Dynamic Earth - an exciting Edinburgh exploration!

When asking the local homeschooling group about activities for kids in Edinburgh, Dynamic Earth came up several times. The reviews online were mixed, but we decided to give it a shot and I’m so glad we did. We arrived late in the day after school groups had left and we had the whole place to ourselves. It’s a linear progression through time, starting with “time travel” back to the Big Bang.

You track the evolution of the universe starting with the formation of atoms, then eventually the solar system and finally a focus on Earth’s creation from watery planet to volcanic eruptions and the world we know today. They throw in information about Earth’s biomes and then a planetarium-style 360 degree movie. Of particular amusement was learning it all from a narrator with a Scottish accent. It is certainly geared more towards school-aged children and has a combination of timed-entry rooms you move through and one large area where you can linger and read the displays. We enjoyed it so much, we came back again later in our trip so we got to see both the “We are stars” movie and an “Apollo” movie about the U.S. space program. Both were fascinating, especially the simplified description of nuclear fusion and supernovas.