If you’re staying in Beijing during the Golden Week, there sure is a lot to do. The capital definitely doesn’t lack holiday action, but if you need an idea, how about a visit to the Beijing Museum of Natural History?

It’s a great family-friendly place to spend a morning or afternoon at, with kids exploring the colorful exhibitions and you brushing up on your knowledge of diversity of life on earth.

The museum itself is a three-story building with the most fascinating area being the Ancient Reptiles hall located on the first floor. It’s a permanent exhibition displaying dinosaur skeletons and fossils, some of them intact and very realistic. We had so much fun comparing our hands and feet to those of dinosaurs, ours seemed so tiny!

Apart from this, there’s also a dinosaur park where kids get to see a lifelike exhibit with massive, head-shaking, roaring, blinking dinosaurs in their natural habitats.

The rest of the exhibitions feature mammals, animals from all over the world, plants, and aquatic animals. The “Amazing Africa” exhibition was pretty cool for the kids to see with all the life-sized wild animals in vivid African scenery. Adults won’t learn much from it, but it’s definitely fascinating for the kids.

There’s also an aquarium in the basement, but we didn’t get the chance to visit, the dinosaurs and everything dino-related was pretty much all the kids cared about.

Another interesting exhibition is “Animals-The Friends of Humankind” featuring hundreds of animal specimens from different countries: polar bears, tigers, wolves, pandas, snakes, you name it.

There is also a 4D cinema on the third floor and a gift shop on the second. Even though the museum is extremely kid- and family-friendly, there are a lot of stairs so strollers are a no-go.

Beijing Museum of Natural History is open six days a week (except Monday) 9am-5pm. Visitors, children included, must make online reservations at least 1 day before the visit. The easiest way to do it is through their website or official Wechat account. You’ll need to choose the date and provide your passport number. And now the best part – admission is free. So if you’re looking for ideas for a nice family afternoon, head to the Museum of Natural History and let your family experience all the wonders of nature.

Find it:
Beijing Museum of Natural History
北京自然博物馆
126, Tianqiao Street
天桥南大街126号
Tel: 67027702

Images: Sanja Stojkov

Museums are always a safe bet for a hassle-free day trip for the family, especially when they offer kid-focused exhibitions which enable the little ones to enjoy themselves while learning, rather than listening to wordy, dull explanations. Beijing Museum of Natural History is right at the top of the list; not only ideal for a fun-filled family trip, but also a great way for kids to wave their summer holiday boredom goodbye.

Home to an abundant collection of artifacts, fossils, and specimens, the museum presents permanent exhibitions featuring reptiles, mammals, invertebrates, dinosaur fossils, plants, and rare animal specimens from around the world, as well as explaining the evolution of human beings.

The highlights include the largest sauropod dinosaur fossil discovered in China, Stegodon zdanskyi, the most complete skeleton of a stegodon ever found in the world, and Archaefructus liaoningensis, the earliest known flowering plant.

Maybe not all of the exhibitions will interest your kids, but each section boasts unique highlights, boosting the chances that something there will grab them.

The mammal fossil collection is the second biggest in the world, while the fossils of dinosaurs will definitely appeal to the many dinosaur-obsessed kids. At the plant section, kids get a close-up view of the whole process of flowers sprouting, growing, and blossoming. And the lifelike recreations of the wildlife of Africa, North America, and Eurasia in the animal section are ready to inspire in kids love of and fascination with the natural world.

The 4D cinema screens scientific and educational films at various times throughout the day. Currently listed films are Turtles’ Adventure, Pig Peak, A Warning from the Dinosaur, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, Night of Resurrection, and Prehistoric Adventure. Admission fee is RMB 20 per person.

The museum also offers a wide-ranging program of temporary exhibitions and events all year round. Check their website to keep updated about upcoming exhibitions.

Beijing Museum of Natural History
9am-5pm Tue-Sun. Free entrance (some charges apply for temporary exhibitions, and reservations one day in advance are recommended since the museum might get full during the summer holiday.). Beijing Museum of Nature History (No. 126 Tianqiao South Street, Dongcheng District; 6702 7702; office@bmnh.org.cn).

Photos: Beijing Museum of Natural History