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By Tim Saunders

“If you lived on Neptune you would have to wait 165 years to celebrate a birthday,” says Carlos, one of the Explainers in the Wonderlab at Science Museum in London. He says this is because it takes that long for Neptune to orbit the sun. Then the concept of light years is considered; the distance light travels in one year, which is about 5.88 trillion miles. Stars, even the closest ones, are billions of miles away, making them appear very small in the night sky.

Carlos is full of facts including, “Saturday is named after Saturn…” To be fair this more simplistic fact is lodged in my mind, because despite his addressing me as a scientist, I confess that I am not. He talks about the moon and how it does not make its own light but reflects sunlight. This man is a mine of information and he waxes lyrical about the planets, how Pluto is actually a dwarf planet while Venus is the hottest in the solar system.

As if this isn’t enough to blow your mind, another Explainer talks physics and demonstrates how magnets and liquid nitrogen create superconductors whereby the magnets cooled to -196 degrees Celsius….. will travel on their own upside down around a circle until they warm up and then stop. This is used in MRI scanners. Interesting. We’re all wide eyed. Then another Explainer takes us into a lecture theatre and demonstrates explosions, which are a rapid expansion of gases, often accompanied by a release of energy, sound and heat, resulting from a sudden and forceful reaction. She talks about what is needed to create an explosion: fuel, oxygen and heat and then she tells us to put our hands over our ears while she creates some very loud bangs. Great fun.

The Explainers certainly bring science to life.

We spend some time exploring the rest of the Wonderlab where the children learn about electrons, wire a circuit for a light and a buzzer and do a plethora of other hands on experiments.

At the IMAX cinema we watch a film entitled A Beautiful Planet, which is superb. We really feel as if we’re on board the international space station and experience the sensation of travelling through space. We see the challenges that astronauts endure from washing through to space walking; it’s certainly not easy and it takes great effort just to get out of the capsule. Astronauts have to do two hours of exercise everyday to prevent their muscles wasting due to the lack of gravity. They conduct a study about eyesight and the impact of space travel on it and there is mention of water and how there is the potential for sea levels to rise 20ft, which would wipe out New Orleans. Apparently, Mars had water and is now an arid desert. There is a lot of food for thought.

We travel to London for the day with National Express from Southampton to Victoria Coach Station. Parking on the outskirts of Southampton there’s about a twenty minute walk for us to Southampton Coach Station. We each have a rucksack and Henry (9) has his scooter, which goes in the hold. His scooter is vital for the five or six miles we must walk in the capital from Victoria to Kensington where the Science Museum is located. National Express is our preferred way of getting to London because it’s so easy and reliable. It’s also very easy to book over the phone. Once we’re on that coach, the 032, we sit back and relax. Inside, our five seats are all close together. On both occasions the journey time flies by regardless of the slight delay caused by roadworks in London. On the return leg the on board toilet is very much appreciated by Henry while the girls entertain themselves by plaiting each other’s hair.

A stone’s throw from Victoria Coach Station is Bleecker. In 2024, Bleecker’s Bacon Double Cheeseburger won the National Burger of the Year award, securing its second win in the UK. Bleecker is known for its simple, high-quality burgers. They use rare-breed, grass-fed, dry-aged beef from small farms, which results in a deep, beefy flavour. The burgers are cooked when ordered and feature a sesame seed bun, scratch burger sauce, onion and American cheese. We’re certainly ready for lunch and when we arrive we’re met by really friendly staff. We order four cheeseburgers and a special bacon bun for Henry, who just does not eat burgers no matter how tasty they are. Fries and fresh milk milkshakes are winning accompaniments. My cherry milkshake is delicious and Henry really enjoys his double chocolate one. Heidi has a lemonade. “That’s the best bacon bun I’ve had,” says Henry. We all agree that it would be hard to find a better cheeseburger, too. A really enjoyable fast food experience.

Well done Harriett for being our tour guide and getting us to our destinations and back so expertly.