Reviews of Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Macclesfield
Review by Linsey on 24th April, 2009
Add your review Date visited: 24-04-09
Where has the Planetarium and activity space gone? Let down by that. Severely. Get it back.
Review by D Romsey on 10th May, 2008
Add your review Date visited: 2006
2 Adults and 3 children (ages 7 - 13) all had a great day out at Jodrell Bank.
The 3D cinema was great and only a pound to enter. The exhibits were educational and refreshingly not all electronic flashing lights, press a button etc. but things to actually do. One was a spinning chair fixed to the floor, sit in in with your arms out, someone spins the chair, pull your arms in and it spins faster.
There was good information about the electro-magnetic spectrum and Newton's experiments.
Outside there are "whisper dishes" which the children loved. The telescope moved whilst we were there and it was amazing to see this huge structure moving so fast.
It was a great day out, excellent value for money.
Review by Chris Smith on 27th January, 2006
Add your review Date visited: 14th January 2006
What an utter disappointment this place is. My 6 year old son was actually in tears when we left this place as he'd been promised a fantastic day out.
As you approach, the radio telescope is fantastically impressive, but once inside the place it's jaw-droppingly poor. You would think there'd be lots of space information, and probably a few interactive exhibits to get kids interested in astronomy. There were a couple of interactive exhibits - 3 baked bean tins with different stuff in them to illustrate how gravity is different on Earth, Mercury and Jupiter, a magnifying glass and a photo of space, and a big funnel you can roll some rubber balls in to illustrate black holes. You go into this room, thinking that it's some kind of ante-chamber, but no, that's it!
There's a 'trail' round the radio telescope which is about 100m long.
The only good thing is the two mini versions of the radio telescope about 100m apart which you can speak into and be heard perfectly in the other.
The 'Arboretum' is a bunch of trees, some of which are labelled but generally with no more than their latin names. Oh, and there are a couple of stagnant ponds. They do have lots of labelling - 'Keep Out', 'No swimming' etc. It's not been well kept. There is a visitor centre about the size of a public toilet with, well some fascinating information about the uses of wood. Did you know they make furniture out of it?
Considering that Jodrell Bank is one of the major landmarks of the Northwest, and we're all sort of proud of it, there has been little or no effort made to attract visitors. If you're REALLY into radio astronomy then you might pass a worthwhile half hour there, but it's not a good day out for kids at all.
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