The National Space Centre
The UK's first national space centre has fantastic moon rocks, space suits, capsules and rockets. In the Blast Off area, you can experience the effects of liftoff, while the interactive guide to the universe covers all the big questions, including where do we come from and how will it all end. The Space Now area is updated daily with news of missions and launches, and there's a hands-on weather forecasting studio. The Challenger Learning Centre, a combined mission control and space station simulator, is the only one outside north America - and it's available for party hire.
• Exploration Drive, Leicester LE4 5NS (0870 6077223, spacecentre.co.uk). Adults £7.50, concessions £5.50. Season tickets available.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museums
Nine indoor and outdoor attractions either side of the dramatic Ironbridge Gorge reflect local history and show how the region influenced the Industrial Revolution. Kids will enjoy the Victorian town, an open-air museum recreating life a hundred years ago. Change today's money for old pennies in the bank, and spend them in the "authentic" shops. See how medicines were concocted in the pharmacy and listen to costumed characters' gruesome tales of surgery before sophisticated anaesthetics came to our rescue.
• Telford, Shropshire TF8 7AW (01952 432166, ironbridge.org.uk). Adults £10.60, over-60s £9, children £6. Passport and family tickets available.
Discovery Point
One hundred years ago, RRS Discovery, the first ice-breaker ship made specifically for scientific research, set sail on a polar expedition commanded by Robert Falcon Scott, aided by Ernest Shackleton. After being locked in the ice for two years, the ship and crew returned as heroes. Now beautifully restored, you can wander around the deck, check out the unbelievably cramped officers' cabins, dine in the wardroom and see the inhospitable conditions of the engine room. The accompanying museum is atmospheric, informative and full of intriguing artefacts. Look out for the forthcoming Kenneth Branagh film about Shackleton.
• Discovery Quay, Dundee DD1 4XA (01382 201245, rrs-discovery.co.uk). Adults £5.95, children £3.85, concessions £4.45, family ticket £17.
Explosion!
Housed in the Navy's former armaments depot, and telling the story of the human side of naval firepower, from gunpowder to the Exocet. Find out what it was like to be a female munitions worker during the second world war, dodge submarine mines while "walking" the ocean depths ,take aim on the gun deck of a battleship and uncover state "secrets". The cafe has good views of Portsmouth Harbour.
• The Museum of Naval Firepower, Priddy's Hard, Gosport, Hampshire PO12 4LE (023-9250 5600, 24-hour infoline 023-9250 5678, explosion.org.uk). Adults £5, over-60s £4, children (5-16) £4, concessions £3, family ticket £13, single- parent families £11.
Conkers
Space to let the kids run free. Three million trees have already been planted, with plenty of pretty woodland walks and trails to wander around. Hocus Pocus is an adventure play park for young and old. Bicycles are available for hire.
• Millennium Avenue, Rawdon Road, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 6GA (01283 216633, nationalforest.org). Adults £4.95, children £2.95, concessions £3.95, family ticket £12.95.
Our Dynamic Earth
The story of the planet told through 11 earthscapes. Time-travel to the Big Bang and experience a volcano erupting beneath your feet. Or fly high above glaciers, see a real iceberg and smell how the planet might have ponged millions of years ago - and how it might in the future. The tropical rainforest has a "real" rainstorm and realistic jungle animals. The Food Chain restaurant serves meals and snacks, and there's a terrace on the Polar Bar.
• Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS (0131-550 7800, dynamicearth.co.uk). Adults £7.95, children and over-60s £4.50, concessions £5.50, family ticket £21.
W5
Whowhatwherewhenwhy is a bit of a mouthful - hence "W5". Among more than 100 exhibits is a TV studio for budding presenters. See how lie detectors work, play a laser harp and design a Formula One racing car. As well as a robotics lab and lots of demonstrations encouraging visitor participation, there are play and toddler areas.
• 2 Queen's Quay, Belfast BT3 7QQ (028-90467 790, w5online.co.uk). Adults £5, children £3, concessions £3.50, family £14. Group discounts available.
The National Botanic Gardens of Wales
The world's largest single-span oval greenhouse is home to plants from all over the globe, including a Mediterranean ecosystem. Bioverse is a hands-on exhibition aimed at 8 to 12-year-olds, while The Wallace Garden focuses on genetically-engineered plants.
• Middleton Hall, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire SA32 8HG (01558 668768, gardenofwales.org.uk). Adults £6.50, concessions £5, children £3, under-5s free, families £16.
The Eden Project
Much more than just the world's largest greenhouses, and deserving of its acclaim. In the Humid Tropics Biome (a vast 200m long, 100m wide and 47m high), you wander through a lush rainforest. The Warm Temperate Biome nurtures plants, fruits and flowers from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California. Street theatre and practical play areas will keep the children entertained. And, when you need refreshing (the rain forest is 28C, after all), there is a good cafe.
• Bodelva, St Austell, Cornwall PL24 2SG (01726 811911, edenproject.com). Adults £9.50, children 5-15 £4, under-5s free, over-60s £7.50, families £22. Group concessions available if pre-booked. Open March to October 10am-6pm, November to February 10am-4.30pm.
· This article was amended on Wednesday February 20 2008. In the article above we featured an entry about the Gaia Renewable Energy Centre; in fact it closed in March 2003. This has been corrected.
