
World Museum, Liverpool
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.

Slimeville bills itself as the UK's first slime-themed playground, and the Liverpool branch is a unit on Duke Street. Children make their own slime at the Slime Station, then run about in a soft play zone and a room of interactive projection games, with a ball pit for the smaller ones. It is aimed at 3 to 12 year olds and everything inside is included in the 90 minute session.
The pricing is built round a starter ticket of one child plus one adult at £23.90, with extra children at £17.95 and extra adults at £5.95. That puts two adults and two children at nearly £48 before anyone has a slushie from the cafe, which is trampoline park money rather than soft play money. You can rebook up to 24 hours ahead and cancel for a full refund 48 hours out.
There is a second Slimeville on Friars Gate in Warrington, if Duke Street is the wrong side of the motorway for you.
What it costs: Every booking starts with a one child and one adult package at £23.90 for a 90 minute session. Each extra child is £17.95 and each extra adult £5.95, so two adults and two children comes to £47.80. An extra slime box is £8.50.
Worth knowing: Designed for 3 to 12.
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Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.

A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.

The city's story with an overhead railway carriage to climb aboard and Little Liverpool, a dedicated hands-on gallery for under-6s. Free, on the waterfront, and the window views are half the fun.

Closed. The Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum next door are shut for essential maintenance ahead of a major redevelopment that National Museums Liverpool says is subject to funding, and no reopening date is published. The Albert Dock around them is still worth the walk, and the city's other national museums are free and open.

The famous ferry across the Mersey run as a 50-minute sightseeing loop with commentary, and the honest truth is kids love the boat more than any museum. Hop off at Seacombe for Eureka! next door.

South Liverpool's favourite park: lake, playground, ancient trees and the Storybarn, The Reader's hands-on storytelling space in the old coach house. The neolithic Calder Stones are older than Stonehenge, which is a good fact to deploy.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.