There’s not too much to add the the reviews here already except this:

If your child is under 8 then don’t even bother to take them to the Natural History museum in London - come here first.

Why? Well NHM London is unbelieveably crowded these days, you seem to be in a slow moving line the entire visit and so it’s a very restrictive environment for young children. It’s still got the best collection - but they’ll appreciate these distinctions better when they’re older.

NHM Oxford is a much more suitable environment for smaller children: more freedom to move and to observe or interact. Many of the exhibits can be touched which is so great for little kids (many are very good replicas - but that’s fine for this age group).

My kids love it here - and I can relax and have fun with them.

This is a beautiful Victorian metal and glass building full of dinosaurs, rocks, butterflies and even some live creepy crawlies.

Some of the dinosaurs used to wander around North Oxford (where St. Edwards school is) some are from the gravel pits just north of Oxford. And some of them are just plain big and scary.

There are lots of examples of different sorts of rocks and minerals. Some are in big blocks that you can touch, some are actually holding the roof – if you look carefully you’ll see that lots of the columns in the upper galleries are made of different stone and all are named. And there are minerals in cases with explanations of how they were formed and what they are used for today.

If you go upstairs you can see dead butterflies, bugs and shells. Make sure you stop to watch the live bees in the bee display half way up the stairs by the shop. And there are live cockroaches and stick insects in the upstairs gallery. If you pick the right day you might even be allowed to hold them.

There is also a table downstairs of things you can touch and feel (on the right near the shop), some feelby boxes (on the left of the entrance) and a set of drawers with an alphabet quiz. So lots to keep small children occupied with.

Every Sunday there is a family fun day when there are special trails, creative activities and backpacks to borrow. During the school holidays there are special events with lots on to keep the children occupied. If you haven't got children you might want to avoid Sundays and special events days - Flick can't have visited on one of these extremely popular days. The museums can get very busy, especially on a wet day so if you'd rather enjoy your geology without hoards of children go on a different day.

It is all free. It is right next to the Pitt Rivers museum so if you get bored of natural history you can go and see the shrunked heads. And there is even a small shop selling cards, and books, small minerals and gems and lots of dinosaurs themed toys.

If you need refreshments after all that educational stuff then head for one of the pubs or the ice cream shop (George and Davis) in Little Clarendon Street which has nice long opening hours even on a Sunday.

The Natural History museum is a hidden gem - it's in a really impressive building, but few people seem to know about it. Entry is free and there are displays on animals and plants. Lots is geared towards children, so there are lots of simplistic explanations and whilst some areas are logically arranged, others seem quite random, so it's hard to know how to look round. Then again, it's quite refreshing to have the freedom to wander around in any order you feel like and it's interesting enough to look at more than once. There are some huge skeletons and stuffed animals and some interesting information on how the artefacts were discovered and brought to the museum. There's a section on Alice in Wonderland after the author was inspired by the museum and it's got local interest as well, although its main appeal is universal. Well worth spending an afternoon to visit and not too busy or commercialised.