Our May half term guide is bursting with ideas for spending quality time with your little ones. The weather’s set to be amazing, so do get out there and make the most of it. It’s been a hell of a week, but please don’t let the Dementors get you down. Sending so much love to Manchester and too many other parts of the world hurting badly right now. Wishing you all a happy May half term! x
May Half Term London Kids Scoop
The Making of Harry Potter: Forbidden Forest, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, Aerodrome Way, Leavesden, Hertfordshire, WD25 7GS (Watford Junction rail)
It’s forbidden to Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other Hogwarts kids, but visitors to The Making of Harry Potter experience at WB Studio Tours can now enter the secret forest where Aragog and other creatures lurk. Come face to face with the gigantic spider, meet a life size Buckbeak (the magnificent Hippogriff), and discover magical effects that made the Forbidden Forest so evocative in the movies. NB: If you’re an arachnophobe, just let one of the tour guides know and they’ll direct you on a spider-free route through the forest! Whether you’re travelling to London or based in the Capital, the Harry Potter Studio Tour is an unmissable experience for fans of all ages. First tours from 9am, last tours from 6.30-6.45pm (closing time 3 hours after last tour); adult tickets from £37-£39/child from £29-31/family from £118-£115/ages 4 and under FREE but require tickets. Pre-booking essential (ongoing)
Battersea Power Station: Blooming Bank Holiday Weekend at Battersea Power Station (Circus West Village), 188 Kirtling St, London SW8 5BN (Battersea Park/Queenstown Rd rail/Sloane Sq or Vauxhall tube)
Get a peek inside the newest developments at Battersea Park Station as the Circus West Village is taken over for Bank Holiday weekend. Activities include floral face painting, growing mini botanical gardens in teacups, folk dance remixed (think ceilidh meets hip hop), delicious street food (buttermilk fried chicken – yum!) — and for the grownups, Dodd’s Gin serving up G&Ts in the pop-up riverside garden. All ages welcome. 12pm-4pm, FREE entry (May 27-29)
Dalston Children’s Festival, various venues in Dalston (Dalston Junction/Dalston Kingsland overground)
It’s back, baby! A free festival jam-packed with fun activities to do with the kids all across Dalston, taking place over two Saturdays this half term. The first Saturday, your kids can learn coding, make puppets, get 10 minute caricatures and more; on the last Saturday, you can try out a pasta festival in Dalston Square, a book swap in the Ship of Adventures, and floating fun on a canalboat. Both Saturdays offer tons of play time with Gillett Square Free Play including hula hooping with Marawa’s Majorettes, ping pong, table football and other playground games. Varying times and activities between 10am-5pm (varying times), FREE (May 27 & Jun 3)
Fun DMC at Last Days of Shoreditch, 288 Old St, EC1V 9LA (Old St tube)
Hip hop hooray! The daytime block party created by Charlie Dark (Attica Blues/Run Dem Crew) and Spin Doctor (The Doctor’s Orders) is back for the May half term Bank Holiday weekend.. Fun DMC is a groovy hang out for hip hop families, where you can bust a move and show off that thug attitude… but the playlist is all radio-friendly. DJs spin hip hop, funk, disco and party anthems, there’s hip hop inspired fancy dress, graffiti wall, balloons, basketball and more! This Bank Holiday it’s happening at the suitably hip Last Days of Shoreditch, and watch out for a special PA from Kimmy Beatbox. Ages 0-10 and families. 1pm-4pm; adult from £6/walking kid from £4/family of 4 from £18/babies under 12 months FREE (May 28)
Okido Summer Party at The Doodle Bar, 60 Druid Street, SE1 2EZ (Bermondsey tube)
Join the fabulous folk at OKIDO Magazine in a huge celebration of their 10th year of publishing (as well as a welcome to summer). Held at the super scrawly Doodle Bar (writing on the wall’s encouraged here), there will be loads of fun in two half-hour sessions for little ones. From creating drawing robots with Hexbug to coding with Cubetto from Primo Toys, plus meet Messy Monster, watch episodes of Messy goes to Okido, eat Happy burgers, drink Happy Monkeys smoothies, pick up t-shirts, colouring books… the options seem endless! Perfect for ages 3-8, suitable for all the family. 11am-4.30pm, £0-£7.50 (Jun 4)
SPECIAL EVENTS
Hetty Feather at Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, WC1N 1AZ (Russell Square tube)
