HOW do you capture a splash?

With a keen eye and an even quicker reaction - that's how!

Fingers poised, Katy pressed the button and waited. Deep in concentration, she anticipated the drip - and captured it on que!

It has been some time since I last took our 11-year-old to Bradford's Science and Media Museum - in fact it was before the name change and gallery transformations.

Stepping into the wonderful world of the Wonderlab, we briefly recalled its previous format as the Experience TV Gallery where Katy relished reading the news in the interactive TV studios and watching re-runs of favourite TV programmes - attractions which have now been replaced by the wonders of fun scientific experiences.

Cleverly designed to capture visitors' imaginations, our first foray into this colourfully-illuminated creative space was to capture the aforementioned splash - just one of the many fun and informative hands-on attractions.

Wonderlab features 20 exhibits including mind-bending mirrors. Navigating what appeared to be a long corridor stretching ahead of us, we discovered our minds were actually deceiving us in this relatively small space. We laughed as we fathomed our way around walking into corners at times but eventually weaving our way out.

Walking across the UK's first permanent Time Twister Screen we saw our bodies twist and separate and also gleaned an insight into the heat-seeking technology which has helped so many in times of crisis.

One of the biggest attractions is a 15m-long tube where you can capture an echo. Another clever contraption is feeling sound vibrate through your teeth and discovering how much sound you need to make a splash.

As well as trying your hand at the various exhibits, visitors can also watch live experiments and get involved with interactive shows. The current show 'Light it Up!' aimed at young visitors aged seven and above, takes visitors on a journey through the science of light.

Inspired by our Wonderlab experience we headed into the other galleries where Katy tried her hand at programme scheduling in the TV gallery and mused at the characters I recalled from my own childhood - firm favourites The Wombles, Rainbow residents George and Zippy, Jemima and the gang from Play School and Dougal, of course, from The Magic Roundabout.

With our headphones on we heard iconic sounds such as The Big Bang and space-related noises that have made an impact on the world; we watched iconic moments in time and savoured some down time in the Games Lounge.

The sight of the Sinclair Spectrum 48K transported me back to unwrapping a Christmas Day gift back in the day and the subsequent time there after spent pounding those rubber keys in my quest to conquer Manic Miner!

Katy looked on fascinated at the garish and brightly coloured screen, in contrast to today's superior graphics.

We laughed as I fathomed the 'up and down' keys to make the character jump - it seems so archaic compared to the games characters of today's generation which they can be swiped into action across a screen. Simple pleasures.

Other galleries include the Kodak Gallery; the Animation Gallery and Lifeonline focusing on the impact of the internet on our lives.

A fun and informative day out and free admission too. Visitors can make a voluntary donation which, I suspect, many like me would be only too happy to do to help maintain and preserve this attraction for generations to come. Well worth a visit.

For more information visit scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk or call 0844 856 3797.