An 'Out of This World' Family Day Out

As the weather gets colder, we like to start to look for indoor activities/ days out that we can do together as a family and visiting the National Space Centre in Leicester has been on our bucket list for a while.

So, when my husband got asked to attend their 'Return of the Garrison' Star Wars event as a trader with his business, Demonhunter Bricks, we decided to make a big family day out of it.  

As soon as we arrived, we were instantly transported into a land of all things Space! The theming is amazing and there is an abundance of things to interact with everywhere you look. There are six different galleries and we loved how thought-provoking they all were - we really felt a part of what we were learning about. This is great for keeping the kids engaged and teaching them about space and our incredible universe!  

One particular part of our day that stood out was the Sir Patrick Moore award-winning Planetarium show - the Space Centre has the UK's largest planetarium and I really felt like I was being taken on a voyage of space discovery whilst watching 'Planets Not So Far Away' (which was included in the price of the ticket). It's a 360-degree full-dome experience show and it's pretty mind-blowing.

As you approach the National Space Centre from any route into the city you catch glimpses of the 42 metre high Rocket Tower and seeing the Blue Streak and Thor Able rockets up close is incredible! I recommend reading about the rockets themselves as the stories are so interesting, especially Thor Able's!

Something else that we LOVED was the Tetrastar Spaceport which immerses you completely in a journey into space with motion seats and realistic set designs. We went on a rescue mission to Mars where we had to work together as a group to retrieve important research, survive disaster and escape back to Earth. It's fun and interactive – an experience for the whole family to get involved with! Also included for free in the entry ticket.

Not to be missed is a real piece of the moon on display on Deck 4 of the Rocket Tower, on loan from NASA. Being able to see a piece of the moon up close was a complete treat!

The Space Centre is crammed full of space suits, rockets, satellites and meteorites, we spent the whole day there and I still felt like we didn't see everything. Luckily enough the day ticket automatically upgrades to a free annual pass!

I’d highly recommend a visit to the Space Centre, there's something for all the family and it makes for a fun & educational day out. I especially loved visiting when they had their Return of The Garrison weekend event as my boys are Star Wars mad, so loved seeing all the characters walking about, including Star Wars props and the many activities on throughout the day! (I also loved meeting the Mandalorian as you can see from the photo!). The Space Centre seems to have regular events and activities, especially with their 'Spooky Space' event on 15th-30th October, which will likely be great fun for the Halloween half term. (For more half-term ideas, don’t forget to check out this post).

When you visit, there is parking available at the Space Centre for £3 per car, but you can also book for a day online at the nearby ASDA. For lunch or a drink, there is the Boosters Cafe at the Space Centre (they serve good vegetarian and vegan options and you can view the menu online before you go if you want to plan ahead). We managed to go there and back in a day, but if you're not local and are looking to stay over then the Novotel Leicester and The Belmont Hotel are around a 10-minute drive from the Space Centre.

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