One of our favourite activities last year was Dopamine Land. We could have happily spent the whole day there (I mean we did spend several hours exploring), although the official duration of the event is supposed to be 30-50 minutes. It is truly the multi-sensory experience that it is described as and suitable for all ages.

What is Dopamine Land

Dopamine Land is described as an interactive museum on their website, which makes sense. You travel through various rooms that appeal to the different senses via technology, light and spacing.

It is designed to bring out everyone’s inner child (which it does very well) by creating a fun and relaxing environment.

The Different Rooms

As I mentioned before, you travel through various rooms; if like Harry did, you want a surprise as to what you will find at Dopamine Land, you probably won’t want to read this section because I will be talking about each of the rooms you will find, so I’d suggest you skip ahead to the section on where this experience is.

Galaxy of Lights

The first room that we came to is aptly known as the Galaxy of Lights. I was quite surprised with how small this room actually was because it seemed to go on forever thanks to the use of mirrors. This was one of my favourite rooms because it looks so pretty. The multicoloured balls hang on strings from the ceiling reflecting off the mirrors to create a beautiful display of light.

Step and Sound

This room had dim lighting with square blocks lining the floor. It was a lot of fun because as you step from square to square, they light up and make noise.

The Writing Room

How many times were you told off for writing on the walls as a kid? Well, not here. It’s actually encouraged! You can write on the walls as much as you like. Although, if you really don’t like to there is paper for you to write on and post into one of three letter boxes attached to the wall.

Lucid Dreams

I will admit that this was possibly my least favourite room here. There are two screens on either end of the room that play images on a loop. The idea is to supposedly send you into a dreamlike state (in hindsight its supposed to act a little like hypnosis I suppose), but for me it fell short.

The Story Tent

This room definitely transports you back to your childhood with half of the room dedicated to shadow puppets. This side even has diagrams showing how you should hold your hands to make the various shadow animals.

The other half of the room reminds me of a giant magnetic fridge with all of the words that are stuck to it that can be moved around to create the sentences and phrases that you.

The Ball Pit

This was one of our favourite rooms. There is a notice on the door asking people not to jump in, but as the door was open, we didn’t see it until Harry had done just that. It is probably a safety thing as the ball pit wasn’t very deep.

We were the last group to go through so didn’t have as much time as we may have wanted, so if you want longer in the ball pit try to get one of the earlier sessions in the day.

Also, make sure everything is out of your pockets before going in or you may lose it!

The Lantern Room

This was another one of my favourites. It is a dim room filled with rugs, pillows and candles. You sit or lie on the rugs looking up at lanterns that move up and down at varying intervals. The music is atmospheric and through the use of diffusers with what I think was the scent of lavender filling the room, this all makes it an incredibly relaxing experience.

Woodland Wonderland

The execution of this room is really cool. Wood chips cover the floor with tree stumps at intervals throughout the room. But the main draw is the light boxes that are designed to look like a tree canopy and the scent that fills the room.

Pillow Fight

A soft version of a rage room filled with pillows is the best way to describe this room in my opinion. It was Harry’s favourite room of the night and the perfect place to unleash any pent-up anger or frustration.

The Bubble Bar

This room or area is a great place to hang out either before or after you explore the other rooms. It has the means to provide great photo opportunities with multiple props laid out for you to sit on climb in or pose by.

As the name suggests, there is also a bar that serves specialist cocktails and bubble teas for you to enjoy in beautiful surroundings with many on theme decorations.

One of Harry’s favourite activities in this area was the table tennis which we played with while having our drinks, even if none of us were very good!

Where is Dopamine Land?

Dopamine Land is in South Kensington, London, within easy walking distance of the underground station.

We got the train to South Kensington then used Google maps for directions, but once you realised which road it was on it was very easy to find regardless.

Opening Times and Tickets

This is one experience that you have to pre book, so I am yet again going to be encouraging (probably not the right word to use as it is necessary this time!) to buy your tickets online. When you buy these tickets, you will also be choosing what time you want to visit on the day, so it is important to pay attention to the order you place.

Dopamine Land is open Thursday – Sunday at different times depending on the day. If you are visiting during the week then the earliest you can enter is 3pm in comparison to 10am at the weekends.

The Cloakroom

As Dopamine Land is in England the weather can be (just a little) unpredictable, so it might be raining when you visit. Unfortunately, carrying a coat or umbrella around with you will hamper you experience if you do end up having to bring one with you. So, for the first time ever we took advantage of the £2.50 cloakroom, and I am so glad that we did, because the only room that we would have been able to leave our belongings in without impeding the activity was the room to the side of the ball pit. If we’d had to take our bags with us, we really wouldn’t have been able to fully appreciate some of the rooms.

Conclusion

Dopamine Land was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone. This exhibit has been extended multiple times so has now been open for two years. We were lucky to get to experience this and felt so much more relaxed after visiting.