I first went to the Folk Museum when I was at school and now I love taking my own kids there. If…read moreyou're planning to go, wait for a dry day as you'll spend a lot of the time outside and trudging about in the rain is no fun for anyone. First things first and parking is easy as there is a large car park. Then buy your tickets - a family ticket for both Folk and Transport Museums will set you back £20 which is fantastic value as visiting both with lunch in between will take a full day. You can bring your own snacks and lunch to keep costs down too and there are plenty of places to stop for a picnic. The folk museum is totally fascinating and is based around a full size village with a school, a pub, a bank, church, shop, a cinema, town and rural buildings, all of which have been painstakingly taken down brick by brick and moved from their original site, moved to the museum and rebuilt brick by brick. You can look round inside all the buildings which have been furnished with the appropriate furniture etc and even go upstairs in some. Most days there are museum guides on duty who are dressed in period costume and on school holidays and Bank Holidays, there are activities to join in with like basket weaving, butter making and traditional street games. Kids and adults will really enjoy the Folk Museum as its so interactive - history will suddenly get interesting!

We went to the Folk Museum on Halloween. What a great time. There were kids everywhere. What a…read moregreat pleasure. The park was full of visitors and the staff was up for the day. They were having as much fun as the children and their parents. The only downside, do not have a reason to call over the weekend, because they do not answer the phone. This is the problem having government officials. They can make rules that are not helpful and do not see us as customers that deserve service. They think of themselves first.

Exhibitions mounted regularly. Useful for visitors to N…read more Ireland. Central but one needs to use local car parks. Shop for tourists and a delightful cafe with an outlook to the town centre. Public Toilets available. Friendly Information Desk. Museum has many interesting photos and exhibits.

The Irish Linen Centre has an excellent exhibition that includes a reconstruction of a linen…read moreweavers cottage and a nice costume display of old fashioned linen dresses. When I visited there was also a fascinating demonstration of spinning and weaving using the original equipment by staff who were clearly most enthusiastic about the subject. There's also a good explanation of the development of the history of Lisburn - you can pick up a lot of interesting information if you like this sort of thing as I do. Downstairs the museum shop has some high quality goods such as linen damask and some other nice textile items - tea towels, oven gloves among other gifts. The teashop is good value and altogether the museum makes a great focal point to the centre of Lisburn.

W5 is officially described as 'an interactive discovery centre' which doesn't sound half as much…read morefun as it really is. It is an educational place, but boy is it fun! The first time we went, my kids were absolutely blown away - there is nothing else in Belfast in this league. There are 4 separate areas - START, GO, SEE and DO and each has loads of fun stuff for kids and the adults with them to do. START is best for younger children - although my 9 year old still secretly loves it. You can't imagine some of the exhibits and best of all, you are allowed to touch and get involved with everything. First thing you'll see is the fully functioning mini branch of Tesco - shelves, fruit, veg, packets and a chilled counter with fake lobsters and mussels and even a till which beeps as you put each item through. Genius. Then there's the real Mini car which you can tinker around with, a mini building site with crane and foam bricks and roof tiles, a huge water play area (they even provide waterproof aprons), and how great is this - a recording studio where you can watch yourself on screen as you play a wooden guitar. I mean the children can watch themselves, obviously I haven't done that. GO is all about space so will appeal to junior astronauts. You can sit on pulley chairs which you have to use your own body strength to lift, join in a massive tug of war, experiment with magnets, and build and race K'Nex cars. SEE - I love this bit. You can create cartoons and add sound effects. I think I missed my vocation in life. Even better, you can make music with lights and your movements. This section is quite 'laboratory' like and will appeal to even too cool for skool pre and early teens. Finally there is DO, where you can get stuck in building robots and learning all about our weather systems. Like anything you make in W5, you have to respect the rules and leave your model behind for someone else to dismantle and use the materials. There is a café but it sells a limited selection of scones and sandwiches. But the good news is that there are picnic areas so you can bring your own food, saving money and ensuring that your kids will have something they like. There's also a shop which sells reasonably priced gadgets and toys. A stroke of genius is that there are lockers on the ground floor so don't have to carry bags and coats etc which I think is fab, especially in winter when you'll have hats, scarves etc too. A ticket for 2 adults and 2 children will cost £22. That might seem off putting at first glance but bear in mind that your ticket is valid for the full day and you can leave for something to eat in one of the nearby restaurants and go back in. You could easily spend 3 -4 hours at W5, especially on your first visit. I cannot recommend W5 highly enough for a family day out , just one word of caution, wet days in the summer holidays can be crazy busy in W5, so go first thing or later on in the day.