Did you know that Hetty Feather, the popular fictional heroine by Jacqueline Wilson, was conceived when the author was working with the Foundling Museum as a Fellow? Since then the book has been adapted into an Olivier Award-nominated stage show and BAFTA-nominated CBBC television series and now you can learn more about its history at Foundling Museum. Over May half Term, the immersive exhibition Picturing Hetty Feather opens for the summer. It traces the many wonderful ways in which artists, writers, designers, curators and others have interpreted life at London’s Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity. You can go behind the scenes of the CBBC series, discover rarely-seen items from the Hospital Collection, sit in Hetty’s classroom, try on costumes, and take part in fun family activities inspired by the exhibition. Of course there’s gorgeous Coram’s Fields playground just around the corner to work off any excess energy before or after your visit. 10am-5pm (Tue-Sat), 11am-5pm (Sun); adult £8.25/concs. £5.50/child FREE (May 26-Sep 3)
Alchemy Festival: Rafi Peer Puppetry Workshop & Performance at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall (Clore Ballroom), Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (Waterloo/Embankment tube/rail)
At the Clore Ballroom this half-term your little ones are welcome to take part in a special activity, part of Alchemy Festival of South East Asian culture. Puppet characters from Lahore’s famous Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop will be singing, storytelling, sharing jokes and more in two free performances, and in between you and your family can learn to make puppets with the crew. 12pm-12.30pm (performance), 12.45pm-2.15pm (workshop), 2.30pm-3pm (performance); FREE (May 28)
Purple Dragon Family Members Club: Open Invitation, Tileman House, 131 Upper Richmond Road, London SW15 2TR (Putney rail/East Putney tube)
Here’s something different for you and your Babes about Town: a private members’ club aimed specifically at the minis. We were lucky enough to be invited to check out the Purple Dragon HQ in Chelsea when it launched. The babes absolutely loved the soft play, making and baking space, music room with real guitars, air hockey, pool and much more. Now Purple Dragon is opening their little sister site in Putney and they’re inviting you to come and try it out over half term. If you’d like to get a sneak peek inside this fabulously exclusive club, for no additional cost, you must RSVP. To visit on either the morning of Monday May 29 or the afternoon of Wednesday May 31 or the morning of Saturday Jun 3, book your free place HERE (May 29 & 31, Jun 3)
London Festival of Architecture, multiple locations
The annual celebration of building and making returns with family activities programmed to kick off over May half term. Be inspired by Chris Ofili’s tapestry to create triptych’s with paint and collage at National Gallery (Jun 1, 11am-3pm, £15); go on an Architecture Scavenger Hunt at Sir John Soane’s Museum (Jun 1, 11am-3pm, FREE); help build a new pop-up structure in Paternoster Square (Jun 2, 12pm-4pm, FREE); and. Later in the month, look out for Pavilion LEGO Workshops at Dulwich Picture Gallery and the London Bridge Open Kitchen. Plenty of creative stimulation for all ages. Dates, times and venues vary, check web site (Jun 1-30)
Neverland Beach, Wandsworth Bridge Road, SW6 2TY (Wandsworth Town rail/Imperial Wharf overground)
Street food traders (eg. Le Bao, Lucabuca pizza) abound at Fulham’s first Thameside pop-up beach. Here you must book ahead for beach huts and day beds and the concept is BYOB – you bring the booze/spirits, and the resident mixologists will whip you up a perfect storm in a cocktail glass. Bottoms up! 6pm-11pm (Wed-Fri), 12pm-11pm (Sat), 12pm-9pm (Sun); NB Kids are only allowed on weekends until 5pm; under 10s FREE entry; adult from £10 pre-booking essential (until Oct 3)
We also like
Courtyard Festival at King’s Cross is a Bank Holiday weekend feast of music, food, family fun and BEER from the peeps behind Green Man Festival (May 25-29); discover a world of fiction at Greenwich Book Festival, running for 2 days with a Children’s Book Festival programme at Old Royal Naval College (May 26-27); tights, masks and superpowers represent just another day at the Comic Con exhibition at ExCel London (May 26-28); the Foodies Festival pitches up in Syon Park for 3 days of demos, tastings and delicious entertainment (May 27-29); immerse yourself in culture, food and fashion from the motherland as Africa at Spitalfields returns for the 5th year in a row (May 29)
