Magna Science Adventure Centre Review ... The Yorkshire Dad Blog ...

This week i got the chance to visit and review the Magna Science Adventure Centre thanks to Yorkshire Family Events, the family-focussed events and day out discount card.

For those unfamiliar with the Magna Science Museum it is based just off M1 at Jnt 34. I travelled from Harrogate and i found it relatively easy to find as it was well sign-posted along the route.

The Magna Science Adventure Centre is described as an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children. It is located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham. The site is formerly home to the Steel, Peech and Tozer steel works.

On arrival you will first notice how epic and beautifully big the building is. I think it is worth noting that they offer free parking and the have plenty of it, so you will never need to worry about getting parked should you fancy a visit during the high-season.

My son adores emergency service vehicles so you can imagine his face and his amusements when we pulled up in the car park to see an old fire-struck parked just outside the building. This was a nice touch and it definitely got our adrenaline pumping.

Entry to the centre was almost effortless as you had one large desk to visit and then once you had paid at the desk you are free to head into the centre at your own leisure.

Walking into the centre at first you can expect to be overwhelmed by the building. The first section you enter is where they offer bungee-jumping from the rafters, it is an amazing thing to sit and watch, my son was transfixed to the daredevils bungee-jumping and abseiling all around him. We only stayed in the first room for five minutes before moving onwards into the lift and up into the heart of the centre.

The principal exhibits are divided into four pavilions: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Before you enter any of the attractions you have to walk through the heart of the building and along the way you get the chance to explore the history of the building though their interactive machines and literature.

As you walk along the raised platform you come across a long zip-wire that visitors can access for an additional cost. Whilst we didn't have a go we did sit and watch a few visitors brave the wire and it did look amazing and yet scary. Once you get past the zip-wire you then have the chance to decide which zone you want to visit. Each of the zones are based on a different floor, each of the zones are easily accessible ad have toilets close-by the entrances on each of the floors.

Air-Zone

We headed first to the top floor to visit the zone that looked like it was housed inside a blimp. The idea of the section is to educate children of all ages about Air, how it moves, sounds and looks.

The room was packed full of interactive games, gadgets and instruments, most were suitable for my 21 month old to play with.

I happened to have caught my two favourite bits on film, first check-out the super cool wind Tornado.

The musical bottles also provided a significant amount of entertainment for my son and the other kids in the zone.

My son was drawn towards the musical instruments but we did manager to interactive with all the educational information that accompanied may of the attractions.

The Big Melt

On your way to the Fire Zone you will happen to come across the 'Big Melt'. This attraction run on the hour and the show is set around 'E' furnace one of the original electric arc furnaces, unused since the days of Sheffield's booming steel industry.

The experience is more educational than action packed but it is worth watching , even for the young ones as there are loud noises, moving lights and fixtures.

Fire-Zone

The approach to the fire zone is glowing red which well builds up anticipation for the next zone. In an industrial setting the fire room offers a louder, tougher and warmers educational environment.

The Fire Zone will teach your little ones all about how fire interacts with metal and food, all through games, gadgets and machines. Besides the fire tornado which is the main attraction by the way, there is a loud bridge that kids are encouraged to run and jump across on the metal to make a super loud noise. There is also a big claw that teaches kids how magnets work as they get to control a large magnet and manoeuvre it over different types of metal.

Water-Zone

Let me first say that this was mine and my sons favourite zone. It was the zone that you could get most stuck-into, if you don't mind getting a little bit wet that is.

Packed with a full range of weird and wonderful water powered games and machines your little ones can interactive with. You don't need to take a spare change of clothes as they provide water proof aprons that will keep off most of the water.

As soon as you walk into the water zone you are presented with a visual water display.

The first half of the zone is more of the educational journey of water in our everyday lives, so think how we get drinking water and how/why it rains.

Once you work your way through that half then you enter the wetter water zone and here your little ones get the chance to play with water cannons, control the force of water, play with boats and generally splash around.

Here are some of the best bits from the Water Zone...

Earth Zone

The last zone we head to was the Earth Zone, a colder experience than the others the zone houses a mini fully functioning Mine.

With diggers, TNT, fake rocks, sandpits, safety wear and wheel-barrows. If your little ones weren't tired-out by the other zones they i can assure you they will be by the end of this one.

Each of the machines has a different function and fundamentally provides an insight the entire Mining industry.

On the way into the main section you will come across a small hole in which if you shout down it loud enough you will be gifted with a reply. This kept my son entertained for a while, he did look rather confused as he wasn't able to comprehend where the voice was coming from.

Here are some more of my favourite attractions in the EarthZone...

Magna's Facilities

When it comes to baby changing rooms they have one on each floor. They have several places to stop and sit along the way, these are perfect spots to sit and eat your lunch. Just opposite the entrance they have a huge food-hall that has hundreds of seats and in the hall you will find the gift-shop, a gift-shop that sells realistically priced gifts.

They also have a wide range of food option available for those who wish to treat themselves, they had pasta, pizza, hot dogs, cold sandwiches and the usual drinks and snacks. We didn't eat their food but it looked reasonably priced and delicious.

Each of the tables were covered wit fun science facts. These kept us entertained whilst we waited for my 13 weeks old bottle to heat-up.

Play-Park

Once you have finished inside the centre you then have the option to go outside and play inside one of the most epic parks i have ever seen in my life. I honestly do not think that i have seen a bigger or better park!

The floor is covered my sand, which is great should the little ones fall-over. We easily spent an hour playing on all the frames and games throughout the park. The photos i have here do not do the park any justice!

My Overall Experience?

The centre is the perfect attraction for those with little ones or older children who have a passion for learning. We loved our visit not only because the centre had amazing activities, but they also had security railing throughout the attraction. Railings around the attractions might not sound like the biggest most amazing thing in the world to some people but to those who have little kids that like to run around the place then this is heaven, not having to worry about my son falling, touching things he's not meant to or running off was a great.

The various zones offer such a diverse educational and entertaining experiences that your children will in know way be bored in anyway, they will be physically and mentally challenged.

You can easily spend most of the day inside the centre and you won't need to fight your way around the attraction as you can move from each zones freely and as often as you like.

Would i recommend the Magna Science Adventure Centre to my family and friends? Yes i would, would go back again tomorrow if i had the day off work.

For opening times and prices visit visitmagna.co.uk, you should also follow them on Twitter as they often tweet on some fun facts you can pass onto your children or pass on a lunch time at the lunch table at work.