THE womb-like room is pitch black and four visitors are lying on beds, listening to the muffled sound of a mother's voice talking and singing to her baby.

The sounds are exactly what a baby hears after being in the womb for 25 weeks, and is the first stage in an exhibition at Newcastle's Centre for Life which allows visitors to see the world through a baby's eyes.

The Pampers' World of Babies exhibition, which opens today, lets visitors see for themselves the different stages of development through a series of interactive rooms.

In addition to the womb room, the treadmill in the playground illustrates how fast a toddler has to walk to keep up with its mother, while the huge toilet and sink show how daunting a trip to the bathroom can be.

Elsewhere, mirrors with time delays highlight how babies think they are staring at another playmate when they look at their reflections until they are at least 18 months old.

Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith, a Pampers' Institute member and head of the neurocognitive development unit at the Institute of Child Health in London, said: "The idea behind Papmers' World of Babies is that when you see the world through a baby's eyes you can more easily understand and support the baby's development.

"The visitor can experience life in the womb, birth and how baby moves and thinks."

* Pampers' World of Babies is in Newcastle until Saturday and is free. For details or to book tickets log on to www.pampers.com or call freephone 0800 1060 98.

Published: 08/02/2005