Eureka Museum With Little Live Pets

At the weekend we were invited to visit Eureka Museum in Halifax for the day with Little Live Pets. The last time I visited the museum was with high school about fifteen years ago and I remember really enjoying it, so I was looking forward to visiting as an adult and having a day with the children.

The first thing we did, well after having our hands stamped with dinosaurs and birds, was to visit the Little Live Pets room. Inside a few fun activities had been set up including colouring, glass painting and face painting. J is a little young to sit still long enough for face painting, but H was happy to have a butterfly. We also had a chance to see the Little Live Pets and give them a try.

The birds and butterflies caught both the children's attention, particularly J who loved pressing the button and hearing the bird say his name, over and OVER again! H wasn't sure about the fluttering butterflies at first, but once she got used to the sensation she didn't want to put it down. The pets were really cute and brightly coloured and I could imagine they'd be a lovely addition at home. You can also hang the butterflies up so when your children are having a break from them fluttering and they would make an extra feature in their bedrooms.

The birds retail at £9.99 or £19.99 with the cage and the butterflies £12.99 or £22.99 with the butterfly house. Head over to the website for more information but be quick - apparently the first stock sold out in just three weeks! Here is a very quick video of the bird in action:

Once we had dragged the children away from the pets, we explored the museum. The children really enjoyed the freedom to run around and touch what they wanted and Eureka has some great areas for role play where children can act out different adults roles. The mini town square area is fantastic, offering children the chance to be shopkeepers, bankers, mechanics and post officers. Of course J found the biggest vehicle he could to climb into!

I enjoyed the newest gallery, the All About Me area, where we learnt about different areas of the body and also different roles within the health system. I thought the interactive intercom system was really good fun and even I got a shock when someone answered my receptionist call!

Even daddy's size 13's look tiny next to the largest man's feet!

J seemed to enjoy the desert area, where he could say hi to a coyote who howled back at him, build with the soft play shapes and put his hand in 'feely holes' to try and see what was inside. The other area that had the children taken for quite a while was the Ocean Garden where they all jumped on (and off) the surfboard to light up the city.

I was slightly disappointed that a lot of the features were out or order or just simply didn't work. I think for £11.95 per person you would expect more to be working than was. I also felt some of the areas were quite dated, however I suppose with a museum to this size it would cost a lot to be constantly updating. The areas that were a lot newer were lovely and clean and it's a shame some of the other areas were so tired looking.

Eureka is a fun day out, though. My children were a little young to fully interact with everything, but I think in a couple of years they could get a lot more out of it. If nothing else, it was just great for us to spend a day out together as a family and for daddy to be involved in some of the fun times, so a big thanks to Little Live Pets for that!