Things to do with Babies and Children in Central Bristol – ss Great Britain

The ss Great Britain is one of Bristol’s best tourist attractions. It has been lovingly and intelligently transformed from wreckage back to a close approximation of its former glory. Right down to the gold paint.

And it’s the loving intelligence that makes this one of the best places to visit. Staff are really passionate about the ship and are ready to engage with people. “Ask me anything at all,” Mr Brunel said to the children with us. A brave or perhaps foolhardy move on his part, as four primary school children geared up to probably come up with the most complicated of questions. But to his credit, he answered patiently and managed to remain in character the entire time.

Most museums demand a certain reverence, a library feel. Look but don’t touch our precious things – National Trust I’m looking squarely at you. But at the ss Great Britain, everything is gloriously hands on. There are cabins to rummage around, ships to steer, costumes to try on and Victorian games to play.

There is also the opportunity to go down below the ships hull, right into the dry dock. Here a battle is raging on to stop the hull from rusting away completely.

There are so many learning opportunities here – science, engineering, history that it’s no wonder they have a strong education department. Our family ticket today was free due to a school trip my five year old went on.

Bristolians are rightly very proud of Brunel. It’s very fitting that a new Brunel museum and visitor experience has recently been fully funded will be opening at the ss Great Britain in 2018.

For now, if you want to visit the ship, most of the ticket options you can buy to visit the ship allow unlimited visits for an entire 12 month period. That is brilliant value for money. If an adult ticket is £14 and a toddler completely free- 4 years old and under – that’s a great investment for those awkward days out when you don’t know what to do. There’s plenty of things going on along the Harbourside to make a day of it.

For more information, visit: http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/
And for more information about the new Brunel museum: ssgreatbritain.org/beingbrunel