Family Day Out – The National Space Centre

Ad | Gifted entry tickets

We were really grateful to be contacted by the National Space Centre and offered tickets to go and check out the attraction, including the new planetarium show, – Capcom, Go! Both of the boys are interested in space, with Riley particularly a big fan – he is constantly telling us random facts he has learnt about far off planets!

The National Space Centre

The Space Centre is a large museum in Leicester in the Midlands. There are six galleries, including the iconic Rocket Tower and the UK’s largest domed planetarium, crammed full of space suits, rockets, satellites and more to explore.

When you arrive you can book a time for the planetarium show, as it is seated they don’t want it to become over crowded. I definitely recommend doing this and will talk more about it it further along in the review. You will also all get an individual bar-code ticket which you will need to scan for certain activities so keep a hold of them!

You can find out how to find the venue as well as ticket prices here. Under 5’s are free, concession tickets are available with free carer admission for those with disabilities and you can purchase annual passes. All day parking is £3 and there is a large car park with plenty of disabled spaces in front of the venue.

Disabled Access

The museum is set up for people with disabilities and in wheelchairs with access and lifts dotted around the place as needed. When I was approached about visiting, I was informed that they were currently about to start remodelling their disabled bathrooms so they could incorporate a changing places facility which is great news. The current disabled bathrooms are good, with a few dotted about the venue butt the addition of a changing space would be really good for disabled young people, adults and ostomates in particular.

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As previously mentioned, there is ample disabled car parking facilities and concession entrance prices, along with free carer admission which is extremely helpful.

Our Visit

Well, as I expected, the Space Centre was a huge hit with the boys. They loved learning more about the space race and the moon landing. The museum has a great layout, combining interesting information with interactive displays, so the boys were kept thoroughly entertained.

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Their favourite section by far was the astronaut training section. A variety of ‘tests’ are accessed using your individual bar-code including medical, engineering and machine operating skills. At the end of completing all the activities, you scan your bar-code and get recommended fora job on a space mission that would best suit the skills you have demonstrated. We all had great fun in this area and enjoyed attempting all the games.

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Seeing he boys faces in the planetarium was a joy. They were amazed when the whole room lit up like the night sky and couldn’t take it all in fast enough. The show was really good and interesting. It was just the right length so the boys didn’t get bored by it and it contained facts that they were able to understand and take in. Riley decided to add ‘going to the moon’ onto his bucket list when we came out of the show!

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We had lunch at the museum restaurant and was served quickly and all enjoyed our food. The prices were reasonable and there was plenty of seating which was good. Many families had also bought there own food which they were free to eat in the large seated area. We also visited the shop before leaving and were pleased to find a huge range of products in all different price ranges.

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To see more of our day check out the YouTube video over on The Spoonie Mummy channel

Would We Recommend?

The boys had a great day, as did we. We would all recommend this place, especially to people with an interest in space. I think the museum is perfect for school aged children and above. I think perhaps any younger children wouldn’t get as much out of a visit, which I think is why they are offered free admission. I loved the balance of exhibits and interactive elements and felt the Space Centre had got this right to keep the kids engaged and enjoying. It would be a perfect place to visit in the upcoming Summer holidays and I know they have several extra events planned and going on so check out the website to see what is happening when you plan to visit.

The National Space Centre website

Please let me know if you plan a visit, or if you have been and enjoyed it as much as we did. Would also love to hear any other recommendations of great places to visit, especially in the Midlands, with the kids in preparation for the Summer holidays fast approaching. Let me know in the comments below,

Thankyou to The National Space Centre for gifting us our entry tickets in return for a review. All thoughts contained in the review are my own