Recently we visited a brilliant science centre called @Bristol. It is in the city centre and is well signed from all approaches to Bristol. It is also close to other sites such as the next door Bristol Aquarium and SS Great Britain. which is only a 5 minute walk away. The centre does not have its own car parking though but there is multi-storey car park less than a 3 minute walk away which we used.
@Bristol is a fully interactive and immersive science centre. Every exhibit is hands on and there really are things to suit all ages from toddlers to adults. There are planetarium shows throughout the day and we'd highly recommend them . We watched one called "We are Aliens" and it was really good. All areas of science are explored, there are exhibits about your senses, DNA, Brains, Childbirth etc all in one area and a favorite for the boys was a vein viewer machine that showed you where your veins are inside your body by scanning your arm. There are exhibits about food and where it comes from, water and different ways to control it, electrical circuits, planets and space and even a giant hamster wheel that you can run in which was a big hit especially with Les !! There is also a great area upstairs which is partially dedicated to animation and particularly to Aardman films and characters such as Wallace and Gromit , Shaun the Sheep and Morph as they orginate from Bristol. They have tracing tables, various tools and computers you can use to make your own animations and models of some of the main characters. Also upstairs are various exhibits about structures, vibrations, magnetism, construction, and extreme weather, and a really fab corner all about bubbles where you could make some really humungus ones. The staff are fabulous. They did a chocolate workshop for the boys telling them all about how chocolate is made, how to taste it like a pro (the highlight for them !) and what is used to make white, milk and dark chocolate. The man doing it was so engaging and the children loved it. There were other workshops during the day too and plenty of members of staff wandering around and talking to children to explain what they were looking at etc. As you exit there is a small shop which had some really interesting things and a small cafe area. I would highly recommend a visit. We were there for 6 hours and still probably didn't get to do it all, so a full day of fun. |
About Me.I'm Ruth. A mum to two boys and a believer of learning through experiencing. Archives
October 2016
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