This is a great day out regardless of age be you 5 or 105 there should be something to interest…read moreyou. Located on a former wartime Air-base this museum is run by many volunteers, including an ex-rear Gunner and wireless operator who was shot up during a raid over Germany. George Martin can be found in the Air Gunners Exhibition and I can assure you a more interesting bloke with his experiences and memories of this period I have yet to meet. The Museum is spread within several restored wartime sheds which house the various themes on display, along with many restored aircraft outside and in hangers. It also still has the air traffic control tower which displays how things would have been. One of the hangers displays other restored Aircraft including, the Halifax bomber of which nearly 80 were lost during raids over Germany from this base alone. Other more modern planes are also on display including the Buccaneer, Vulcan Bomber, and Harrier to name a few. The museum continues to restore aircraft and long may it continue we had an excellent day out and at an entrance cost of only £5.00 per adult including parking it wasn't going to break the bank.

We went on a slightly miserable but warm morning. When we arrived we were very impressed with the…read moresetup of the museum. It is very well kept with lots if different executions and lots of planes to see. I was particularly impressed with the Halifax bomber! You could also try out a couple of actual cockpits and they had 2 simulators, one to practice landings and the other as a rear gunner! The sun came out and it was a glorious day, we sat outside the NAAFI with a drink and a cake from the canteen. We would highly recommend you take a trip out, the kids would love it at well!!!

A fascinating perspective on the contributions by the people of the Manchester area to major…read moreinnovations in science and industry throughout history. Numerous displays and examples of equipment and machinery large and small. Steam engines to electron microscopes on display, with emphasis on Manchester's relationship with the cotton industry, both good and bad. Something for everyone here, young and old. Free to enter, donations appreciated. Reservations will make sure that you don't need to wait for entry. A must-see if you are in the area.

Fantastic place for families with children! Adults can enjoy the many exhibits while young ones can…read moreenjoy the hands on displays. We liked watching the textile demonstration in the Textile area. This place has so much to see and do. And it's free! Contributions are gladly accepted to keep this fabulous museum operational.

It's actually called Cusworth Hall. A rather lovely 18th…read moreCentury house with beautiful grounds, run by the council.. Excellent venue for sledging when it snows. The lake was once a popular place for anglers, but Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, who couldn't organise a bunk up in a brothel, have decided not to allow fishing. Well worth a visit, even if just for the cafe in the old stables.

This small local museum has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment program. It is an…read moreaccessible way of introducing children to how life was lived in South Yorkshire in the past. Not over filled with exhibits it makes up for with charm and a relaxed style. Ample parking and children's playground, it is popular with dog walkers plus a charming cafe, offering a good range of homecooked lunch time dishes.

Magna is located in an old steel plant just off the M1 in Rotherham. It is clearly signposted and…read moreeasily found. It is a hands-on interactive science learning centre, primarily aimed at children, although adults can learn things as well. There is no heating in the building, so be prepared to wear your coat all day if it's cold. It is also quite dark in places, which creates an eerie feeling, like walking through an abandoned building. Inside there are four main areas, or pavilions, which are based on the four elements (Fire, Air, Earth and Water) and an exhibition area. There are also two fun/playareas outside: Sci-Tek an adventure playground) and Aqua-Tek (a very wet play area). The first thing we encountered was an exhibition on colour, what it is and how it effects our lives. This is a good exhibit, and if you don't know the difference between addictive and subtractive colour mixing, then this will teach you! You walk past the restaurant, and enter the main part of the building. Each of the pavilions is on a different level and there are stairs and lifts for access. We headed of towards Fire first. To get there you have to walk along a long gantry which runs alongside one of the old furnaces. It is very dark here with very little natural light. Every hour there is a display of how the furnace worked using lights and pyrotechnics which lasts about 10-15mins and is very good. In the Fire pavilion you can find out about fire and heat. The displays range from heating up a piece of wire with electricity, to how heat is used in making steel and there is an impressive fire-tornando in the centre of the room. Our next stop was up in an air-ship which was the Air pavilion. Here we found out how a dyson vacuum cleaner works, all about sound and various other things. Two floors down is the Water pavilion. Again this is hands on, so expect to get a bit wet. You can learn all about whirlpools, water flow and play with an industrial water soaker. Good fun for little ones! Down underground is the Earth pavilion. This is all about rocks and other natural resources. You can pretended to excavate rocks, carry them in a wheel barrow and watch how they move around a convey-belt system like a real quarry. It's even possible to lift yorself of the ground by pulling on a rope. There are three eating areas in the building: a restaurant which provides hot meals and sandwiches, a cafe (which we didn't sample) and a large area for eating picnics. This is also a reasonable gift shop which sells science related products and toys. This is a good example of a hands-on science museum that teaches children all about science without them realising. However, you'll probably find they want to spend all they're time outside playing in the play areas - probably the Aqua-Tek one. It is a good idea to bring either a swimming costume or a spare set of clothes for them as they will be absolutely soaked. Should you find you have finsihed here and there is still some time left in you day, then just 5mins away is Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

