10 places you can have a great day out this summer – even when it’s raining

School’s out – and so far summer’s been a bit of a washout, but rain doesn’t have to stop play. 

There are loads of places you can have a great day out in and around Liverpool this summer, even when it’s bucketing down.

Just look at this little lot…

Gravity MAX – Liverpool ONE

Just launched in the old Debenhams building in Liverpool ONE, the new Gravity MAX leisure complex will get the adrenaline pumping and have everyone in the family absolutely buzzing. It’s set to open on Wednesday, August 9, and there’s a staggering 100,000 sq ft of amazing activities set across four floors, with three bars and six food outlets.  When it comes to activities there’s so much to choose from, including a high-speed multi-level E-Karting track, urban street golf, batting cages, an immersive gamebox, and AR digital darts. 

Find out more here.

National Museums Liverpool

From Greek and Roman myths to photographs and fairies, it’s such an action-packed summer they’ve had to open an extra day each week, so you can bank on NML for somewhere fab to take the kids even when it’s lashing down outside. There’s:

Return of the Gods at World Museum: With the most amazing collection of sculptures and objects and two-metre statues that will tower above you, this family-friendly exhibition dives into Greek and Roman mythology to introduce you to the ancient characters who’ve inspired today’s film and comic book heroes and heroines.

The Aquarium: Still at World Museum the aquarium’s bigger and better, with new larger tanks, new species, and immersive projections. You can get up close to hermit crabs, pop your head in the viewing bubbles to see its terrapins, and say hello to the Nemo fish, rays, skates and smiling sharks we all love.

Maritime Museum: Here you can see the amazing Titanic Exhibition, and learn all about the world and work of the customs officer in Seized! And every Thursday in August with ‘Return of the Detector Dogs’ you can meet the highly-skilled canines who work with Border Force to detect drugs, weapons, and other smuggled goods.

There’s the Flower Fairies Exhibition at Lady Lever Art Gallery, Big Art for Little Artists and Craft and Create at the Walker, a Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Sudley House – and tons more.

Find out more here.

Bubbles World of Play, New Brighton

With the largest play frame in the UK, Bubbles is aimed at tiny kids to the up-to-11s and is as fun as it’s educational (and it helps to keep them fit). Children can explore more than 30 different countries and zones, from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Northern Lights, and its busy city role-play area has a police station, vets, a shop and more! The New York-themed baby & toddler area’s got challenges and sensory objects designed to keep tiny people happy for hours too with an interactive projector with different games to play, a talking penguin maze, ball cannon zone and tons more. It serves hot and cold food as well as drinks.

Find out more here.

Ninja Warriors – Speke

Keep fit and have fun! Ninja Warrior UK Adventure Park is a great supervised activity and fitness venue inspired by ITV’s hit programme Ninja Warrior UK. You can climb, balance, jump and swing across different obstacles using and developing your Ninja skills – and they’ve even got the famous Warped Wall for every aspiring Ninja to conquer. As well as the Ninja obstacles, there’s also a huge inflatable – Mount Sasuke – to climb up, and the Mini Ninjas soft play. They have even got a £38.85 summer pass with five sessions for the price of three (although this doesn’t include the Mini Ninjas soft play).

Find out more here.

Imagine That! 

Kids can channel their inner James Bond with some action-packed activities that’d even get 007 excited. The Wavertree discovery centre is offering all mini secret agents a summer packed with science experiments, squishy slime – and spy themed activities. It’ll be open every day of the holidays and as well as all the usual messy activities, from painting a real car to playing in water or creating slime and bubbles, kids will be asked to solve clues to eliminate suspects, open the safe and find out who the thief is, and unravel the mystery of the missing secret bubble recipe. That and hands-on science shows mean brains will be kept busy too.

Find out more here.

RLB360

Families can get a Liver Bird’s Eye View of the city and learn more about one of its most iconic attractions, The Royal Liver Building. Taking pride of place at the heart of the famous waterfront, it’s a symbol of Liverpool, its history, and its people, and the RLB360 tour can help you find out more about the famous landmark and its place in local heritage. After you’ve viewed the exhibition, you take a guided tour to the 10th and 15th floors to enjoy a state-of-the-art projection inside the historic clock tower and spectacular 360° views of the Liverpool skyline. Now that’s a view!

Find out more here.

Eureka! Science + Discovery – Wallasey

Science, technology, and more are made fun at Eureka! with hundreds of hands-on, innovative and interactive activities based on things you experience every day, and there’s an action-packed programme of shows, workshops, and a brand new temporary exhibition, throughout the summer holidays – from circus skills with Bring The Fire, and Flux Dance, to Aquaponics with Farm Urban, science shows with Professor Pumpernickel, and more. The Burrow is also now open for the under-7s too and, if you’re peckish while you’re at the Wallasey attraction, you can dine at the Discovery Café or take your own picnic.

Find out more here.

Explore Port Sunlight village

You might need a brolly in between buildings but there’s still loads to do that’s undercover at Port Sunlight, the model village designed by Lord Lever to create homes for workers at his soap factory. You can visit the museum and learn how William Lever created the village and changed living and working conditions, visit an Edwardian worker’s cottage, have fun in the new interactive SoapWorks family experience and, until September 10, see the exhibition of costumes that were worn in Peaky Blinders by some of its main stars like Helen McCrory and Tom Hardy.

Find out more here.

Knowsley Safari Drive

Not only is it all ‘inside’, you don’t even have to get out of your car if you don’t want to! The five-mile safari drive is the longest in the UK and you can go round as many times as you want to see some of the world’s greatest animals up close and personal.  There are lions, tigers, rhinos, camels, bison, wildebeest, giraffes and more (and, if you don’t want to go through the baboon enclosure and risk any damage to your car, you can venture along the car-friendly route or board the Baboon Bus for £6.50 per person). The sealion show is inside too and, if it’s raining, so are the Bird of Prey displays and the fantastic dinosaur shows which are part of its Jurassic Summer events.

Find out more here.

The Beatles Story, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool

You’ll have a great time whether you’re a fan or not (though chances are you will be by the end of your visit!). It’s the biggest Beatles Exhibition in the world, where you can learn all about John, Paul, George, and Ringo, from the music they made to the clothes they wore. There’s a replica Cavern, a fab shop, the Fab4 Café and the upgraded Discovery Zone – the family friendly space where there’s a NEMS Record Shop (the family business of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein), and kids can dress up in outfits from the 60s, do their own pop art, or have a go at karaoke with their favourite Beatles song.

Find out more here.

Find more guide and things to do in Liverpool this summer here