All human life at centre.

Excited children explored the wonders of human life at the opening of a multi-million-pound exhibition.

Pupils from English Martyrs' School, Fenham, Newcastle, tried out the interactive exhibits available at the city's Centre for Life.

The exhibition, Human Life ( which comprises sections on Our Origins, Our World and Our Future ( aims to bring science to life for visitors of all ages and show how climate change and advances in technology might affect people's lives.

Among the scenarios making up the pounds 4.5m permanent exhibition are what one will look like as a pensioner, how the weather will have changed by 2050 and how stem cell banks will provide replacement skin and organs.

Also among the attractions is an archaeological dig, where visitors can learn how scientists investigate where we came from and get their hands on the tools used to unearth buried remains, games based around DNA and a pair of giant ape hands giving people the opportunity to walk like a gorilla.

Andy Lloyd, the centre's head of exhibit development, said: "With the Human Life project we wanted to show how science and technology can affect one of our favourite topics ( ourselves."

Robots in the home, life-extending tablets and diets to keep us looking young are among the visions.