Family Festival: Ocean October

The Natural History Museum is running Family Festival: Ocean October from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November, a week of activities built around the Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep exhibition. The exhibition brings to life the legends of Earth's prehistoric oceans, from the pliosaur to the ichthyosaur, and the festival lets you meet those creatures and take part in hands-on activities inspired by real marine palaeontologists.

Beyond the main exhibition, there's a fair bit more on. The museum's resident dinosaur puppets, Teach Rex, front the T. Rex Show, which explains the anatomy and life of Tyrannosaurus rex. If you're more into what's kept behind closed doors, the Spirit Collection tour takes you into the zoology collection of 22 million specimens preserved in spirit, including the giant squid Archie. There's also a Women in Science tour that brings out treasures like specimens collected by Mary Anning. And for the younger ones, the sixty-third Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is open, described as among the best in the world.

Most of the festival activities are free on a first-come, first-served basis, so you can just turn up and join in. The Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep exhibition costs £17.50 for adults and £8.75 for children. The T. Rex Show with Teach Rex is £15 for non-members and £13.50 for members. The Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Spirit Collection is £35 for non-member adults, £28 for non-member children, £28 for member adults, and £23 for member children.