Your August Kids Agenda | Things to do with the little ones in London
If you’re here, it means you’ve already tried selling them to the circus, locking yourself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine, and claiming that ‘being quiet’ is a TikTok trend. And clearly none of them had the desired effect, so you’re just going to have to entertain your little whippersnappers the old fashioned way: via a list on the internet.
So without further ado, here are the best things to do with the kids for the rest of the holidays…
The Costa Del Croydon | A beach. On a roof.
Croydon now has its own rooftop beach. And on that rooftop beach, it has a giant sandpit, some cozy beach hut seats, a trampoline, some traditional games, a water splash zone, and more. Not many boroughs can claim that.
Details: Until 28th August | Level 3 of Centrale’s multi-storey car park, Croydon
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Family Festival of Caribbean Culture | At The Museum of London
Your kids will likely have some very strong opinions about the Museum of London’s new logo. As will you. But their festival of Caribbean culture will probably be one thing you can all agree on being quite good. You can expect dance workshops, food-making, performances, parties, and more…
Details: 23rd – 24th August 2024 | The Museum of London | Free
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Bread Ahead’s Mini Master’s Baking Academy | Ragamuffins making regular muffins
Get them to make dinner for a change at the new junior baking masterclasses in Borough Market. You and your little sous chef can learn the ins-and-outs of quick breads, bread baking, shortbread biscuits or puff pastry. Raise them right (the buns, that is).
Details: Until August 27th | Bread Ahead Borough Market | £45pp
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Natural History Museum Gardens | Wander through the eras
The Natural History Museum has just opened its fantastic new gardens, and the place is like an extension of the inside of the museum itself – you’ll see dino skeletons (including a full-size diplodocus), explanatory plaques, and hidden treasures. You can even take a guided walk through the epochs, starting right as you get out of the tube station subway at the Cambrian Explosion, and ending at the museum entrance in the modern day.
Details: Open now | Outside the Natural History Museum | Free
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Summer Flying Theatre – Trailblazers! | Watch a play that takes place in the air
From the team at Highly Sprung, this show at the RAF museum literally takes place in the air above the theatre seats. The idea is to shed a little light on the lives of some of aviation’s unsung heroes & heroines in a child-friendly manner, while making sure that – pun intended – none of it goes over their heads.
Details: Until 1 September (Weds-Sun, 11am & 2pm) | Hangar 4 at the RAF Museum | £10
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Time for Tudors | At the National Portrait Gallery
Inspired by the exhibition on Henry VIII’s wives, this child-friendly series will run for five days, and will let you take part in a paper banquet, create some Tudor puppets, or turn your own family into Tudor figures on a tea towel
Details: 12th – 16th August, 11am-4pm | The National Portrait Gallery | Free
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The Paint Room | At Tate Britain
Ever thought your kid could have painted some of the works up on modern gallery walls? Well, here’s their chance to actually do it. The Tate Britain has opened a rather fun sounding ‘Paint Room’ that involves you and the little ones mixing, painting, and getting messy, then taking their masterpieces home.
Details: Until 1st September | Tate Britain | Free
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Pirate Takeover at the Golden Hinde | Arrr
The Golden Hinde is an accurate recreation of an actual pirate ship used by actual pirates (or ‘privateers’ if you want to get technical about it), so the idea of running a pirate takeover there is actually pretty much bang-on. So that’s what they’re doing this August, with a pirate training academy and a parrot puppet show…
Details: Until 1st September | The Golden Hinde | £6
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Horrible Science at Kew | Sneak some learning in via gross-out humour
Foul Fungi. Revolting Roots. Vicious Bug-Eating Vegetation. These are all the cornerstones of any good botanist’s education, so they’re naturally where your own little ones will start at the Horrible Science lab in Kew Gardens this summer.
Details: Until 1st September | Kew Gardens | Free with entry (£22 adult, £5.50 child)
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Wind in the Willows at Chelsea Physic Gardens | Toad Hall with real toads
Being the oldest botanic garden in the city, Chelsea Physic Gardens has seen its fair share of wind, willows, toads, badgers, probably some moles, and now it’s getting a confluence of the lot thanks to a production of Wind in the Willows. Expect a “blend of theatre, storytelling and audience interaction” specifically for the little ones.
Details: 12th – 18th August | Chelsea Physic Gardens | Adult £25, Child £18
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The Royal Entomological Society Insect Garden | Go on a bug hunt
The Royal Entomological Society Insect Garden at Stratford Cross is now open, and it’s extremely child friendly – there’s even an augmented reality bug hunt you can take part in that’s themed after the latest Aardman animation series Lloyd of the Flies. They’ll be bugging you to go back.
