Hoping to buck the trend of the rather tacky "museums" and exhibitions around County Hall is Movieum a museum aimed at film fans and kids. Considerable care and effort has been put into the layout of the museum which is clearly restricted by being in a listed building and by what it has been able to cadge from various film productions. It is not as lavish as the former MOMI on the South bank, which was a very popular day out for this family.
At Movieum you can stand next to the giant household objects built for The Borrowers, as well as a Tardis from Dr Who (it has been a film) and various Star Wars props and costumes.
There's a section on superheroes, but it was rather dry for children , mainly just costumes on view. There is a potted history of British film which allows a good nostalgic wallow for parents. Some unintended laughs were a popular feature for grown ups of a certain age when we came across the section showing the 1970s trailers for British films that were merely film versions of TV shows. The Sweeny shamelessly compared to the French Connection was a hoot. Also a trailer for the big screen version of Are you Being Served? was hilarious as it was so bad.
For the kids there are not enough interactive exhibits, or indeed things to do. If we did miss things, this was due to poor signage and a lack of staff to help you to get the most out of your visit.
Outside of the museum in the corridors leading to it, we were greeted by some actors pretending to be from Lord of the Rings, but they disappeared once we were inside which was a disappointment.
We found the animation workshop very much get on with it yourself, or maybe there was a member of staff in the corner, but you wouldn’t have known it. Sadly the day rather too quickly became a bit listless and directionless. Kids today know how films are made due to DVD extras and so want to be engaged and involved. There is a great museum in there waiting to break out.
One final disappointment was the merchandising that had one item at £3 and then nothing until you hit the £15 mark and way beyond (a collectable light sabre was on sale for £80). Collectables for adults not kids.
Movieium does struggle with who is their audience, adults or kids ? There really wasn’t enough to keep our children engaged for longer than a couple of hours. Movieum does not have its own café, so we had to either go to the usual fast food joints or eat in the Terrace café, where we ended up paying £25 (cash , they didn’t take cards) for four sandwiches and two coffees. Be warned!
Entrance price: adults £12, children £9.
Movieum is open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Contact telephone number 0207 202 7040 or visit www.themovieum.com