Recently visited w5 with a very hyperactive 1 year old godchild and she as well as i loved it! It…read moreis great for tiny people to explore and run away with their imagination! In particular the kids seemed to enjoy the discovery area which is for under 8's only. It is a great place for children to get into role play as it is set out in real life situations and allows children to learn about themselves and the world around them as well as encouraging them to experiment. There is a little water area which is particularly good for sensory and motor development and the little ones appeared to have a ball in here! One tip is to bring an extra set of clothes for them because if they are anything like this child they (and everyone else around them) will be soaked from head to toe!! Children under 3 years go free and £8.50 for an adult. They also do great family offers and all in all it is a great family day out for all ages :)

A large and well laid out museum. It had worksheets for kids. There is a good cafe. It covers all…read moreeras of history and all aspects of it too. It changes exhibitions regularly. It is clearly well funded. The staff are vry helpful. There are many terrific artefacts and the place is never too busy.

Museums always get a thumbs up from me, and this one is no exception. Located in the Town Hall…read more(which was originally known as Bangor Castle, though it's not really quite that grand), the Museum depicts life in Bangor from prehistoric times right through until present day. It's usually closed on Mondays, but due to this particular one being a Bank Holiday and officially still summertime, it was open. The friendly chap at the door handed us a leaflet, which outlined the different exhibits and layout of the museum, informing us that one of the exhibits was momentarily closed, but would be open within the next few days. [Unfortunately, to avoid this, we had to go back on ourselves, walk half way round the world to get to the next exhibit, and lose ourselves slightly in the mix...a minor blip though]. The museum starts off by depicting Bangor's early Christian beginnings, with reference to the Christian Heritage Trail in the town. With a few artifacts, such as the Bangor Bell (from the ninth century) and a thirteenth century coffin lid from Holywood Priory, it's pretty interesting. Beyond this lies an exhibition on famous names in North Down - the likes of Ward and Rathgael are mentioned. At this point, the exhibition takes a turn outside, where a replica of a monk's cell lies. It's an impressive ensemble, with just about enough room to squeeze under the roof and into the hut. Nice. The next focus was on Bangor as a holiday town. It was this exhibit that was mainly closed due to maintenance, so there wasn't too much to see, except an interesting fruit machine taken from Barry's amusements, which closed in 1983. After that, we turned upstairs to a section on ancient monuments, followed by a Viking exhibit and longhouse. The latter was very impressive - lots of wood, hay, cowhides etc. My sister spotted an interesting fact about Scrabo, and told me that apparently there were Viking coins found around that area at one stage. After this was a short exhibit on Sir John Newell Jordan, or rather his impressive collection of finds from the Far East, to which he was a "eminent diplomat", and indeed envoy. The next exhibit was downstairs and out through a couple of doors. The cinema room was lined with old posters, and arranged in an authentic fashion, with a film about how WWII affected Bangor. We sat down to watch this, and found it extremely interesting. Pictures of how badly Bangor was hit in Blitz really brought the history home, and the stories of those who lived through it were very poignant. The last exhibition is linked to the North Down Coastal path - a fifteen mile walk from Seapark to beyond Groomsport and Orlock. I'll have to attempt it one day... All in all, an interesting and informative museum, set in the most beautiful building, and surrounded by stunning grounds. Plus it's free!

