Eureka: Family Fun In Yorkshire
Eureka is a children’s museum in the centre of Halifax, West Yorkshire, but don’t let the word ‘museum’ put you off. It is about as jam-packed with interactive activities and exciting hands-on exhibitions as it is possible to be!
You can dress up as an M&S shop assistant and stack the shelves, you can explore how noise is made in the Sound and Space gallery, and you can build an igloo in the Global Garden exhibition.
The entire museum is dedicated to children aged 0-11 years and is completely interactive.
But I’m getting ahead of myself!
Let’s start at the top…
Shopping in M&S
What is at Eureka?
There are 6 galleries to explore. My children are 5 and 1, and our favourites are definitely the Town Square and All About Me.
Town Square
The Town Square is an (almost) life-size replica of a village. I’ve already mentioned the Marks & Spencers, but there is also a bank, a post office, a car wash and petrol station, a 3-storey house, and a mechanic’s yard. You can even don a hard hat and check out some underground road works!
The petrol pump
All About Me
The All About Me gallery encourages children to learn about themselves and how to keep their body healthy. There are opportunities to measure their height, arm span and stride (cue highly competitive children parents!), and record it all in a little booklet.
The section we like best, though, is the huge healthcare role-play area; you can be a GP, a midwife, a receptionist, a dentist, or a patient.
The bit where you can give a pregnant mother her ultrasound has been particularly helpful to our family – we visited when I was pregnant to help our older daughter understand what was going on, and we visited again when one of my kids was having have an ultrasound so that she could see what it might be like. There is also a bone and x-ray section too.
Is it a boy or a girl?!
Other
There is also a large outdoor sandpit, a craft area, shows to watch, and specially designated areas for the under-5s.
Practical Issues
One of the real plus-points for us, is that you can take your own picnic AND there is an indoor picnic area to eat it in! But if you’re not a tight-fisted Yorkshire lass like myself, there is also a reasonably-priced café.
Wave at the life-size skeleton
Aside from this, there are loads of little details that really help the visit to run smoothly:
- Shallow stairs for little legs
- Several indoor buggy parks
- Stamp on your hand (ours was a dinosaur) so you can go in and out as you wish
- Queue length updates on the Facebook page
- The ‘extra pair of hands’ service which allows a family with a disabled child to have someone come round with them for 2 hours to help out
What does it cost?
It costs £5.25 for 1-2 year olds, and £12.95 for anyone over 2.
While it might seem pretty pricey, Eureka’s trump card is its Annual Pass scheme. Once you’ve paid your admission fee, for the next 12 months, you can go again as many times as you like for FREE!
We have it as our rainy-day option because trying to think of cheap things to do when it’s wet outside is a nightmare!
The ‘Princess And The Pea’ reading corner
Anything which wasn’t so good?
I wish there were more toilets. When everything else so obviously caters for children, it seems strange that all the toilets are at one end of the building. We’ve had to do the potty-training-mad-dash a couple of times and it’s not nice!
Also, one of my pet peeves is when you’re forced to exit an attraction through their gift shop! Presenting children with a load of shiny new things that they can’t have (tight-fisted Yorkshire lass, etc!) is a sure-fire way to put a dampener on lovely family day. I understand that Eureka is a charity and needs to make money, but I’d rather have a choice about whether to visit the shop or not. I realise, however, that pretty much every kids attraction has the exit through the shop so it’s just one of those things.
Conclusion
Eureka is a great family day out. It has totally nailed the ‘fun yet educational’ brief, and I heartily recommend it!
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Eureka
I love Eureka, we went last year but it was all too much for our little man. He has Autism & went into complete sensory overload. They do have Autism days so when he’s a little older I think we’ll try again #ablogginggoodtime
Yes I saw they did special days. That sounds like a good idea. It is an amazing place but I can definitely see how it could be overwhelming. Thank you for commenting. L
Lovely to have you join in with #Yorkshirefamly Lucy! We love Eureka as well but I’ve somehow missed the pregnant mother/ultrasound. That sounds great, I think my kids would have loved it. I had to chuckle at the ‘gift shop exit’ issue – you’re not the only one whose kids love the shiny bits. I tend to just walk very quickly!
My daughter loves the ultrasound bit because she’s had quite a few over the years. She loves pretending to be a doctor and she’s got all the patter! So cute! I love watching kids roleplay!
Oh wow I love things like this as I really think that they get the kids interested in stuff – say to kids we’re going to a museum and often they’ll think oh god but this looks great!!
Thanks for linking to #ablogginggoodtime
Yes it really is a fab place! I’ve never been anywhere else quite like it!
Looks like a lovely place to visit… I love it when Museums have interactive things for kids to explore. The visit makes it more fun, interesting and exciting for kids. #TwinklyTuesday
Interactive museums get children to learn without them even realising it! Those are the best types of exhibits. Thanks for commenting. L
Ahhhh I have fond memories of visiting Eureka as a child! Glad to hear it’s still going strong. I used to LOVE it! #twinklytuesday
I used to visit as a child too! And it’s still fun visiting as an adult! Haha. Thanks for leaving a comment. L
We love Eureka! I loved it when I was a kid too xx #TwinklyTuesday
Hi all, I just wanted to add my ten pennorth about Eureka! I’m the Inclusion Manager there and just wanted to let you know how we welcome visitors with autism (and other disabilities). We’ve won lots of awards and are very proud of our inclusion programme.
First, before you even set foot inside, you can fast track to the front of the queue on busy days – just ask a member of staff.
Our annual pass offers brilliant value, and if you’re an essential carer for a child with a disability, you don’t have to pay. Because you can come back for free for a whole year, you can build up from short visits to staying a whole day. Your child will become familiar with the museum and the staff as well, if you can keep coming back.
The pass also entitles you to two free Extra Pair of Hands visits a year. This is where one of our trained front of house staff (we call them Enablers) will help you plan your visit, avoiding potential trigger areas and making the most of your child’s interests. The Enabler will meet and greet you on the day of your visit, and stay with you for up to two hours.
All our staff (in front of, and behind the scenes) receive disability awareness training. Enablers receive additional autism awareness training and have the option to complete external level 1 training in understanding autism. (To date, 40 of our front of house staff have completed this).
We understand that Eureka! can be a bit overwhelming, so we offer to loan you ear defenders to block out the noise, and a chill out room to take some time out (adjustable lighting, big comfy mattresses, a relaxing bubble tube and peaceful woodland scenes moving across the walls – sometimes I go in there for some peace and quiet myself!) You can ask about both these services at the information desk.
Finally we don’t run autism days as such – we do run 6 Super Sunday or Holiday clubs just for children with autism and their families. These are FREE and very popular. Check the website for 2017 dates and how to book.
So, please, please do try us again. We’d love to have you back!
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