Glasgow Science Centre

Great attraction for the money, spent more on a film and enjoyed it lots less
Car parking is a pain … Cost and trying to get out at peak times
Go along and act like a big kid

Loved the Science Centre on both occasions I’ve visited. Plenty to see for adults and kids alike. I went to a Christmas party there and the food and entertainment was great — especially liked the pre-​drinks in amongst the exhibits!

This place is pretty awesome!
We have annual passes — a Science Passport no less! — which at a cost of £48 is exactly double the price of one off admission, so if you live locally and have kids it’s a pretty great deal. Under 3s are free and kids prices are roughly half the adult ones. Our little boy is 19 months old and has been a big fan of the science centre since we first took him a good few months ago.
The exhibits are well set up with plenty of hands on things for little kids and big kids alike. There’s a gated Little Explorers area for under 7s (which also includes a seperate small soft play area for babies under 18 months) with lots of noisy hands on stuff, a big train set, a water play area (bring a change of clothes if your wee one is anything like mine!), I pirate ship bridge, a puppet theatre… we spend a lot of time here at the moment.
There’s also a Planetarium section, Body Works exhibit and lots more. Shows in the planetarium are not included in the annual pass, it’s £2.50 per adult with kids getting in free.
The site also has an IMAX cinema (run by Cineworld), which has a Costa on site.
Parking is £3 — reduced to £2 if you’re going to the cinema or £1 if you have the annual pass.

Recently had my work Christmas night out here. I had no idea what to expect, but had an amazing night. There was 70 of us and we had the science centre to ourselves.
On arrival, you go up to the first floor of the science centre, have a few glasses of bubbles and get to play with all the experiments. For a girl who has an engineering degree, this was like being a kid in a candy store. It was fun just being a kid again, and playing with distortion mirrors in heels was hilarious.
After about 45 minutes up here, we were directed downstairs to the base of the tower, our main venue for the evening. On the tables were crackers, complete with party hats (very important, see my fb). As well as a pass for entry to the science centre until June. Something I will definitely be doing!
The dinner was pâté, followed by turkey and some chocolate torte. Surprisingly good for a big venue! The wine on the table was also good. The DJ played all night, some of the group took advantage of the free buses back into the city centre, others like me opted for a taxi home.
If you are looking for somewhere a bit different for a work night out, couldn’t recommend here enough!

At a Xmas event. 400 people here. Have to say it’s a very well organised event. Great Xmas venue,

Come for the day. Loaf’s to see and do. My 10 year old son, wife and I had a ball playing and learning with all the displays. The staff were helpful bright and interested in teaching all the bits and pieces. Loved it.

The Glasgow Science Centre is an interactive science museum, mostly aimed at children but it has a lot more going on.
The «Science Mall» is the main area, filled with interactive exhibits suitable for a range of age groups and designed to encourage exploration of some basic scientific principals. It’s fun for kids but there’s definitely a few things here that are pretty engaging for adults too.
The Science Mall also houses the ticket office, café and gift shop, as well spaces for events and exhibitions (at the moment the major exhibition is Body Works). Possibly most excitingly, at least for me, it’s where you can find the Planetarium.
The planetarium has just had a major digital upgrade and the results are amazing. Whereas the old planetarium was quite beautiful and gave extremely precise details of the night sky, the new one can now also show things that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to see just by looking up on a dark night — think images beyond the visible spectrum, surfaces of planets, red-​shifted galaxies and the cosmic microwave background. Planetarium shows run regularly and at a range of scientific levels — from basic shows aimed at P1 classes upwards.
Attached to the Science Centre is one of Glasgow’s two IMAX cinemas, the second one being at Braehead. It’s the larger of the two and, being a part of the science centre, is obliged to show screenings of scientific films and documentaries as well as the blockbusters you might find elsewhere. As this IMAX is now a part of the Cineworld chain of cinemas, Cineworld Unlimited card holders can now get a discount on tickets and concessions, as well as at the Starbucks just by the entrance.
Additionally there’s the Glasgow Tower. Famous for being open for less than 80% of it’s lifetime thus far it’s still quite an imposing structure. It holds the Guinness world record for being the tallest tower that can rotate 360 degrees and, when it’s open, it gives a very impressive view across the city.
I’m a big fan of the Science Centre and I feel like Glasgow is very lucky to have it. I’m probably a bit too old for a lot of the exhibits there these days but I still seem to find plenty of excuses to visit.

