I just had a very busy weekend, full of childcare.
My fella was doing a lads only paintball day for one of his friend’s birthdays, so the Mums got together and took the co-parenting approach. You know what I mean. Lots of parents, lots of kids. The kids entertain each other which makes your life easier, and there are plenty of grown ups to make sure things don’t go south.
At first we were going to just find a soft play and a park, but then one of the Mums suggested the Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement. I had never heard of it, and to be honest, the name didn’t exactly light a fire inside me. It sounds like a Government department, doesn’t it?
Even when she explained what it was – a big telescope – I remained unconvinced. It didn’t sound very kid friendly. But one of the other Mums said she had been before and everyone agreed, so I went along with it. To Jodrell Bank we went.
This is what I thought of it.
First Impressions
Jodrell Bank is a working scientific research centre as well as a visitor attraction, and it looks more like the former than the latter. So when we pulled into the car park I was preparing myself for endless renditions of “This is booooorring” from my son.
But do you know what? All of the kids really enjoyed it.
Once you get through the gates you are free to roam the site, and since a lot of it is outdoors it feels like a big adventure. You won’t have been anywhere else like it, probably ever, so it’s an interesting place to be before you even get started with the attractions they have. It almost feels like you are on a film set at points.
It’s safe too. It’s all contained, there are no cars, and sight lines are excellent, so the kids can run around and play and you can keep a watchful eye from a distance.
So my first impressions were apprehension, but I was quickly won over.
What is There to Do?
Loads.
There is lots of science and space stuff that even I didn’t understand, so the kids had no chance. However, it’s been put together in such a way that it’s fun and interesting for children even if they don’t understand the detail.
There are things to climb in and on, handles to spin, 4.5 million year old space rock to touch (really!), touch screens to mess about with, buttons to press, and lots of dark areas with atmospheric lighting.
Outside, there is a playground, open spaces, wooded areas, and of course a gift shop and a cafe. Not to mention the 250ft telescope that makes the ground shake when it moves.
It’s one of those places that attracts adults on their own as well as families with young kids. Space enthusiasts come in all ages after all, and this is a place that helped discover black holes, pulsars, quasars, gravitational lenses, and even contributed to the space race back in the 1960s. It’s basically Mecca in the UK for space and science nerds.
I’m not a science nerd and I got a lot out of it. Perhaps I didn’t read all the nitty gritty on the information boards, but there is a lot more to engage with than just those.
First Light Pavilion Space Dome
The First Light Pavilion is a structure that feels like it is dug into a hill. Like a hobbit house, but massive. It’s where the little museum section is housed, but it also has a cinema with a domed screen that goes right back over your head when you’re sat down.
The kids were entranced by this. There is a film they play that explains a bit about Jodrell Bank, and even though 6 year olds probably don’t digest much of the information, watching space ships fly literally over your head is enough to keep them fully engaged.
It was mid November when we went and they had just started their Christmas events, so we were lucky enough to book in to a ‘What Santa Sees’ experience. It was really good. You fly over the country with Santa and see things from his perspective, then get a hot chocolate and a gingerbread man at the end of it.
They do events like this throughout the year, so it’s worth checking what seasonal stuff they have going on when you visit. Apparently they do screenings of sci fi films in here too, which must be quite something!
The Lovell Telescope
If you’re anything like me, when you read the words ‘Lovell Telescope’ you imagined a really long tube. In fact, the Lovell Telescope is more like a massive satellite dish. And when I say massive, I really mean it.
The thing is huge. You can go and stand right underneath it, and it really puts things into perspective. My little boy was awestruck. And when it moved he was beside himself:
“Mummy! It’s moving! It’s making a noise and it’s moving!” 😂 Bless him.
It was awesome though. The whole thing spins around, but the dish also tilts, so it can be pointed in any direction. It literally studies radio waves from distant galaxies, and it moves quite a lot, so if you visit Jodrell Bank you are more likely to see it move than not. Apparently, it could pick up a mobile phone signal from Mars.
This area is all open, so you can walk right around it, and a little learning centre is close by with loads of stuff for the kids to do, lots of buttons to press etc. The real research centre is next to it as well, although you can’t go in there and press those buttons 🙈
Exit Through Gift Shop
Of course, the exit is through the gift shop, but even that is interesting.
There is a model of the solar system on the ceiling as you go in, and the kids can turn a handle to see how the earth orbits the sun and how all the planets move around each other. I don’t know how they made it – it’s all mechanical – but it’s great.
We bought the kids a few little things from the gift shop, there’s a good selection so you can spend £2.50 or £250 depending on how much of a fan you are. It’s good for stocking fillers actually. We had dehydrated space ice cream, keyrings, sticky space men that you throw at windows (yay for cleaning that up in a few days time…), books, all sorts.
We only spent half a day there because we were meeting the Dads for a meal at the pub mid-afternoon, but I would love to go back. We didn’t get chance to see it all properly, but we definitely got our money’s worth.
The combination of indoor and outdoor activities was perfect, even on a cold day, and breaking it up with events like the Santa screening gave the day a loose structure so that it flew by.
Who knew a space observatory and scientific research centre could be so much fun!?