Details: Open now | Endeavour Square, E20 1JN | Free
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Our Street | The Barbican
So, The Barbican have decided to turn one of their larger spaces (The Curve) into a dedicated family-friendly pop up space for the month. It’s all free, and you can drop into all manner of games, workshops, activities, plays, and even street parties. You might even enjoy a couple of them…
Details: Until 23rd August | The Curve at The Barbican | Free
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2) Summer In The Courtyard | A whole load of free events in Somerset House
It almost feels like Somerset House was built for summer given its huge, beautiful outdoor space (and, you know, its name) – and they’re leaning into that vibe with a series of free events throughout this month, and a lot of them are quite child friendly…
Details: 1st-31st August | Somerset House | Free
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10) Ice Cream Project III | Vinegar ice cream, anyone?
If your kids don’t like olives, there’s still a small chance that they might like olive ice cream. And Anya Hindmarch’s weird ice cream pop up is here to supply it. Of course, if they’re sane, they’ll probably just want to have the Jaffa Cake ice cream instead…
Details: Until 18th August | 11 Pont Street, SW1X 9EJ | £4.50 per scoop, £16 per tub
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2) Greenwich & Docklands International Festival | The insanity is back
The Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (or ‘GDIF’ to anyone who wants to save precious syllables) is back. If you don’t know it, it’s basically a huge showcase of outdoor theatre & arts featuring one of the highest concentrations of performing talent in the country. And the kicker? Pretty much all of the shows are free. This year we’re getting a full 17 days of arty action, taking place between 23rd August and 8th September, and the lineup’s looking preeeetty impressive, involving high-energy pyrotechnic drum shows, gravity-defying parkour dances across buildings, and acrobatics on top of a 2.5 tonne melting iceberg suspended in the air…
Details: 23rd August – 8th September 2024 | Across Greenwich | Free
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15) Notting Hill Carnival | Literally the world’s 2nd biggest street party
You know this one. It’s the second largest street party on earth (only Rio can top it), and it involves three days of events, with dozens of bands, floats, and food stalls, hundreds of dancers and musicians, and tens of thousands of people soaking it all up. And there’s a special Children’s Day parade on Sunday…
Details: 25th & 26th August | Notting Hill | Free
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21) Wild Swing Mini Golf | Puttloads of fun
“Mini golf in North Greenwich doesn’t get better than this” claim the makers of Wild Swing. Bold claim, we know. But when you see the vibrantly colourful, floral course, and you hear that it costs just £2.88 (with all equipment included), you might just believe then.
Details: Until 29th September | Design District SE10 0AX | £2.88
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1) Barbie: The Exhibition | Design Museum
If you were worried that the Barbie exhibition might be too highbrow, or weirdly offbeat for your own little Barbie fan to enjoy, fear not. Because the Barbie show is exactly what it sounds like it would be. Opening to mark the 65th anniversary of her creation – and coincidentally coming off the back of the 2023 movie that made a billion dollars at the global box office – it’s another vibrant excuse to immerse yourself in pure Barbiecore.
Details: Barbie: The Exhibition runs at the Design Museum until 23rd February 2025. You can book tickets here (£14.38+).
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20) The Moonwalkers | Lightroom
The Moonwalkers exhibition is as entertaining as documentaries get. The kids can run freely throughout the space, and literally immerse themselves in the image to the point of basically walking on the moon, as the dulcet tones of Tom Hank’s voice narrate.
Details: The Moonwalkers runs until 13th October at Lightroom, King’s Cross. Tickets cost £25.
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14) Battersea Park in Concert | Open air picnics with live music
Battersea Park is going to be home to a trio of picnic-friendly, and family-friendly concerts on each night of the Bank Holiday Weekend. You’ll get to see A Night At The Musicals, Proms in the Park, and the Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars accompanied by Paul Simon’s Graceland (and according to this photo, fireworks too).
Details: 24th-26th August | Battersea Park | £43+
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The Paddington Bear Experience | Marmalade sandwiches at the ready
This is one of those rare child-oriented experiences that might just overlap nicely with the more mature amongst us. After all, look at the films – they turned out to be so joyously life-affirming that they melted even the most cynical of hearts. And the opportunity to try marmalade sandwiches, explore the train carriages, and visit the Brown’s house in Windsor Gardens all sounds like it might not be terrible?
Details: Opens 31st May | Royal County Hall | £34
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Looking for more childish inspo? Here are 67 great things to do with the kids in London