Has anyone been? Would adults enjoy it?

whats it all about? I have been on the website but can't grasp whether its kiddy orientated or not.

I know its educational but I'm weary after going to an exhibition at the British Natural History Museum in London last weekend and it being for kids only even though it was advertised otherwise.

I've been twice now, went on a Wednesday 2 weeks ago and it was dead, there were more staff than visitors and we managed to use/play with everything in about 2-3 hours.

If it's busy then you might need to queue for some of the attractions.

It is very educational but adults would enjoy it too.

poucinet

I thought they did adults only evenings?

its a great place, just to grasp the size of a steel works. The attractions are basically a techniquest/eureka hands on science museum, but split into four 'elements'

There are a few good ones, but mostly it is for the kiddies.

the cafe sucks

many exhibits are broken

its a shame, it could be a lot more.

I had a yearly pass as it was a great place to take the children when the weather's not too good, plus it has an excellent outdoor playground that's exclusive to paying visitors.

Could do with some more exhibits, but I saw an advert the other day that they've added a new indoor activity area, so it might be worth going again.

Depends how old the children are. I took quite an age range and the older children loved it while the younger ones were frightened of the dark and noise.

Outdoor play area is worth a visit though in good weather is extremely crowded as folk come and use the play facilities without paying to go into Magna...cheeky sods.

Right next door is Sheffield Wildlife Trust's Blackburn Meadows nature reserve - great for kids to run about in & learn all about wildlife - there's bird hides, pond dipping to look for bugs, & they've just recently opened a new sensory trail with clues to solve & games to play on the way round.

They cater for school groups etc too, if you would like to book or need further details, please phone the education team on 01709 723127

It has got things that are quite interesting for adults, especially if you have time to really look at the different exhibits and take in what they're about - hard if you got there on a day when there are lots of school groups. The presentation about steel making is good - that happens every hour or so and you stand and watch for about 10 mins. It's quite a while since I went and one or two of the exhibits didn't work properly then - read the earlier comment about that and wondered if that problem had got worse - considering it's not cheap to get in, they really do need to make sure it's all working.
Only way to be sure though is to go and make up your own mind - but if it were me, I'd go at a time when you'd be likely to get families there rather than school groups.

Just a thought - I don't know how it's doing these days, but have you been to the Earth Centre near Doncaster - also quite a lot for children there but plenty for adults too (outdoors as well as inside) - of the 2, as an adult visitor I'd go there rather than Magna and it's got a decent cafe

Has anybody been to magna recently ? is it any good as i'm thinking about taking the kids tomorrow.
I'm wondering if they will all enjoy it as their ages range from 2 to 10.

Do it. 2 might be a little young however, its very big and darkly cavernous in places, and getting around it is quite a walk for small legs. I think the ticket price also includes entry to the truly awesome playground.

It's a toss up which is the better attraction, but for heavens sake, take a packed lunch.

The cafe is poorly stocked, served by the terminally lackadaisical staff, who may need to be prompted several times to make you coffee.

The Fire Tornado is good, the water pavilion is very wet indeed (bring dry clothes - aprons provided are not sufficient)

The earth pavilion is incredibly noisy, and kids will enjoy queuing to have a go on the real JCB arms. Good sandpit for the very young'uns too.

Thanks for the info Phanerothyme i will start making the sarnies now. Taking the little ones buggy so he can sit down and ride if his legs get tired. :D

(please ignore me-just noticed the date on most of the posts)