I'm perhaps a bit biased about this museum since it features the house I grew up in. However, I've…read morevisited it recently in order to entertain the kids, and my parents house didn't really feature in their opinion as the most enjoyable bit! I think the museum offers enough interactive exhibits to keep younger kids who will tolerate a museum. They show what life was like for soldiers over the years, there's a tank simulator (definite hit), a lorry driving simulator (not as good as it sounds) and a tunnel that the kids can crawl through. For the adults, there are easy-to-read panels enabling you to digest information about the hisotry home of the British army without going into so much detail that you get lost. Outside, and in the outbuildings, there are approximately 20 military vehicles including the impressive Chieftain tank, an old army ambulance and a couple of troop carriers (one of which they allow you to climb inside). If you're lucky, you'll see some of the maintenance crew working on a vehicle. They we're happy to answer questions and reveal the history of the vehicle. All in, an interesting place for the kids and adults who want to learn more about the history of the relationship between the army and Aldershot.

It was very intresting originally I wanted to see the airbourne museum but is now closed as is most…read moreof the garrision. Worth a visit.

The Brits plundered many fascinating archeological artifacts from around the world, and the…read moreBritish Museum displays some of the most famous, such as the Rosetta Stone. Admission: free Time budget: minimum 4 hours Free WiFi is available Plenty of clean bathrooms Caution: The museum has no air conditioning. I visited during a rare heat wave, and the museum was a sweat box. Also, if you don't like crowds, you won't like this museum. It gets packed early. Pre-opening tour: The museum offers for UK $35 various pre-opening tours. I took the Greece pre-opening tour. Pros: Small group of 20 before the unwashed masses crowd into the museum. Tour guides are knowledgable. Guides may offer extra time at no charge (e.g. 15-20 minutes extra). Cons: My tour guide did not enunciate or project his voice, so much of the tour was unintelligible.

How is this place free?!?! As they state themselves, it is the greatest collection of stolen items…read moreanywhere...lol. Meaning there are artifacts from countries all around the world. You do have to register for timed tickets ahead of time to get in. We got some just a few days before and they didn't check for times as we were almost an hour late. It was super crowded and getting through the queue took about 10 minutes. Once inside, we knew we had to move fast since they close at 5pm and you could spend all day here. The information booth was helpful as they gave us a map with the option of hitting the highlights, which was perfect for our amount of time. The items from the Easter Islands were my favorite and the library room right when you walk in was cool too. Of course the Rosetta Stone was amazing as well! There is food and a gift shop inside so get an early time and spend the day here.

We were in London during a heat wave and decided a museum day was in order, to entertain our…read morechildren away from the scorching sun. We settled on the Natural History Museum, and by the time we realized it would provide but faint relief, it was too late to go somewhere else. The Natural History Museum is one of London's spectacular free museums, a beautiful building on Exhibition Road in South Kensington. We were not, apparently, the only family who decided to visit on this hot Thursday afternoon in July, and we ended up waiting in a long, slow line, completely exposed to the sun. They might have put up some umbrellas, but I guess the weather was atypical. Once we were in, we learned that the museum is an old, historic building without much in the way of air conditioning. It was crowded and steamy in there, though still preferable to being outside. There were also a few newer exhibition halls that had proper AC. Thankfully, my three-year-old has a lifelong fascination with fans, and there were dozens of these on display, giant machines designed to ventilate large spaces. He was, in fact, more into these than he was into the dinosaurs, which scared the bejeezus out of him. The museum was definitely top tier, with tons of interesting exhibits to entertain both children and adults. We entered right into Hintze Hall, where a full blue whale skeleton hung suspended over our heads. We also admired a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, dating back to the beginning of our solar system. The dinosaur hall was excellent, even if the animatronic T-rex made my little boy cry. We fell prey to one of the photo op stops, and I definitely paid for the downloads like a sucker--what, was I not gonna own the silly green screen pictures of my family among dinosaurs, and more importantly, looking at a camera at the same time? The mammal hall was cool, though I have to say, I missed the grand diorama displays of the mammal halls I've seen back home. We went into a newer exhibit on how to fix our broken planet, mostly for the air conditioning. My kids were less into the conservation stuff than the dinosaurs and fans, but I thought it was quite well done. I actually stopped buying beef treats for my dog as a result of one of the placards, which talked about the impact on the planet of using beef for pet food. We went to two gift shops, the one by the dinosaur hall and the main one near the entrance, and both were quite nice, with lots to look at for our kids. We allowed them to buy stuffies, and our three-year-old bought a tiny dodo and a tiny ankylosaurus (on theme, good job), while our six-year-old bought a flamingo to add to his flamingo collection. If there was a flamingo display at the museum, we missed it, though I suppose I wouldn't be surprised. I can tell by looking at the map now that we missed plenty. We spent a little time in the cafe, for fans and beverages, and I realized as we were leaving that I'd left my sunglasses there over an hour earlier. I was pleasantly surprised to find it at the register waiting for me. We take the kids to natural history museums at home, and I have no doubt we'd make good use of this one if we were raising them nearby. It's a wonderful place, expansive and educational, a truly amazing free resource to anyone spending time in London.

