Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

I have plenty of memories of visiting the Museum of Science and Industry from school visits, both primary and secondary, and family trips. I'd been intending to take Baby for a while, but finally got round to it on a weekday, thinking that the galleries would be quieter.

The museum is spread over three buildings, and multiple levels. One building houses planes and cars, another engines and trains. The third, the largest, contains the cafe, restaurant and reception, as well as galleries housing permanent and temporary exhibits. The most well known of the permanent galleries is an interactive space filled with hands on exhibits, but there are also other permanent exhibitions including a large one focussing on textiles, and some temporary exhibition spaces.

The first thing we noticed upon arrival was the sheer number of school groups, being shepherded from place to place by teachers. I had expected going on a weekday would be quiet, but had forgotten how popular it is with schools. On several occasions we were forced to the side to make way for a snake of children moving about the buildings.

Entry is free, though donations are gratefully received. Previously entry was just through a large atrium, but now there is a welcome desk and a queue line, which allows staff to provide you with a map and mention the donation policy. I read online that the reception desk provide age appropriate activity packs for children, from playmats for young babies to rucksacks for toddlers, however we weren't offered one.

It was a while since breakfast so we went straight to the cafe, which is on the ground floor of the main building, right by the entrance. It had a cosy feel to it, with a combination of comfortable chairs, regular chairs and bar stools. Although it looked reasonably large, actually there weren't that many tables suitable for high chairs, and it was quite busy so there were a few people waiting for tables. At first glance there seemed to be plenty of high chairs, the museum is popular with families with young children, so there was soon a wait for high chairs.

The cafe had a selection of paninis and sandwiches, pastries and cakes, as well as a children's lunchbox for £4.50. On the expensive side, but with the captive audience, to be expected.

There is also a restaurant which seems to be rather new, and calls itself a bistro. With table service, I can't imagine it would attract that many families.

Nappy changed and bag stowed in a locker, we made our way to the Experiment gallery. I had really high hopes for this section but sadly it was overrun with boisterous school children. Clearly the teachers/chaperones thought this gallery would be a good place for their wards to let off steam. Baby was almost knocked over a few times and was pushed out of the way by children wanting to play with the exhibit she was trying to look at. She really enjoyed one exhibit which involved placing your hands on a heat reactive surface, but otherwise pretty much everything was just too high for her to reach by herself.

Within the Experiment gallery there was a 'construction zone' specifically for under fours, that contained numerous large soft shapes. Baby just liked sitting on them. 

Giving up on the Experiment gallery, we made our way back downstairs to find the sensory den which was also aimed at under fours. Difficult to find, and not signposted, I had to ask at the reception desk. The maps provided tell you which galleries are in which building, but aren't useful for orienting yourself within the buildings. The sensory den was located inside the very hot textile gallery. Not a particularly large space, it at least provided somewhere Baby would be safe from excited school children.

Several beanbags, and what appeared to be mattresses, were piled around the floor; there were textured panels on the walls, and plenty of interlocking plastic pieces to play with. It was so hot in here we couldn't stay for much longer than 20 minutes, but it was nice to have an area for Baby to play in.

Next we made our way into the adjacent building which houses engines and trains. Baby loves trains at the moment so we had high hopes for this exhibition. There were a handful of trains at the end of the building, some with steps up so that you could look into the cab, but none that you can actually go on, much to Baby's disappointment. There were also plenty of other mechanical bits, though she wasn't so interested in those.

Across the road, the third building houses planes, as well as some other vehicles. Again, none that we could go on, but Baby did enjoy wandering round and looking at them. There is also a simulator here (at an additional cost). It's gone through various reincarnations and is currently RAF branded, but it has a height restriction, so we couldn't go on it. The school children were loving it however.

By this point Baby was overdue for her nap so we decided to collect our belongings and head home.

