Eureka!

KIDS and museums don't always go together. It would be a foolhardy parent who took their brood to the Museum of Precious Breakable Things, and a dull one who dragged them to the Centre For Medieval Knitting.

But Eureka! is different. Here is a museum which was made for under-12s. It is, they say "the UK's first and only fully interactive children's museum and is designed to provide an immersive learning environment".

We're not sure about that, but it is terrific fun.

For a certain Greek scientist, Eureka! is a very immersive environment. A statue of Archimedes, whose shriek of bath-time inspiration gave the Halifax museum its name, is dropped into a tub every hour, sending water cascading.

This entrance exhibit sets the tone: it's noisy, compelling, fun and ignites young imaginations.

From Archimedes on, Jack, six, and two-year-old Mia were off and running, and touching, and squeezing, and counting. Everywhere there is something to tweak and turn, print and build. Our pair withdrew "cash" from the bank, guessed the vegetables in the mini-M&S, filled up the tank of cars in the garage and cooked up a storm in the play kitchen.

New since our last visit was the SoundSpace gallery, which has been nominated for a European award. Orby the alien is your host on a musical journey which Jack enjoyed, with its many opportunities to make noises, a few of which might even have been classed as music.

Mia had to be bribed with snacks to leave the SoundGarden, a great place for toddlers to sit and play away from bigger and (slightly) louder siblings. The dew drop xylophone was a particular hit.

Of the many other attractions in this 4,500 square metre playroom, their favourite was Me And My Body. Jack loved making the cycling skeleton appear via pedal power, while Mia spent 15 minutes sliding down a giant tongue. That's the sort of fun you don't get at the British Museum.

Our only disappointment was the caf, which offered a dismal range of food and was the only corner where children failed to come first. The doughnuts were jamless and inedible. And after promising Mia an ice cream, we discovered they didn't do tot-friendly scoops of vanilla so we ended up mashing a choc ice into a cardboard soup dish.

Next time we'll take a pack-up and eat it on the railway carriage parked next door. After this hugely entertaining day out, there will be many more next times. A truly child-centred museum? Eureka!

Updated: 16:11 Friday, July 15, 2005