©National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Daily Science Museum Exhibition Rd London 0870 870 4868 Take control in 360 degrees flight simulators or fly with the Red Arrows in their sensational 3D motion effects theatre. Every weekend Icy Cool Adventure families, under 7’s, FREE. Every Weekend Spaced Out, families, 5+yrs, FREE. Every Weekend A Cockroach Tour of the museum visitors take on the form of cockroaches dressing up in realistic costumes, FREE. Every Weekend explore hundreds of real natural history specimens, discover evidence along the way using microscopes, the computer database & other scientific instruments, science educators are there to help you with your investigations, FREE.
Daily The Queen’s Gallery Buckingham Palace London 020 7766 7301 Become an explorer & discover the exhibition with activity bags for families. Using the bags find out which animals the adventurers shared the Antartic with and what early explorers wore to protect themselves from the cold.
Ongoing Royal Air Force Museum Grahame Park Way Hendon London 020 8205 2266 Ongoing Airfix exhibition with some of Airfix’s most popular models from the 50,60s & 70’s.
Ongoing Royal Mews Buckingham Palace 020 7766 7302 Family groups may explore a range of self directed activities from the art trolley, 5-11yrs.
Ongoing Royal Academy of Arts 020 7300 8000 www.royalacademy.org.uk New policy all children under 12yrs of age will have FREE entry to all exhibitions.
Ongoing Churchill War Rooms Clive Steps King Charles Street 020 7930 6961 Undercover, Life in Churchill’s Bunker, learn what life & conditions were like underground & experience the authenticity & emotional resonance of walking through the corridors where Churchill made history.
Every Sun National Gallery 020 7747 2885 Family workshops for families bringing paintings alive & listening to a themed story on the magic carpet, plus FREE family trail, www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Every Sun Hildreth Street Market Balham SW12 Street Market with fresh food traders sourced from all over London.
Every Mon & Thurs Holy Trinity Church Brook Green 07710 023743 Singing & Songwriting sessions for 6-11 & 11-14yrs.
Every 2nd Sat of month National Geographic Store 83-97 Regent Street 020 7025 6960 Animal Man comes face to face with slithering snakes, slimy insects & smelly skunks. Meet a wide variety of animals to include owls, lizards, tortoises, armadillos, meerkats & lots more, hands on activities are led by AnimalMan Nick Spellman for all ages.
Every Sat Venn Street Market, Clapham Common 020 7622 8259 Offering fine foods & fresh produce plus a variety of handmade crafts will be available throughout Dec with gifts & cards for all the family as well as Christmas trees & floral decorations. Christmas trees will be available.
Every Sat Blue Elephant Theatre Camberwell 020 7701 0100 Young People’s Theatre workshops, various age groups 7-18yrs, FREE to join.
Every Sat 2-4pm & after school on Tue & Thurs South London Gallery 65 Peckham Road 020 7703 6120 The Shop of Possibilities for children & families living on five neighbouring estates, Pelican, Southampton Way, Elmington, Wyndham & Comber, & Sceaux Gardens are invited to play at after school & weekend workshops in this recently renovated former retail outlet on the Sceaux Gardens housing estate.
Every weekend London Transport Museum 39 Wallington Street Covent Garden London 020 7379 6344 The Family Station choose some FREE activities to do as you explore the museum, families all ages. Ongoing Family Station All Year Round activities for families, 3-12yrs.
Every weekend Tate Modern Bankside London SE1 020 7887 8008 Open Studio play & create with ideas & materials from artworks in the collection displays for all ages. Daily Family resources with paper based activities for families all ages, FREE. Daily Children’s Multimedia Guide keeps children entertained & animates art works through music, video clips &entertaining games, 5+yrs. Daily Under 5’s Zone a new play space for families, FREE. Every weekend Start Sessions with games, map making & clue matching, 5+yrs, FREE.
Every weekend Rich Mix Bethnal Green 020 7613 7498 Kids’ Cine Time family films.
Every weekend Temple Station 020 7222 1234 Harry Potter Locations Tour, 2 ½ hrs.
Every weekend Greenwich Clocktower Market Greenwich High Road Quirky weekend market has 50 stalls specialising in vintage, retro & antiques with a few contemporary craft stalls, FREE entry, www.clocktowermarket.co.uk
Every weekend Tate Britain Millbank London 020 7887 8888 Liminal invites visitors into a physical, material & social experience of sculpture through touch, interaction & collaboration, all ages, FREE. Every weekend Art Trolley sessions encourages children to imagine & create collages & lots more, FREE. Every Weekend Children’s Multimedia Guide fun & interactive a sensory experience for all the family to enjoy, 5+yrs. Daily Family Resources provides questions & activities which encourage children & families to explore art works, FREE. Daily Family Trails, under 5’s, FREE.
