Railway Museum (STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway)

Member Name: Brooke3

Product:	STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway
Date:	11/11/08 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a fun day out

Disadvantages: I'm not really interested in trains

I don't think that the railway museum needs much explaining. It is a museum about railways, particularly the railway in Swindon and the history of the Great Western Railway and Brunel.
If you've ever been to Swindon you will notice that EVERYTHING is named after something to do with the railway...the Brunel Centre is the main town centre shopping area, there's a club named after Brunel, the radio station is called GWR... so it's only right that Swindon have a railway museum to celebrate it's history and the fact that many people in Swindon wouldn't be there if not for the railways. The railways brought in a lot of immigration because workers were so desperately needed and of course offered jobs to many of the people who were already living there.

Anyway, away from the boring background stuff and onto my review.

I have no interest in trains or railways but I was spending the day with my youngest sister and I wanted to do something both fun and educational and for some reason the railway museum came to my mind...I thought it would be educational, even if not the most fun she's had.

Fortunately it was not only educational, it was also a really good day out.

In my opinion railways aren't the most thrilling thing so if you're actually someone who does find the railways interesting then going to the railway museum will be extra good for you. If you're like me then you can still have a really fun day out.

There is an awful lot of factual information in the museum, which of course you expect, so for those of you with a thirst for knowledge you won't be disappointed but what I thought was the best thing about the museum was the amount of interactional stuff there was there.
There are trains that you can go on, there are games where you control the train signals and my favourite part of the entire museum, there's a whole area that's made up to look like an old fashioned railway station complete with a real old train that you can go into, sit in, play in food cart. If you're a child at heart like me and bring a child along you may even want to role play that you're living back in the old days and taking a train journey somewhere.
I did find the wax models of people a little bit creepy but they did add to the authenticity of the scene.

If you go during the summer holidays there are additional things put on for the children, like a little train ride.

Ticket Prices:
Adults £6.20
Children £4.10 (free if they're under five)
Student, senior and family discounts available.

Summary: A fun day out for the family.