A Dad Review: Discovery Museum

DISCOVERY MUSEUM

 

 

One of the things I love about living in Newcastle is that there is so much to do within a pretty small area. From my house I can travel 4 miles in one direction and be in the middle of a city and 6 miles in the other direction and I am at the beach. We spend a fair amount of time in the city centre as there is so much more to it than shopping, eating and drinking. There is a plethora of cultural places that can be visited and there are a boat load of educational places too. One place that I feel falls in to both the category of "Cultural" and "Educational" is the "Discovery Museum".

 

The "Discovery Museum" is located in Blandford Square which is not in the heart of the city but it is only a five minute walk away from the main shopping area. The museum is operated by Newcastle City Council and is one of many FREE activities that you can do in the city centre. If you follow my blog you will know that I am a huge fan of things that are free so this place is a no-brainer for us to visit.

 

We have been a few times before but we went back yesterday with the twins and we took our 3 year old niece, Ellie, with us too. We met Kate's cousin, Stephanie, there too. We drove up in the car and we parked at the school around the back as Stephanie works there so, bonus, we didn't have to pay for parking which, in the city centre, can be quite expensive.

 

When we arrived there was a fire engine parked out front and a group of fire fighters who were there to support the museum and to let kids (and grown ups) see inside a fire engine. They also allowed the kids to use the fire hose which, naturally, my two and Ellie thought was brilliant!

We then went inside. You don't realise just how big the museum is until you go inside and you are greeted by the massive open area which contains a gift shop, craft area, a plethora of doors that lead to other areas and a massive ship in the middle of it all. This is the "Turbinia", once the fastest ship in the world, which serves as one of the permanent exhibitions within the museum. The other permanent exhibitions include:

Destination Tyneside: Stories of people who have chosen to make Tyneside their home
Newcastle Story: A trip through the decades in Newcastle going from the Roman times to the present day

Story of the Tyne: A history of the river
Tyneside Challenge: All about inventions that came from Tyneside
Working Lives: A history of working life in Tyneside spanning 300 years
Play Tyne: An interactive water play area
PLAY+INVENT Space: An area for budding designers, makers and builders to get crafty and creative

The final permanent exhibition, and the main reason we visit, is:

Science Maze: An interactive area full of science and technology brought to life through play and experiment - loads of fun, hugely geeky and massively educational.

There are also exhibitions and areas that are not permanent. The biggest one at the moment is:

All the Fun of the Fair: 135 Years of The Hoppings: This is on until 1st October 2017 and comprises a history of "The Hoppings". In case you didn't know "The Hoppings" is a fun fair that visits the city every year for a week and it is a popular event in the North East of England visited by thousands every year. This exhibition contained a mass of old school fairground games and attractions from years gone by. You could exchange £1 for 5 old pennies and have a go on them too.

So as you can see there is plenty to do...but is it any good? In a nutshell - Yes! We went at about 11:15am and we left at around 2:30pm. We spent over three hours exploring the different exhibitions and areas and learning all about the history of the city that we live in from a different perspective. I like the angle that the "Discovery Museum" use in that it is all about technology and inventions and, hence the name, discoveries. None of the exhibitions are massive and are just big enough to hold the interest of the children before they start getting bored. Scattered throughout each exhibition are interactive areas where the kids can dress up, put their hands in holes and feel things inside, press buttons, do puzzles, twist things, turn things and generally get away with touching things that they usually wouldn't be allowed to.

 The exhibitions take place over 4 floors. Every floor and area was clean, tidy and inviting. There is a café on the 2nd floor which serves hot drinks and snacks and there is also plenty seating on the 2nd floor for those who bring a picnic. We took a picnic and we had no bother finding a table. I really like that they allow that to happen within the premises and don't force you to leave and find somewhere else to go.

The kids all had a great time and the grown ups had fun too. However, it is one of those places that I think I would like to visit without the kids. There is so much going on and so much information, history and learning to be done that we missed because the kids, being kids, were always running on ahead. So this may be a place that I return to one day when the kids are at school and explore it at my own pace and take it all in.

All in all though we had a great few hours there and the kids certainly enjoyed themselves. The biggest proof of this is that we had no whining which, in my opinion, is a sure sign that an educational and informative place has got the balance just right.

The "Discovery Museum" has been a hit this summer holiday and it is a place that I have no doubt we will return to time and time again over the years. If you live in the North East you should definitely check it out. If you don't, but are planning a visit, if you can fit it in you should definitely visit.

 Here is their website: https://discoverymuseum.org.uk/

And you can follow them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Discovery_Mus

Until next time...

The Twiglet's Dad