Winchester Science Centre: a perfect family day out in Hampshire

Looking for things to do with kids, but it’s cold and raining? I feel the struggle. V thrives when we are out and about, but when we went to Winchester for a couple of days, and the weather left a lot to be desired, we searched for a way to spend an indoors family day out in the city, or in Hampshire entirely. It was with luck that we decided to spend the morning at Winchester Science Centre, just a short drive from the centre of the city.

We booked tickets for opening, as advice online suggested to visit early, or in the afternoon. From mid-morning it’s as if the entire city descends on the centre, but for us, we had a glorious hour or so of freedom.

An empty centre meant that V was able to have a go on the most coveted activities. We led her over to a brick building section, decked out with high-vis and helmets, but she was more interested in grabbing the little plastic balls in the vacuum slide thingy (can you tell I’m not a scientist?) or trying to escape into the picnic area outside.

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Suddenly, we were called to the centre of the building, to a balcony overlooking a stage. There we watched all sorts of mini science demonstrations every 20 minutes. The first was a demonstration of Newton’s Beads, then out came the fire! All the kiddies were mesmerised watching a man set fire to his own hand.

Downstairs, there is a small soft play area, perfect for V to let off a little steam. There are also a collection of tables and chairs surrounding it, so that parents can sit and have a coffee while the kids play, or if you’re unorganised like us, you can buy a couple of sandwiches from the café kiosk.

Next to the seating area, and looping around the demonstration area is Explorer: Space. In my opinion, this was by far the best bit. The area is a simulation of a space centre, dark and lit by the hundreds of interactive displays. We found a chunk of meteorite (touchable too), an orb which demonstrated maps of planets in our solar system, and information about the mass of a tin of beans on the planets and the sun. Like upstairs, almost all displays are interactive, perfect for inquisitive little fingers and minds.

Although we saw a lot of Winchester Science Centre, we didn’t book the free tickets to the science show – the one on during our visit was based on food and cooking – and we skipped on a visit to the Planetarium since V is a little too young to sit in a dark room for 30 minutes. If your kids are old enough, seeing a show just adds that sparkle to a family day out in Hampshire.

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