On the weekend of 24th and 25th June you can try your hand at being a real archaeologist in the Museum of London’s replica excavation and discover genuine artefacts. Their experts will show you how to observe, record, analyse, identify and interpret your finds which will form vital pieces of a bigger puzzle.
One trench is available for users with mobility access requirement; this trench can be booked in advance.
For this summer only, from now until 5th September, Kew Garden’s Princess of Wales Conservatory has been transformed into a haven for butterflies, bugs and beasties.
As you walk into the Conservatory you will be amazed by the number and range of butterflies and moths flying freely around your head. My children were mesmerised and loved studying them close up.
Then you walk through to an area where you can learn all about the chocolate plant which is bound to encourage questions.
Finally you move on to an area where there is a large pond with huge water lilies and a giant catfish in it. If you are lucky you might even see a Chinese Dragon Lizard wandering around freely.
This was a huge hit with my kids when I went there over half-term and I highly recommend it.
When you have had enough of this area, you can just go on over to the new Plantastic Play Area by Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, where the kids can burn off loads of energy in a leaf maze, climbing posts, huge tunnels and even whizz along a wire.
As if there wasn’t already enough to do at Kew with the Climbers and Creepers playground and the Treetop walkway there are now these fantastic attractions.
This weekend, on 5th & 6th June, Legoland is inviting visitors to take part in a brand new family festival celebrating all things creative! Each day there’ll be interactive story time sessions with a host of children’s favourite characters including Noddy, Peppa Pig, Peter Rabbit, Spot the Dog and Horrid Henry. LEGO® fans can take part in a special building event using millions of bricks from the famous James May LEGO House plus there’ll be lots of fantastic competitions to win exclusive prizes.
The Festival of Imagination, sponsored by LEGO Club Jr., is ensuring that the legacy of the James May LEGO House lives on through an annual building event which will take place outside the Park’s main entrance. To celebrate the opening of the new Pirates Landing area, families can have some hands-on fun and help build a huge LEGO brick chain to accompany an impressive Pirate ship anchor. All the proceeds of this activity, held in conjunction with LEGO UK, will benefit their nominated charity, The National Autistic Society.
Children can dress as their fantasy story book character and join in a Fancy Dress Parade which starts each day at noon in Miniland. Little ones will be enchanted by the colourful creatures of Tinga Tinga Tales when they visit the Creative Art area. Armed with paintbrushes, they can take inspiration from the stories by decorating individual wooden tiles in bright African-themed colours and even take home a Tinga give-away.
In the Miniland Activity Zone bookworms can enjoy a crazy walk through experience in the Mad Science section and even create bookmarks using the wonder of science. Down in the Enchanted Forrest, young explorers can have a Rainbow Magic adventure and help Ruby locate her missing fairy friends for a chance to win an exclusive Rainbow Magic book.
All the fun starts at 12:00 each day and finishes at 17:00. Activities taking place during the Festival of Imagination are included in the standard ticket price and are free to Full Annual Pass holders.
The new attraction Marvel Super Heroes 4D has officially opened its doors!
Spread across three floors, Marvel Super Heroes 4D brings to life some of the world’s best loved Super Heroes through a mix of 4D animation, interactive themed areas and startlingly realistic wax figures.
A group of young Marvel fans were the first to enjoy the new attraction, taking their seats in the newly installed 4D cinema to view a specially commissioned animated 3D Marvel film short with added high impact “4D” effects. Eleven year old, Nathan Wilson from Ealing, London was suitably impressed. “The film was awesome; the Heroes came right out of the screen over your head and you could feel the robots scuttling past your legs when they invaded. I liked it best when the Hulk clapped and sneezed – even though we got pretty wet!”
The youngsters also got up close to six Super Hero wax figures and tried out a range of Super Hero interactives from turning invisible with The Invisible Woman (as portrayed Jessica Alba), going green with the gargantuan 4.5m Hulk and trying out Wolverine’s deadly adamantium claws alongside the mutant hero (as portrayed by Hugh Jackman). The other wax figures featured are Spider Man, featured in a cleverly inverted office where guests can literally “hang out” on the ceiling, Head of S.H.I.E.L.D (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division), Nick Fury (as portrayed by Samuel L Jackson), and Ironman.