Until 30 Nov British Museum Great Russell Street London 020 7323 8000 Ancient Lives new encounters with Egypt and Sudan exhibition. Until 5 Jan Ming: Courts & Contacts 1400-1450 exhibition.
5 Oct Chickenshed Theatre Company Chase Side Southgate 020 8292 9222 10K Challenge + 3K Family Run gives you the opportunity to either jog, walk or cycle from Chickenshed through a trailed track in Trent Park in Enfield.
6-8,13,15,17,20-22,24 Oct The Royal Observatory Greenwich 020 8858 4422 Meet the Neighbours. Every weekend in Oct & holiday weekdays Meet the Time Travellers, 7+yrs. 16,23 Oct Solar System, Galaxy, Universe, 5+yrs. Throughout Oct Space Safari, under 7’s. Until 4 Jan Longitude Punk’d celebrates the creation of wacky inventors, all ages, www.rmg.co.uk/visit
11,18 Oct Horniman Museum London Road Forest Hill Art Makers Leafy Hedgehogs activity, adults FREE, 3+yrs. 18 Oct,1 Nov Day of the Dead Happy Skeleton, adults FREE, 3+yrs. 25-26 Oct Halloween Fair enjoy a spooky trail, plus family craft activities, come dressed in your favourite Halloween costume & join in the Halloween parades taking place throughout the weekend, FREE, though some activities may have a charge. 25 Oct The Big Draw, Giant Hibernation Home make a drawing of a leaf in the gardens, 3+yrs, FREE. 27-31 Oct Half Term Community Teachsport drop in activities in the gardens & older children can have a go at sports from around the world whilst tiny tots can enjoy the soft play & baby gym, up to 18 yrs, FREE. 27-31 Oct Family Art Fun Craft activities inspired by Diwali & festivals of lights around the world, 3+yrs, FREE. 27,30-31 Oct Discovery for All, all ages, FREE. 27,28 Oct Nature Explorers, Bulb planting in the gardens, 5+yrs. 29 Oct Nature Trail Discovery encounter wildlife & pond, meadow & log pile habitats, 3+yrs, FREE but tickets required. 29 Oct Kathak Dance for All learn how to tell a story through dance & found out how it is linked to Diwali, the festival of lights, 5+yrs, FREE. 31 Oct Miss Horniman’s Halloween Tour hear spooky stories & mysterious myths in the darkest corners of the museum, FREE. Every Tues & Wed except 28,29 Oct Busy Bees sessions for under 5’s with crafts, creative play stories, & songs, FREE. 29 Oct Hear it Live informal live session in the music gallery, FREE. Every Sat except 24 Oct Hands on family workshops, families 3+yrs, FREE. 26 Oct & Every Sun A World of Stories storytelling, families, 5+yrs, FREE. Every Sun Discovery for All explore thousands of real objects from around the world with the museum’s Explainers, all ages & adults, FREE. Every Sat Farmers Market, FREE entry.
