Last week was an incredibly busy week, just as this week is turning out to be. Early in the week we visited the new Darwin Centre’s Cocoon at the Natural History Museum in London.

Here you must forget all that you know about visiting a museum. Yes, you can simply look, but that’ll be a shallow experience. Cocoon in the Darwin Centre requires your active involvement, as The Times reports. You collect a small card that has a barcode and a unique number at the start of your visit. This lets you collect the data you access and insects, animals and plants you see, to review remotely at a later date on the museum website.  Animated touch screens abound, seeking your answers to questions. It’s not simply touching the screen, you’re invited to drag images across the screen.  

Turn a corner and you come face to face with a working scientist, with whom you can talk [they're behind a glass screen, in case you were thinking otherwise].

The Cocoon building is a marvel. Shaped like an egg, it’s 7 stories high. From the top your work your way down via gently sloping floors. Shouldn’t tell you more. Go and see for yourself. But, have a strong coffee to start, to sharpen your mind, because you’ll certainly need it in full working order to get the best out of this experience.