The 3D planetarium
A presenter-led show inside the steel sphere, Britain's first of its kind and still its only one, added to the ticket for £4.
A gleaming steel sphere squats in front of a brick building well over a century old; that is the first thing that catches you on Millennium Square, down on Bristol's Harbourside. The building was a railway goods shed in 1906, and the sphere hides Britain's first 3D planetarium, still the only one in the country. Between them sits We The Curious, the science centre whose upper floors burned in April 2022 and which then closed for two full years while the damage from firefighting water was undone, before reopening in July 2024 with refreshed galleries. Inside are more than two hundred hands-on exhibits across two floors, all of them to be touched, cranked and tried: a tinkering corner, a live lab where researchers work in front of visitors, and an animation studio built with Aardman, the people behind Wallace and Gromit, where children make a short film of their own. Planetarium shows are presenter-led, last 25 to 30 minutes, run several times a day, and are an add-on of £4 a head to the entry ticket; worth it, particularly for children over five, since 3D glasses are not recommended under six and younger children get 2D shows instead. Let us be frank: this is a place for a family with children of roughly four to fourteen. An adult without children will find it light and be done inside an hour, while a family will easily fill two to three, especially on a wet Bristol day. The building is open-plan with lifts between floors, pushchairs move freely, and there is a prayer and contemplation room as well as a quiet room for a breather, which is rare in a venue of this size. Tickets are £21.20 for adults and £14.50 for a child aged two to fifteen (the standard price without the Gift Aid donation), and a timed online booking is close to essential in the British school holidays and at weekends because slots sell out. A late-entry ticket (after 3pm at weekends and in holidays, after 2pm on weekdays) costs £11.40, roughly half, and is enough for a quick run round. Doors open 10am to 5pm and it is closed on Mondays outside school holidays. From Bristol Temple Meads station it is a 20-minute walk or a short bus ride, and there is a covered car park under the square, though note the area sits inside the Clean Air Zone and some vehicles pay a charge. Bristol Aquarium is next door if you want a full day.
A presenter-led show inside the steel sphere, Britain's first of its kind and still its only one, added to the ticket for £4.
Children make a short stop-motion film with the same technique that produced Wallace and Gromit in this very city.
Researchers working in view of visitors and open benches for hands-on experiments; this is where children linger longest.
One Millennium Square, Anchor Road, Bristol BS1 5DB
Honestly, no. The galleries are pitched at ages 4 to 14 and you will be through in under an hour; if the planetarium is what draws you, book the cheaper late-entry ticket (£11.40) and add a £4 show, or simply photograph the sphere from the square.
If you have one slot, this: it is far bigger and holds children for two to three hours, while the aquarium is done in about an hour. On a long wet day the two combine easily, as they sit side by side on the same square.