Science and Industry Museum
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Manchester Aquatics Centre
Manchester, Greater Manchester
A Commonwealth-standard 50m pool on Booth Street East, run by Better as a public leisure centre. It is the home of a national diving and swimming performance centre, which children find thrilling, but the pools that matter for families are the shallow one used for family swimming, the diving pool with its family splash area and the new interactive splash pad.
Book the family fun sessions (Family Fun Floats, Aqua Splash or Swim for All) to get the splash pad. Aqua Splash is an inflatable assault course laid out in the pool, £6.70 for juniors and £9.45 for adults; at Better's East Manchester pool it is for 8 and over with buoyancy aids for under 15s, so check the rule when you book here. A normal junior swim is £4.05 and under fives are free, but ratios are strict: one adult to two under 8s.
What it costs: Pay as you go: adult swim (16+) £6.85, junior swim (5 to 15) £4.05, under 5s free. Aqua Splash £9.45 for adults and £6.70 for juniors. MCRactive resident and concession rates are cheaper, and Manchester residents aged 16 and under swim free in Swim for All sessions in the school holidays and at selected term-time weekend sessions, with a free pay-as-you-go card.
Know before you go
- If you live in Manchester, get the free pay-as-you-go card: 16 and unders then swim free in Swim for All sessions in the school holidays and at selected term-time weekend sessions.
- The splash pad only runs during the family fun sessions, so book one of those rather than a general swim if that is what the small ones want.
Worth knowing: One competent adult (16+) can supervise up to two under 8s or non-swimmers. Aqua Splash is 8+ at Better's East Manchester pool; check the age rule when booking here.
Looking for more days out in Manchester?
Also in Manchester
Manchester Museum
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
National Football Museum
Shirts, trophies and match footage across six floors, with penalty shootout and skills games that football-mad kids refuse to leave. If yours do not care about football, skip it - it is exactly what it says.
Runway Visitor Park
Watch jets take off close enough to feel them, with Concorde parked by the fence. Free in, pay for parking, and there is a play area and cafe for the wait between planes.
Heaton Park
One of the biggest municipal parks in Europe: a free animal centre, boating lake, adventure playgrounds and an actual vintage tram running on summer days. You will not do all of it in one visit.
Wythenshawe Park & Community Farm
A big south Manchester park with a proper community farm - pigs, goats, horses - a Tudor hall, and enough playground to earn the trip on its own. All free.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.