This is very expensive for what is actually here. This is for families with young children only. Under 10 I would say. Staff are friendly and cafe is clean and spacious. The interactive activities are basic and for young children who don't understand what is happening then they are just randomly pressing buttons etc which kept them busy for sometime but not long. Most buttons just switch lights on. Some make noise. We didn't use the soft play. There is a construction area with foam bricks and a crane. This is popular and you have to queue for your turn but some parents don't make their kids wait their turn and they push in. Also, coffee is in takeaway cups and I saw a few getting knocked over near the exhibits, requiring paper towels and mops. The best area was the sandpits and digging for rocks. With 2 kids under 4, we managed to stretch our visit to 1 hour 45, including a drink and snack stop. But for £30 for 1 adults ,1 child and an infant (free) it's quite a lot, plus drinks, and parking charge (although on this visit the machines were out of order). By 10.30 on a Sunday, the venue was already packed and very loud, noisy. Car park struggling to contain everyone, people circling for spaces. We didn't pay extra to go in the planetarium or other shows as the price would be getting a bit ridiculous at this point. We've been once, we won't need to go again.

For a family of 4, tickets cost us £60. An additional £16 for the planetarium. Ellie did the talk in the planetarium and was fantastic explaining the constellations and planets. She'd done it in a clear way to get the younger kids excited. The science live shows throughout the day were good too. I liked that you can stand on the balcony and watch, unlike some places I've been where kids get pushed out the way by over enthusiastic parent. They were just the right length to capture little one's interest. My kids had fun learning through all the different exhibits, although my youngest didn't stick around to read the learning bit, he was more interested in pushing buttons. We were done in about 2 hours including the planetarium and lunch. At the end of the day both my children enjoyed their day out, it's a shame it's so expensive.

Great for kids interested in hands-on science. Lots to see and do. Kept our 8 year old occupied for a good couple of hours. Parking was reimbursed as the car park was full and we had to park at the nearby hotel and walk a few hundred metres up the road (alongside parked cars, no pavement, could be tricky with little ones). Lots of toilets, which were clean. The coffee at the cafe wasn't great, just from a self-service machine. It was scorching hot and tasted burnt. The hot chocolate was good and my son loved the chocolate muffin.

I thought Charles in the planetarium was marvellous. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However, we had paid for parking, but the car park was full. We didn’t get our money back, we received a voucher. I have a health problem which makes any walking on a slope really difficult. So parking in the hotel car park wasn’t ideal. The centre was full. The soft play area was a nightmare. An accident waiting to happen as all the kids and very small kids going up the slide area all at once. Three older boys piled on top of my little granddaughter and luckily they got off of her quickly. I then saw one of the boys jump on top of her again. I ran in and told him to get off of her. I don’t think it would be a bad idea for the equipment be cleaned a few times a day with that many people coming through. All in all I think it was okay for the little ones, but it’s a shame there isn’t more for them to do. I thought there would be an eating area, but there was just a few bits for kids and mainly drinks. It could be so much more. I will say again that the planetarium was magic.

Way over priced for what it was, charging £15.00 per adult and the same for a child aged from 3-16!!! Plus you have to pay an extra £4 each for a short video in the plantirum. So for a family of 4 thats £80 plus £3 for parking. It was outdated on most of the interactions and is not suitsble for older children as you are bascially in a giant nursery and the so called science is very basic and for young children only. The downstairs giant play area is again non relevant to science and has young children running all over the place paying £15 to see that each for two 14 year olds and a 9 year old that was bored within 20 mins seems pretty execisive. I think charging a 3 to 16 year old £15 is actually a rip off and then charging more for an underwhelming plantirum short film with screaming babies mostly, is appaling. If they feel they have to charge that amount and havent really invested in better updated science information or activities to suit 'all' ages including older children they are not spending their profits wisely and they think its ok to over charge for something so basic. The science Museum in London would have been a whole better experience at a lot less cost. These days families are penny watching as it is and this to me feels like a rip off and not suitable for everyone.

Tend to agree with some of the other reviews in that it really does not represent good value for money and is geared very much to those with younger families. Our 8 year old Grandson said much the same, and that there was not as much to do as there was pre lock-down. The Planetarium is very informative, but be sure to pick the right show for the age of your children. We had a very loud, and disruptive family with young children in the rows behind us that seemed oblivious of the noise they were making, until another family pointed out to them that they could not hear the presenters narrative. We'd pretty much seen / done everything in a couple of hours, that a +£60 was pretty steep. Surely if you've paid entry than parking should be for free also.

I visited with a very Autistic young man today. Our overall experience was very good. My charge needed a break from all the noise and was approached by two members of staff, letting me know there was a regulation room we could go to. This was great, and we were able to regulate our emotions. This small room is open to everyone, not just additional needs. Our experience overall was great. HOWEVER We booked for the planetarium and was greatly saddened by the ignorance of other people. My charge is very autistic,non verbal but will recite his favourite movies loudly and inaudible. This was met throughout the session with lots of shushes. Imagine how this made me feel! But I stayed to watch the show because my charge was really enjoying the experience. Someone else may have left! I do feel that some sort of reminder is needed to say that the Science Centre is an all-inclusive environment for all who visit. This may stop the horrible attitude of others in an already heightened day out when taking out a young person with additional needs.

It's certainly not geared towards adults. It's child orientated and if your an adult thinking your going to be interested, you won't be. At the café, there is no signs anywhere about hot sandwiches being available after 11.30, but when we asked at 11.10 we were told we would have to wait. When I mentioned this to the member of staff, she was completely uninterested. Unless you have kids, avoid this place.

£60 for a family ticket, and 90% of the food on offer is vegan. £25 for sandwiches for a family of four. I suppose the experience would have been okay if we had very young children, as most of it is aimed at toddlers to maybe 5 or 6 year olds? Not much for a 7 and 11 year old. Won’t be going again.

we came to listen to the 50th anniversary Dark side of the moon experience with the amazing planetarium filming. Very comfy seats which was fab. A seriously lacking in anything much to eat or drink at the cafe enjoyed waiting by looking at some of the exhibits. most button press interaction working but several were not. We paid 20.00 per ticket for the event in the evening. Judging by the normal admission charges for a day trip, id say it was extortionate However our evening showing was worth every penny