As a side note, we travelled to the museum by train, the first time I've taken Baby on a train for a day out. On the way there we didn't have too many problems. The Northern train had one of the very old carriages, with the bench style seats. At the end of the carriage there is quite an open space, with seats parallel to the carriage walls, and it wasn't too busy, so we were able to use these seats and just have the pushchair in front of us. The way back was a different story however. A marginally newer carriage, with distinct seats and nowhere suitable for a pushchair. A sign stated that Northern was happy to welcome children on board, but that pushchairs shouldn't block aisles or doorways. Unfortunately there wasn't anywhere else, and the train was reasonably full, so the seats closest to the doorways were taken. As the doors open on different sides for different stations, I had to stay stood in the aisles to move the pushchair at every station. Had I been travelling on my own, that would have meant Baby had to stay in her pushchair for the whole journey, as I wouldn't have been able to leave Baby sat by herself every time I needed to move the pushchair.


Key Facts

Month of visit:
February

Weather for visit:
Cold but dry

Is it pushchair friendly?
Yes, there are lifts to all levels and the galleries are all flat or with sloped access. There are some cobbles outside the buildings.

How are the baby changing facilities?
Acceptable. There were plenty of toilets throughout each building. We used the baby changing closest to the cafe, which was just about clean enough, and was starting to smell.

What about somewhere to feed?
Although the baby changing we used was large, there was no chair. The cafe did have comfortable seats, but it was quite busy, so not ideal if you have a nosy baby.

Is it worth a visit?
For older children, yes, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to take Baby again any time soon. The exhibits in the Experiment gallery were just too high for her and the two areas dedicated to under fours felt very much like an afterthought to amuse younger siblings whilst older children enjoyed the exhibits.

Baby's highlight?
Watching the heat panels change colour when she touched them.



Museum of Science and Industry
Liverpool Road,
Manchester,
M3 4FP

www.msimanchester.org.uk

National Trust Museum of Childhood at Sudbury

February half term saw us take Baby on her very first holiday, to Cambridge, to visit some family. As it's roughly a four hour drive, and Baby has never gone further than 1.5 hours in her car seat before, as well as the recommendation being to not let babies stay in car seats for longer than two hours at a time, we needed a stop half way. Being National Trust life members, a National Trust property was the obvious choice, and Grandma (who was in charge of the map) suggested Sudbury, with its Museum of Childhood.

The car park was busy, Grandma and Grandpa repeatedly commented on how they'd never seen it so busy, though Grandpa also repeatedly pointed out that it was half term, and we should have expected it to be busy. We were directed to what appeared to be an almost full overflow car park. As the museum had only opened half an hour earlier, I suspect some people arriving slightly later might not have been able to park.

A five minute walk (including crossing a busyish road) led us to the entrance to the courtyard containing the shop, cafe, toilets, and museum entrance. Sudbury Hall wasn't open the day we visited.

Our first stop was the cafe, but unfortunately the queue was extremely long and there was a distinct lack of tables. Many families had chosen to use the picnic tables outside, but breastfeeding a baby outside on a freezing cold day wasn't particularly appealing. We decided to try a pub round the corner which was advertising hot food, but here again we were out of luck. No free tables and a small queue already.

Back to the courtyard we walked. I reasoned that Baby needed a change and a feed anyway, so whilst I took care of that, Grandma and Grandpa would queue, and we'd see how far they'd got by the time I'd sorted Baby out. We were in luck, as the queue had gone down significantly, so Grandma and Grandpa had been served and found a table when Baby and I joined them.

Suitably nourished, we made our way to the Museum entrance, where there was a queue to get in. There was a buggy park outside, which was very full. An open sided marquee style covering had been erected but I doubt this would have provided much protection in the event of any actual rain, and it was so busy that prams were being left outside its confines anyway.

There were several themed areas, including work, school, babies, stories and toys. The work area included several role play sections, but we skipped these as Baby obviously isn't old enough and there was congestion with all the kids wanting to have a go. The rest of the museum was much less crowded.

On certain days children can experience a lesson in the schoolroom, and there are other interactive features around the museum, including a dress up section and the opportunity to play with various toys. There are also exhibits behind glass. In the baby section there were some toys especially suited to babies, including a Spot the Dog that Baby took a particular shine to.

Grandma has visited before (apparently with Mummy, who has no recollection of the visit) and said it has changed a lot since then, a statement one of the volunteers heartily agreed with. Hopefully next time we visit the Hall will be open too.


Key facts:

Month of visit:
February

Weather for visit:
Sunny and mild.