MUSEUMS & WORKSHOPS
Royal Gunpowder Mills: Wild West Weekend & Spy Kids Half Term, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1JY (Waltham Cross rail)
Ride ‘em cowboys! There’s a shoot-em-up planned at Royal Gunpowder Mills over May Half Term as outlaws from history romp and ride for an explosive May Bank Holiday weekend (May 27-29). Come dressed in your Wild West gear and prepare for plenty of noisy explosions, with gunpowder and shooting demos. Throughout half term, the Victorian Days experience offers a Victorian Mad Lab for crazy experiments, Victorian games emporium, and Steam & Heritage weekend with accurate scale models of Victorian steam engines. Fun for ages 3+. Gates 2pm, last entry 6.15pm, fireworks 7pm; adult from £10.50/child 3-15 from £8.50/family of 4 from £34.20/single parent family £24.75 (1 adult and 2 kids) (May 27-Jun 4)
Cutty Sark: Sailor’s Challenge, King William Walk, London SE10 9HT (Cutty Sark DLR/Greenwich rail)
All aboard Cutty Sark for their May half term adventure, the Sailor’s Challenge. Try out your mariner moves and complete challenges as you explore a life-sized gaming board in the company of Jack the Rat. Then meet Captain Woodget, the ship’s most daring master, Nannie the ship’s figurehead and other characters from its past brought to the present, in engaging storytelling and museum trail for minis. From 11am-2.30pm (Cutty Sark characters), and 11.30-1.30pm & 2pm-4pm (Sailor’s Challenge); free with regular entry adult £13.50/child £7 (May 29-Jun 4)
Geffrye Museum: Patterns, Patterns, Patterns, 136 Kingsland Rd, E2 8EA (Hoxton overground)
We love the Geffrye Museum’s outdoor space and gardens, and this May Half Term they’re hosting another range of fun creative activities for all the family. It’s all about patterns with workshops to make trellis and bird wallpaper, funky felt badges, tote bags, T-shirts, soap making and more. All the workshops are inspired by the chores done by families and servants in the home throughout the centuries. 10.30am-12.30pm & 2-4pm, drop-in, FREE (May 30-Jun 2)
Tate Britain: Animated Abstractions, Millbank, SW1P 4RG (Pimlico/Vauxhall/Victoria tube)
Here’s an idea: why not visit the Giacometti exhibition at Tate Modern (my boy loved the steam installation outside the museum), then hop on a Tate to Tate boat across the river heading to Tate Britain. Here, your bigger kids can take part in digital art making workshops led by artist Antonio Roberts. Insired by Cerith Wyn Evans’ dazzling ‘Forms in Space’, kids can reinterpret these and other works in Tate Britain using simple lines and shapes, then creating animated gifts with glitch art techniques. For ages 8-14. 11am-4pm, FREE but ticket required (May 31)
Robot Zoo at the Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ (Forest Hill overground)
The brilliant Robot Zoo at the Horniman Museum is still roaring and crawling with larger-than-life animals. Everyday machine parts and gadgets are used to recreate their real life counterparts to show how they see, eat, hide and hunt. Discover a housefly’s lightning reactions or even design your own mutant robot beast. The hands-on exhibition lets you fire a chameleon’s ‘tongue-gun’ or try jet-propelled squid racing, as well as figure out why chameleons colour-shift, how bats see in the dark and what makes grasshoppers leap so high. Educational fun for all ages. Daily; adult £7/child £4/family £17 (until Oct 29)
We also like
Have you checked out the National Army Museum in Chelsea since it reopened in April? Now’s your chance! (daily, ongoing); from their groundbreaking Robots exhibition to the Wonderlab Gallery, plus special activities there’s tons on over at Science Museum for May half term (daily until Jun 4); take part in free workshops at British Museum, such as digital painting of sculptures in the museum, for ages 5+ (May 27-28 and every weekend); design your own album cover, try pop star poses, and catch Chickenshed Theatre in a Pop Up Performance at V&A Museum (May 27-Jun 4, various times); it’s all about construction and designing at Museum of Childhood May Half Term: Place, House and Building programme (May 29-Jun 2); make your Westminster Abbey passport and explore London’s history at Westminster Abbey (May 30-Jun 1); discover things you didn’t know about Victoria and Albert at the May half-term activities at Ragged School Museum (May 30-Jun 1);
FAMILY THEATRE
