With half term rapidly approaching, you might be wondering how you’ll keep the kids entertained – how about some of these selected museums?
In the last 20 years, there has been a surge of museums designed around the needs of both adults and kids with interactive displays, friendly knowledgeable staff and really interesting information.
If you’re looking for somewhere to take the kids or even the adults this February half term, how about these museums, many of which were selected as part of the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Awards.
1) Abbey House Museum in Leeds is one of several historic reconstruction “living museums” around Britain. In the case of Abbey House, you’ll be taken back to the 19th Century with authentic looking streets, dress-up rooms and even working penny slot machines (a little before my time).
If you want to know how the Victorian’s lived then this is the ideal place to visit and really get to know your great, great ancestors.
2) @Bristol is a new exhibition in the city which provides a wealth of interactive displays and exhibits, covering the whole of history from pre-historic with the dinosaurs, right through to the modern day.
The museum is designed with as much hands on experience as possible and is suitable for all ages. Highlights include the Wildwalk, a mini tropical forest or perhaps you prefer to leave earth altogether and venture out into the universe with the state-of-the-art planetarium.
For a full day or even couple of days, @Bristol has it all.
3) Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire is focused as you might guess on trams set amongst period backgrounds. Take unlimited tram rides along the cobbled streets or explore the 30,000 sq ft of indoor attractions including the exhibition Hall housing the largest collection of vintage trams in Britain.
4) The Horniman Museum in London is probably best thought of as an alternative to the Natural History Museum and British Museum all rolled into one. There are lots of seek and find games within the museum which houses collections from anthropology, natural history and musical instruments.
Kids love the 16 acres of gardens with lots of room to run around, explore and find things. For an introduction, see the Horniman Museum on YouTube.
5) Mansfield Museum in Nottinghamshire shows local authorities how to transform their town museums into exciting places for both kids and adults to explore. A major part of the museum is XplorActive which teaches children how they impact on the environment and how to preserve the eco-culture. There are also a number of permanent and temporary art and craft displays from the local area and further afield.
More museums: These are just a few of the museums shortlisted for the Guardian awards. For the full list see the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Awards page.
Beyond museums there are 1000s of attractions to keep your kids entertained this half term. For family attractions all around the country, see the UK Attraction web site.
