The best reason to visit the Imperial War Museum is to see the outstanding Holocaust exhibit. (I gave the museum 3 stars, but I would give the Holocaust exhibit itself 5 stars.) The exhibit is extensive, and incredibly moving. It is well-presented, using a mix of film, newspapers, photos, explanatory text, and other media. It took about an hour and a half to go through just that exhibit: I have a deep interest in the Holocaust, so perhaps I lingered more than others would. I was not too impressed with the rest of the museum, although I did enjoy the exhibit on “The War at Home” re WWII. The hordes of unruly teenage school groups present in the rest of the museum may be the reason I didn’t enjoy that as much as the Holocaust exhibit.

All in all, it’s worth a special trip just to see the Holocaust exhibit. It’s an interesting plus that the museum is located in the old “Bedlam” mental hospital. Additionally, admission is free!

Not only does this place have a great collection of weaponry, the grounds are enormous, so, to repeat myself, it’s a great place for a picnic. I much prefer this place to the natural history museum and I suspect kids would too. They can always run round outside if they get bored inside.
My memory might be playing tricks, because I am pretty sure they’ve got the casing of one of the atom bombs dropped on japan here, which doesn’t make sense, because it would have disintegrated. Must be a model.
There’s a v2 as well if i remember correctly, and a polaris, one or the other (good research apparent obviously).
There was a great exhibition when I went on the secret war of WW2, the spies we sent to France and all the strange equipment they had to use. But better even than that is the WW1 trench exhibition that really gives you a feel for the hell a lot of our close male relatives went through. (my grandad was lucky, being a student he wasn’t called up til 1919, the war ended while he was still in training, but most of his friends were killed).
There are various vehicles as well, a plane I think dangles from the ceiling, and there’s a submarine display that’s very good. Your children will thank you!

Great if you like hostory like me even if you don’t like history so much the wealth of information stored in this museum should keep you occupied.
Intereesting but sad when you think about all the tortue, suffering and deaths of war though.
Great exhibits of planes and tanks.
Enough info here to spend a whole afternoon!

I found this museum rather boring but only because I don’t have any interest in British war history. There are rooms FULL of aircraft, unforms, artfifacts and anything war related. If this is your ‘thing’ then you will love the museum.
The real reason I went along was to see the Holocaust exhibit, as that is where my interest lies. Heartfelt, impacting and solemn, the exhibit has been done spectacularly well. You could tell that each person looking at the piles of shoes, walking through the transport carriage, and watching survivor’s accounts of the atroscities were moved also.

I just got back from this museum and realised that I spent four straight hours there. I had to leave early so I missed a few sections, but I will definately be back soon. The whole museum is incredibly interesting and captivating so I highly recommend it.

To note, I am easily bored but the way each exhibit was laid out, learners of all ages, learning styles, and people with all attention spans can enjoy. You can read, listen, touch, feel, (sometimes even meet survivors) and really get the whole picture when looking at exhibits. They are thoughtfully created and you really get into it.

This place is especially good for children with lots of airplanes, tanks, military vehicles and a really fun interactive exhibit of a submarine. The trench experience is a must as you get to walk through a realistic recreation of a trench. The Blitz experience starts you in a bomb shelter that rattles and after that you walk through a bombed town. Again, realistic and amazing sets that could have been used in movies. There is also a full size country house built that you can explore and see what people kept in their homes during air raids and wartime.

Too much to talk about really… Go see it and honor the war heroes known and forgotten, mourn the worlds losses and victories, and make sure you donate to this awesome free establishment!

Oh btw… and the food here gets 4/5. Hot and cold selections for 3-6 pounds. Good dessert too!

I went to this museum expecting nothing more than a few small exibits and some interactive displays, but was astounded by how interesting and large this place really was. It had artifacts from nearly every war you could think of, had displays of battle plans, real bombs and guns, actual V2 rockets, and Planes! It even had a real life walk through trench to immitate WWI and an air raid in London ride, making you feel like you were in London for a bombing. This is one of the best museums I have ever been to, and if you are at all interested in history or simply looking at big guns, this is the museum for you. I highly recommend this.

Great family outing especially for kids interested in history, and all for free! An interactive and hands on entrance hall display holds world war I and II planes, tanks, guns, and other military vehicles. You can then go on to visit all different exhibitions on the wars since 1900 and even experience what it is like to be ni a trench in WWI, smells and all! There are also modern exhibitions, my favourite being on M15/M16 etc. A great half day outing and many hands on/experience style exhibits for the kids!

best place ever, the trenches re-enactment can be pretty scary and tha holocaust museum is quite depressing but it’s something people should know about and never forget.

well worth it, the ‘escape’ exhibit is brilliant too!

and it’s FREE!