The week leading up to Bank Holiday Monday (19th to 25th August) saw us going on 3 days out as well as a day just enjoying our local playground and library. The highlights of the week were our trips to: Winchester Science Centre, Rollerbowl and Paradise Wildlife Park. As I've got so behind with my weekly diary updates due to the school holidays I'm just sharing a few thoughts on our days out.

A camera measuring heat levels at Winchester Science Centre

Winchester Science Centre

Is it worth taking 3 year olds to a science museum? Well if the one you are thinking of is Winchester then absolutely. This science centre is all about hands on exhibits so whether they understand what they are doing or not there are enough buttons and levers to keep children happy for hours. With the added bonus of a small softplay area for under 6s we really enjoyed our recent visit. The only negative was that I didn’t get a chance to explore anything myself! 

I met some lovely friends there with their 2 year old and baby. We took a packed lunch which we ate on some picnic tables on the lower floor. There is a lift as well stairs so it’s all easily accessible with a pushchair. 

Rollerbowl at Collier Row, Romford (AD - Gifted)

We visited Rollerbowl as a family to find out what it was like. I enjoy bowling, but with two competitive daughters (I’ve no idea where they got that from) it can be hard work. I went to City Limits for many parties when I was at school and fortunately it has all been updated since then. The bowling lanes even feature the ability to automatically put the bumpers up or down for each player and the stats displayed include telling you how fast you have bowled. You can read more about our family bowling trip to Rollerbowl in my review.

Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire (AD - Gifted)

We were given entry to Paradise Wildlife Park to see their new lion enclosure. We love this attraction which has lots of animals, play areas, splash pool, soft play and dinosaurs. We visited last year to see the moving dinosaurs at Paradise Wildlife Park and they have since added a dinosaur creche area with a few baby dinosaurs. 

If you have been to PWP before then the new lion enclosure is straight in front of you when you go under the arch to the animal park, it’s where the white tiger used to be. With lots of glass windows and a raised viewing area it gives you a good chance to see the lions.