The Science Museum in London is one of the city’s largest free museums, tracing 250 years of scientific and industrial history through galleries that combine historic artifacts with hands-on, interactive exhibits.
The ground-floor Making the Modern World gallery houses icons like Stephenson’s Rocket and the Apollo 10 command module that carried astronauts around the Moon in 1969, while the Exploring Space gallery displays the Soyuz descent module used by astronaut Tim Peake and a real piece of the Moon. Families often gravitate toward Wonderlab, an interactive gallery of hands-on experiments with light, electricity, and motion.
A focused visit to the highlight galleries takes about 2 to 3 hours, while an average visit runs closer to 2 hours; visitors wanting to add the IMAX theater or a full session in Wonderlab should plan for the better part of a day.