A Day Out at Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery in the Science Museum

We have been to the Science Museum in London a few times, as it’s such a fun adventure! The museum itself is free to enter, with a variety of different exhibitions from things about space, to airplanes to pop up exhibitions on things like color. With so much to explore, we had not often tried any of the add on extras, but this time the Wonderlab had a bunch of different posters throughout, and Robin asked if we could go.

Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery is recommended from ages 7 to 14, and though it is a bit of a pricey ticket, it’s so worth it. As a child, I went to an interactive museum and found that I had the most fun with the things that I could interact with. Though there are interactions throughout the Science Museum, the Wonderland area is a completely interactive, immersive area full of experiments, information, and shows that keep children super engaged. We could have likely spent an entire day in this area itself, and it’s worth it’s own day out.

When we entered the Wonderlab, the first area we were in was a light room. The room had a bunch of different objects all around it, and there were different colored lights coming from the celling. You can pick up a flash light (or use your phone) to find out the true color of what you are looking at, learning that when you look at something, the color might be different depending on the color of the lighting. This big room was a fun, interactive, joyful start to the Wonderlab!

There were a lot of stand out things in this area to be honest! I really liked the fog mountain that showed the way fog rolls down a hill, encouraging kids to blow the fog out and down the hill, watching it move. Kai seemed to really enjoy the air cannon, where you can use your whole body weight to blast a ball through a tube! He also completed a lot of the circuit challenges (of which there are 6) quickly, feeling very accomplished with his knowledge of how different circuits work.

There was a few large lines; for the slides and a swing that moves you up and down based on pedaling. Due to these queues and the fact that it was towards the end of our day out, we didn’t end up waiting for them! Amelia did wait in line to spin on a pillar, feeling how momentum pulls at you, moving you off of it. She also really loved the wind tunnel where you can make your own airplane and see it fly up into the sky! Robin enjoyed so much of the area, jumping from activity to activity! She moved the fog cloud that allowed you to push down on a platform to make a smoke circle appear, as well as the photo area where you can drop a drop of water into a bucket and take a picture of the ripple.

There was also a giant periodic table, showcasing all of the elements where presentations took place – which was very interesting, as well as a replica of Earth and the Moon to showcase rotations. An area of logic puzzles did not take any of our children’s interests, but that might be because it was labeled as the Maths area. A bunch of strange liquid in an area that allowed you to move magnets against them and away from them, making the slime grow, was something we also spent a lot of time with. Another area had you watching ice form – something Robin loved melting again.

The Wonderlab is exactly what children’s museums should be; a bunch of fun experiments that inspire children to learn. I love the fact that there were a bunch of shows and presentations, and all of the experiments out were easy for children to just do on their own! There was so much more there; a musical area, a two player game – just too much to really mention!

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!