Review: Visiting David Attenborough’s Our Story 360° Cinematic Experience

As a wildlife lover and someone who is passionate about creating a sustainable planet, David Attenborough is, of course, an absolute hero of mine. I grew up watching him on ‘Wildlife on One’, I adore all of his new series, such as ‘Blue Planet’, and I love how he has spent almost his entire life trying to get others to see the world through his own eyes. When we visited The Earth Experience in 2023, I was completely blown away by the visuals, the atmosphere created and being immersed in a wildlife programme – such an amazing experience. So, when I found out there was a similar event running inside The Natural History Museum, I just had to get us tickets! We visited David Attenborough’s Our Story 360° Cinematic Experience in November this year and this is our honest review.

What is The Our Story 360° Cinematic Experience?

This 50 minute cinematic story is about us – humans. It takes you on a journey from the start of life and does show nature and wildlife, but the focus here is on where we came from, what we have achieved, what affect we have had on Earth and what the future may well hold. This is a cinematic experience that is very similar to what we saw in The Earth Experience, with the walls and floors immersing you in the film but this has been created with the intent to deliver an important message – we need to change.

Where is it?

The Natural History Museum

Cromwell Road

London SW7 5BD

Museum is open daily 10:00-17:50

The Experience is located in the Jerwood Gallery

Costs and Running Time

You will need to pre-book your tickets via The Natural History Museum’s website and choose a viewing slot. Prices vary depending on when you plan to visit, with peak times (weekends, school holidays and bank holidays) being more expensive.

Peak Times

The 10:00 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00 shows on weekends, school holidays and bank holidays:

Adult (18+): £25
Child (4–17): £12.50

The 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00 shows on weekends, school holidays and bank holidays:

Adult (18+): £22.50
Child (4–17): £11.25

Off peak tickets

All shows Monday to Friday, excluding school holidays and bank holidays:

Adult (18+): £20
Child (4–17): £10

And if you are a member, you will get up to 50% off.

The experience is currently running until August 2026.

Our Story with David Attenborough Review

We booked our tickets during the week and visited on the coming Saturday with no problem. As there are viewings all day, availability seemed to be very good. Your entry to the museum IS included in this booking; however, when we arrived, we didn’t realise that you could only go in an hour before the screening began. We explained that we only had 25 minutes and just wanted to go and grab lunch so the staff member was very kind and (after a little persuasion) allowed us to do this. Always read the small print, people!

There is a cloakroom where you can offload your bags, coats, scarves etc, but this was pretty pricey in my opinion so I would recommend travelling light if you can. If you do want to eat during your visit, there are several places to choose from and they had some really good options.

At peak times, the museum is extremely busy so I would advise downloading a map (it’s free from the website) and checking how far you have to walk to get to the cinematic experience on time (it is quite close to the dinosaurs if that helps).

On arrival, a member of staff will scan your ticket and you wait in the reception area until they are ready to call you through. You are then guided to the large cinematic room and asked to find a seat. This is where it is quite different to The Earth Experience. You don’t move around and you cannot talk so taking younger kids isn’t really advisable. The staff member does provide some ground rules and explains what will happen, that there are captions provided and that they will be seated at the back of the room if you need assistance.

As soon as the film began, everyone was just astounded. You are fully surrounded by beautiful images, bright colours, stunning nature and wildlife and of course, immersed in David Attenborough’s distinctive and warming voice. The story begins right at the start of time, slowly working through the birth of plants, animals and then us.

We learn how we are different to other animals on the planet, how we have the ability to adapt and evolve and progress, always looking for the next thing to do and invent but as the film moves on, we see what impact this has had. David uses this unique film as a way to draw the audience in, captivate them, educate them and show them where things have gone wrong, but in his typical Attenborough fashion, he explains and demonstrates how there IS hope and how change CAN come about.

I went in not knowing at all what to expect. I began the film being wowed and smiling, I loved the impactful visuals but my emotions slowly changed to annoyance and anger as we were reminded of the destruction we have caused. However, by the end, I was literally holding back my tears. As David came onto the screen, it truly felt as though he was in there with us, and his words hung in the room with every viewer – you could certainly feel that. In 50 minutes, David Attenborough took us all on a journey that I think everybody should experience and I really do hope that the BBC broadcasts this on TV for everyone to experience in the future. I truly believe this is his last attempt for positive change.

Is It Worth Visiting?

In short, yes. If you want to see change happen, if you are passionate about our environment and a liveable future, this is the cinematic experience for you. I wouldn’t personally recommend it with very small children, mine are aged 7 and 11 and they just about did ok. You should also check out the Fixing Our Broken Planet exhibition afterwards. The facts were mindblowing!

Is It Worth The Price?

It cost us £67.50 as a family of 4 for a 2pm showing and we spent the next few hours exploring the museum so I think this was well worth the price (normal cinemas are fairly pricey these days).

Would I go Again?

Do you know what, I think I would. I really enjoyed the experience and I’m sure if you chose to sit somewhere else it would all feel different and you may notice things you didn’t see in the first sitting. I would definitely watch it again if it came to terrestial TV or Netflix.

You can book to visit this experience over on The Natural History Museum’s website here.

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