A trip to the Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium makes a great educational day out for the whole family. It’s a fantastic ‘hands on’ experience where the children (and adults!) can touch everything and explore. With a cafe and an outdoor playground too there’s plenty to keep everyone busy for the whole day.
Winchester Science Centre Activities
There are loads of ‘hands on’ science exhibits and experiments arranged over two floors. There are some simple fun experiments which toddlers will enjoy playing with as well as lots of exhibits where primary and secondary children can explore and learn. Have a go at using a crane to create a city. Experiment with sailing boats on a wind table to learn how sails work. My children’s favourite was an exhibit where you could launch a tennis ball metres into the air by compressing a column of air.
Winchester Science Centre Planetarium
Purchase an add-on ticket to go into the planetarium cinema and watch one of the shows. Lie back on the reclined cinema-style chairs and watch the show projected on the dome. We went to one all about an astronauts training programme and learned about the environment in space.
Winchester Science Centre Cafe and Playground
There is a simple cafe serving baked potatoes, sandwiches, coffee and cake. There are indoor tables but if it’s a sunny day it’s lovely to go to the outdoor picnic tables. There is a great playground here with some interesting outdoor experiments. We enjoyed collecting leaves and feathers to look at in the outdoor microscopes.
Ticket Prices
General Admission to the Science Centre:
£13.20 per person (with Gift Aid) / £12 per person (without Gift Aid)
Book online at least three days in advance and save 25% on admission.
Planetarium shows are £3.50 when added to General Admission or £6.60 for a
planetarium-only ticket