Is it pushchair friendly?
Yes and no. If your child can walk, and is likely to walk around, you are encouraged to leave pushchairs outside. When the museum gets busy, if everyone were to take a pram round there'd be no space to walk past, as some of the corridors are quite narrow. However, we did take the pram round because Baby can get quite heavy, and found corridors/walkways easy to navigate, plus there was lift access to every floor, albeit with a very small lift.

How are the baby changing facilities?
There is a baby changing room in the courtyard, next to the gents toilets. A slightly strange set up, there is an area with a toilet, sink and a single chair, with rather a lot of spare floor space, with a lockable door. Outside of this, there is a fold down changing table. Once someone is using the changing table it becomes awkward for anyone to get in/out of the toilet however. Whoever designed the space clearly didn't have a baby themselves. Having only one changing table also meant there was constantly a queue. For those keen on cotton wool/water, rather than wipes, note that this is impossible here as the sink is far too far away from the changing table.

What about somewhere to feed?
If you can find a seat in the cafe, there's nothing to stop you feeding in there. There is a mezzanine level which might offer fewer passers by, but sitting there would require leaving pushchairs downstairs. The baby changing facility had a single chair, which I used, however the constant queue made me feel under pressure to hurry baby along, which wasn't ideal.

Is it worth a visit?
Children will appreciate going up the Victorian chimney and working in a scullery, though they may find the exhibits in cases less entertaining. It's not the biggest museum, so won't keep you occupied all day, but the grounds are good for letting off steam and there certainly seemed to be many families enjoying them in addition to visiting the museum. Less worthwhile for babies, who can't partake in the activities and aren't that interested in the static glass cases.

Baby's highlight?
Spot the Dog. The cabinet with various teddy bears in it, including Paddington and Winnie the Pooh, was also a big hit.

National Trust Museum of Childhood

Main Road,

Sudbury,

Ashbourne,

Derbyshire,

DE6 5HT

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sudbury-hall-and-the-national-trust-museum-of-childhood

World Museum, Liverpool

Grandma wanted to see the poppy installation at St George's Hall in Liverpool, so a very cold January day saw us wrapped up warm in the city centre. Seeing the poppies only took about five minutes however, and as I mentioned, it was very cold, so Grandma suggested we popped round the corner to the World Museum to warm up.

First stop was the cafe on the ground floor. Plenty of tables and completely empty when we arrived. We opted for hot drinks and cake, though there didn't seem to be too much in the way of savoury food, bar a handful of sandwiches in a chiller. There is another cafe on the fifth floor which we didn't venture into.

On the first floor there is an aquarium. Grandma thought that Baby might enjoy looking at the fish and she was right. It was the first time Baby had seen fish and she was entranced, particularly by the brightly coloured ones. She was a bit confused too, and I don't think she could understand why she couldn't touch them through the thick pane of glass.

The aquarium wasn't very busy which meant that we were able to wander round at our leisure. Whilst not a huge aquarium, there was plenty to look at, and each window was large enough for several people to look in at any one time. In addition to the brightly coloured fish, Baby also enjoyed the sting rays, as they swam up the glass pane in front of her.

After we'd explored the aquarium, we decided to visit the dinosaur exhibit. There was a trail to follow, so naturally Mummy and Grandma did that on Baby's behalf. Most of the cards for the trail were easy to find, though one or two had us stumped for a while. Again, it wasn't a particularly large space, so it didn't take us long to look around. I quite liked this though, as I can imagine that visiting multiple sections might keep mobile children entertained for a longer overall period.


Key facts:

Month of visit:

January

Weather for visit:
Very very cold.

Is it pushchair friendly?
Yes, there are two large lifts in the atrium, and the majority of the exhibits can be accessed without stairs. There was a mezzanine level in the dinosaur exhibit which seemed to be only accessible via stairs, but we didn't actually look too hard for an alternative, nor did we ask any staff members.

What about somewhere to feed?
There were benches on the levels we accessed, and a chair in the large baby changing room. There was also a cafe on the ground floor.

Is it worth a visit?
It's free, and Baby loved seeing the fish in the aquarium, so we'll definitely be back.

Baby's highlight?
The aquarium. Large windows and colourful fish had her fascinated.



World Museum
William Brown Street,
Liverpool,
L3 8EN

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/