It’s the first day of half-term and the queue is snaking its way along the aptly-named Discovery Road.

Eureka! The National Children’s Museum is busy at any time of year, so it was a typical scene, but Calendar presenter Gaynor Barnes – working the queue along the museum’s yellow brick road in her quest to find the county’s funniest kids for that evening’s programme – brought some light entertainment during our wait.

It was our second visit to Eureka and my only complaint, if you can call it that, is that there’s never enough time – particularly as you don’t want to outstay your parking ticket!

With hundreds of hands-on exhibits to explore, there is always something you haven’t seen before.

From the moment we passed through the turnstile, my daughter Katy and my friend Charlotte’s two sons, Thomas and William, were in their element as they embarked on a fun journey of discovery.

The children were intrigued by the sounds and vibrations they could make stroking the strings of a huge guitar and pumping air through pipes in the Sound Space Gallery.

Youngsters can try their hand making and mixing their own music, although our three were too busy having fun on the control deck, changing the lights and backdrops for an imaginary show.

The Sound Garden, a tranquil oasis of touchy-feely contraptions, scented flowers and lullabies from around the world, was a little too young for our giddy brood.

With no particular sequence to follow on our journey of exploration, we followed our three young explorers as they dashed along to the garage and Eureka house where they’d happily played for ages in the cars and kitchen on our previous visit.

They loved filling the car with petrol and driving to pretend destinations. They even attempted to change a wheel.

Our next stop was the Eureka house where Katy got into domestic tasks, piling plastic food on to trays and pretending to load the washing machine. The boys were busy too – Thomas popped on a chef’s hat to look the part!

At the touch of a button, we discovered how electricity is generated around the home. The toilet, basin and bath are all transparent in the bathroom, so little ones learn what happens when taps are turned and toilets are flushed.

There’s a water trough too for them to roll up their sleeves and splash away to their hearts’ content.

Through the attic bedroom we strolled along the starlit walkway, then it was on to the Desert Discovery, inspired by the Mojave Desert in America, where more fun was had helping to run Cactus Construction.

The children took turns putting their boulders into the bucket lift while ringing through to inform their colleagues the boulders were on their way!

Once they were delivered to their destination, we popped in to explore the cosy cave where little ones can let their imaginations run wild, dressing up and gathering around the camp fire to tell tales of desert adventures.

Katy loved lifting the flaps in the wall, touching treasures collected by the pack rat and putting her hands inside holes to touch the things inside.

Leaving the desert, we headed back into reality. The Town Square with its post office, bank, police box and replica Marks & Spencer is a fantastic place for youngsters to experience aspects of everyday life.

Donning his post office jacket, Thomas promptly picked up some parcels in his mail bag while Katy and William got to work sorting through stamps. All three had great fun posting letters into the post box.

The Dig was an instant attraction to the boys who disappeared into the excavation to look at a layout of underground pipes and mini beasts on the wall, while the sight of trolleys in the store, and the prospect of filling them, proved far more appealing to Katy.

Thomas and William joined in, too. Laden with plastic French sticks and vegetables, the trio pushed their trolleys around the store. With queues for a turn on the tills and scanners increasing, we left in search of some creativity. In the upstairs craft room, Katy sat down to some cutting and sticking.

With time ticking, we headed to the Global Garden where the boys enjoyed building an igloo.

Sadly, we didn’t have time to visit Scoot the Robot in the Me And My Body zone. That’s a must for next time. All in all, it’s a fantastic day out for visitors of any age.

FACTFILE

- Eureka! The National Children’s Museum is on Discovery Road, Halifax.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm during term-time and 10am to 5pm at weekends and during school and bank holidays.

- Pay and display parking is available at the on-site Eureka! car park, open every day (except December 24 to 26) from 5.30am to 8pm. Halifax railway station is a short walk from the museum.

- For more information, call the museum on (01422) 330069 or visit eureka.org.uk.