Questacon

Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre is a science and learning centre in Canberra. Located along Lake Burley Griffin between the National Library and the High Court, it’s for big and small kids alike and can easily amuse the little ones for a day’s outing.

This morning we start by meeting Skye and Hugo for a stretch of the legs at the Boundless Playground in King’s Park, just behind the Carillion. It’s great to catch up with Skye & Hugo whom we haven’t seen since Easter a couple of years ago in Sydney.

It doesn’t take the little ones long to get reacquainted either. Mine strip off pretty quickly and are in with the water in no time, Hugo amuses himself for a little bit before we check out the swings, the aero glider (giving my legs a bit of a work out) and the slide. Before too long it’s time to go and find some lunch and check in to Questacon for the afternoon.

Arriving at Questacon it’s clear that this is a popular holiday pastime. The car park is only the first sign that the place is packed. We line up for tickets and for lunch in the cafeteria which is overflowing. Luckily the order doesn’t take too long and we manage to find a table to sit and eat before launching into the activities and displays.

Up the ramp we discover the room of light with all sorts of light experiments. We get caught up with magnifying lenses for quite a while. A little further on is the earthquake room where we build an earthquake proof model structure. Ours survives both a medium and strong earthquake. Canberra is actually on a bit of a fault line but it turns out most of the earth’s tremors we don’t even feel.

This room is also the lightening room. It contains a cage with a telsa coil – a lightening electricity machine that goes off every 15 minutes for a rather impressive lightning show in. It is pretty cool to watch and the kids certainly get a thrill.

By the time we catch up with Jason he has managed to build himself a pretty tall tower. They do say that you’re never too old for science!

Meanwhile the kids have discovered the wind machine. A large air machine, sort of like a large reverse vacuum cleaner, blows air while the children cut out paper cups and set them soaring. They are all completely enchanted by this. A few of the adults are too.

As we wind our way back down the ramp we end up at the bottom. I’m keen to go and lay down in the centre of the room to gaze up at the moon display but I get called in through the neon tunnel. This room contains a wall of vacuum tubes with scarves – put them in though a trap door in the wind tunnel and they get blown out one of the vents near the ceiling. The children run to catch them as they fall down for another turn at guessing which path they will take and where they’ll blow out next.

Harley is completely absorbed by the wind tunnel while Jasper lines up for a turn competing against a robot at air hockey. He is only slightly disappointed when he does not win.

He also has a turn of the vertical drop. This free fall slide is 6m directly down but feels like much higher when you have to let go. There is a split second of free fall before your feet hit the slide, an exhilarating end to the day.

We get a couple of turns at the ball cages to finish off with. A radar machine measures the speed at which you can throw a ball at a target. Harley and Hugo have trouble with the target but I am rather perturbed by the fact that Jasper can consistently throw a ball both harder and more accurately than I can.

As the clock ticks over 5pm we are given warnings that the centre is closing and make our way out. It has been a great day but science is exhausting and I am glad to be heading home for the evening.

Would I Return?

Yes. Questacon is a fantastic day out for the family. There is plenty to amuse children of all ages and the family pass makes it an affordable outing to repeat if you live close enough.