Exploring the Natural History Museum

The museums are just one of the reasons why Kensington is a great place to make your base for any trip to London (not least the fact that there are loads of fantastic Kensington hotels which are easily found on the internet through the likes of Millennium Hotels), as you're likely to be spending a fair amount of time down there anyway (nearly 80% of people who stay in London for more than 2 days go to Kensington) you may as well make it your base.

The Science Museum often gets all the plaudits, but the Natural History Museum is actually quite a lot larger and just as remarkable. From the moment you walk through the front door and are immediately confronted with the enormous skeleton of a Diplodocus (which the Museum has affectionately named Dippy) you realise that you're about to experience something special.

The Museum is split into different coloured zones, each reflecting a different part of the world's natural history. Most people will want to check out the dinosaurs in the Blue Zone, and the skeletons alone are mind-boggling. The Blue Zone is also home to the Blue Whale exhibit, which is just about the only thing around today which rivals the scale of the dinosaurs and is also definitely worth checking out.

Another highlight is the Power Within gallery which shows what happens when an earthquake strikes or a volcano erupts. The Museum authorities have put a huge amount of effort into making everything as interactive and immersive as possible, and you'll be tempted to run for cover when the volcanoes explode in front of you.

A final bit that every visitor should see is the Earth's Treasury, which will leave images of twinkling gemstones engraved in your memory. The Natural History Museum has one of the finest gem collections anywhere, unfortunately you can't play with them, but you are allowed to touch and feel some of the collection like the hematite (which is a bit like enormous, solid, black bubble wrap).