Age of the Dinosaur is a new, temporary exhibition just launched at the Natural History Museum in London. It showcases all your favourite dinosaurs, with interactive displays, rare fossils, authentic-looking moving models and ancient dino poo amongst the finds.

My children love dinosaurs, and they think I'm prehistoric, so we took a family trip to sniff out the exhibits. Apart from the poo, which was thankfully unwhiffy.


The Natural History Museum has a long association with all things dino, and was the setting for the classic British comedy film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing. It's taken 18 months to prepare this exhibition, which draws on rarely seen artefacts from the museum's collection and puts them in a setting designed to appeal to today's tech-mad kids.

There's CGI film footage of an underwater 16 metre long beastie, dramatic imagery, and real dinosaur bones to see. And the Jurassic aquarium contains fossilised fish poo - lovely!

From the Jurassic period, the exhibition moves forward in time to the Cretaceous, where we encounter the skull of a dinosaur with 700 teeth. Wouldn't like to be his dentist.

You can hear dinosaur roars throughout the exhibit, which will either thrill or terrify your child, depending on nervous disposition or not. There are two darkened walk through areas which younger or more sensitive children may find scary. My seven-year-old son and I loved getting up close with a roaring T Rex-lookalike, but my daughter found it too much and had to be guided out with her eyes shut.

The interactive displays are bound to be a big hit - these look a bit like a massive iphone, taking touch screen technology and laying it flat on a table. Visitors can touch the large tables to access information or investigate a Jurassic poo. Get the questions wrong and the display grimly informs you that you've been eaten by a T Rex. Always a risk in dinosaur times.

The displays also offer the chance to make your own online scrapbook which you can use the barcode on your ticket to see later at home - thus neatly ensuring that the learning continues when your family leaves the musem.

At the exit there's a dino-only shop which I felt to be on the pricey side - souvenir prices start at around £3. Either that or I am just a mean mummy who begrudges paying more than a quid for a pencil.

Age of the Dinosaur is a great exhibition for anyone who knows their triceratops from their protoceratops. There's so much to look at and read packed in to the exhibition space that crowds are bound to build up, so if you're going, aim to visit the dinos early.


How to get there
The nearest tube is South Kensington on the Circle and District lines. Follow the signs to the museums (around a 10 minute walk). To get to Age of the Dinosaur, go around the side of the Natural History Museum building to the Exhibition Road entrance. Look for signs to the Green Zone. You'll find the exhibition in the area marked Waterhouse Gallery.

The Details
Age of the Dinosaur runs from 22nd April to 4 September from 10am to 5.15pm. Ticket prices: Adult £10, Child and concessions £6, Family £28. Free entry to Members, Patrons and children under 4. Entry to the rest of the museum is free.