Imperial War Museum is not on everyone’s top list of things to do while visiting London, however, it was my favorite museum. I am not a war mongrel of any sort, but the museum is actually very interesting. We ended up at the Imperial War Museum because there were too many kids running around at the Natural History Museum. We spent 3 hours there and it was not enough time at all.
The stop for the Imperial War Museum is kind of far from the rest of the "attractions." You have to take the brown line (Elephant & Castle) almost to the end to the Lambeth stop. Stepping out from the tube you definitely feel like you are in the suburbs. A five minute walk gets you to the museum.

At the main entrance of the museum are 2 huge missile launchers or something of the sort. Once entering the main entrance you go directly to the audio guide rental counter. There is no entrance fee, this museum is FREE. Furthermore, we didn’t rent audio guides or feel the need to rent them in retrospect. By the way coat check is also, you guessed it FREE.

The museum has exhibits for WWI, WWII, the Holocaust, and Crimes Against Humanity.

The entrance floor has various tanks, machine guns, missiles, "little boy," and an interactive submarine experience. The submarine experience is made for kids to learn about how a submarine works, but I actually found it very interesting. There were interactive displays such as a radar tuner where you could hear the different bleeps or blips sounds detected by a radar for different things in the ocean (i.e. whale or a missile). Displays on everyday life in a submarine from sleeping, to eating, even going to the toilet.

The displays for the war memorabilia were incredibly detailed, and ranged from the types of guns and uniforms worn in combat, to the notepads that soldiers used.

One of the highlights to illustrate trench warfare included a life-size trench that a visitor may walk through. Another walk through experience was a "blitzkrieg."

A whole floor is dedicated to the holocaust and another towards crimes to humanity (i.e. genocides darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia)

Don’t think that this museum is for guys into wars for when we visited we are 2 women in our twenties that walked away thinking that the war museum as one of the best museums. It was so enthralling that my friend said to me "let’s stay in here until someone kicks us out." Too bad we didn’t have more time to explore.

www.iwm.org.uk

This museum is not as popular as the Cabinet War rooms, but is equally as interesting. It covers the conflicts involving Britain from WWI to present day. There is a sobering Holocaust Exhibition that uses historical material to trace the rise of the Nazi party to the amazing stories of perseverance from actual survivors. This exhibit is not recommended for children under 14 however, my 11-year-old son was fine. We could have spent all day here.

I went to this museum during Easter Break, which made it full of kids running around. While this was slightly bothersome, I was impressed with the way the museum handled the kids. Being Easter, they provided the children with chance to participate in art contests and Egg Hunts. I realized something about museums in London, which was that they try to make the museum experience fun for the children. I was told that this is so that the children can enjoy learning about things, rather than dreading going to educational museums. The museum was separated into sections of various battles. World Wars I and II, D Day, wars of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Holocaust. Again, because of the seriousness and the size of this museum, I would have preferred to do different sections of it on different days. This is one of the places that I'd love to go back to on my next visit to London.

The Imperial War Museum has a huge array of military equipment from 1914 up to the present day. The museum offers an insight into the lives and times of British military personnel and civilians during the First and Second World Wars. Explore tanks and other military equipment, and browse personal letters, documents, and official information. A visit to this living documentary will transport older generations back to yesteryear and help younger people build a picture of what life was like in Britain's 'darkest hours'. Entrance is free.

The Imperial War Museum was one of my favorite stops. I loved it so much, I went twice! For all you WWI and WWII buffs or European History lovers out there, this is the place for you. WWI and WWII were more drastic for the British than for the Americans, and finally that difference comes to light in this museum.

Aside from the typical artifacts, including weapons and artillery, there is the Trench Warfare Experience, where museum curators have recreated a trench and the atmosphere from WWI. There is also the WWII Experience, where you can "walk" the streets of London after a German bombing raid.

There is also the 1940s house experiment, a house completely recreated to reflect what the typical household would have looked like in 1940 WWII Britain. The recreated house was part of a television program that took people from today to live like it was 1940 England.

Other attractions include the arm’s race and nuclear warfare, MI6 and Intelligence Agencies, and a tribute to Holocaust survivors. You can spend an afternoon here exploring the art and horrors of warfare. Again, this museum is for FREE, so donate some money!

Caveat: While this is a popular spot for British children to visit, American's might be shocked at some of the nature of what is on exhibit, so use your discretion. The Holocaust survivor tribute is not for American children under 14. Again, as always, before 11am or after 2pm are the best times to explore this museum.

Take the Bakerloo Line to Lambeth North. Walk straight out the tube station and walk along the road that runs at an angle to the tube station. You will walk past a police station. Walk until you see a huge gun (battleship huge!) hanging out in front of a building that looks like a Mental Hospital. The Imperial War Museum was at one point an insane asylum!