Bournemouth Natural Science Society — Attraction in England

This hidden gem really is a most precious one. From its warmly welcoming, enthusiastic volunteers, its fascinating rooms of exhibits, and to the intriguing table of live specimens (many of which can be handled - if you dare!) there's really something for everyone. (Read on for more detailed waffle!).

Beautiful shells, fossils, invertebrates/insects, skilful taxidermy that allows presentation and study of so many species we otherwise wouldn't get close to, and there are even examples of (stuffed) common garden friends that children can recognise, stroke, poke and peer at up close at their level - wonderful stuff!

Today, I learnt all about Death's Head moths and watched video of them vigorously wiggling and wing beating away as they probed long tongues into honeycomb, gorging themselves silly. I learnt about Egyptian mummies. I cuddled a Bearded Dragon, rough where you'd think she'd be smooth, and soft where she looks most spiky. I handled a vibrant orange corn snake and two cool, rubbery Royal Pythons, the larger of the two laced around my shoulders just calmly chilling out with me.

I learnt more about stick insects, my favourite being the McCleay's Spectre female nymphs, who look like miniature scorpions clad in lichen ghillie suits!

Yes, it's my fourth visit, but it won't be my last. My 11 year old daughter loves it, house visitors we've taken have all said how brilliant it is, and older relatives can slowly explore with plenty of places to rest. With a free car park and no entry fee (but a hope you'll donate a little something if you can or buy some very affordable tumbled gems, ammonites or similar!), it's a great way to spend an hour or so at a slower pace, absorbing things you never knew.

Lastly, hats off to the team of volunteers who do everything they do, including ensuring the utmost care of the beautiful, live specimens. They safely transport them (in the travel cages you'll see) from their spacious enclosures at home. Unlike some animal attractions you might visit, these doted upon creatures are all an absolute picture of health, hence why they're so happy...

The best place I've visited for a long time! Spread across three floors you will find collections of birds, animals, fossils, eggs, shells, crystals, dinosaur footprints, archeological artifacts, microscopes, butterflies, insects, spiders, Egyptoloy, botany, all things geology and a host of information. The displays are very well marked with useful facts.

The museum is run by volunteers and is a charity, it's done on s donation axis do no actual entry fee. The people are experts in their field and are passionate about what they know...they are there to inspire you and answer every question you could have! They were brilliant with my children, really talking to them and engaging with them, it was wonderful!

Besides the museum itself, they run 40 talks a year plus field trips and have open days on Saturday mornings once a month where they have live insects and sometimes pond dipping in the huge garden. They also run a young explorers club!

You can become a member for a nominal fee of approx 21 per quarter for a family which goes to support the museum and this grants you free entry to the museum and talks.

It is a quaint place that feels like a real oldy worldy museum with all the cabinets and curiosities, it's wonderful. So many of the fossils in particular were found on our local beaches that it really brings it close to home! My children absolutely loved it!

The museum itself is open on Tuesdays from ten til four! There are clean toilets on site and disabled loos too! The car park is free and holds about 25 cars. In the main exhibit hall there are tables and tea and coffee on a help yourself basis. Photography of the exhibits is not permitted without permission otherwise I would have been busy snapping pics for this review!! The museum is clearly marked with banners on the roadside and is...

Absolutely brilliant time here with the kids, highly recommend! Only recently learnt of this museum and wasn't expecting much initially. We were greeted by some lovely volunteers and although the entry was free, we did donate as this incredible museum relies on the donations and volunteers (so please do donate). The volunteers were all approachable and knowledgeable about the things you found here. We had a nice long chat with a gentleman volunteer who knew lots about the taxidermy wild animals and the preserved bugs. He told us many interesting facts about them. Our favourite part was the encounter with the live insects and reptiles, my daughter who used to be afraid of spiders held a sweet tarantula called Curly and now thinks they're adorable! We also wore noble snakes like scarves, had a cute bearded dragon snuggle into us and had the most gentle variety of insects crawl across our hands. We then explored the upstairs area of the museum which included a real Egyptian mummy surrounded by beautiful artefacts. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to explore the downstairs area which the fossils and geology but will sure be back during the half...