30 Coolest Things to do in London with Kids Summer 2012

How to keep your cool with the knee-high crowd throughout the summer holidays 2012.

FUN & GAMES

1. Get batty at Ping London, with 100 ping pong tables popping up across the Capital, everywhere from Leicester Square to St Pancras Station. Daily, FREE (until Aug 1)

2. It’s Play Day, the national day of play on the first Wednesday of August. Islington babes head to the Peel Institute (www.peel institute.org.uk) for trampolining, smoothie bikes and more fun. Visit www.playday.org.uk for events around town. (Aug 1)

3. Go for gold, or your personal best, at a traditional outdoor game during the Summer Games at V&A Museum of Childhood (pic). 11am-4pm, daily, FREE (Aug 1-31)

4. Tee off for a round of food architect’s Bompas & Parr’s crazy golf at the Big Rooftop Tea and Golf Party at Selfridges, Oxford St, W1 (Bond St tube). 12-7pm daily (shuts 6pm Suns); FREE (pre-booking and walk-ups available) (until Sep 2)

5. Have a Go at a BT London Live sports session at the major outdoor Olympic screening sites in Victoria Park (Jul 27-Aug 12), Hyde Park (Jul 27-Aug 12) and Paralympic screening in Trafalgar Square (Aug 29-Sep 9). Try your hand at anything from athletics to wheelchair basketball. Daily from around 11am-midnight (times vary), FREE

SCREENS AND SCENES

6. Vue Kids AM and offer families blockbuster screenings at pocket money prices throughout the holidays. Look out for our upcoming Kids Club Cinema guide.

7. Brave the dodgy weather as Outdoor Cinema takes over town again, with family-friendly offerings including Ghostbusters in Lewisham from Pop Up Screens (Jul 22), Singing in the Rain at the Luna Cinema’s screening in Hampton Court Palace (Aug 4) and The Goonies at Queen’s Park from Lexi Cinema’s The Nomad (Aug 18),

8. Hear the Owl and the Pussycat on water in a pontoon performance by the Royal Opera House, part of the GLA Hidden London festival, FREE at Little Venice, 2.30pm & 6.30pm (Jul 25); Graham Street Open Space, N1 at 3pm & 6pm (Jul 29); Mile End Park, 6pm (Jul 31)

9. Kids Week, the annual theatre discount allowing 1 FREE child per paying adult to a variety of top West End shows, returns for a whole month thanks to Festival 2012 (Aug 1-31)

10. Petrol heads rev up for Chelsea Auto Legends 2012, a seriously classy family day out, with everything from classic cars to fashion and food. At Royal Hospital Gardens, Chelsea, SW1 (Sloane Square tube) from 10am-4pm, adult £20/under 12-17 £10/under 12s FREE (Sep 2)

DISCOVER AND DO

11. Watch Birds of Prey in dramatic flight displays during Wild Bird Week, shows at 11.30am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm, FREE at RAF Museum, Grahame Park Way, NW9 (Colindale tube) (Jul 30-Aug 5)

12. Make your own string thing at Puppet Making Fun every Friday in August, £5 at V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Rd, E2 (Bethnal Green tube) and also with Little Angel Theatre puppet making at Islington Museum, 10am-4pm, £35 (Jul 31), 245 St John St, EC1 (Angel tube)

13. Tattoo a T-shirt at HMS Belfast, off Tooley St, SE1 (London Bridge tube) using screen-printing techniques and drawing inspiration from real life sailor tats. 11am-12.30 & 2-4pm; adult £14/under 16s FREE. (Aug 11-18) Read our HMS Belfast review

14. Head to London Zoo to check out A Right Royal Menagerie, an exhibition of photographs and memorabilia celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. 10am-5pm, free with zoo entry adult £23/child £17/under 3 FREE (until Aug 31)

