Centre For Life-Newcastle

The past 2 years we have brought annual passes for Life in Newcastle. It is pretty expensive if you pay per visit (unless you go on a pre-school day more about that later!) but for what you get for a year I think it is pretty good value.

Down stairs there are lots of interactive science games and exhibits- All very hands on and lots of fun! My girls really love the "Magic Shopping Trolley" and the "Freezing Cold Ice Wall" There are also science shows too and a number of them are suitable for little ones. Our favourite is "Little Bear Goes North" which is a planetarium show aimed at the under 7s... very relaxing for parents as well.

Also on the ground floor is the area where temporary exhibitions are held. Currently this is Dino Jaws on tour from the Natural History Museum. It is great! A collection of moving model dinosaurs and loads of hands on stuff- not to mention a huge model pile of dinosaur poo! It has been a huge hit with our girls and we must have been at least 3 times. Prior to this there was a Lego exhibition which was also good and before that a huge collection of playable video games which worked really well as a husband creche!

Where the membership becomes even more useful is when you head upstairs to the Young Explorer's Zone. A huge area with a brilliant role play set up, soft play blocks, dressing up, model making and colouring tables etc too. You could easily spend over an hour in here and we have done on many a rainy afternoon.

Earlier I mentioned pre school days. Throughout the year on specific Tuesdays The Centre for Life is taken over by toddlers! It is really good value as it only costs £7.50 for grown ups and under 4's are free. This is a saving of about £5 on the standard entry. All of the normal things are running plus extras for the under 5's like animal handling, water play, music sessions etc. We have loads of fun on these days but they do get extremely busy so go...but turn up early.
https://www.life.org.uk/events/pre-school-days

One slight issue I do have with Life is that the main of the 2 cafes is often closed at non peak times (mid week mainly) and that means that the smaller one gets rammed with people at lunch time. However in the basement there is a comfortable packed lunch room which is always a good option. It is also worth mentioning that if you get annual membership then part of the package is a discount at the catering outlets.

On a practical note there are lockers next to the entrance where you can stash your coats etc for a small fee which is really useful when you carry round as much stuff as I do! There is also loads of changing facilities.

https://www.life.org.uk/