To infinity and beyond!! Via Leicester, this is your opportunity if you choose to visit the National Space Centre which has recently opened in Leicester. My guess is that you didn’t actually know that Britain had a National Space Centre, and you certainly wouldn’t have guessed it was in Leicester, Well it is and is certainly worth a visit.
Opening Times:
The centre was opened in July and is situated about two miles from the city centre and is reasonably well served by a bus route, It is also signposted from the M1 motorway, just follow the signs with a rocket on them. It is open Tuesday- Sundays from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm, it is also open on Mondays in school holidays only from 12.00-6.30 pm.
Admission Price:
Admission is £7.50 for Adults and £5.50 for children, although you can also get a family ticket for £22.00 which admits 2 adults and 2 children. As part of the admittance you get a timed ticket to see a multimedia performance entitled “Big” in the space theatre. To visit all the attractions probably needs at least 3 hours but could easily keep you occupied four up to 4 hours so it is quite good value for your money.
What’s there?
As you approach the centre you will see a large glass tower which houses two actual (or mock ups) of rockets and this will probably be first port of call. You can either catch a lift to the top of the building to look down on the rockets or you can walk up 144 steps stopping at different levels as you go along. At each level there are various exhibits explaining different things about space travel and lots of interactive things to do (including launching your own water powered rocket). Underneath the rocket is a nice looking restaurant/café where you can get things to eat and drink.
The rest of the building comprises of a large hall which is split into several different areas which I will try and briefly comment on.
The first area dealt with what it is like to be an astronaut, again there were several mock ups of landing craft and the challenger space pod all of which you can explore. There are also examples of space clothing and as throughout the museum lots of interactive exhibits. Our children’s favourites included a ‘Reaction Wall” a test to see whether you can stay calm under pressure, a simulation of a take off and the chance to explain to your partner how to put things together without actually seeing them. All of them were supposed to represent tasks that astronauts had to do in training for a space mission, and they were thoroughly enjoyed by our two children age 9 and 12.
Another area sets out to show you how satellites help us in everyday life with a number of large screens, showing things like sea temperature across the globe, wind speed and direction and the growth of the Ozone layer in the Antarctic. The best thing here for the kids was an opportunity to do their very own television weather forecast. They go into a booth and various weather maps come up on a display together with subtitles for them to read and react to. Afterwards they can come outside and watch their on a video playback, it was great fun. Another area looked at each of the planets in turn, trying to give ideas of their size, temperature and what they are made up of. Quite educational but also a lot of good fun with lots of things to do. There is also an opportunity to have your picture taken with E.T. and have it printed on a B.T sponsored type credit card. I think you can also get it put on the web to download for yourself at home (there was something very similar at the Millennium Dome”
Another area tries to convey how vast space is and the large distances that one would have to travel in order to reach other planets and galaxies.
This last idea is followed up in the film that you can see in the space theatre. This is called “BIG” and is a true multimedia experience. The screen is over the whole ceiling and it uses the type of projection that you would see in a 360 degree cinema at such places as Alton Towers. The show lasts approx 20 mins and is truly spectacular taking you through our galaxy and onto the edge of the solar system. Again it attempts fairly successfully to show you how “BIG” the universe is.
There are lots of other smaller areas to explore and lots to do, even the toilets are space-aged. There is a small gift shop where you can buy lots of space related gifts including freeze-dried strawberries.
There were quite a lot of people there, being the middle of the school holidays, but it didn’t feel particularly crowded and our kids didn’t have to wait long in order to get a turn on the interactive exhibits. I would say it is suitable for 5-16 year old although adults will also get quite a lot of it. They do not let children under 5 into the film, although there is a play area for them.
Unfortunately there is no outside area so you can’t take a picnic. If you want more info try the web site on www. spacecentre.co.uk . I would certainly recommend it for a visit, especially if you live within a reasonable travelling distance of Leicester.
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