not so overcrowded and you'll have an enjoyable and far more relaxing and so educational time.

"Under Whelming"

Extremely over crowded, very hot inside, enjoyed the dinosaur exhibition but that was about it. The insect area was clearly aimed at young children which is a shame as it should be all inclusive. Sadly will not be returning in a hurry

"Don’t pay for the Titanosaurus exhibition"

What can I say one the best museums anywhere, beautiful building great exhibits, the food halls are good
However the Titanosaurus exhibition is basically a rip off
For 2seniors and an 6 year old cost £37.50 for what took us 20mins and then you exit through a toy shop!
There is a large dinosaur skeleton at the end but no other wow really they call it interactive but it’s a bit old school

"It was a nice visit"

It was a nice visit. Good 2 hours spend. As others mentioned it was a bit crowded, but not sure if anything can be done about that.

"Negative review"

Went with our 2 grandson 7yrs and nearly 3yrs. There was far to many people and was very hot inside. Found it wasn't as relaxing when I went years ago when you had to pay. They love seeing the animals and dinosaurs. We ended going to the Lego area which they loved and was much calmer. We would of stayed longer.

"It's not natural"

Was really looking forward to my visit as I hadn't been since being a teenager so many years ago. What a shame that its overcrowded to the point of not being able to tell if its good or not. I had prebooked so no queing but as far as I could tell they were just letting evrrybody in or it certainly felt like it to the point I was concerned for safety. Do yourself a favour and do practically anything else in London.

"Too busy and overcrowded"

It could have been a good visit as lots of interesting exhibitions to see but difficult to look at anything properly and in your own time etc, mainly due to how over crowded it was. Especially difficult when with young children. There needs to be something done to control the huge numbers attending, through school trips and bookings. We noticed no checks were being made on the pre-booked attendance time slots, so that could be a factor also. Another concern is safety - if we had to evacuate quickly due to the huge numbers and visitors of all nationalities.