11,18,25 Oct Cutty Sark & National Maritime Museum Greenwich 020 8858 442 Explore Saturdays meet a character from the past & take part in a performance that will bring maritime history to life, 6+yrs, FREE. 5,12,19,26 Oct Discover Sundays explore your personal connections to the sea, all ages, FREE. 7,14,21 Oct Play Tuesdays explore the museum through making music, dance & drama, under 5’s. 27-30 Oct Half Term Leading Lights activities make a row of lanterns, all ages, FREE. 27,29,31 Oct Shipwreck & Islands activity paint your own seascape, all ages, FREE. 28 Oct Play Tuesdays, Light & Dark come along to play with the bright light emitted from the lighthouse & make shapes with the shadow, under 5’s, FREE. 28,30 Oct Family gallery tour, 6+yrs, FREE. 28-30 Oct Explore the world of maps in an interactive performance with mapmaker John Speed , 7+yrs, FREE, www.rmg.co.uk
11,18Oct Imperial War Museum Lambeth Road 020 7416 5439 11,18 Oct Black History event On Active Service, What were Black People doing during the first World War, illustrated talk, FREE. 12,19 Oct Black Poppies historian Stephen Bourne presents an illustrated talk about his latest book, FREE. 25 Oct- 2 Nov A Poppy Field create your own poppy from paper & wire & plant it in their Poppy Field to remember those who gave their lives to protect their country, from both world wars to conflicts today. Every Sun Object Conservations family object handling sessions & Creative Response make a creative response to themes held within the new atrium & Terraced Galleries. Ongoing A Family in Wartime exhibition explores the lives of William & Alice Allpress & their ten children & what life in London was like during the war. A Family in Wartime is brought to life through interactive exhibits, photographs, recorded interviews with the family, archive film footage & more, FREE. www.iwm.org.uk
13-19 Oct Great Ormond Street Hospital Rise to the Challenge & Bake It Better For Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, the appeal asks supporters to gather family friends & colleagues to organise cake sales to help make a difference for very ill children & families from across the UK, for fundraising pack & more info, www.bakeitbetter.org
24-26 Oct Olympia Exhibition Centre 020 7834 8135 The Baby Show www.olympia.co.uk/
25 Oct BFI Southbank 020 7928 3232 Wizards Vs Aliens: The Secret of Room, 12+yrs. Half Term Sci-Fi filmmaking Workshops 8-14yrs, action packed workshops which cover everything from acting to special effects, 27,30 Oct The Invisible Man, 28 Oct The Black Hole, 29 Oct E.T, workshop ticket includes film screening. 31 Oct Little Ones’ Sci-Fi Messy Time sci-fi themed workshop up to 7yrs, with animation fun aplenty making rockets, spaceships & alien animations, 11.30-3 p.m www.bfi.org.uk/
27-28Oct Cutty Sark 020 8858 7755 Half Term 27-28 Oct Crossing the sea, The Big Draw, join the Big Draw artist to explore the world of ports, rivers & oceans & help create a shimmering sea underneath Cutty Sark’s hull, all ages. 29-30 Oct Diwali Ship Lights, make a ship diwa, all ages. 31 Oct Spooky ships create a ghost ship or sea monster to take home with you, all ages. Every weekend & weekday throughout the school hols Cutty Sark characters, stories brought to life by characters from the ship’s past, 3+yrs, www.rmg.co.uk/events
28 Oct Chelsea Physic Garden London 020 7352 5646 Chocolate Tuesday with craft activities, a garden tour, chocolate tasting & the chance to create your own mixtures to take away, 7+yrs. 28 Oct Lotions & Potions – an introduction to herbal medicine be shown how to make some of your own ointments, syrups & scented bags to take away as well as your own mini medicinal garden. 30 Oct The Big Draw – autumn art, try out printing, painting, sketching, collage & model making using natural & recycled materials in & around the garden. Help will be on hand to develop your observational skills & drawing techniques in the setting of the garden, need to bring an empty shoebox with you, 6+yrs. 31 Oct Creepy Crawling discover the diverse world of animals to include a hissing cockroach, giant millipede, corn snake, giant African snail & Mr Jelly Belly the tree frog, find out how they are suited to their environments & hold them if your like, 4+yrs, www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk
28 Oct-4 Nov Barbican Theatre Silk Street 020 7638 8891 www.lso.co.uk Psst! Secrets of a White Rabbit show for small children & their families wtih puppetry.
29-30 Oct Isis Education Centre Hyde Park 020 7036 8056 Discovery Days, Go Batty for Bats, drop in discovery days, visitors will get the chance to follow the bat trail in the garden & maybe make a bat box to take home with them, plus there will be Halloween ghoulish activities from potion making to pin the wart on the witch, FREE, www.SupportTheRoyalParks.org/experiences
31 Oct The Queen’s House Greenwich Spooktacular family fun day with ghostly activities & entertainment for all ages & prizes to be won for best costume, all ages, FREE entrance under 3’s, www.rmg.co.uk/Halloween
1 Nov Alexandra Palace & Park London 020 8365 2121 Fireworks Festival with access to a dedicated family area which will have its own rides, food stalls & FREE face painting for children.
1 Nov Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre 0870 380 4300 Oliver Jeggers children’s picture book author gives you the chance to hear all about his new book, Once Upon an Alphabet , & a chance to buy a signed copy, 6+yrs. 1 Nov Oliver Jeffers & Sir Quentin Blake discuss the different ways in which their creativity is expressed, 10+yrs. 1 Nov Lost and Found a screening of the BAFTA winning animated adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ acclaimed picture book, followed by a Q & A, FREE. 2 Nov The Big Draw with Oliver Jeffers & other guest illustrators for a sketch off, FREE, http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/
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