20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block

London
Conversations
With:
@museummum
Vyki Sparkes aka

@musummum is a

culture blogger and

mum who’s goal to

inspire families to

explore the world of

How would you

art and culture. As

spend a free
an experienced

Saturday in
museum curator she

London?
has the best

Probably the way I recommendations

when it comes to
spend most

exhibits that can be

Saturdays - taking

enjoyed by kids and

the kids to a newly

opened exhibition, adults alike. We

asked her about

revisiting a favourite

some of her
museum, or

favourite things and

picnicking in a

heritage garden. I got some amazing

visit 100+ cultural responses. Read on

if you want to be
sites a year. With the
0
kids at school, the
inspired.

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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block
weekends are our

main time to explore

together. In the last

few months we’ve

Favourite area to

done Saturday trips

wander around?

to private art

galleries in Mayfair,

the new Heather Canary Wharf is a

Phillipson surprisingly great

installation at Tate place for a wander,

Britain, the especially for

Horniman Museum, families - there’s

Somerset House always something

fountains and Kew new going on. Its

Gardens. contemporary arts

commissions are

particularly strong.

Is there a hidden They’ve just opened

gem you’re willing their f irst Summer

to share with us? Lights exhibition,

and their Winter

The Old Royal

Lights are

Naval College in
exceptional, both

Greenwich. Dubbed
free to visit. The

‘London’s Sistine
trails have a map on

Chapel’, their
their website and

recently restored
take you through

Painted Ceiling is
some beautiful

jaw dropping.
pockets. On our last

There’s benches for

visit, we just

you to lay down on,

0 discovered a tiny

and excellent digital

musical playground

id
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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block
guides to help you
outside newly-built

interpret the
One Park Drive,

symbolism of the
with dockside views

art. The kids were so

and plenty of

excited to hold their

benches - a secluded

own guides and

place to take a

Museum Boy

recognised many of picnic. Crossrail

the Greek Place Roof Garden

mytholog y is stunning, with a

references from charm of goldf inches

school. It was warbling amongst

literally one of the the plants and trees

most laid back from all over the

museum experiences world. Museum of

we’ve had - we London Docklands

sprawled over the has just refurbished

benches and just Mudlarks, its free

soaked it all in. Luke under 8s play area.

Jerram’s Gaia was Canary Wharf put

also on show, but it on free mini golf,

was the ceiling street games and

which was the real ping pong, and

star. special events too.

The streets and

roads are

Do you have a exceptionally quiet,

place you take all and the crossings are

your visitors? touch free - you just

need to wave!

I tailor my
0 There’s plenty of

suggestions to my

family friendly

i i
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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block
visitors. We recently
restaurants,

took a friend to
thousands of parking

London Transport
spaces and plenty of

Museum as their son

toilets. 

loves buses and

trains - it was a huge Favourite

hit! You can’t go on museum(s) to

the vintage vehicles explore, and why?

at the moment
To be honest it’s not
because of Covid,
where you go, but
but there’s tube

when - that’s why I

driving simulators,
write regular What’s
soft play areas and
On guides to
lots of other hands
London’s museums.
on parts. In normal

A family friendly
times, we house
exhibition or event
swap for our
can transform a visit
holidays and I
- and it’s a good
always recommend

reason to go back or
our guests visit
try somewhere new.
God’s Own
Museum Boy
Junkyard, an
recently enjoyed a
Aladdin’s den of

family tour of
neon art in

Charles Dickens
Walthamstow.
Museum,

somewhere I

wouldn’t have taken

Favourite date
him without a
night activity?
specif ic event. We

We don’t have do have some haunts

0
childcare so date
which are great

i h i
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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block
night is a distant whenever you visit.

memory. For our Now that visitor

birthdays we numbers are limited,

normally use annual we always have a

leave to have a date great time at the

day whilst the kids Natural History

are at school. Last Museum. There are

year we went to so many exhibits

Bruce Nauman at that we always f ind

Tate Modern new things to marvel

followed by food at, and the Hintz

from Borough Hall is just jaw

Market (PSA: Giggly dropping.

Pig do the best meat Wonderlab at

pasties, thank me Science Museum

later). One year we with its hands-on

took the train to Rye experiments is

to visit Lambs another guaranteed

House, climb St hit. The Horniman

Marys Church tower Museum has a

and eat oysters in family friendly

Webbes. Another exhibition every year

time we saw an - it’s currently on

exhibition at the monkeys - plus an

Royal Academy aquarium, butterf ly

followed by lunch at house and mini

Hélène Darroze at farm. We even cross

The Connaught. We the river for it!

don’t do it often so

it’s a good excuse to

London has some
push the boat out. 0

obscure museums,

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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block
do you have a

favourite?

Where is your

favourite place to The Postal Museum

day trip from has a special place in

London?
my heart, especially

We’re currently as I was lead curator

drawn to Hastings. on their new

We did two press museum. You can

trips there last year take a ride on the

and were surprised tiny underground

by how much there train Mail Rail,

is for young there’s lots of hands

children. It’s a heady on interactives

mix of historic including sorting

streets and lively mail on a moving

seaside attractions. train carriage, and

We caught the there’s a bright,

historic funicular clean soft play area

railways up the cliff for children too. 

to the old Smugglers

caves, then ate

Do you have a
freshly-caught f ish

favourite movie or
with chips in

book set in
Maggies at the
London?

f ishermen’s quarter.
The Crimson Petal
You can see
and the White by
contemporary art

Micheal Faber
with sea views at
astonished me with
Hasting
how viscerally it
Contemporary, or 0

evoked Victorian
walk inside a

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London, its class
Victorian Indian
hypocrisies and
palace at Hastings
seedy underbelly.
Museum and Art
NOT for kids or
Gallery. For dinner

reading on public
we had a fantastic
transport, you will
meal over board
blush.

games at The Stag

Inn in the historic

What is a classic
Old Town, the f irst
London thing that
time we’ve enjoyed a

you’ve never
pub visit with kids!
done? 
We returned

recently for the I’ve never watched

Creative Coast the Changing of the

sculpture and to see Guard. They march

the Automaton under Wellington

exhibition, but Arch, so I’d climb up

there’s still more for to their viewing

us to explore.  platform to catch a

glimpse from on
(you can check out
high.
the full Hasting

guide here)

To read more of

Vyki’s wonderful

recommendations be

sure to check out her

website

https://museummum

.com/ and
0

instagram.

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20/11/2022 15:59 London Conversations With: @museummum — London Block by Block

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