Awesome. Can’t comment on price as I got free entry as part of a birthday group (benefits of having a son in primary school), but the centre itself is superb.
There are so many things to play on/​with for all ages, along with standard exhibits. The whole place is wonderfully interactive.
For parties, there is the addition of activities with a member of staff. Our group got to build and fire rockets using air pressure and they loved it. The young lady who took the group was superb. Very good with the kids without being too «keen» or annoying.
As with any place like this, one or two exhibits weren’t working but that always happens and they were very much in the minority.
A great half-​day out (or complete day for nerds like me).

Worth the trek on the subway to check out. It’s really perfect for kids of all ages since it’s so interactive. We didn’t even make it to all the floors because there was so much that interested our child. We will definitely be coming back.
There is a starbucks on the premises if you are needed a drink or quick snack as well.
Memberships for a year do not seem too bad if you go more than a couple of times.

We made the most of it but there’s potential for growth and more adult focused exhibits.

Visited the other evening to attend a Health lecture delivered in the IMAX theatre: great venue surrounded by stunning architecture; however, beware if travelling by train in the evening as the Bell Bridge is currently under refurbishment, so the closest open bridge over the Clyde is an unnamed bridge, but signed to the Science Centre, and totally unlit.

My 17 year old son wanted to check this place out while we were on vacation. I think that it was a bit below his age group. This place was cool, BUT it was cool for smaller children. I would say that 13 or 14 should be the cut off age for visiting this place. There wasn’t much at the Glasgow Science Centre that engaged him. The adults on the trip were also bored.
Bring your wee ones, but leave the teens at home.

I freely admit that I’m something of a science geek. I tend not to understand much in theory but I love the practical elements of it. The Glasgow Science Centre offers a taste of that — fun, hands-​on science, suitable for all ages and abilities. Is it worth the £10 entry fee? Well, no, but it does make for a fun day out; though it does perhaps leave you with a sense of ambivalence, or as I like to call it ‘meh-​iness’ (following in Chris’ splawesome footsteps!) I probably would’ve given it a further half star (if such a thing existed) had the planetarium show not been such a huge let down. When we bought our tickets we were not told that the show we were seeing was Harry Potter themed, and we had to sit through a show which only bore a vague resemblance to astronomy with some increasingly irritating girl pointing out stars which had the same name as Harry Potter characters… big whoop! As you can probably tell I’m still slightly annoyed as I feel it was mis-​sold and misrepresented to us, and when I tried to complain but there was no one around to listen! The show was perfect for the age range it was aimed at — under tens — but surely even the most inexperienced of ticket sales person should have realised that a childless couple in their mid-​late 20s wasn’t their target audience!
I’ll come here again when I have children, but until then I think I’ll stick to watching the marvellous Prof Brian Cox on the telebox!

Note to self: Must email Unilocal and see if they can figure out a way of giving half stars.
Remember when you were a kid and you asked the old parental units for what you believed at the time to be the most awesomely splendid (some would say splawesome) gift for your birthday/​christmas?
Do remember getting afore mentioned gift and discovering that it was in fact not anywhere near as splawesome (oh, it’s catching on) as you anticipated?
Three words for you: Glasgow Science Centre.
Given the previous reviews for this joint, I’ve kinda held off writing my review in case my disappointment was caused by a fluctuation in the earths atmosphere or a small contamination of the cities water supply, but alas no.
So…the beef? Well, sure it’s got lot’s of things to poke, prod, jiggle, observe and smell, but it’s really nothing as utterly mind expanding and awesome as i would have expected… especially for something that normally costs over £10 for an adult entry (god bless thee free tickets).
So yeah… flying in the face of popular opinion on this one, but hey, if it don’t give you that Eureka moment, then it just don’t.

The Glasgow Tower is something not many people know about at all, not even me… until being assigned to use it in a university project. So it is part of the Glasgow Science Centre, right across the road from the BBC Scotland.
So you pay a fee of about £5, maybe more to go up in the elevator in the centre of the tunnel. When you get to the top you get a birdseye view of the city which is spectacular, but appart from that you will be twiddling your fingers because that is the whole show. Before going up, they gave an interesting little rendition of the architecture of the thing, things like how it adjusts to the wind and how it pivots and balances on a 1 foot bearing at the very bottom. Not what you want to know before going up quite a few feet.
I wouldn’t do it again, and would only say do it if you get a combined ticket going to see the science centre and the imax, making the whole experience cheaper.