15. Visit James Bond at the Barbican Centre, Silk St, EC1 (Barbican tube) in Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style, a fashion-forward retrospective on the UK’s coolest export. Martini bar open for grown-ups. 11am-8pm (Sun-Wed), 10am-9.30pm (Thu-Sat); adult £12/under 16s £8 (until Sep 5)

PARTIES AND FESTIVALS

16. Pop along to Old Royal Naval College for the Greenwich Summer Festival, with big screen showings of the 2012 Games, late night movies, Orchestra of Age of Enlightenment’s popular Tots Concert (Aug 4, 4pm/£5-£7), sideshows, bandstand, workshops and boutique shopping cabins. Daily, FREE (ongoing until Aug 12)

17. LolliBop Festival, the big bash for little people, is back for its 2nd outing at Regent’s Park promising an unbeatable line-up for under 10s, ranging from Moshi Monsters to Science Museum, Itsy Bitsy Strictly tent and Enchanted Forest. 10am-6pm, from £22 (Aug 17-19)

18. The last weekend in August is traditionally Notting Hill Carnival time, the West London throw down that’s billed as Europe’s biggest street party. Catch floats, parades, multicultural food stalls and sound systems. Sunday is Children’s Day. From 9am-7pm, FREE (Aug 26-27)

19. Angel Canal Festival is a one-day party around the City Road Lock, Regent’s Canal, N1 (King’s Cross tube) with boat regatta, 80+ stalls along the tow-path, funfair, live music, street theatre and more community entertainment. 11am-6pm, FREE (Sep 2)

20. Round off the season at the Ickle Pickles Summer Party, a massive fund-raising event with funfair, bouncy castle, stalls, Amanda’s Action Club, welly wanging, Wow Toys, Eddie Catz and more all in support of specialist neonatal equipment for St George’s Hospital, Tooting. Party at Tooting Common, opposite Lido (off Dr Johnson Avenue), from 11am-5pm, FREE (Sep 2)

WET AND WILD

21. Go Snorkelling with Sharks at one of Sea Life London Aquarium’s latest attractions. For confident swimmers only! Daily from 10am, regular entry £17-£22/under 3s FREE; snorkelling £125 (better prices online) (daily)

22. Dash in and out of Jeppe Hein’s popular Appearing Rooms fountains outside Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall (until September).

23. There’s more splashy fun at fountains in Somerset House (through summer) and also at Granary Square in King’s Cross Central (daily 12-8pm)

24. Book a Free Swim at your local pool, courtesy of British Gas, sponsors of the Great Swim Series and Pools for Schools

25. Dip into one of London’s family friendly open-air pools: head up to Parliament Hill Lido in Hampstead Heath, or east to London Fields Lido, go central for the Serpentine Lido at Hyde Park or further south to Tooting Bec Lido

CHILL ZONES & HANGOUTS

26. Keep Calm and Chill Out at the Unicorn Theatre Chill-Out Zone, round the corner from the Potters Fields live Olympic screenings. There’s a healthy cafe, free photo exhibit and free family movies showing daily! 12-8pm, FREE (Jul 27-Aug 12)

27. Hang out at the Festival of the World at Southbank Centre, SE1 for global arts displays, performances, urban beach, street theatre and more summer fun. Daily, FREE (through September)

28. Browse for books, food, crafts and fashion at the Floating Market of narrowboats selling their wares from Mile End to Little Venice throughout the Olympics. Daily, FREE access (Jul 20-Aug 16)

29. Hit the Camden Beach at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 to find 150 tonnes of sand, beach sports, big screen action, deck-chairs and margarita shack. Daily 11am-11pm, FREE (through August)

30. Escape to Kew Garden in Richmond, TW9 where you can view David Nash sculptures, climb to a treetop walkway or delve into a rainforest at the luxurious green space. Daily from 9.30am, adult £16/under 17s FREE (daily)

See our Top 10 Kids Shows for Summer 2012

Photo via V&A Museum of Childhood web site