Magna-not-so-ificent (Magna ( Science Adventure Centre))

Member Name: talisman2002

Product:	Magna ( Science Adventure Centre)
Date:	01/03/09 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting displays, lots of hands on activities

Disadvantages: broken equipment, smelly toilets, poor directions, small lifts.

After much anticipation I finally found the time to take my daughters and meet up with a friend at Magna on Saturday. I had been wanting to go since I heard about it and always had visions of it being a little like the Crystal maze inside which size wise it is.

Magna used to be the Templeborough Steelworks and was originally built in 1917 and closed it's doors in 1993. The science museum uses two huge hangers which are 350 metres long and 35 metres tall. It has retained a lot of the original parts which existed when it was used as a steelworks and these can be seen as you make your way around the site.

Magna is split into four main sections. Fire, Earth, Air and Water We didn't stay for long in the fire section or the earth section as my girls were terrified of all the noise from the moment we entered. We managed 5 minutes in the air pavillion in front of the gale force winds before the thunder and lightning was enough to convince my kids that they were getting out of there. The fire section was even worse for them and they barely managed anytime at all before they made their dis-satisfaction known to me in the form of clinging to my leg.


The Earth pavilion is a subterranean playground. It has a maze of tunnels and You can handle a real JCB and shift makeshift rocks. It has a maze of tunnels and there is also a rock face to explore and you can "mine" using buckets spades and sand.

My daughters were interested in this section for as long as it was their turn on the digger or the sandpit. I tried explaining to them about the system of pulleys and gears that were on display and how they work but they didn't even feign interest! One thing to be aware of in this section is there is a lot of heavy moving parts. Whereas most pulleys are safely out of the way some of the things you use to manouvre rocks can spin back at an alarming pace and I got a nice bruise on my hand courtesey of a fast moving handle.

The water section is where all the fun began. You gain entry to it walking down a path with what looks a bit like 2 overfilled swimming pools either side. The water laps over the edges and down the side of the path and you can throw your hands about in it to whet your appetite for what's to come. There is a mass of things to squirt, squeeze, pull and push in here and you do get very wet so it's worth remebering a change of clothes and a rain mac. There are some simple water related quizzes you can participate in one of which results in a little statue weeing in a bucket......

Outside of the building there is an adventure playground which is huge. Admission to the playground is £6.50 if you purchase the ticket seperately but is included if you buy a ticket for the museum itself. The adventure playground was a major part of my daughters visit and they got a lot out of everything that was on offer. There was an excellent mix of equipment for all ages and sufficent seating to ensure you could always be close to your children and facing in a direction where you could see them. There was some kind of refreshment kiosk near the enterance but this was closed when we went. I believe this is a seasonal thing as we were in the playground by 1600 hrs and it closed at 1700.

Although I'm not in a situation to comment much on the fire or air sections there are plenty of other things that are worth a mention , unfortunately many of them are bad. There were a lot of experiments that were broken in all 4 sections. I countied 6 in total and considering it was £9.95 for me to get in as an adult I expected better. I found I needed to be doing a lot of the things for my children for them as they didn't have the strength to do it themselves. If I wasn't talking to them constantly and helping pull a handle or lifting them to see something that was too high for them they got bored and just wondered off.

The entrance itself was confusing. Once you were inside it was not clear where you were meant to queue and there was little order once you had paid and made it into the second part of the building. It was poorly signposted reminded me of an airport lounge.

The mens toilets stinked of urine and the baby changing areas didn't smell much better. The lifts were far too small and much in demand which caused problems with crossing between sections as we were unable to use the stairs.

Other things worth knowing are the prices. Children under 4 go free and I paid £9.95 as an adult on my own. You can get concessions for children aged 4-16 and families full details can be found on their website http://www.visitmagna.co.uk/ Drinks are expensive, you can expect to pay £1.20 for a 500ml bottle of coke and 50p for a packet of crisps. The souvenier shop is full of the usual tourist junk and priced accordingly as well.

Magna is located on: Sheffield Road, Rotherham, S60 1DX.

From the M1 take junction 33 if you are travelling from the south, or junction 34 if you are travelling from the north. Magna is about 1 mile from Meadowhall Shopping Centre and there is free parking for up to 500 cars and 40 coaches. The car parking can get busy at weekends but there is generally enough to accommodate .

I was expecting a lot more from the visit and was dissapointed when I left. I felt the zones could have been bigger and the whole experience could have been impoved with just a little more attention to detail.

Summary: Good for a day visit once every 3 years.