Above and Beyond product reviews

This exhibit doesn't look like much when you first walk in but boy does it pack a lot into the room. I brought my eleven, nine and seven year old with me, as well as my mother, so as to get an extra adult opinion on this exhibit. Entering in you are gretted with some lovely music and a small screen featuring a view of the night sky, complete with shooting stars and faint, shifting constellations. It was a lovely spot to just sit and relax by, the only let down being that it is right by the doors, so if someone comes in the light obscures the view for a little. Follow this around to see it phase into the galaxy.

We we're immediately drawn to the "international space elevator" which does well to immerse you into it. It's fascinating to see what was once essentially sci-fi (Arthur C Clarke) now not only being thought of, but according to the information on the outside, planned to be a reality by 2050 (so Japan hopes). Be warned, you feel like you are moving with it, it's small but blocks off enough of the outside so any other sound doesn't detract from your narrator. There's a good does of information plus a handy tracker above which tells you your altitude and outside temperature in both metric and imperial.

Much enjoyed was a bird flight simulator which uses Kinect type technology so that you can fly like a migrating bird, both hilarious and slightly disturbing was seeing the shape our skeleton would have to be in order for humans to be able to fly. In line with that was a flight simulator, but before you got to fly a plane, you had to create it first. This also gives a hands on lesson as you choose what parts to give it based on it's manouevarability and speed, all to better your chances to win of course. I managed to place 7th, so I was pretty chuffed with that outcome. My youngest found it too difficult, my middle wasn't too fussed on it but my eldest enjoyed trying to do better than me, he managed to get 12th place, with a different plane.

Another fun interactive station had you trying to clear away the rubbish circling the Earth. The game only lasts a couple of minutes and though there is the opportunity to learn more about which bot suits which job best, this would eat into your game time, would have been better for there to be those instructions to read while you wait for the other players to finish. There was another section, where it could have used some improvement, the TV screens were up, so one had to crane ones neck to see them, which meant I didn't finish the video because it began to hurt my neck. You also got to travel to Mars, it was also interactive and my kids gave it a go, though my youngest struggled to have it pick her up, I had to lift her up for one part so she could continue to the next stage.

This kept the kids busy for two hours before I had one of them asking when we were going to leave and ten minutes after that before the second asked when we were going to go. Everything was safe, so the kids could be left to roam and take everything in, doing tasks as they wanted to and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Everything was set on a cycle and when it finished the countdown to the next round was nice and easy to see, there was never a long wait between each round. My kids all thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was lots of fun, always a good way to engage and teach. My mum thought it was excellent, great interactive activities with the right amount of information to keep you engaged and not get bored, there was excellent coverage of the theme and the whole exhibition was nicely spaced. She thought it was good to have the staff there ready to help out, they were very friendly and it was great for adults and children alike.

This was a big hit and it's great to see such exhibits at MOTAT, if you're in Auckland, hurry up and go before it closes and MOTAT... Can't wait to see what you bring us next.

This was an opportunity not to be missed! From the time I first learned to read I was fascinated by the possibilities of air and space travel, and eagerly followed each new technological advance. Although I could not wait to go to the exhibition, I waited till I had some family members who could go too - representing three generations so that we would be able to experience it on many levels and from different perspectives.

Miss Six, the youngest, was dazzled by the colours as soon as we went into the exhibition hall. Blues and greens were dominant, and some areas were quite dark so it appeared that we were in a completely different universe. She began by running from one station to the next, looking at what was on offer before deciding where to start. It helped that she can read now so she was able to check out the various information panels with only the occasional help needed.

Mr Nine and Mr 14 were more conservative, checking with each other as to what they should try first. Both boys are heavily into science and technology, so this was an exhibition tailor made for them. They were able to make their own way around without assistance although one of them would occasionally come up with a relevant question. Mr Nine liked the interactive displays and had a go at everything. Mr 14 was more selective but tended to spend longer in those areas he found most interesting.

At first, the three adults tended to follow the kids around, but when we realised they were quite able to sort themselves out, we split up and each of us went to the area that most interested us. It was useful that the entire exhibition was housed in one large dome because the children could wander safely without our having to check on their whereabouts all the time. There was even access to toilets from within the dome, which was specially useful in view of the late morning heat and the fact that all three of them had been draining their water bottles all day!

Mr 14 enjoyed himself more than he had expected. He liked the challenge of designing his own plane and then taking part in a flight simulation. He also liked the space lift although he would like to have seen it extended so that there was more stellar travel. He challenged me to zap the space junk with him and got the top score on the first round, although I reached his score on the rematch. Mr 14 also spent some time on the section that dealt with the physics of nose shape in relation to flight performance. Overall, he thought the exhibition was more suited to intermediate aged children although every time I looked at him he seemed to be having a great time.

Mr 9, too, loved designing his own plane. He made the same comment on the space elevator as Mr 14, adding that he thought it should have its own little booth so that the effect was more realistic. He thought there could be an anti-gravity area included as well, although I am not sure how that would work. The 3-D printer generated items fascinated him; he spent time walking around the display and trying to work out how it was done. He thought the exhibition was good value for money as you could look around the rest of MOTAT as well if there was any time left! He learned a lot during the time he was there, and could not stop talking about it on the way home afterwards.

I was surprised at how much Miss 6 got from the experience. Going with the boys helped, of course, as she tagged along with them most of the time and tried everything they did. She had a go at the bird flight simulation with the other two adults, holding out her arms like wings and angling her body so she could control her flight. The boys were too cool to do that, but she had no hangups and just got in there and enjoyed herself. She also loved the gravity drop and had several goes because it made such a satisfactory bang!

I tried everything at least once and was impressed with the variety of information and activities. It took us two hours to get round the exhibition, but I could have happily spent double that time there. It is amazing how much can be accomplished with an adequate exhibition budget; having big names like Boeing, NASA and the Smithsonian as backing, it is not surprising that the standard is very high. There is something for every age group - in spite of what Mr 14 said!- and I think all of us learned something new.

As we left, I purchased a copy of the Above and Beyond Official Companion Book - reasonably priced at $13.90 - which the children will be able to keep as a memento and reference book. Not only does it contain detailed background information on all the areas of the exhibition (including photos), but there are also several STEM experiments included which are aimed at the 8-14 age group. This book will enable the children to build on what they learned, again through practical experimentation and looking at the explanatory diagrams which supplement the photography. Most children learn through visual and experiential means, so it is produced with them in mind. However, there is also plenty of written information for the older teenagers and adults who wish to explore more.