Methodology
The Dad Score.
Every day out, stay, experience and event here carries a score out of 100. Not user reviews, not stars scraped off an aggregator. Five things a dad actually cares about, marked by us, with the evidence printed next to the number.
- 5pillars
- 20points each
- 129listings scored
- 0paid placements
Editorial, never crowd-sourced
Five useful questions. One score out of 100.
Every listing is marked out of 20 on the same five axes, whatever it is and wherever it is. A city museum, a forest cabin and a New Year parade all answer the same questions, which is the only reason their numbers can sit next to each other.
See what each pillar asksThe rubric
Five pillars, 20 points each
The anchors below are what an editor marks against. They are deliberately blunt, because a rubric that can be read two ways is a rubric that drifts.
Together time
It is something you do with her, not watch her do.
- 0 · Passive or separate
- 5 · A few shared moments
- 10 · Roughly half shared
- 15 · Mostly side by side
- 20 · Built around doing it together
Low faff
Booking, queues, parking, pram and loo logistics. The dad reality.
- 0 · Unworkable solo
- 5 · Major planning or queues
- 10 · Manageable with preparation
- 15 · Straightforward day
- 20 · Turn up and it works
Value
Price band against hours of genuine fun. Free scores high.
- 0 · Poor return for the price
- 5 · Expensive for a short visit
- 10 · Fair
- 15 · Strong hours-to-cost value
- 20 · Exceptional or free
Age span
How wide the window is. Working at 2 and at 12 beats a narrow hit.
- 0 · No child fit
- 5 · Very narrow window
- 10 · One clear age band
- 15 · Several stages work
- 20 · Toddlers through tweens
Weatherproof
Indoor and outdoor balance, and the risk of a rained-off day.
- 0 · Easily cancelled
- 5 · Mostly exposed
- 10 · Some useful cover
- 15 · Reliable in mixed weather
- 20 · Works in almost any weather
Shown, not asserted
One listing, marked in the open
The highest-scoring day out on the site right now, with every line it was given and why.
California Science Center
Los Angeles, California, USA
- Together time19/20
- Standing under Endeavour together is an unforgettable shared moment.
- Low faff17/20
- Free galleries ease the day; reserve Endeavour and IMAX timed tickets ahead.
- Value20/20
- Permanent galleries are free; you pay only for special tickets you choose.
- Age span18/20
- Ecosystems and kids areas for younger; Endeavour stuns every age.
- Weatherproof20/20
- Indoors in Exposition Park; heatwaves outside do not matter.
Last scored July 2026. See the full listing
Reading the number
What 90 means, and what 72 means
Nothing gets listed here unless it is worth someone's Saturday, so the range is narrow on purpose. The gap between bands is about how much you have to forgive.
Plan the weekend around it
Almost nothing to hold against it. Strong on all five, and the kind of place worth a long drive or a night nearby.
A properly good day
Where most of the directory sits. One pillar gives ground, usually price or the weather risk, and the rest carry it easily.
Worth it, with one caveat
Genuinely good at something and clearly weak at something else. Read the evidence lines before you commit a whole day to it.
Only if it is on your doorstep
It earned its place on the list, but two pillars are working against you. Fine as a local hour, not a destination.
How a score happens
Facts first, then the number
We gather the facts
Prices, opening reality, age guidance and facilities come from the venue itself and at least one corroborating source. No fact goes in unsourced.
We score the five pillars
Each pillar gets 0 to 20 with one line of evidence you can read on the page. The Dad Score is simply the sum. Every score is reviewed by a person before it publishes.
We date it and keep it honest
Every score shows when it was last scored, and we re-score when the facts change. If a place slips, so does its number.
We publish the argument, not just the answer
The five evidence lines sit on the listing next to the number, so you can see exactly where a place lost its points and decide whether you agree.
Three things it is not
What the Dad Score refuses to be
Not a review average
We never pool visitor stars. A hundred five-star reviews from people on a coach trip tell you nothing about a Saturday with a four-year-old.
Not for sale
No venue has ever paid for a score, a position or a softer sentence. Claiming a listing lets an owner correct facts, never touch the number.
Not an algorithm
No scraping, no sentiment model, no secret weighting. Five pillars, twenty points each, added up by a person who has to justify every line.
The promise
- Editorial, never paid. No venue has ever paid for a score, a placement or a kinder sentence, and none ever will.
- Never owner-editable. Businesses can claim their page and correct facts, but the Dad Score and our verdict are not theirs to touch.
- Shown, not asserted. Every pillar carries its evidence line on the page, so you can disagree with us intelligently.
Spotted a score that feels wrong, or a fact that has drifted? Tell us at hey@girl.dad and we will re-check it.
Fair questions
What dads ask us about the score
Who actually sets the Dad Score?
We do. Each listing is scored against the same five-pillar rubric by an editor, who has to write one line of evidence per pillar before the score can publish. Nothing goes live on an automated pass alone.
Can a business pay to raise its score?
No, and it never will be possible. Owners can claim their listing to fix opening times, prices and facts that have drifted. The Dad Score, the five pillar marks and our verdict are not theirs to edit.
Why not just use visitor star ratings?
Because a star rating answers a different question. It averages everyone who went, including couples, coach parties and school trips. The Dad Score only asks how the place holds up as a day with your kid, which is why parking, queues and rain matter so much in the marking.
How often is a score updated?
Every listing carries the date it was last scored. We re-score when the facts move: a price jump, a closed attraction, a new indoor space. If a place gets worse for dads, the number comes down.
Do you visit everywhere before you score it?
Not everywhere, and we will not pretend otherwise. Scores are built from the operator, at least one corroborating source and, where we have it, a first-hand visit. When a visit is behind a score, the evidence lines will say so.
Does a low score mean the place is bad?
No. It means it is a weaker one-to-one day than the places above it. A brilliant attraction can score in the seventies because it is expensive, indoors-only or pitched at a narrow age band. The five lines tell you which.