“This is the biggest new experience we have introduced here at Madame Tussauds London since we re-developed the Chamber of Horrors over seven years ago,” commented General Manager, Edward Fuller. “We’re delighted with the results. The 4D film action spills out of the screen right over the audience who should expect special effects involving water, smoke, seat tremors and wind. Every centimeter of the huge 70m dome is fully utilised and people are absolutely loving it”.
The nine minute film presentation (a short clip of which is above) unites a crack team of Marvel Super Heroes – Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Ms Marvel – in an all new adventure set in London, and is the first time ever that a group of Marvel Super Heroes have been brought together in a 3D film.
Shakespeare’s Globe’s celebrates ‘Sam’s Day’ with free day of family activities on Saturday 12th June
Shakespeare’s Globe’s annual celebration of the birthday of its founder, Sam Wanamaker, returns this month with a free day of workshops, demonstrations and platform discussions for all the family.
A host of Globe professionals will lead sessions around the Globe site on storytelling, music, movement, voice, Shakespeare on Film and Building the Globe throughout the day.
The sessions are free of charge and bookable on the day on a first come, first served basis from 9am.
Now in its 13th year, Kids Week offers children the opportunity to experience the magic of London theatre for free from 13 to 27 August.
During Kids Week, a child aged 5 -16 can go free to any participating show when accompanied by an adult paying full price. You can also purchase up to two extra children’s tickets at half price.
Plus, kids can also take part in a fantastic range of free activities and events. Whether it’s an energetic dance workshop, a behind the scenes tour, or even a puppet workshop, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Sign up to the Official London Theatre’s free fortnightly e-newsletter, The Family Bulletin, for the latest Kids Week news and be amongst the first to hear when booking opens by visiting the Kids Week Website
On Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd June 2010 you can explore Victorian stories and tales as part of National Family Week at the Ragged School Museum in Mile End. Expect lots of creative fun as you make books, create comics and listen to some popular Victorian yarns! Little ragamuffins can play in their Under 6’s area.
The Ragged School Museum is situated in Mile End and is also open to the general public every Wednesday and Thursday (10am until 5pm) and the first Sunday of the month (2pm – 5pm). On that Sunday they offer two Victorian Lessons (2.15 and 3.30pm) when visitors are taught by their strict Victorian teacher, Miss Perkins, and put through their paces as they try their hand at copperplate handwriting on slate boards and get to grips with the sterling money table!
The Museum is situated at 46-50 Copperfield Road, London, E3 4RR. Phone 020 8980 6405 for more details or visit their website www.raggedschooolmuseum.co.uk
The two weeks from May 29 to June 13 have been designated National Wildlife Fortnight and so there are a whole range of fun kids activities happening at nature reserves up and down the country.
To find out the top ten family wildlife outings in the country this half term, don’t miss this article in the Telegraph
On Sunday 30th May 12-4pm a fun, free rural style event will take place at Spitalfields in London celebrating all things woolly.
It’s that time of year again when the sheep get their winter coats removed! Watch sheep being sheared and see rare breeds. For the more crafty amongst you, you will be able to have a go at spinning wool, knitting or crocheting, making felt and seeing how the yarn is woven on a table loom to make cloth.
Children can take part in these activities as well as making toy sheep and badges, get their faces painted like a sheep and the best dressed sheep or farmer will win a prize on the day.
You can also enter the “guess the weight of the fleece competition” and the “Spitalfields Sheep Stakes” – will it be greedy but out of condition Pants or one of the flighty north ronaldsays; who will stop off en-route to grab a bite of grass or say hello to the visitors!
This Fayre is a great way of bringing a bit of the country life to London.
Hop aboard this Half Term for demonstrations of life at sea on HMS Belfast in the Korean War for Korean War Commemoration Week . Witness simulated live firings of the ship’s 4-inch guns; see a dramatic recreation of the crew racing to repair damage to the ship in a Damage Control exercise; and discover what would happen to sailors caught breaking the ship’s rules at Captain’s defaulters Visitors will also have the chance to watch archive film about the Korean War, dress up in naval uniforms from the time and read firsthand accounts from the ship’s veterans who were involved in the Korean War, in this sixtieth anniversary year.