Lots of bones! Plenty of old stuff! Great turn-of-the-century over-the-top ornate architecture!…read morePlan on an hour unless you're hardcore. Ride the escalator into the middle of the earth to find out what music is playing inside. See extraordinary taxidermy handiwork. Even see a fake dodo bird thought to be an adjacent species that didn't exist. And if you like dinosaurs this is your Mecca. Just don't dare sit anywhere like on some stairs in the corner or some overzealous guard will kick you right out. But otherwise you'll have a great time. Also enjoy the outside grounds for a stroll, and hit up the West entrance for zero lines while the hoards line up on the other side.

Okay, so this doesn't rival the big museums up in London, but it is a very sweet local museum,…read moreperfect for those days when you can't think of what to do, but don't want to travel very far. I've visited a few times, and found fascinating, if small, displays, each time connecting the time period they were highlighting back to how it affected local life. Personally, I think that helps to make it real for people, children especially, as sometimes history can seem to them as some big blur of back then Opening hours vary, so do call in advance, but I think you're safe if you visit on Saturday mornings, and admission is free.

Small lovely museum, funded mainly by donations with lovely staff. Educational and mind opening…read moreexperience. I hope the museum gets the opportunity to expand and have more exhibits. When we came they had an exhibit about menopause. I think more people need to learn about the vagina in general and as a whole and understand what it is like to have one and all the burdens that come along with it and without it in the end.

A soon as I saw the name on the sign outside I HAD to go in. They have a wide variety of products…read moredisplayed from information pamphlets, books and jewellery that looks like ummm well I'm not sure what word Yelp will consider PC or risqué so just read the name of the business and you'll know exactly what I'm messing. You can wear them on your ears with a knitted sweet or on a chain around your neck made of an plastic type material, they had bold showing every size, shape and colour. You can also get t-shirts. The staff stayed behind the desk but they were friendly and greeted everyone that entered. I realised like myself most people seemed to be coming in out of curiosity and don't make any purchases but b they staff took that in stride and continued greeting everyone with the same courteous smile. Kudos to this company for celebrating woman so boldly

For only £3.50 admission to this large former aircraft hangar that is on the site of the former…read moreWoodley Aerodrome, you have the opportunity to see aviation history going back to WWI and up to quite recent technologies. Chock full of aircraft, both full size restorations and many model dioramas and walls covered in articles, stories and various implements of flying history. There are also two full-size planes parked outside which may or may not be visitable depending on weather and mood. There is also a small jet "trainer" suitable for children to ride and play with, supervised carefully by staff. A nice visit for kids, if they are interested in planes and flying, and especially if it is part of a school project. This one has been in my bookmarks list for a few months and only now with my bicycle have I been able to make the trip. It was well worth the wait.

Art museums aren't generally my highest interest, so it took me several visits to London to make it…read morehere. This collection is fascinating for its variety and depth. The explanations provided are insightful without being dense. I can't help but think how many great churches in Italy must be missing their beautiful medieval altars...because they're here. Great Rodin sculptures. A Japan collection that is deep and very well explained. Some truly amazing tapestries, and even a couple entire grand English rooms that were moved here entirely. The building it's all housed in is wonderful as well, take a break in the central courtyard. Supposedly it has air conditioning but other than the English section, it felt warm on a day that was 80F. They were preparing for a hot week with upper gallery closures.

