This was a wonderful day out where 4 adults and 1 5 year old had lots of great, cheap fun and learnt so much! Even though it rained all day there was plenty to see/do inside so we didn't miss out on anything. Definitely will visit again!

Easy to find although tucked away. Had two children who were very welcome. Nice staff. Very interactive. Shop was popular too.

Even if not interested in the night skies and space this museum is a wonderfully laid-out education and entertainment centre for children and adults alike.

We took our four and seven year old girls for what we thought would be a nice morning out but it turned out we spent most of the day at the Observatory Science Centre. There is just so much to do here, and we haven't seen our girls so captivated by the attractions there in a long time. Not only that they also learnt so much as they enjoyed themselves which is a real bonus.

What a busy place and I'm not surprised. There is so much to do and see. The weather was bad, but we still had fun. There is something for all age groups. From science to Art. I learned a lot even at my age and my grandchildren loved it. It was lovely to see even babies trying to interact with everything. Take a picnic, plenty of indoor and outdoor eating areas, but there is a cafe on site.

Great day, despite the rain, with lots of hands on activities for children big and small! Would definitely recommend!

This place is great! Lovely friendly staff. Very clever teenagers giving talks - Emily and Ryan, everything here we all loved. Great science playground, good cafe, great exhibits. Will definitely return.

We bought tickets for both the Castle and the Science Centre. A great day at both.

The children much preferred the Science Centre though. The big domes still have a telescope inside and look incredible. We saw a guided talk inside one of the domes and this was very interesting.

We also saw a science talk about Light. Lots of demonstrations and experiments to explain Light. The person giving the lecture was fantastic with the children and really engaging for everyone (Charlie)

There are also loads of science exhibits dotted all over the site inside and outside. The water area was a firm favourite!

Thanks for a great day.

Very well laid out, informative, could have stayed all day. The talks in the observatory with the telescope are a must.

Really good day - 12 year old and 8 year old girls both loved it and the 3pm science talk was good fun. Visited as visiting family down south - if it wasnt for the 6 hour drive would love to come back for one of the evening events! Very hands on and all staff friendly and welcoming

Fabulous fabulous day. We spent the first 45 minutes of our visits playing with the water exhibits.

Science talk was engaging for all (currently about light and electrons). Kids involved in demonstrations like a mini RI Christmas lecture. Speaker was very engaging (thanks to Ryan on the day of our visit).

Planetarium was was very interesting and our 7 year old daughter loved it but it wasn't pitched for children and our 4 year old was fidgety. The speaker was less engaging - he was not really able to get to a young child's level and spoke too softly to be heard over the pump that inflated the dome. They were open to questions though and followed the inter of the group.

We then played on the outdoor science toys - challenges for the children to complete. My daughter ate her lunch quickly (we brought a picnic and there were lots of spaces to eat outside) and then bounced up to go back in to the interactive indoor exhibition.

What we all loved about this place was that the level of explanation on the display boards was just enough and not complex and the activities were all hands I and vena led the children to ask further questions and hypothesise about the science they were experiencing. Mum and dad are both fans of this sort of place and we loved it too!

Thank you to all those involved in this wonderful place. We will be back.

We had a brilliant day out at the science museum. Loads of things to do for the kids and most of it was hands on experiments.

There was also a number of science talks and a planetarium that we all enjoyed.

A great day out which I would recommend, the only problem is finding it. Don't use your sat nav it will send you to the wrong place and cause a 15 minute detour.

We really like this place it is compact with enough to interest adults and children of all ages. Picnic tables for your own food get quite busy so we eat early then move on. Indoor gadgets are fun and you learn at the same time and great if weather bad. Good café onsite. The science demonstrations for children and adults are fun and very well done. It's a hands on place not too expensive either. Science can be fun

This place is fantastic! I went with two young boys 6 and 4 and spent an entire day! There are so many exhibits and they are all interactive with buttons to press or things to do. During the day there were various shows and displays and these were very interesting and aimed at a young audience! The day we went they had an inflatable planetarium which was fascinating! I would say if your
Child is interested in science this is a must see, better than the science museum in terms of the exhibits being much more child friendly and less spread out and lack of crowds! What a treasure, we will definitely be back!!! Definitely worth the entrance fee!

