Escape From the Science Museum

         “Crowds prevent you to see the infinite horizons; get rid of the crowds and open your horizons.” - Mehmet Murat Ildan 

       Saturday was meant to be museum day but it turned out to be more of a ‘let’s hide inside’ day. We had the best intentions. We were going to visit the Science Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum before spending the evening doing the usual (watching movies). It took us awhile to actually put pants on this morning and get moving and by that point we were starving, so we walked to Wetherspoon’s and had another one of those delicious veggie burgers. And some badly mixed purple drank.

                We hopped on the train after lunch and made our way to Kensington to go to the Science Museum (http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/). This was more a visit for Sarah rather than me, because she loves science and I dropped that subject the second I had a chance. I had heard, however, that the Science Museum was supposed to be amazing and a must-see London attraction. We were both very, very disappointed.

                To begin (and this part is our fault), we didn’t really think about the fact that it was a weekend and that would mean loads of tourists and locals and children until we were already on the train. They were a pain in the butt. We both were very murderous by the end of the day. People stopping their strollers in the middle of busy walkways, people trying to figure out which ticket reader to go through (hint: it’s any of the ones with the green lights, like the one RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU), screaming babies who’s mothers are ignoring them and our personal favorite: the giant family complete with stroller who wouldn’t let us get off before they got on and we almost were trapped on the train forever. Seriously, that was really annoying. Letting people off before you get on is A) common sense and B) there are signs. But yeah, the crowds of stupid people were pretty much our fault. We should have known better.

                The Science Museum has no excuse, though. I could understand me not liking it, because I really don’t like science. But Sarah? This should have been her museum and she was arguably more disappointed than me. First, they say the museum is free but they make you walk by these people who look like ticket sellers and ask you if you want to donate money (as if all the Suggested Donation £5 signs didn’t give us a hint). I don’t mind donation boxes but they should really be done better. At some of the art galleries they just leave boxes in some of the rooms so it’s entirely up to you whether you donate. This felt forced and judged. We really didn’t want to give £5 but we each gave £2 and even that felt like a ripoff. The whole museum was just blah. It’s sad when I’ll admit the engineering gallery was the most interesting. There’s also space. That’s the first floor. There are three more but it’s really like Science for Dummies. There’s some interactive stations we couldn’t even get close to because of the massive amount of children but even the exhibits were just so lacking. We probably spent less than an hour inside. We want our donation back. The most exciting part of the entire experience was trying to escape, which took forever because of the people and the fact there’s only one real exit and we didn’t want to set off an alarm.

                Our initial plan was to head to the Victoria & Albert Museum but we knew it would be crowded and even if it wasn’t, there were signs all around the tube station cautioning that it gets crazy once the museums close. Riding a crowded train for an hour? I’ll pass. So we ultimately decided to check it out during the week when everyone is gone and headed back to the flat where we watched movies and ate pizza. We are super exciting people.