A Family Day Out at Life Science Centre in Newcastle

March 15, 2018 by Rachel Kershaw in Days Out 6

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that I am a very proud Auntie and love spending time with my nieces and nephews. Jack and Emily have featured on my blog several times, a trip to Newcastle is like a little holiday for them. It’s usually my Mum and Dad who bring them over from my home town of Rochdale, giving my brother and his wife a well deserved rest.

Never a dull moment when these to come to stay!

I always jump at the chance for them to come and stay and am never short of places to take them. On a recent visit we headed in to Newcastle city centre to unleash our inner scientists at Life Science Centre.

Life is definitely an educational day out as science is at the heart of every activity but it is by no means boring and visitors are encouraged to make their own discoveries and their own rules! The centre is bright, spacious and colourful with no set route so you can explore at your leisure.

There are various ‘zones’ around the centre and you get a handy map and list of event timings for the day when you arrive. It’s easily somewhere you can spend several hours roaming from one zone to the next and visiting the special shows.

We couldn’t help but be intrigued by ‘The Poo Show’ which took place in the Science Theatre. This live 20 minute show was hosted by a knowledgeable scientist who talked us through the weird and wonderful world of waste, from the cubed droppings of wombats to how astronauts poo in space. Not your average Saturday afternoon entertainment and I must admit, my Dad and I did get the giggles as the presenter seemed to approach the topic with more seriousness than was necessary. We didn’t hear a peep out of the kids though so I think they enjoyed it?!

One thing we all agreed was a highlight of the day was the planetarium show ‘Little Bear’, an enchanting story created especially for under 7’s. It was so relaxing in the planetarium, I nearly dozed off!

Image Credit: Life

Back in the hustle and bustle of the centre, Emily really enjoyed the ‘Craft Zone’, Jack was fascinated by the ‘Dino Jaws’ exhibition and they both loved the freedom to play and make new friends in the ‘Young Explorer Zone’. There was certainly plenty to keep them entertained!

Life Science Centre is not just for little kids though, us grown ups had a great time too. The hands on ‘Brain Zone’ brought out our competitive side and we saw families with older children enjoying getting hands on with science in the ‘Experiment Zone’.

On a previous visit, my favourite experience was the 4D Motion Ride which lasts about 10 minutes and is brilliant fun. However, we decided to skip that attraction because although Jack was tall enough, Emily was just under the required 1.2m height restriction. Oh well, hopefully they’ll both be big enough next time we visit. Although, if it was up to me, I’d keep them little forever!

Dont grow up kids, its a trap!

To plan your family day out at Life Science Centre head to www.life.org.uk and keep an eye out for the exciting ‘Robots – Then and Now’ exhibition arriving in May!