RICHARD FOSTER took his children to see how a former steel works has been transformed into a science theme park

THE one thing about Magna, the £46 million Science Adventure Centre at Templeborough, Rotherham, is that it is big.

Visitors enter a twilight zone of vast proportions as they are invited to explore the basic elements of earth, air, fire and water in four modern pavilions crammed full of interactive exhibits.

Metal walkways stretch overhead leading the visitors from one thrilling experience to another.

The Air Pavilion, housed 15 metres overhead in this cathedral of the industrial age, resembles a Zeppelin airship. Inside it are attractions like a spinning gyroscopic chair and a mini-tornado.

The Earth Pavilion is found deep in the bowels of the former melting shop. Here are chunky hands-on games and attractions, such as hydraulic JCBs to operate, a quarry face to "explode" and hoppers to fill.

The wet and wonderful Water Pavilion celebrates the playful nature of water where visitors can witness a shower of rain, learn about canal locks and wave power as well as shoot at targets with a giant water cannon.

The Fire Pavilion enables children and adults alike to "play with fire" in complete safety while learning to operate the clanging and banging electromagnetic crane.

My children, Sophie, 13, Daniel, 11, and eight-year-old Rachel found all the pavilions fascinating and fun.

Walking around, we were constantly reminded of the building's industrial past, when the Templeborough Melting Shop was "the anvil of South Yorkshire" producing engineering steel to help fight two world wars.

At its height, in the 1950s, the plant employed more than 10,000 people as it produced steel for the railways and the motor industry.

Hulking hooks and giant cranes have been left untouched and lying dormant is an enormous electric arc furnace - an awesome man-made crucible of creation once capable of producing hundreds of tons of steel each day by melting scrap metal.

This furnace is the star of the Big Melt, which is a bone-shaking re-enactment of the steel-making process where sparks dance in the twilight - along with occasional jets of flames - amidst a cacophony of noise. The Big Melt reminded me of Dante's Inferno, yet this fire was not dangerously out of control - rather it was the ultimate in recycling because it transformed odds and sods of scrap into gleaming new steel.

The idea behind Magna was to create a family science adventure centre by offering the pure entertainment associated with theme parks combined with the discovery benefits of traditional museums.

The trouble with hands-on exhibits is that they are liable to break down and we came across several attractions that were taped off because they were broken. Obviously they were unable to cope with constant handling by eager visitors.

Overall, Magna does succeed in its aim of providing a good day out for all the family.

There is so much to see and do - including a restaurant and adventure playground - that visitors are advised to allow three to four hours for their visit.

Fact file -

It takes about an hour to get to Magna by car from York. Leave the M1 on Junction 34 and follow the brown tourist signs.

Magna is open every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from 10am to 5pm.

Admission: adults £5.99; concessions £4.50; family ticket (two adults, two children) £17.99.