New list reveals most ‘fun’ educational visitor attractions in Belfast

According to various scientific research papers, the human brain is more receptive to learning when having fun. Accordingly, a survey was carried out to find out which of the UK’s educational visitor attractions was the most ‘fun’ and therefore the best at helping people learn and remember scientific or historical information.

The company that commissioned the research, Saturn Visual Solutions, has subsequently created a list of the ‘UK’s top 50 most fun educational visitor attractions’. The rankings are based on the number of people that named the site as a ‘fun’ attraction, rather than metrics like visitor numbers which tend to discount many smaller educational visitor attractions.

Three visitor attractions in Belfast were listed. The Titanic Museum was the ninth highest ranked educational visitor attraction in the UK, and the highest in Northern Ireland.

It combines reconstructions, and interactive experiences relating to the infamous ship and company that made and operated it.

The Crumlin Road Gaol Experience was the second highest ranking educational visitor attraction in Northern Ireland, and came 27th overall. It explains the Gaol’s 150 year history, and gives insights into its activities (including executions) and prisoners, which included men, women and children.

Third in the rankings within Northern Ireland was the Ulster Museum, which combines an art gallery, natural science and historical exhibits with a discovery centre for children. It ranked 30th overall and is free to enter.

Saturn CEO, Chris Welsh, said: “Every year there are tables of data about which visitor attractions are the most popular, but something that’s often overlooked is how much ‘fun’ they are. Both adults and children are more likely to learn and remember information if it’s part of a ‘fun’ experience, so we thought that it was important to find out which educational visitor attractions were most successful in making learning fun.

“Our research found that nearly half of adults categorise something as being boring if it doesn’t have engaging activities. So, it’s no major surprise that so many of the highest-ranking educational visitor attractions in our research, like the Titanic Museum, have interactive exhibits and experiences on offer.”

Saturn Visual Solutions is a digital signage consultancy that works with leisure businesses and charities to help them make the ‘visitor experience’ more engaging and fun.