For those with inquisitive young minds in the household, there's a bold and bright new family attraction that's just about to open an hour from Manchester. Over £11mn has been spent in creating the new Eureka Science + Discovery centre on the Wirral which will open to the public from November 11.
We headed along for a sneak preview inside the bright and shiny new attraction, which aims to make science, technology, education, art and mathematics (STEAM) subjects that bit more exciting to children up to the age of 14. It's all done in a clever, colourful and interactive way with a host of bold exhibits spread out across two floors inside the all-new centre.
It's based in Seacombe, Wallasey, right next to the River Mersey with spectacular views out across the waters over to the Liverpool cityscape, including of the world famous Royal Liver Building. The museum was co-created with over 200 local children and young people from across Wirral having their say, together with industry experts.
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The result is a series of colourful exhibits exploring everything from how the human body works, to why cats meow and what makes a kettle boil.
On the ground floor you'll find the Bodies zone, exploring all the things that make humans tick. That includes huge models of the brain where you can test your own grey matter, as well as the heart where you can check how fast your own heart is beating.
There's even an exhibit where kids can graphically see how food goes into the mouth and right through the body to make its way to the toilet bowl at the end. There's also physical challenges families can take part in, as well as the chance to explore robotics.
Upstairs, the exhibitions continue with a large Nature zone, where everything from the smallest critters to big questions around climate action can be explored. There are large water funnels where kids can see how tides work, as well as a huge climbing tree at the heart of it all.
Families can then wander through to the Homes zone, to take a closer look at how the every day things that are part of the fabric and space of homes actually work.
There is also the Make Create zone, a space where imagination and innovation come together to allow visitors to tinker and create.
A phase two opening will launch after Christmas to include the Discovery Cafe and a dedicated exhibition area for younger visitors called The Burrow.
What did my 7-year-old think?
I took my ever-curious 7-year-old boy to explore Eureka! and the first thing that wowed him was the view. The attraction is sat next to the River Mersey, and he was entranced watching the ferries sailing back and fro from the Seacombe terminus back out to Liverpool.
Once inside, he was excited to see all of the colourful exhibits and to try out as many of the interactive bits as he could. He loved the giant brain and the giant lungs, and was excited to use the huge heart-rate monitors to see how fast his own pulse was racing.
There was loads to keep him interested, and he also really liked a doorway that explored the concept of "fear" where every time you opened it would flash a different image to see how you react - think spiders, lightning and creepy clowns.
Upstairs was the area he particularly loved though, he said his favourite part was "playing with the water tunnel" and he also loved the large climbing frame. He enjoyed making a VERY large spider jump up and down in its case, and trying to "catch quicker than a cat".
From a "mum" point of view I felt a little underwhelmed with some of the exhibits in the "Home" section which seemed a tad mundane, like the giant kettle and toaster and a giant plastic bed that we weren't entirely sure what it was all about. I personally felt a few more instructions on these exhibits would not go amiss.
But George loved playing an interactive "Bathroom DJ" game, using everyday sounds to make a noisy tune. His final verdict when we'd covered both floors was: "That was very interesting and brilliant".
It's a stunning location for this new museum, and clearly a lot of time, effort and money has been lavished to make this something a bit different and to get kids interested in science and technology away from their computer screens.
To me this made it all well worth the drive - especially if you've got decent weather as you can make a day of it with a walk down the Wirral Coastal Path or take a ferry ride to Liverpool too.
How much are tickets?
All tickets are £15.95 for both adults and children aged 3+. All tickets act as an annual pass meaning visitors have unlimited access to return to Eureka! Science + Discovery for the following 12 months.
All tickets need to be pre-booked online and the attraction is open 10am until 4pm on Fridays and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays from November 11.
The final bookable entry time is 3:20pm. More info on bookings can be found here.
How to get there
The Eureka! attraction is at Victoria Place, Seacombe, Wallasey, CH44 6QY. There is a pay and display car park next to the entrance.
For those heading here from across the other side of the Mersey, you can take the ferry which boards right outside the museum at the Seacombe ferry terminal.
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