Interview with Claire Welsh - Primary Schools Programme Manager

ER To what extent do you think parents might use, particularly the exhibit space as a safe space to bring children?

CW Oh I think=

ER =Not in terms of bringing them to learn as such but something where children=

CW =[No I think that's definitely, definitely]

ER [I'm quite interested in the,] it's quite a bounded, protected space.

CW And I think for teachers as, I think for teachers bringing school groups down, that's a big, I mean we had a lovely letter from a head teacher. You know, "Techniquest is the safest place, is, is the best place for a school trip because it's, because it's safe." And, you know basically, you do - you know where, where the children are. And particularly for young kids, there's not many places you can go where they are, you know, fairly well contained or, or, you know, you've got to go round sort of holding everyone's hand and this sort of thing, and it's just hard work. It's much easier if you can say to the kids "Right we're going to" you know, "stay downstairs and then we'll go upstairs together later on" or something. And, and they know where they are. Yeah, I think it, I think it's very good from that point of view.

Yeah and I mean a lot of parents come in and they don't feel, they don't feel they've got to, you know, keep their child right by them all the time, and I think that's because it, it is considered a safe place to be. So, I mean the number of times you get lost children called over the tannoy, you know, it just shows that they don't, people do feel safe here and you know, because they do, they do, get stranded every so often, you know. It's a, I mean the fact that it's easy to do that and find match people quite easily, so.