Today we were invited along to the National Railway Museum in York to check out all of the exciting activities they have going on over the February Half Term holiday.
After yet another pretty horrendous drive to York, getting stuck in lots of traffic, we were thankful to arrive to a lovely lunch and a good cuppa! We were treated to some of the pastries and cakes that will be on sale over Half Term. Unfortunately we missed the sausage rolls but did enjoy the ham and cheese turnovers which went down very well with the Little A's. Big Mr A and I opted for the black pudding and leek parcels which were amazing!
After the Little A's had had a play and we had filled up on the yummy refreshments, we were left to our own devices to explore the museum and enjoy the activities on offer.
First up we discovered the Chuggington play area. Especially designed for the Under 6's, this little area was jam packed with Chuggington tracks, trains and even fancy dress outfits! Little Mr A (somewhat reluctantly!) joined Little Miss A in some dress up!
After having a look around the trains (which we were pleased to note had changed a little since we had been at Christmas for the Santa Express), we made our way to the Station Announcer/Guard dressing up activity station. Here Little Mr A had a great time dressing up and then reading the announcements out over a microphone (not that he needs one!). There were also flags to practice train directing too.
Just along from this activity was a Police related activity where Little Mr A had his fingerprints taken before dressing up as a Policeman. During the week the British Transport Police will be onsite using fun activities to show how their job reduces incidents on railway crossings and with trespassers.
After another wander, we came across the build a track activity. This proved to be a popular activity and we had to wait a short while, however, whilst we were waiting the staff were brilliant, keeping us entertained telling us about the various trains. Just opposite the activity was one of the trains from Harry Potter which the staff pointed out to us, quite excitedly as it had been given pride of place just in time for Half Term! When it was our turn for the activity, both of the Little A's enjoyed building a track and then pushing the cart along it (I think Daddy had fun too!).
Other activities that are taking place, but which we didn't have chance to do, include:
- Find out how big things move fast - with the help of an elephant launcher and a cannon.
- Find out what it was really like to drive a steam locomotive by getting aboard our engine Teddy in light steam. Dress as a driver and pose for a photo with our fireman.
- The Lancashire & Yorkshire signalling school will be open on both Saturdays (15th and 22nd). Younger visitors can also have a go at operating our NRM central signal box.
- Our engineers will be demonstrating the wheeldrop in the workshop, as an Explainer describes what's happening (week days only).
We have been to the National Railway Museum a few times now and it is great to see different activities going on to keep the interest, especially for younger children.
I would definitely recommend a visit this half term as all of the activities are free and it is a great place to spend a few hours!
We were provided with lunch and free car parking in return for our opinions in this post. All photographs were taken by me and are not to be used without my permission.
