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Is the Eden Project with Kids Under 8 any good?
Before we visited the Eden Project on a cold day in January I had read some really good things about it – unmissable, fantastic day out, incredible.
Having visited on a wet cold day in January with three five year olds and a 2 year old, I would say I’m not sure about all those words (for the kids). We had a lovely day and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful, but for the entrance price: £25 for adults and £14 for children aged 5-16 I do think it is maybe best aimed at those aged 8 plus.
The reason I think it is best aimed at those aged 8 plus is that before that age, I think they really miss the point, and the point, I think, is what the Eden Project is all about. It’s described on their website as “a unique education centre that runs transformational social and environmental programmes that change the way people think about the world. ” The entry fee helps them to continue the work they do. Unfortunately when you are 5 you just want to run around and enjoy the gardens, flowers and installations, which means you, as their parents can’t read the signs and ‘get the point’ either.
What I’m not saying however is that the 5 year olds didn’t enjoy it. They did. But had we paid £42 for the three of them to get in and £50 for us on top, I’d have been disappointed. None of us got enough out of it for that. If you’re choosing between the two, we (and they) much preferred The Lost Gardens of Heligan (and you can see our review here!).
So what did they like?
They loved the large tyre on the sculpture walk. The lady in reception said lots of people miss the sculpture bit and head straight to the domes. Top Tip: It is quite a large area so worth taking a pushchair for any toddlers.
They were extremely kind and allowed us to travel on the large tractor pulling carriages down to the domes as we had a tractor loving 5 year old with us. This was a real hit. It was actually closed the day we went and they were ferrying people in a mini bus as it was so quiet but the mini bus wasn’t really going to hit the mark for the tractor obsessed! Top marks to the team for their customer service there.
They also loved story time in the Dome. Whilst it was being told I felt the story (about Mud Maids not Mermaids) might have been a little too grown up for them but they have been quoting parts of it back to me ever since, so maybe not!
They played hide and seek in the trees and the undergrowth and thought the statues in the Mediterranean dome were from Narnia (we had just watched the film over Christmas!).
and we finished our loop through the grounds in the small soft play (for under 5’s) at the bottom of the the Core and then writing our names on the large fridges!
It’s worth going to the Eden Project in January because it is significantly quieter then, although do bear in mind that a lot of it is still outside so you will still need coats! I had to trek all the way back up to the car when I realised this, and the car parks aren’t close to the reception!
In summary if your kids are older then definitely visit, if they are younger I’d think about it a little more and decide whether it is right for you!
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Really useful post – I went when my daughter was three and while we had a really fun day, I agree that older kids are going to get more from it. Having said that, wandering around the biomes is an amazing experience so I’m glad we went, and if we’d had a bit more time, I would definitely have liked to explore more.
Of course we have had the year passes 3 years in a row. As we live in Devon we take our ID and buy the locals pass which is £12 per adult and that lasts the year.
Josh has always enjoyed it, we have been at Halloween, Christmas and Easter they do great events. We even met Mr Bloom there 🙂
Really interesting, I often think this about a lot of attractions, until recently my youngest could get round most things in about 10 minutes, leaving us slightly frustrated in his wake. I console myself with the way he makes me see things with fresh eyes! Def want to do this now as mine are a little older – sounds like they would get a lot out of it.