Underbelly Festival | Flip Fabrique: Attrape Moi at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (Embankment/Waterloo tube)
If you see one show with your family this May half term holiday, make it the dazzling Attrape Moi by Canadian company Flip Fabrique. Hailing from Quebec, as all the best circus performers seem to do (Cirque du Soleil etc), Flip Fabrique turn live theatre literally on its head in an all-leaping, all-juggling, all-dancing, all blowing your mind kinda way. Blending acrobatics, parkour, tricks and some crazy stunts on a trampoline, Attrape Moi (Catch Me in French) will leave your adrenaline pumping… in a good way. We were lucky enough to see this show at Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year and I can’t recommend it highly enough! All ages. 7.30pm (Tue-Fri), 2.30pm & 6pm (Sat), 6pm (Sun); from £19.50-£23.50 (May 17-Jul 9)
London Children’s Ballet: The Secret Garden at Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King St W6 0QL (Hammersmith tube)
From the vibrant colours of colonial India to a secret wilderness in Yorkshire, this dazzling production follows heroine Mary Lennox on a coming of age adventure that’s a firm favourite with readers worldwide. Based on the classic kids’ book, the one-act ballet retells the story of Mary’s discovery of a secret garden and how she blossoms through it. A talented cast of children perform for kids ages 3 to 12 and their carers. Also playing over half term at Lyric Hammersmith, Stuff & Nonsense’s uproarious take on The Emperor’s New Clothes (May 30-Jun 3). The Secret Garden is at 10.30am, 2.30pm & 6.30pm (Tue), 2.30pm & 4.30pm (Wed); hurry last few tickets available from £10-£35 (May 30-31)
Royal Albert Hall Half Term Fun for Families, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP (South Kensington/High St Kensington tube)
Some of the acts are already sold out at Royal Albert Hall over May half term, but there’s still plenty of good stuff on for families. Don’t miss Michael Rosen with Stories and Poems for Kids (Jun 1). There’s kid-friendly music with Albert’s Band Presents Symphonic Superstars (Jun 2) and still a few tickets available for Storytelling and Music for 0-4 year olds (May 30). Activities at various times and prices, check web site (May 27-Jun 4)
Underbelly Festival | Morgan & West: More Magic for Kids (and Childish Grown Ups) at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (Embankment/Waterloo tube)
Tomfoolery and hijinks are on the menu as the dastardly time-travelling duo Morgan & West unpack their box of tricks. Their award-winning show combines magic, mind-bending capers and comedy aimed at anybody from age 5 to 105. 3pm (May 29-Jun 2), 1.15pm (Jun 3-4); from £10.25/sirloin seats £16.50 (May 29-Jun 4)
Frauke Requardt: Mothers (Parent & Baby Friendly Performance at The Place, 17 Duke’s Road, WC1H 9PY UK (Euston/King’s Cross St Pancras tube, rail)
Anarchic theatre maker (and mother) Frauke Requardt is renowned for creating twisty, somewhat darker pieces for the stage over the past decade. Her new show takes on the concept of ‘Mothers’ in all its forms, from working mum to earth mother, motherland to MILF. Neil Callaghan and Jacob Ingram-Dodd join Frauke for what’s described as ‘the mother lode of the mother of all Mothers for everyone… and their mother.’ We love thatThe Place has programmed a special baby friendly performance in the morning, for parents who can’t get a babysitter. Aimed at mums and dads with babies 12 months and under (or use your discretion, NB: show contains some adult themes and nudity), it’s like a baby cinema experience, but with live theatre. After the show hang out in the theatre bar for refreshments and the bonkers installation for babies, Stroller Coaster (by the Bureau of Silly Ideas). 10.30am complimentary tea and coffee, 11am performance, 12pm-3pm after-show experience; if you can get away in the evening shows are at 8pm (May 31-Jun 1)
We also like
Hurry hurry! Last remaining tickets available for Room on the Broom at Arts Depot (May 27-31); Lewis Carroll’s tale The Hunting of the Snark is brought to life with puppets at Little Angel Theatre, N1 (May 30-Jun 2); Farm Boy is a moving adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s sequel to the acclaimed War Horse, at Polka Theatre, Wimbledon (May 31-Jun 4); two performers and a musician go on a quest for all the answers in The Man Who Knows it All at Unicorn Theatre (few tickets still available May 31-Jun 4)
May Half Term: KIDS CINEMA LISTINGS
A selection of movies from some of our favourite family friendly cinemas in London.
