Edinburgh Dynamic Earth – one of the best interactive museums in the world

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Last Sunday was productive: we had a picnic in the Holyrood Park and visited the Edinburgh Dynamic Earth museum. It was so amazing, that now I definitely consider it one of the best interactive museums in the world.

Many thanks to VisitScotland, who provided us with the amazing ASVA cards, so we could visit the majority of the attractions in Scotland for free. I think so far it saved us already hundreds of pounds and hopefully, the posts we are writing about the attractions and the photos we are posting to Instagram will help these Edinburgh attractions to get more visitors, especially off-season.

Why not travel to Edinburgh off-season? It’s way cheaper and less rainy (my favourite months in Edinburgh are actually January, April and September).

Let’s go back to the Edinburgh Dynamic Earth. Why did we like it so much?

  • First of all, it’s all interactive. I’ve been to plenty of museums in my life and none of them was as interactive as Dynamic Earth. I almost felt like being in a Disneyland attraction. I imagine how amazing it is for kids with their vivid imagination – the special effects must be breathtaking for them!
  • Secondly, it’s very interesting. Even though we obviously have studied everything in the elementary school, many facts have already faded from the memory, so it was pretty nice to refresh it.
  • Finally, it has a perfect timing, so you know, how much time will you spend in this museum and plan your day accordingly.
Edinburgh Dynamic Earth - one of the best interactive museums in the world
Looks like a yellow submarine, doesn’t it? 

What is Edinburgh Dynamic Earth all about?

Well, as it can be concluded from its name, it’s about our planet Earth and it’s placed in the Universe. It covers all the stages of the development of our planet – from its birth to the creation of life – the first bacterial organisms. The whole Dynamic Earth is like a spaceship, so you feel like you disembark on a great adventure, accompanied by staff from one section of the ship to another. That’s quite a great experience.

Some sections have incredible special effects. As we decided to visit Dynamic Earth around 3:30 pm on Sunday (at 4 pm is the last admission), it was almost empty and in some zones, we were completely alone. Also, almost all the sections are timed, and the journey time is displayed in every other section, showing you how long will you spend in every single zone of the museum. The highlight of the visit was the movie in the end of our tour – the Dome experience, which was way better than IMAX. I’ve seen something similar in the Natural History Museum in NYC, but I must admit, that the one in Dynamic Earth was the same quality or even better.

Edinburgh Dynamic Earth - one of the best interactive museums in the world
The hallways in this “spaceship”

Also, the admission price is not that high compared to many attractions in Edinburgh: the ticket costs £15 for adults and £10 for kids and can be actually purchased online with a 10% discount!

Are you interested in some other attractions in Edinburgh? Check our review of the Edinburgh Vaults tour or just explore the whole Edinburgh category on our blog. Looking for a place to stay in Edinburgh? Why not check this list of 10 best affordable hotels in Edinburgh, which I handpicked myself!

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Edinburgh Dynamic Earth - one of the best interactive museums in the world

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