With Coventry recently being awarded European City of Sport 2019, it appears quite fitting that Coventry Transport Museum have become the home of the UK debut of Move and Play.
A concept and exhibition designed by Heureka Overseas Productions (a division of the Finnish Science Centre) and already enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Germany and the Netherlands. It is now in the UK being housed at Coventry Transport Museum until 10th November 2019.
We were kindly invited along to review the exhibition which promised to get us moving and keep us smiling.
Entry to the exhibition itself is included in the price of your tickets to Coventry Transport Museum. I’ll add these in full at the bottom of my review, but the prices are very reasonable considering they are valid for a whole year, so you could come back as often as you wanted for a whole year at no extra cost. An adult ticket for example is £14, a child 5-16 years old £7. Under 5s are FREE.
The Move and Play exhibition is a chance for people to have fun whilst reaping the benefits of being more active by moving around throughout the games and activities.
This exhibition boasts that it has 19 different activities. I only have 18 recorded in my notes from my visit, so I may have not discovered 1 of them. Always possible, especially when we were having so much fun. If you spot which one I’ve not spotted/included, do let me know.
So what were the activities?
Tightrope Walking
Everyone’s favourite. A squashy mat with an busy city view printed on it and a Tightrope about 30cm off the floor for you to walk across. Can you get across without landing on the streets?
If you can, you’re better than me. I tried a few times and I can say now that my balancing sucks. My girls however did very well (whilst holding my hand, they sadly inherited my balance).
How Hard Can You Kick?
I enjoyed having a kick of the ball into the back of the net which housed a speed radar recording how fast I kicked the ball. My first attempt was 59 kmph. I’m unsure if this is good, but I felt proud.
Hit The Ball
In this section you found a ball being balanced over an air flow. You had to use one hand to hit it off of the air flow and up and through a Hoop dangling in the air. I found this hard and didn’t manage to get the ball to go through the Hoop. The girls weren’t too good at it either, but we all had fun trying it.
Skip the Rope
My sister in law joined us for some morning fun and got free entry to the museum using her Go CV card (I’ll add details about this at end of the review).
I was a wimp with the Skip the Rope section and wouldn’t give it a go (again, my girls are my mini me’s and also wouldn’t give it a try). You pressed a button and a machine automatically turned a rope (quite fast) for you to skip in. So thankfully, my lovely sister in law, Sally, had a go for us to see – and she was fantastic at it!
If you can brave the initial, standing in the middle and letting a machine move the rope for you, this section is great. And if you don’t want to have a go, it’s great just watching others do it.
How Accurately Can You Kick?
This was Jemimas favourite section. A light would appear on the back wall and you had to kick the ball to hit the lit up area. Jemima was really good at this and had multiple attempts.
Goalie or Not?
Yes! I came Number 1 at this and my face remained on the winning screen for the entirety of our time in the museum, but it was only 10:30am when I had a go and I’m sure I was soon replaced later in the morning.
This game really got me moving as I leapt on a green screen, watching a screen of myself as a goalie with footballs flying at me. The object of the game is to stop as many balls getting into the net as you can. The more you score, the higher up the leader board you go.
This was Matildas favourite game and she really enjoyed playing it. Running for the balls and leaping to stop them from getting into the net.
Your Dimensions
This was my least favourite activity, just as it had you moving less, but the girls enjoyed having a go. You get to compare your measurements with that of a friend. Or in our case, a sister.
Group Scales
Ever wondered what animal you would be if it was chosen by how heavy you weigh? These group scales allow you to stand on and see what animal your weight matches.
All stand on as a group and see what animal you would all be together.
Nostalgic Tennis
A game for four players. Choose a side of the square each and move your body sideways to hit the ball (think of the old game Break Out, but without blocks to knock out).
We didn’t play this game but I saw a family playing it and they were laughing whilst doing it.
Precision Throw
Matilda loved this and her auntie Sally (my sister in law) was amazing at it. Managing to get a bean bag into each of the sections on her first attempt.
This game is meant to be illuminated and you have to throw a bean bag into each lit up section until you have put out all of the lights.
I’m not sure I saw it illuminated but that could be because Sally was so quick at getting all of the bean bags in.
You’re On Thermal Camera
The title speaks for itself.
This was a section where a thermal camera picked up your bodies and your heat. We all tried this close to the end of our visit, so we were all hot and warmed up.
I showed Matilda how she could change the colour of her body by jumping up and down. She enjoyed seeing how it went red the more she jumped and orange as she stood still and started to cool down.
Hula Hoop
Jemima loves a Hula Hoop and I have to admit, she manages a few spins around her waist before it falls to the floor.
In this section they had three different levels of hoops. Easy, regular and difficult. Which one can you do?
Sailing by Shouts
This activity has you turning a crank clockwise to get started, then shouting into the horn to steer the boat. Don’t forget to keep expanding and reducing the sail with the crank and watch out for the water gathering into the boat. You’ll need to pump that out. You don’t want it to sink.
Pulse Adventure
This is your chance to steer red blood cells through the blood vessels using your own heart rate to move the cells up and down.
Team Stomp
I watched Sally and my two girls doing this game. You all stand onto a board together and you stomp. The most you’ve ever stomped before, with all of your energy. The more you stomp, the faster the runner on the screen moves. The more people stomping, the better the result. Will your team win for the day?
Disco Donut
Roll the wheelchair to the center of the dance floor. Always move to the lighted area and remember to keep the speed up.
None of us were very good at this although it didn’t stop us from trying.
Football on the Bench
The bigger the bum, the better the air to push the balls across the pitch. I learnt during this game, that a mummy bum is the best bum for a good match.
The game is like table football, but instead of being stood around the side of the table twisting things to move players, you are controlling the movement of the balls backwards and forwards by jumping up and down on the seats, making little tubes of air push the balls forward.
My joint favourite game (with the Tightrope) is the Circus Game.
You join hands with the people that you came with (or strangers if you wanted), to make a circle. The bigger the circle, the more chance you have of winning this game.
On a giant screen it picks your circle up and shows it on the screen as two clowns ready to catch fruit being thrown down by cheeky monkeys. The object of the game is to run backwards and forwards with your friends to catch the falling fruit.
What level can you get to? How well do you work as a team?
Conclusion
We had a lovely time and thought the exhibition was a great addition to the museum. It is suitable for all ages from age 2/3 upwards and is definitely worth visiting before it packs up to travel to another country in November.
For more details on prices please head on over to www.transport-museum.com
And if you are a Coventry resident who pays your council tax to Coventry City Council, please go to www.go-cv.co.uk for details on how to get your Go CV card which will give you free entry into the museum.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to review the exhibition in return for an honest review. We have done exactly that.