The approach of the long summer holiday period fills most parents with a little dread as they address the question – how do we keep the kids entertained? The answer obviously depends on where you are and what activities are available. If Bristol is the answer to the first part of that question, ‘plenty’ is the answer to the second. Whether your family lives in Bristol, or intend to just visit the city, there is so much on offer to keep the children entertained for hours, days, or even weeks.
The city offers entertainment for kids of all ages, both outdoors and indoors – Bristol may be brilliant but it’s still subject to the UK’s unpredictable summer weather. Within the busy city, there are world-class attractions geared towards hours of fun and amazement for the whole family, and if you want to venture a little further outside Bristol, there are places of natural beauty waiting to be explored by kids and parents alike. But it’s probably the city-based attractions that will catch the eye of any parent looking to keep their little ones, and not-so-little ones entertained in Bristol this summer. Here are just five of those, selected out of many more.
SS Great Britain
Recognised as the world’s first great ocean liner, the SS Great Britain is still Bristol’s Number One Tourist Attraction. The world’s largest passenger ship in the mid-19th century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s steamship is now sat proudly dry-docked on Bristol’s Harbourside. The first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, SS Great Britain has been lovingly restored and provides a fascinating insight into luxury travel in Victorian times. As a museum project, it’s won countless awards – over three floors, the sections of the ship and the articles therein are totally authentic and beautifully detailed. The celebrated engineer, Kingdom Brunel, responsible for so much industrial innovation in the 19th century, is honoured in a museum section of his own. But it’s not your usual dry museum experience as staff dressed as crew get the visiting kids engaged with all aspects of life onboard. Special events are arranged for the Summer period with Sunday Roasts in the onboard restaurant and live music on the Quayside, just adding to the attraction of this historical feature at the heart of the city.
We The Curious
Also located on the Harbourside in central Bristol, We The Curious may be geared towards older kids, but it’s a scientific concept suitable for everyone. With over 200 features, many interactive, the exhibition is more like an inquisitive journey through our modern world, asking questions and giving entertaining answers. With an emphasis on collaboration, the exhibits include Morph from Bristol’s Aardman Animations helping you to create your own animation, and the opportunity to find out how it feels to walk through a tornado Plus, the current special feature, ‘Project What If’, is based on 10,000 questions gathered from the people of Bristol, the first major science exhibition based on the curiosity of an actual city. This unique attraction is topped off with an experience that can safely be described as ‘out of this world’ – the 3D Planetarium is the first of its kind in the UK where you can literally sit back and enjoy, stargazing into the Universe as the Science Team guide you through the most amazing immersive experience. A truly breathtaking finale to a visit that you’ll undoubtedly want to make again.
Bristol Zoo Project
Bristol Zoo has long been a celebrated attraction on the Tourist map but the Zoo ‘Project’ takes the concept to another level. Visitors not only get to meet animals from all over the world, but they get to safely walk through many of the animals as they do their day-to-day thing. For instance, there’s the Lemur Walkthrough where the long-tailed primates roam with no barriers between visitor and animal. Perhaps more exciting still, visitors can take the Treetop Walkway through Bear Wood where bears, wolves, lynxes, and wolverines live below in beautiful, natural woodland. There’s a series of talks everyday with brilliant animal facts getting passed on. And there’s obviously feeding time for visitors as well as animals with a café and separate pizzeria. In addition to play areas where kids can burn off energy, the new Explorers Basecamp, designed with all ages, needs, and abilities in mind, features a three-storey play tower with slides, rope jungles, climbing walls, and much more, allowing kids to explore and play all day without limits.
Out There Indoors
Located in The Paintworks Creative Hub in the Totterdown district of Bristol, Out There Indoors is a cut above the usual kids' soft-play area. Very much for the younger children aged between 1 and 5, this is child’s play with a difference. Scandinavian-inspired, this play area has none of the usual bright colours, plastic apparatus, or bright lighting of standard play-centres. The Out There Indoors ethos is a commitment to providing a sanctuary for self-directed play and carefully curating resources that evolve with each passing season. During each 90-minute session, children can explore three climbing walls, ball-shoots, a variety of role-play resources, a dress-up area, creative play, authentic small-world resources, sensory items, and a cosy book corner. There are plenty of resources for very young toddlers too and the food and refreshments on offer are in line with the healthy outlook of the place.
Wake The Tiger
Bristol is home to the world’s first ‘Amazement Park’ Advertised as ‘the UK’s largest Immersive Art Experience’, Wake The Tiger is the latest addition to Bristol’s superb selection of family attractions, and it certainly raises the bar. This family experience is a self-guided, walk-through labyrinth of exploration, encouraging visitors to discover and interact with the incredible art. The whole concept is as fascinating for parents as it is for children, who will find so much to wonder at whether they’re teenagers or toddlers. Kids are encouraged to interact, whether that’s running around the exhibits, or looking and touching the art that makes each separate space a fantastic, stimulating experience. Visitors have described it as a mixture of light show, theatre and art installation, and funfair. An escape from reality, Wake The Tiger also has a serious, educational, and environmental message behind it. And visitors tend to agree – they’ve never been anywhere like this before.