I'm a big fan of this place. I really like it, its nice to have a quality, fun and inexpensive…read moretourist attraction to take people around when they come to Bangor for the first time. This place is a lovely wee tourist attraction with plenty going on, I recently took my girlfriend here and she really enjoyed it. Me being a Bangor native and having lived here all my life didn't expect to enjoy it but I did. There is a nice restaurant, exhibitions about the local area, the impact the vikings had on the area amongst other interesting exhibitions that are excellent and fun for everyone of all ages. Entry to the building is free, but they ask for donations.

We visited the Ulster Museum after we had done quite a few other attractions and decided to only…read morefocus on one of the displays, namely the section dedicated to the Troubles. Extremely informative and well-presented.

Great museum with a wide variety of things- like a national museum. So many genres, and we got…read moreextra lucky that there was an exhibit of current artists with art for sale. That exhibit was gigantic and impressive. Only downside of the museum was no acoustical/ absorption to buffer the screeching children. It was well worth a visit if you have spare time in Belfast.

Set in Delamont Park near Strangford Lough (the sound blasted loud and clear down by the Lough…read moreaccording to people who were there), Willowstone has a nice intimate little setting, a Walled Garden, an art areas (throwing paint is very therapeutic) and a stage shaped like a castle! It is a really great place for a festival, and this year really built on the success of the first year with great local acts like Panama Kings and Cashier No. 9, and local heros the Answer headlining. The tickets are reasonably priced, with £32 for a nights camping very reasonable! There is a nice relaxed and unpretentious vibe; everyone is here to have a good time together, not to pose and cause trouble! I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all to practice safe sun while festivaling- wear sunscreen and a hat, enjoy the shade and drink water! As for the other safety tips for visits, adhere to the wise words of the famous Tim Westwood- strap it up before you slap it up!

This was somewhere I'd always wanted to visit as a child. It sounded so interesting and so much…read morefun, but unfortunately for me, when our school was doing a school trip there, I was sick and couldn't go. I got over that and pretty much forgot about it.. Not long ago we decided to do something for the day, and this was mentioned. I'd remembered how much I wanted to go in the past and thought who not give it a go! To cut a long story short, we got round it in less than half an hour. I should have gone when I was in P2 because that seems to be the age of child a lot of the exhibits are aimed at. Apparently they do 'digital shows' - but none of that was available when we went. They do various demonstrations etc, but again this was not on when we were there. They do do telescope nights in Autumn and Winter which could be really interesting, however Armagh is a wee bit far for me to travel. For anyone interested I believe Queens University offer something similar.

Ok, so we're a tad out of greater Belfast here, but the Planetarium is only 40 minutes from…read moreBelfast, and I was there recently so it's getting reviewed! I hadn't been since we went on a school trip when I was 9 or so. However, I have a friend who's a bit obsessed with space travel at the moment, so we decided to take a little road trip to the Cathedral City to have a nosy. The exhibition space itself is a little dull if I'm honest. I found it interesting enough, and I suppose if you were there with a school group and had a guide, it would be more interesting, but despite the fact that I normally love science museums and astrology, I struggled to stay focused at times! However, we then went to one of the shows, which more than made up for my earlier boredom! Like all planetarium shows, it was inside the big dome. The one we saw was called Violent Universe. I won't spoil it, but it was both awesome and terrifying (and I am now convinced the world will end in 2036). Best bit? It's narrated by Patrick Stewart! He didn't seem to be panicking about the end of the world though, so if Captain Picard isn't worried, maybe I shouldn't be either... The gift shop is small, but has a few interesting things like beautiful poster prints, and freeze dried ice cream (we bought some, haven't been brave enough to try it yet!) and the usual pens and rainbow rubbers. Entrance plus a show is £6 so I reckon it'd be a really good way to keep the little inquisitive people in your life entertained for the afternoon. And if that's not enough to convince you, how about if I tell you that the 4pm show is narrated by David Tennent...?