Wonderlab Science Museum London Review

Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery at the Science Museum has 50+ exhibits, shows and demos, with plenty of hands on opportunities for kids to learn about science and maths. Find out more about this brilliant museum gallery and what there is to see and do in this Wonderlab Science Museum London review.

The London Science Museum is located in South Kensington, next to the Natural History Museum and across from the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Science Museum is one of the top museums for kids in London, with seven floors of exhibits across award-winning exhibitions and permanent galleries.

Wonderlab: The Equinor Gallery is on the top floor of the Science Museum. While it is free to book a ticket for the Science Museum, an additional admission day or annual pass is required to visit Wonderlab. Scroll down to see Wonderlab ticket prices and further details on how to book a time slot.

Transport for London have a discount offer for 25% off an adult or child annual pass for Wonderlab. Enter the promotional code WONDERLABTFL25 when booking a ticket in advance. Valid until 20 October 2023. Full details here

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What to See in Wonderlab Science Museum London

Wonderlab reveals how science and maths shape our everyday lives. There are plenty of opportunities to learn and interact with hands on exhibits across Wonderlab. The gallery is recommended for ages 7 – 14, however, there is a lot for younger kids, including toddlers and preschoolers, to get involved too.

With so much to see and do, Wonderlab is fantastic for a London day out and one of the best museums in London for kids. Highlights include playing with forces on the giant slides, watching demonstrations at the Chemistry Bar, watching lightning strike before your eyes, using problem-solving skills to build electric circuits and experimenting with the properties of light and sound.

The seven zones to discover are Maths, Electricity, Forces, Space, Light, Matter and Sound. In this part of the Wonderlab Science Museum London review, I will go over what to expect and the exhibit highlights of each of the zones.

Matter Zone

Investigate the properties of different states of matter in the first zone at Wonderlab, the Matter Zone. Children can get hands on with exhibits to discover how gases flow and watch the effect of water freezing. Creating spiky patterns with ferrofluid is fascinating to watch.

At the Flowing Mists exhibit, see the mist move and swirl in interesting shapes, like clouds in the sky, when you touch or blow the mist.

Other highlights in the Wonderlab Matter Zone include watching ice crystals form when water is frozen and seeing solid dry ice (carbon dioxide) sublimating into a gas.

Space Zone

The next area to explore in Wonderlab is the Space Zone where visitors can experience the wonder of space and discover how it affects our lives on Earth. Exhibit highlights include riding on the Orbits model, creating your own northern lights and discovering why the colour of the moon can appear to change.

The Orbits model is at the centre of the Space Zone and shows how Earth and the moon orbit the sun. The Orbits model also demonstrates how the orbits of the Earth and moon affect our experiences on Earth, and how day and night, the seasons, years, phases of the moon and eclipses are formed.

Light Zone

Next to the Space Zone, the Light Zone at Wonderlab is a fantastic space where children can see what our world looks like under different coloured lights and experience what it’s like to walk inside a light beam. There are plenty of opportunities to experiment with the properties of light and explore how it can be reflected, bent or blended.

One of the most popular exhibits at the Light Zone is the Infinity Boxes, which contains several mirrors placed at angles inside the box. Put your head inside the box to see multiple reflections of yourself stretching off into infinity.

Sound Zone

Next, carry on through to the Sound Zone to explore and experience sound through six exhibits. One of the highlights is the Waves exhibit, a great hands on exhibit that demonstrates how different wave patterns change the sound we hear.

There are also Sound pods that contain hidden speakers making different sounds that you can feel when you touch the pods. Visitors can see sound waves and explore resonance at the Visible exhibit and discover how sound can be reflected and heard as an echo at the Echo Tube.

Maths Zone

In the next section of the Science Museum Wonderlab is the Maths Zone. The concept behind the Maths Zone is to explore how so much of our everyday lives can be explained by maths. This area is a great space for toddlers and preschoolers to get involved experimenting with patterns and shapes at the Tessellation Wall and Shapes Maker table.

There are seven exhibits in the Wonderlab Math Zone for visitors to experiment with patterns and logic to complete challenges.

The Water Jet Challenge is an excellent exhibit where kids learn about trajectory and use logic to find the perfect angle to make the water hit the target.

Electricity Zone

The next area is the Electrictity Zone, where visitors can learn about electricity and magnetism through five exhibits. Create a lightning storm by touching a tube with lightning inside at the Lightning Strike exhibit. Or use problem-solving skills to build and explore how electric circuits work at the Circuits exhibit.

The Magnetic Sculpture lets children explore how magnetic materials are attractions to magnets. Young children will enjoy getting involved too building creative structures with the metal washers.

Wonderlab Explainers regularly run Electricity Demo Shows at the Electricity Zone throughout the day. Visitors can see both a tesla coil and Van de Graaff generator in action and watch a bolt of lightning shoot across the ceiling.

Forces Zone

There is so much to see and do in the Forces Zone at Wonderlab Science Museum. Children can experience how the forces we use every day let us slide, build, move and spin. The Friction Slides is one of the most popular exhibits at Wonderlab. Sliding down the slides made of different materials offers a fun way for kids to explore which materials and surfaces have the most friction.

Highlights at the Forces Zone also include a Rotation Station that demonstrates centrifugal force and a Pulley Up machine. Another favourite is the Flight Test where children learn to design, build, test and improve a paper flying machine over an air vent. The Gravity Run exhibit is a great exhibit for all ages to work together to build a gravity ball run.

Live Science Demonstrations

Visit the Chemistry Bar in the Matter Zone throughout the day for regular live science demonstrations with Wonderlab Explainers.

Science Shows

Another great feature of the Wonderlab are the dynamic, high energy shows running in their Showspace throughout the day. The shows last about 20 minutes and include;

Flash! Bang! Wallop! – All about why things burn, the fire triangle and changing materials. (Ear defenders are available for visitors who need them, as the show contains loud explosions.)

Prime Time – Want to know how to win at monopoly? Ever wondered how banks keeps money safe? This show presents the excitement of maths through real life applications.

Wonder Show – An assortment of incredible experiments and demonstrations showing the wonder of science.

Wonderlab Science Museum Address

Science Museum, Exhibition Road, Kensington, London SW7 2DD

Opening Hours: 10.00–18.00, Wednesday to Sunday

Wonderlab Tickets

Visiting Wonderlab requires booking a free Science Museum ticket in advance, in addition to purchasing a day or annual pass and booking a time slot.

Ticket Prices: Adult day pass (age 17+): from £10.80 (£12 with 10% donation); Child day pass (age 4‑16): £9 (£10 with 10% donation). Children 3 and under enter free. Annual passes (prices include donation) ‑ Adult £16; Child £14.

Transport for London have a discount offer for 25% off an adult or child annual pass for Wonderlab. Enter the promotional code WONDERLABTFL25 when booking a ticket in advance. Valid until 20 October 2023. Full details here

Family Day Pass: £2 off per ticket at check-out when you purchase day passes for 3 to 5 visitors (no more than 2 adults)

Book your free Science Museum ticket at: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

To visit the Wonderlab, purchase your day or annual pass and book a time slot at https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/wonderlab-equinor-gallery