At home recently the kids have been really interested in space, initially following Luke's introducing them to Star Wars, which also coincided with the BBC's Stargazing week, including some special cbeebies space themed programmes that we watched. Eden was keen to do a space-themed lapbook, which isn't quite finished yet for me to take a photo of, but includes space dominoes, a planet mini book, space words, colouring, and various other mini-activities.
The space centre is great for preschoolers and children of all ages as many of the exhibits are hands-on, so the kids can really get involved. Our two loved the rocket-take off every 15 minutes or so in the cafe seating area. I love Asher's face on this picture - confused and amused - "what is this crazy place my mum and dad have brought me to?!"
We had lunch from the cafe, which we thought was very reasonably priced. The soup was lovely! It would've been nice to have a designated play area of some sort for the kids to let off steam, although the whole centre is very open, which did help.
For the under 5s there are dress-up stations throughout, Eden enjoyed being an astronaut while exploring a space station. There's also lots of photo moments: these two are my fave:
For the adults, Luke and I were amused at the broadcast of his filming of the weather, and another highlight for us was recreating a rocket launch, which involved us working together to get the cabin conditions correct before blast-off.
We watched two shows in the planetarium. The kids found the novelty of lying back in the chairs while looking at the ceiling funny, and the shows generally kept their attention, especially for Eden (active Asher needed some bribing with food!)
Asher almost looks like he knows what he's doing here!
All in all a really fun day, lots to do and lots to see, we all learnt in the process, and will definitely be returning within the year.
