When I read about the new gallery at The Wilson on Cheltenham Rocks, I straight away wanted to visit. The World of Wonders, or WOW, gallery advertises itself as being a hands-on exhibition for young people. According to the website, “visitors will meet a penguin in a tunnel, find a bone-shaker in the sky, and watch rabbits jump mid-leap!”
Upon arrival, I must admit that the exhibition was much smaller than I had anticipated; it was confined to one room, and I wondered if it would keep my toddler entertained for much time at all – I was then pleasantly surprised. Despite the space, there is a lot for little ones to explore.
Ivy playing with her mum; the_cherry_mama
There were lots of wooden boxes filled with all sorts of delights; wooden shapes to stack, musical instruments, cultural dressing up items. Harper and her friend, Ivy, particularly liked building towers with the shapes.
There was also a dark section cornered off and wind-up torches were provided to encourage little ones to have a go at shadow puppets.
There was a table section with a number of colouring activities.
And not to forget, the absolutely ginormous penguin teddy that Harper lugged around for the majority of her time there!
After an hour and a half of playing, we decided cake and caffeine was in order and we visited the museum cafe. It has a small play area for children, with a play kitchen and some toys, and the cake did not disappoint.
All in all, it was a morning well-spent. Entry to the museum is free too, although you can make a donation to support the running and upkeep of the museum and its exhibits. So, if you have a spare few hours and are local to Cheltenham – I would definitely recommend taking a look at The Wilson.
If you’re looking for other things to do locally, check out Cheltenham Rocks or Gloucester Rocks as they both have great ideas of things to do with little ones!
Mama Bear 