There are already masses of reviews for the wonderful Science Centre but I feel I have to mention something that’s been missed out.
I signed up for the Science Centre mailing list on my last visit as I definitely don’t want to miss out on any hot scientific facts as I’m particularly interested in microbes. As already mentioned by other reviewers, this place is a great day out for children, families and school trips. Recently, however, they’ve been looking to appeal to a wider audience and have made «Social Science — for adults only» nights.
I haven’t been yet, but I hope it does well as it’s a really good idea. Last year they had an exclusive performance from the Scottish Ballet of the Nutcracker which was followed by games such as «The Custard Run», a bike balloon race and some fire-​starting for the pyromaniacs.
They also had a more X-​rated night last month where games such as «A Question of Sex» were on offer aswell as tips on how to spot those subconscious signals when you are on a date. In addition to this there was also food and drink with, wait for it, aphrodisiac properties (allegedly).
All these nights offer a bar, nibbles and music so it might be an interesting little change from a usual night out in Glasgow and if you’re looking to do something different then it looks like a hoot and a half! The ticket prices for such events are £6.25 so pretty reasonable.
They also give various science lectures so check out the website to see if there’s something that you would be interested in. I adore the planitarium, it’s so beautiful and relaxing and I’d love to have a planetarium built onto my house, but I don’t, so i’ll just have to make do with visiting the wonderful one here. They often have guest speakers talking about astronomy and how to find constellations in the sky, I’m still waiting for Sir Patrick Moore to pay a visit.
So overall, Science Centre definitely deserves 5 stars and is a great day or night out, and not just for the kids.

I have been here so many times, even though the changes are infrequent.
It’s a really fun place where people of all ages can fully act like kids and get away with it. I love the huge Connect 4!
There’s just so many cool things in here, I never know where to start!
It sports some up to date interactive technology, with different stands and displays focusing on gravity, energy etc. in what is always a fun, playful and informative afternoon for me.
It’s one of the best tourists attractions in Glasgow, and where I took a friend of my girlfriends who spoke little English, a deficit that goes unnoticed in here as it is a very hands-​on, visual experience.
Let’s not forget the IMAX as well where I went to see The Dark Knight a few summers back now, easily one of the most immersive cinema experiences I have ever had.
A cracking place that I could, and will, keep going to for years to come.

The Glasgow Science Centre, for the uninformed, is the bulbous building that’s silver on one side and glass-​panelled on the other. It looks out across the River Clyde, directly across the river from the SECC and Armadillo. A brilliant addition to the River Clyde area, the science centre was part of the initiative that allowed it to be it built alongside the Glasgow Tower and IMAX.
The museum focuses on science, technology, and education. The displays are educational, involving, and fun. Some of my favourites are: the satellite dishes on either end which you speak into and can hear those at the other end; the test of healthy vs unhealthy lungs, the water exhibit that has 2 massive tanks with which you can measure how much water your household uses in a day, and the videos.
It’s geared towards people of all ages, and definitely achieves its goal in making learning about science fun.

Despite the disappointment that we missed the wiggly worms show, the science centre really doesn’t disappoint and has some brilliant interactive displays over three floors, my personal favourite being an ageing machine that shows just how horrible you’ll look in 50 years time. Another highlight is the planetarium which is really quite spectacular and relaxing, and proper astronomy buffs (or those who took «exploring the cosmos» in first year at uni) will find regular lectures from Patrick Moore types on here.
Theres a brilliant gift shop as well which sells all sorts of gadgets and general science-​y stuff. One of the best tourist attractions in Glasgow, and it stands up to repeat visits. Not to be missed.

Fantastic place to spend the day! I can not recommend it highly enough. It sits on the south bank of the River Clyde and is comprised of three main buildings aka the Science Mall, an IMAX cinema and the Glasgow Tower.
Glasgow Science Centre is one of Scotland’s must-​see visitor attractions and allows visitors to see unique attractions and activities. Check out the planetarium, science areas, IMAX cinema and workshops. One trip will not be enough and if you have kids then I must ask you why you have not been here already.
The IMAX is fantastic and when I went to see the latest Star Trek and was so impressed by the quality of the picture and the shear size of the screen. Well worth going to see a film here.
The Scottish tourist board have also awarded Glasgow Science Centre a five star rating in the visitor attraction category — see, I told you it was good.

Das Glasgow Science Center ist auf jeden Fall eine Reise Wert! Hier werden Physikalische Phänomene dargestellt und man kann sie selbst ausprobieren! Der Eintritt kostet für den Hauptbereich 6 Pfund, was durchaus akzeptabel, für das was man geboten bekommt, ist! Hier haben nicht nur die kleinen ihren Spaß, sondern auch für ältere Personen ist das sehr schön angelegte Science Center im Hafen von Glasgow eine Reise Wert!! Einzig an Feiertagen sollte man am Eingang etwas mehr Zeit einplanen, da dann scheinbar jeder zweite Schotte sich des Wissens im Science Center bereichern will!