I would love to give Magna a 5 star review - in fact I would have done after my first visit. The…read moreproblem is that nothing has happened to it for some time and its is slowly falling into decline. Every time I go I see the place getting dirtier and dirtier, and if something is broken in one of the exhibition areas it isn't fixed next time I go. I suspect this is down to local funding being absent. It's a real shame as it's a fascinating place and my children absolutely love it, but even they remarked at how broken stuff hadn't been fixed since the last time. Despite all that the concept is a very good one and I still tend to go there about once a year. The fire tornado is still great but a lot of the other stuff in that section is run down and doesn't work properly. The air section features some fun bits such as a steam whirlwind, and the water section is still amusing (but take care as your children are likely to end up getting very wet here!). If some money could be spent here on maintaining the place it would be fantastic, but as it is I can't see it holding the attraction it used to for my family. One thing that is worth mentioning is the brilliant childrens' playground outside (there is a dry and a wet section!) - this is absolutely enormous and it's hard prising your children off it when it's time to go home!

Lovely museum for a good afternoon out. Very educational! Local history in a beautiful settingread more

Wonderful fascinating house plus lovely grounds to walk the dogs in…read more Yummy tea room too

Brodsworth Hall and Gardens are situated a few miles north west of Doncaster and are now owned by…read moreEnglish Heritage. It is a large Victorian country house with spectacular views across the park. As well as the house, the extensive gardens are also open to the public, and the Church is also frequently open. The is an extensive program of events thoughout the year, and in the summer, almost every Sunday sees a brass band playing on the lawn. Children are catered for with events such as easter egg hunts, and various activities around the house and gardens. Almost every room in the two storey house is open to the public. It was built in the 1860's in the Italinate style by Charles Thellusson, and it was his decendant, Mrs Pamela Williams, who gave the house to English Heritage in 1990. The house still contains much of its original fixtures and fittings and has largerly been unmodernised since it was built. To get the most out of the house, it is essential to purchase the guide book as this takes you on a guided tour of the rooms. There are stewards in almost every room, and these are knowledgeable, and can fill in the gaps that the guide book leaves out. Outside the house, there are large gardens divided in to various areas. There are croquet lawns, a grotto, a rose garden (laid out in the shape of a leaf), a wild rose dell and even a large children's playground. For those with mobility problems there is a golf-cart style buggy to take visitors from the car park to the house. THe house and grounds are wheelchair accessible and inside the house there is a lift to the upper floor. I feel that weather (and children) permitting, it would be possible to spend several hours looking around the house and gardens.

felt like i was in Downton Abbey, even tho ive never watched it, lovely house and grounds but…read moreexpensive if you're not a Heritage member, worth a visit tho

This is a very impressive museum full of artifacts and exhibits. We loved everything about this…read moremuseum and the best part was the entrance is free! They have artifacts from Egypt, Africa, and many locations. They have quite a bit of wild animal exhibits representing the different species in the UK. They have a nice cafe to sit and rest also. They have a lift. I definitely recommend this museum. So nice and so much to see.

Imagine it is 150 years ago, and you are a rich, white English dude. You travel the world and…read moresimply help yourself to whatever catches the fancy of your magpie little brain. You plunder flora and fauna, antiquities, important cultural objects from other peoples. You compete with other rich, white dudes to create the biggest collection of the most random things someone could think of. "I have one of every butterfly on each of the inhabited continents!" "Oh yeah, my stuffed 2-toed sloth is bigger than yours!" Fast forward to the present, and the current caretakers of this hodgepodge of objects of dubious provenance are tasked with creating cohesive exhibits for the public. There are some really interesting pieces in the museum. I was able to hold a 2,000 year-old carved stone perfum vial. See the cross section of a turtle skeleton (so cool how the spines follow the inner curve of the shell), admire a stuffed porcupine. It was fascinating to think about what caught the fancy of people in the past. I would have loved to have seen more discussion of how these objects came to be, and what that tells us about classism, racism, and the history of imperialism. Be that as it may, I'm glad to see that someone's past light fingeredness is at least entertaining and educating the public today, instead of collecting dust in a storage facility somewhere.

We stayed nearby on a work trip, and I brought the kids here. It was a nice, little museum with a…read moresizeable gift shop. The things on display were fun and interactive. The place smelled old, so that was cool. This place is a little gem, especially for tourists! The staff was nice and accomodating.

Keeping on with the iconic buildings of Leeds theme that I've got going on, I suddenly realised I'd…read morenot penned (or typed) my thoughts for this fabulous building. Certainly, it's not necessarily a cutting edge piece of architecture, but its structure is actually one of my favourites in Leeds. The huge steps out the front are a great spot to eat you sandwiches, and guaranteed much freer and more picturesque to pause at than the Parkinson steps, and with so many places near by to grab refreshment the location is certainly a handy one. Whilst I've only been around the inner workings a few times it's always been a fun browse. They have a few rotating/changing displays - one of which I remember featuring this 'crazy scientist' type character and all in all it offers a good deal of info-tainment for the kids, as it were. Their other staples, as mentioned in previous reviews, also offer a good afternoon's browsing and is certainly worthwhile whether you're a resident or a visitor. They're not adverse to other events being held in the space either, indeed an opening night to an Irish festival, celebrating the Irish cultural heritage in Leeds, was held in the main room which was fantastic too. If you've not been, you've overlooked another gem of the city!