London Attractions Familiar Attractions Science MuseumScience Museum - Harrods - Serpentine - Diana Memorial
The Science Museum was founded in 1857 but it was only in 1885 that the Science Collections 
were renamed The Science Museum and the Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which later became the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous exhibits as Stephenson's Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, a reconstruction of Francis Crick and James Watsons' model of DNA, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, the Apollo 10 Command Module, a working example of Charles Babbage's Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, and documentation about the first typewriter.
As with the Natural History Museum next door, the focus is on accessibility. The exhibits are detailed, but avoid sounding dry and academic. Interactive displays and scientific experiments are more common than verbose descriptions. In short it's fun for children, but informative. It's possible to read novels worth of explanation about the horrors of wartime London, but standing beneath the towering V2 rocket on display in the 'Making the Modern World' gallery and imagining the reported numbers which rained down onto the capital in 1945, brings the prospect into sharp relief.
Head south along Exhibition Road then left and north-east up Brompton Road which leads to the Harrods department store. The food hall is recommended for snacks and deli food.
Continue up Brompton Road until it feeds into Knightsbridge and cross over to enter Hyde Park. Head straight on (north) and you will see the Serpentine (lake). Boats can be hired from the Boat House on the north shore, near the bridge.
The Diana Memorial, on the south shore, near the point where Exhibition Road crosses the park, is a popular spot with children. A large oval of rapids and quieter waters, where children can wade. Early accidents caused access to be restricted, but this contradicted the purpose of The Diana Memorial, so after (anti-slip) modifications, children were allowed back in, though you're still advised to be careful.
It's possible to theoretically spend £100 a head per child, taking them to the most interesting and impressive sites across town and barely raise a glimmer, but splashing about in the fountain here, which costs nothing, could easily be the highlight of their trip.
Exhibition Road, South Kensington, SW7 2DD.
South Kensington Tube.
Call: 0870 870 4868
The Boat House, Hyde Park, W2 2UH.
Knightsbridge Tube.
Call: 020 7262 1330