This is kind of a placeholder review until I go back to London and give the Victoria and Albert…read moreMuseum a proper visit. I went for the first time with my family last month, for a quick peek after an afternoon at the Natural History Museum. We didn't think our kids would be as interested in the V & A, but we had time to kill before dinner, and entry was free. Truly incredible that all these iconic museums are free and open to the public. Makes them easy to enjoy, even for fifteen minutes. Which is about all the time we got at the V & A, as we arrived at 5:15. The exhibits started closing while we studied the map, deciding what we might like to see. By the time we got to the Japanese lacquer display, which was close enough to the lobby I thought we might be able to take a peek, we were no longer allowed entry. Even the gift shop was wrapping up for the day. We were able to walk in and do a speed lap, but wouldn't have had time to shop in earnest. We did get to admire the building and the grand entry hall, with its domed ceiling and enormous Chihuly chandelier. But all the treasures within were out of reach, at least this time around. I found myself wishing I'd had a day to explore the collection, as well as the ticketed Schiaparelli and contemporary Asian art exhibits. The V & A is a top priority next time I'm in London.

Controversy surrounded the construction and funding of The Lightbox however in its first year the…read moreorganisation has shown its worth. A futuristic aluminium outer skin and an asymetric design (which has already won a couple of architectural awards) houses an award winning arts space. There's something for everyone here, be it an exhibition on the history of Woking, art exhibitions or even live music events. A cafe provides a relaxed atmosphere and an outdoor space on the banks of the Basingstoke canal. Children can find both education and entertainment in the education rooms. Visit for free although some exhibitions may attract a small additional charge. Jazz with Sunday Brunch (2nd Sunday of month usually) is particularly good and it's free. Don't judge by the outside or the amount spent - go see for yourself!

The Lightbox is worth a visit just to admire the building (which is, in my opinion, quite…read morebeautiful, although some appear to think otherwise). It has a shell of yellow-gold aluminium scales and the front is smartly wood-panelled, while the black metal gate is somewhat Art Nouveau in style, with a pattern slightly reminiscent of wild iris. There's a small courtyard outside with seating for the café-restaurant, as well as a charming and futuristic garden featuring some metal plant sculptures and small grassy domes. There is also indoor seating for the café. There's a small shop selling souvenirs, the work of local artisans, and books and gifts relating to the exhibitions. The Lightbox has several floors with various exhibition rooms. There is a permanent exhibition about local history, which is very engaging and features several interactive displays to keep children interested. When it opened, The Lightbox secured an excellent exhibition about the animation company Aardman, but subsequent exhibitions have been slightly smaller in scale and rather less impressive, although still worth a visit. Most are free to view, but one or two have a ticket price of a few pounds. A summer pavilion providing extra exhibition space is promised for the courtyard outside, which will be paid for by the recent Art Fund Prize that the gallery deservedly received. The Lightbox is a good place to while a way an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon, but beware: don't plan to visit on a bank holiday as it is closed on Mondays.

Well worth a visit and lengthy stay. It has a magnificent entrance hall which is huge and…read moreoverwhelming. It has all the trappings one would expect of The Great Houses, BUT, this houses the Regimental Museum of The Royal Surreys. What a wondrous sight to see, especially for those of us that served. As with all my observations on the Trust properties.. the refreshments are very overpriced and poor value. This is not likely to change so take your own.

This is a National Trust property located in Clandon nr Guildford it is an 18th century house in…read morelovely gardens. We went as a family last year when there was a special event on and there were 'real' characters from the 18th century that we could talk to about life in that era. The children were given quiz sheets and we toured the house looking for answers to the questions, which kept us all interested! Outside in the garden is an original Maori meetin house, not something you normally come across in the Surrey countryside!! Great place for a family day out!

This is a great museum for all aviation enthusiasts!…read more It is operated by the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST), which exists to safeguard and promote Farnborough's heritage in aviation science. The FAST Museum is adjacent to Farnborough airfield, and holds a collection of aircraft (actual and model), satellites, simulators and other unique material related to Farnborough's world famous Royal Aircraft Establishment. It also offers exclusive guided tours of areas of Farnborough's historic aviation quarter not normally open to the public (including a centrifugal flight machine and a wind tunnel: access to these is currently restricted because of Covid). It includes a replica of the plane in which Samuel Cody made the first powered flight in UK, just yards away from the present museum site, in 1908. Both children and adults can enjoy trying out a flight simulator: for children under eight, there is a simpler simulator: for anyone over eight years old, you can have a go on the Harrier jump jet simulator. It just goes to show that flying an aircraft is much harder than you think! The museum is free, and there is plenty of car parking. There is a small coffee bar on the first floor (no lift). The volunteers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and very friendly. A great place for a couple of hours.

This is a very good little museum explaining what happens at RAE Farnborough up to the 1970 ish…read more It also has the biggest model collection of RAF aircraft from the first days of flight to present day. And best of all its FREE yes free to visit.