Take no notice of the mini-map - it is wrong. The museum is located on Grand Parade. The address is…read morecorrect. We visited on a drizzly June Sunday in 2010 and were pleasantly surprised. Admission was cheap and it passed an hour or so. The exhibits remind you of a bedroom quickly tidied with the arrival of visitors. There is no logic to the displays, they simply are. Famous names sit next to anonymous teddy bears. Virtually every type of toy is represented. Modern toys and games sit alongside favourites of days gone by. We were able to show our 11 and 8 year olds toys which we had as children. The museum is well worth a visit.

Just of the metro this is a great fort with a musuem and a contrsuted batch house, this is pretty…read moremuch where the wall ends and you can walk around the fort though there isnt much there compaired with other places along hadrians wall what there is is the excellent musuem with display of artifacts and loads of intereactive games to play They have recontrusted diffenent parts of the barracks so that you can see rooms as they would have been. Outside they have contrusted a full bath house with hot and cold rooms replica toilets and plunge baths The tower house has great views of the surronding area where the ships used to be built the musuesm also has a gallery on the coal and ship building industry of the area. There is a nice little cafe and a good shop full of nice jewelly books and games for children

Anyone interested in Roman History should visit this site.Literally the end of the Roman Wall,sited…read moreat Wallsend on the banks the river Tyne.This site was uncovered when the old Simpsons Hotel was demolished.Swan Hunters shipbuilders clock stands at the entrance (another sign of times gone by)There are the foundations of the Roman buildings and a fully reconstructed bath house as well as a portion of the wall itself and a section of the wall reconstructed that you can actually walk upon to get the true feeling.They have an observation tower and a museum.Throughout the year there are special events when the Romans come alive and centurians walk the surrounding areas.There is the usual tea room and gift shop.Easily reached from Wallsend Metro approx 500yds up the road.Well worth a visit for young and all.

Very good free museum at the University of Newcastle. The Great North Museum focuses on natural…read morehistory for the most part, with interesting sections on world cultures as well. The exhibits are interesting and informative, but also interactive enough to keep everyone's attention. When we visited, there was a special exhibition on the amazing Gertrude Bell. It tells her life story, including her fascinating archaeological work in the middle east, and her efforts to establish a National Museum in Baghdad. A truly interesting woman. There is a good shop and a café on site, so you can definitely spend a few hours here and not get bored. Highly recommended in Newcastle.

A really great couple of hours spent wandering around. The refurb quite clearly, and rightly…read morefocussed on interaction with children in mind dumbing down some of the exhibits. Cafe was OK; just about OK.

Bede's World is a brisk walk away from Jarrow metro station and is thankfully quite well sign…read moreposted. On arrival the staff on the front desk were polite and helpful. The only criticism being there didn't appear to be a guide book for sale. The front desk leads to the museum which explains who Bede was and tells you some fascinating history about Great Britain. It's quite possible to spend several hours in the museum but I decided instead after an hour or so to take a look outside. The gardens are a real treat and it was great to see such well cared for animals. Next time I am near Newcastle I will definitely try and visit again.

Took my children today. Age 4 and 18 months. Both got in free which is a bonus…read more We went for the Halloween activities. The storyteller was fantastic! She was very enthusiastic and had the children loving the story. Will have to visit again!

Exceptional, not-to-be missed gallery/museum. As an American visitor, I think some of the 4-star…read morereviews come from Brits and other European visitors who are used to the expansive and impressive collections, such as the British museum. It is small, as they have noted, but the quality of the curation more than makes up for its size, which isn't that small in comparison to our pitiful museums in the US. I was most impressed with the curation of the 19th century works with more modern pieces. The galleries tell a story. This isn't a museum to rush through. Reading the descriptions of each piece really helps you see the total theme of each exhibit. That is some detailed work by the museum staff, and one that should be applauded. Also of note: what a fantastic museum gift shop! Perfect for those local artisan gifts and museum pieces that you won't find in other shops. That alone is worth a stop (and doesn't require a ticket to enjoy).

Laing is a smallish but distinguished, well-maintained gallery of "traditional" art, with an…read moreemphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries (both British and international). It is housed in an ambitiously designed building that fuses old and new architecture. It looks much bigger from outside, the actual galleries are few and small. Expect to spend nor more than 1 hour at this place, which makes it perfect for a rainy day (which this was). Laing Art Gallery is located on the corner of New Bridge St. and John Dobson Street (opposite of the bus stop where many of the cross-country bus services, by like Megabus, stop). Its permanent collection is free of charge. and contrary to what I had read previously in forums, I DID take non-flash photos and didn't do it secretly, so it's allowed. Don't expect too much though: While there are indeed several masterpieces by British (Holman Hunt, Burne-Jones, Alma-Tadema) and international painters, the total number of paintings is low, and there's mostly exactly 1 painting per master. This might have to more with the size of the exhibition space than the actual collection, as their website claims that paintings are exchanged regularly to "show the impressive range of art". Anyway, compared to the faux and crap modern art at The Baltic Centre on the other side of Newcastle's city centre, Laing is pure gold. There are also examples of local and regional crafts and arts. See some photos for reference.

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery is a free museum funded by the council, in South Shields city…read morecentre. It has recently been refurbished, though I have not been inside for over a year now so am not sure what the refurbishment entailed! Bearing in mind that is it free it is obviously worth a look around. I particularly like the Catherine Cookson-esque street scenes, and also... the old fashioned sweetie shop. It sells loads of classic old sweets - it's always packed with kids, for obvious reasons! Definitely try the cinder toffee and the cola cubes!!! For the more cultured types there are often art displays upstairs. There is WC access too so it is easily accessible to all of the public. You can find out more about the current displays and exhibitions by going to their website: http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/southshields/

Based at the bottom of King St the Shields museum is funded by the council and is free for anyone…read moreto go inside. The displays vary all year round and have quite a bit of local history inside of them. Although the museum itself is quite small some of the diaplya are very informative and appeal to people of all ages. I think that the council could do more to promote this place as very few people know about it and even more so know that it is free to enter and have a look around. The museum is ideal for people who are on there way to the beach to take in a little history of the town and will get you to know the place a little better.

Seven Stories is the National Centre for Childrens Books. The building has seven stories to reflect…read morethe claim that there are only seven stories in all the world. Downstairs is mostly devoted to an excellent childrens book shop. You pay to see the rest. Downstairs there is the engine room with craft activities for kids and a post office to stimulate imaginative play. Then upstairs to the exhibitions. At the moment the main focus is naughty heroes, and horrid henry features heavily. The exhibitions tend to be of the look at this pretty artwork type and not as interactive as they could be. Upstairs is a studio space with storytelling chairs, a stage and dressing up clothes. A special mention for the hungry caterpillar cafe which overlooks the canel at the back and is a great place to take kids to eat. This is a cut above the eating to be found generally at this type of place. Seven stories runs a regular programme of events, such as storytelling, which are excellent. Check the website as sometimes you need to book for this. I would reccomend saving a visit for these days.

My family and I visited Seven Stories last Saturday and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My…read moreeldest son who is 4 loves Juliia Donaldson books so the fact that one floor was devoted to her was a big bonus. This floor included a massive Gruffalo figure, a small house a child could walk into full of stuffed animals depicting the 'A Squash and a Squeeze' book and an area to get dressed up as your favourite character and play out one of the books. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the food in the cafe was fantastic (too good for kids) ;) a fantastic book shop too with lots of unique books and some old favourites. Adult entry £6.50 Child entry £5.50 (4+) under 4 free Great value for a Half day experience