Great British Beach Holiday so of course it was raining cats and dogs :-(

So we decided top visit the Science Centre - Top Tip head the warning on the webpage and carefully program your SatNav to get to the correct entrance and save yourself a long detour :

"Important Location Information

If you use the estate postcode in your GPS you will probably be directed to a CLOSED entrance of the Herstmonceux Castle Estate; resulting in a 15 minute re-route.

The correct OPEN entrance is from Wartling Road with the junction onto Halley Road (private road within the estate).

Co-ordinates for this entrance have been pre-programmed into the Google location map on this web site.

The Co-ordinates are:
50.868585, 0.348961"

We were starving when we arrived so ran through the rain to get to the Café - This was the only negative of the whole trip. Firstly it was packed (not surprising given the time and weather) but we were disappointed by the extremely limited menu (beans on toast and toasted sandwiches seemed the only things on offer) but placed an order as the kids were starving. How anyone can mess up baked beans on toast and a toasted cheese sandwich is beyond me but they staff were obviously much more capable than I realized! Baked beans were barely tepid, the toasted cheese sandwich looked slightly singed on the outside, but untouched by heat inside. I wouldn't bother with the Café again.

However the Science bit was amazing, we started with a brief talk on the science of light and electricity and even our 6 year old was attentive throughout. Very well done with a good mix of science and practical and interesting demos of the science put to practical uses. Some of the experiments were hampered by the damp in the air (not conducive to static electricity experiments) but the presenter battled on and kept the audience with him (Well done)

After the talk we spent ages going around the experiments/demos and trying them all out. there were plenty more outside and on a grander scale but the weather prevented us from trying them out.

Fantastic place to take children, especially if you can help explain some of the principles to them as well. There should be more venues like this to help foster a love for science and a desire for learning. Highly recommended on all levels except food.

Brilliant day so much for adults and children to do plenty of talks that have good gaps in between so you can play and learn
The grounds are so clean
Our boys did not want to go but after nearly 4 hours of fun they asked to go back again

Came with my 3 children. Only one eligible to be charge but got her in for free as she has a blue peter badge. Didn't get to see all of it so we will be coming back again. The mini science challenges they have are great for little ones and old ones. Toilets were a strange set up - science challenge in the waiting room for all and anyone. Cafe - I only brought a drink and 2 cookies and deemed it reasonable. Take cash with you as no card payments under £10. The science talk they have was great fun. Like I say we didn't see all of it and will happily be visiting again

Wonderful place to visit with lots of interactive scientific equipment to get involved with - the "adventure playground" was all large science linked objects to play with.

Searching for somewhere different that the grand children would like is exhausting at times, but we were recommended this place by a friend and it certainly lived up to that recommendation. The kids loved it and there were plenty things to keep them involved and occupied. A great day out.

A lovely visit today, so much for all ages to do and see. We were lucky enough the be there whilst the inflatable planetarium was running and it was fantastic! Can't wait to go again!

Wonderful place, this was our 3rd visit and my little boy (6) never tires of it. Plenty of 'hands on' entertainment inside and out. The exhibitions in the long corridor change regularly so something new to see every time we've been. Great value and easily a whole day of fun....take a picnic as plenty of places to sit outside or in. Also a small cafe if needed. The science shows and tours are fun and educational. 10/10 we'll visit again (and again!)

Make sure you go to the talk on the telescopes. They show you how the observatory works, opening the roof so the telescope can take photos of the sky.

Ideal for parents and grandparents looking for somewhere to take a bored Henrietta and Damien over the summer break. The activities are enjoyable and involving, despite being educational. It wont replace a good Keystage 2 or 3 Science lesson but it will certainly bring them alive in a way not always available to most Science Teachers (like me). I loved it and so did my wife, who is a historian and told me that I was not allowed to explain enything to her so that she could just enjoy it too.

What a great place! We are a family with 2 young children aged 3 and 5. Initially i thought that they would be a bit young for visiting the observatory but i couldn't have been more wrong. There was plenty for them to get involved in and we all thoroughly enjoyed our day. Would definitely recommend going.

We visited the observatory on their Blue Moon night. Two main telescopes in use, one on the moon and one on Saturn. Bit of a wait as apparently their busiest ever evening, but still acceptable. Food and hot drinks available along with plenty of knowledgeable people around. All in all spent 4 hours there, which zoomed by....weather was amazing and definitely one to revisit in the winter to see more of the stars. Thanks to the team of volunteers.