Catalyst, Widnes: Photos, Reviews & Location

Interactive science discovery centre focusing on chemistry, with a rooftop observatory.

At a glance

Rating breakdown

5 ★61%
4 ★23%
3 ★11%
2 ★3%
1 ★2%

Mersey Rd, Widnes WA8 0DF, United Kingdom

catalyst.org.uk

+44 151 420 1121

Quick facts

What is the rating of Catalyst?: Catalyst is rated 4.4 out of 5 based on 959 reviews.
Where is Catalyst located?: Mersey Rd, Widnes WA8 0DF, United Kingdom
How can I contact Catalyst?: Phone: +44 151 420 1121 · Website: catalyst.org.uk

We visited during lottery open week so received free adult entry. We had a brilliant afternoon. Kids ages 3 and 7 both enjoyed all the hands on activities. We particularly liked the stop motion video creator stations. Wasn't particularly busy when we visited on a Sunday. Kids didn't have to wait to do anything. Deducted one star as a few niggles like only one ball for 3 magnetic walls, no paper at drawing station or at air blower experiment, broken parts/handle on circuit boards. Would still recommend.

We also enjoyed a walk by the water, the small play area outside and seeing the swans and geese. Spent about 3 hours there in total.

HMZ HMZ 2024 Mar 16

If you're in the Chester, Liverpool, or surrounding areas and looking for a simple, fun activity for the kids, Catalyst Children's Science Museum is worth adding to your itinerary. While it may not be worth travelling out of town for, it offers a time-consuming, enjoyable experience for the whole family.

We were pleasantly surprised by the variety of simple science activities available for kids to explore. Before we knew it, we had spent over two and a half hours immersed in the exhibits. However, it's worth noting that tickets could be more affordable, and while the toilets were clean, they did appear a bit dated.

Overall, Catalyst Children's Science Museum provides a fun-filled day out with the kids, perfect for those looking for a low-key educational experience.

Debbie Farley 2024 Mar 03

Great place for the children 4 floors of interactive experiments, spent nearly an hour on the 1st floor alone.
Going all the way to the top of the building you are able to look out and see for miles over the river mersey, runcorn bridge ect.
Has a park right out side for children to play on aswell.

Alistair Cadel 2024 Feb 15

Not a bad local attraction , highlight heing the glass elevator . Some of the areas things not working . Will try the laboratory session next time and book as this looked really good.

Phill Poland 2024 Jan 07

We spent the whole day here, 10am-4pm, we did a few rooms twice and did 2 workshops. Not much to get around and it would be easy to rush around it all so we tried to slow the kids down and make them take their time! The quality of the exhibits however was fantastic, very interactive and fun and the kids (aged 3 and 8) loved it all. The museum upstairs was interesting and very well designed. The cafe was very reasonably priced and had options that suited all of us. Great day - we will be back to make use of the annual pass and I imagine the kids will love it just as much next time.

Music Connection 2023 Aug 29

It great way of gaining knowledge of science specifically for kids. Adults enjoys it too. We had fun. There is free parking. You can have food and drinks at cafe. Toilets are neat and clean. Beautiful view from glass lift. You can convert you day ticket to annual pass.

Tim J 2023 Aug 05

We had a great visit here with the kids in the summer holidays. It's a fun, very interactive museum with loads of fun things to try. They particularly enjoyed presenting the weather forecast in front of a real TV camera, and making their own animations with various props.

We paid to see the 'light show', which was actually a short presentation of interesting facts about light and some demonstrations of things like an infrared camera.

The viewing observatory on the top floor has great views of the new bridge over the Mersey and had an interesting glass elevator to get up.

There is a cafe which also sells ice cream. You can't take your own picnic food in the cafe but there's a big separate lunch room upstairs with plenty of space to picnic (also lots of space outside on a nice day).

The playground was a hit with the kids despite the rain when we visited. The parking is free and there are disabled spots available.

Finally, remember that when you pay full price you get free visits for a whole year- we'll definitely be back!

heather karlsen 2023 Jun 28

I came here as part of Girl guiding brownies sleepover event where we slept in the observatory, this is a very hands on child friendly museum! The staff are lovely and friendly! We took part in keyring making and science space shows, fantastic experience!