DayTripping – Dundee Science Centre

We love a train ride, it adds an extra omph of excitement to a day out and a train ride up to Dundee to visit the Science Centre is one of our favourites.

The train from Edinburgh only takes around 1.5 hours and is a nice scenic route over both the Forth Bridge and the Tay Bridge following along the coast. Dundee train station is in the centre of Dundee and the Science Centre is only a 5 minute walk away. We haven’t used it, but there is a carpark on site at the Science Centre.

At the moment you have to pre-book a slot and there are three options- 9am, 12pm or 3pm and each time slot gives you 2.5 hours in the centre. The prices are really reasonable- for me and the 3 kids we were around £22 total for the afternoon.

Inside the centre there is LOADS to see and do- all 3 of my kiddos were kept totally entertained for the whole afternoon. Everything is really hands on and interactive. The experiments all have clear instructions beside them of what to do and the science behind what is actually happening.

There are staff dotted around the centre who were all really friendly and informative and were keen to explain some of the experiments further or to guide the kids. Each time we have visited there have been different additional activities going on (all included in the price) so something a bit different each visit to explore.

Highlights from my kids include the wind fan, water area and hospital zone. When you first enter there is a large table with different paper templates to cut and colour and a large wind fan where you have to see how high your template can fly! All 3 of my kids could have spent hours here!

At the back of the ground floor is the water area which is split into tanks with lots of equipment for kids to move, rearrange, twist, pull to change the flow of the water. Steps are arranged around the tanks so that everyone can reach!

Upstairs there is a hospital zone where the kids can put on doctor or dentist uniforms and can have a go working in the Teddy Bears hospital.

The Science Centre has a really good cafe on site serving lunches and a variety of hot drinks and cakes. However, what I love most about the cafe is there are lots of activities to keep little ones entertained so that you can drink your coffee in relative peace! There is a giant lego wall behind some of the tables which kids can build on, there are peek boxes dotted around and a small soft play area in the centre with soft blocks etc. There are discovery boxes which can be taken to a table with resources inside them (appropriate ages are on the outside) and some of the booths have little computers at them to play games and quizzes on- something for everyone!

The Dundee Science Centre is definitely a hit with us. I feel like you get really good value for money, especially having 3 kids, days out can get expensive. There is so much to see and do for a whole span of ages. And, who doesn’t like a train trip along the coast!