Barbican Cinema Framed Family Film Club, Cinema 1, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS (Barbican tube)
Framed Film Club: Kubo and the Two Strings (PG), 11am; Child £2.50/Adult £3.50 (May 27)
Hercules (U) (Jun 3)
Electric Cinema Kids Club, 191 Portobello Rd, W11 2ED (Notting Hill tube)
The Boss Baby at 9.30am; adult/child £5 (May 27)
Fantasia (Jun 3)
Phoenix Cinema Kids Club, 52 High Rd, East Finchley N2 9PJ (East Finchley tube)
LIAF at 12pm; Adult/Child £3 (May 27)
Beauty & the Beast (animated) at varying times (May 29-Jun 1)
Sing at 12pm (Jun 3)
Regent St Cinema Kids Kino Club, 309 Regent St, W1B 2UW (Oxford Circus tube)
Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience at 11.30am; £1.75 (May 27)
The LEGO Batman Movie (Jun 3)
Soho Hotel Children’s Film Club, 4 Richmond Mews, W1D 3DH (Piccadilly Circus tube)
Beauty & the Beast at 10.30am (10am brunch); £10 (film only), or £20 (includes buffet brunch at 10am + popcorn and drinks for film) (May 28)
BFI Southbank: BFI Families, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XT (Waterloo/Embankment tube)
Duck Soup at 1.30pm; adult £11.75/child £4 (May 28)
Playtime (Jacques Tati) at 12.30pm (Jun 4)
NATURE AND OUTDOORS
London Zoo: Gruesome Nature Live! at ZSL London Zoo, Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY (Camden Town/Regent’s Park tube)
Join the zookeepers on a sing along adventure that takes you on a journey to find earth’s toughest species. Hosted by a lively troop of animal lovers, you’ll pick up some weird, sometimes quite gross, facts about creatures you don’t want to mess with! Meet the lizard that squirts blood from its eyes (it’s to warn off predators) or the toad whose baby making is literally skin-crawling! All ages. 10am-5pm daily; regular zoo admission adult from £24.30/child from £18/family of 4 from £75.80/under 3s FREE (regular zoo open daily) (May 27-Jun 4)
Grass Animal Zoo at WWT London Wetland Centre, Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Barnes, SW13 9WT (Barnes Bridge rail/Hammersmith tube)
When the weather’s gorgeous, it’s an ideal time to visit London Wetland Centre and check out their special half-term experience, a Grass Animal Zoo! The display features a hippo, a camel, a giraffe, a bear and other creatures in life size (or even bigger) form. You’ll spot them all around the reserve, while keeping an eye out for live animals like otters, ducks and dragonflies. 10am-4pm; free with regular admission adult from £13.49/child from £7.42/family of 4 from £34.80/under 4s FREE (May 27-Jun 4)
Battersea Park Zoo: Love Your Zoo Week Queenstown Rd, south of Chelsea Bridge, SW11 4NJ (Battersea Park/Queenstown Rd rail, Sloane Square tube)
Muck in with the zoo keepers this May half term at Battersea Park Zoo, a smaller, more intimate zoo experience for younger kids. During Love Your Zoo Week, you can help make enrichment for some of the favourite creatures including meerkats and monkeys. Start your day with a badge making activity and also hear an animal story before your close up sessions with the zoo’s residents. From 10am-5.30pm, zoo entry adult £9.50/child £7.50/family £31/under 2s FREE (May 29-Jun 2)
Camley Street: Wild Wednesday Woodcraft and Whittling at Camley Street Natural Park, 12 Camley Street, London, N1C 4PW (Kings Cross St Pancras tube)
Take your mini makers to the wild and wonderful Camley Street Natural Park for a two hour session in wood craft and whittling. You’ll use tools provided and natural resources to make a keepsake to take home. The workshop takes place around a log fire, out in the open, with marshmallows and hot chocolate! Ages 7-16, lots of play and roaming space for younger ones accompanying. 2pm-4pm, £5 per child (May 31)
Sensational Butterflies at Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, SW7 5BD (South Kensington tube)
One of the most popular activities at Natural History Museum returns for another sensational walk-through experience. Search for caterpillars in camouflage, and enjoy your little ones’ faces as they gape at beautiful butterflies fluttering all around them. All ages. 10am-5.50pm, adult/child £5.85, family £19.80, advanced booking recommended (until Sep 17)
We also like
Whether it’s warm or wet, you can always have a wonderful day out at Kew Gardens (open daily); the alternative garden festival Chelsea Fringe is bloomin’ lovely and has lots of family friendly activities to get stuck into (until Jun 4); are you ready for the jelly? Don’t forget the Ocean Invaders at Sea Life London Aquarium (ongoing, open daily)