Family Day Out

The Hunter family, Mum Nicki, Dad Mark and kids Joshua (5½ years) and Ryan (3½years) visited the Streetlife Museum of Transport in Hull’s Museum Quarter situated in the Old Town on the banks of the River Hull. Streetlife Museum tells the story of 200 years of transport in Hull. Entrance to the museum is free and is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1.30pm to 4.30pm. We found it quite difficult to find as we had decided to park in the one of the main shopping car parks and walk to the museum, but it was worth the effort. The museum is part of the Museum Quarter that consists of the Wilberforce House, the Hull and East Riding Museum, Arctic Corsair trawler and of course Streetlife.



We started our experience with a small picnic in the grounds of the museum quarter; the gardens were lovely and well kept, with a pond full of fish. On entering Streetlife we were warmly welcomed by the staff and handed a brochure detailing the exhibits. The museum is well laid out, clean and tidy. There are a lot of displays and galleries, unlike many museums it offers you the chance to climb on board some old vehicles, we started with the trams, the children were able to actually board the tram and enjoyed pretending to drive it. Another favourite of the childrens' was the train and station. The boys loved going onto the train carriage and up to the old signal station. The whole museum is full of authentic smells and sounds of the time to add a real sense of realism. We then went on to walk the streets, looking in the old shop windows including a toy store, chemist, sweet shop, tobacconist and general store. Some shops you could go inside and get a feel for what they would have stocked in their day. You know that you are getting old when you remember stuff which is now preserved in a museum!



Also downstairs was a reconstructed bunker from the second world war, showing what living quarters would have been like for those fighting, with an old fashioned aeroplane suspended from the ceiling!

There was also a some old arcade games and the children tried a shooting target game (with Dadʼs help of course) and we even paid to hear the ʻLaughing policemanʼ at 20p a game – it was great value for money. There was also an old movie theatre, showing a black and white movie reel which depicted the street of Hull. This was more for the adults that the children.

There were more displays upstairs, including the history of the bicycle, with a myriad of models from the Pennyfarthing to the Raleigh Chopper! Also upstairs was the evolution of the car, from horse drawn carriages to modern day vehicles. The kids especiallyloved the simulated horse drawn carriage ride (with audio commentary). There were several street scenes depicting how the coaches and carriages themselves would have been used and looked in their own time. From this floor you can see the Arctic Corsair trawler moored at the rear on the river Hull, which can be visited by booking on the day. There was a lift so these are accessible for wheelchairs and prams. Although there isnʼt a café, there is a room upstairs with seats and food/drink vending machines. It was very clean and reasonably priced.

All the staff we met were polite, friendly and helpful. They also recommended other attractions in town. There is a lot to see but as our children are quite young we got through it quite quickly. Some of the non-interactive displays got a little boring for the children but we kept the engaged by talking to them about what they could see or asking them to look for things.

Our verdict on Streetlife: 9/10.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and will visit again especially if we need to keep the kids amused on a rainy day

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