Lightscape Sydney, Royal Botanic Gardens
The crowds have abated but the Vivid magic still remains at the Royal Botanic Garden’s Lightscape Exhibit. Set aside 1.5- 2 hours for your brood to experience this multi-sensory light, colour and sound display. Start your journey under a canopy of glowing trees filled with colour, stroll beneath larger-than-life flowers and alongside neon roots bursting from the undergrowth where shards of light fizz through trees like fireworks. Soak in the breath-taking lightworks created by the best local and international artists – and at the end pop by Gelato Messina at Circular Quay for your fave ice-cream (it’s the school holidays after all). Visit Royal Botanic Gardens Lightscape for more info.
Roar and Snore, Taronga Zoo
Gotta kid who just won’t leave the zoo when it’s home time? Why not treat them to a safari-style experience with Taronga Zoo’s ‘Roar and Snore’ – where you’ll get the chance to go behind the scenes and meet some of the Zoo’s favourite animals after-hours. In addition to a guided evening zoo tour, little ones will love sleeping on-site in a safari-style tent and waking up to the sounds of the animals in the morning. Best of all – they can spend the next day exploring the zoo all over again. Visit Taronga Zoo Roar and Snore for more info and check out our recent review of the Taronga Zoo Nura Diya experience for info on this new attraction.
SEA Life Sydney, Darling Harbour
There’s always something new and exciting happening at SEA Life Sydney and these school holidays are no exception. The Myths and Legends experience is just the activity for kids curious about ocean mysteries – like do mermaids really exist? In this school holiday activity, kids will get the chance to become sea myth busters, meet a mermaid and explore SEA Life’s amazing aquariums. Visit Sea Life Sydney for more info.
Balmain Historical Walking Tour (self guided)
Got a budding historian on your hands? Set them loose with a self-guided walking tour in one of Sydney’s oldest suburbs, Balmain. With free maps and audio available to download via the Inner West Council site, big kids can explore their local neighbourhood and learn how today’s bustling suburb of cafes and boutiques was once a harbour front village filled with shipyards and soap factories. All they’ll need is a hat, sunscreen and walking shoes – and a phone of course so they can follow the audio! Head to Inner West Council Balmain Walking Tour for the deets.
Kids who love the sea and big ships will be enthralled by the Maritime Museum’s Winter School Holiday Program. From the Aquatic Imaginarium – an indoor play and discovery space with an interactive digital playscape – to the popular exhibition, Brickwrecks: Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks, or Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit from the Natural History Museum in London, there’s something for all ages and interests. Kids prefer something more active? Climb aboard the museum’s tall ships and navy vessels, visit the ocean health lab to meet the marine biologists researching microplastics in Sydney Harbour or test their gaming skills in an underwater drone session. Visit Winter School Holiday Program for more info.
Australian Museum
What kid doesn’t love a dino exhibit? Best of all, the Australian Museum’s Dinosaurs display (one of their most popular for little ones) is free all-year round. But if your brood are over dinosaurs, there are also free and ticketed school holiday activities including making Creative Insects, Lino Printing for Kids and Teens, and Scientist for a Day. Kids prefer a quieter museum experience? Read our review of Early Birds – the Museum’s autism and sensory friendly mornings here. For more info visit the Australian Museum School Holiday Program.
Pack a picnic and hop on the Manly ‘slow’ ferry from Circular Quay to experience one of the most scenic harbour cruises on the planet – in fact millions of tourists travel half-way across the globe to experience it. Get in early to grab a seat – tip: the right-hand side is best when departing from Circular Quay – and enjoy Sydney’s most iconic sights by sea including the Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Garden and Shark Island, and the North and South Heads to name a few. At Manly, there’s a host of eateries right on the wharf – from Mexican at El Camino Cantina and Chat Thai – whilst on the Corso, you can’t go wrong with fish and chips and pizza to keep little eaters happy. For ferry ticket info and timetables click here.
Darling Harbour
With the variety of outdoor activities and attractions available, we felt Darling Harbour deserved a category it its own right. These school holidays there’s a whole program of Winter-themed kids activities including a Snowflake Making Workshop, Dance Program and Slime Making Workshop to name a few. Most are free so first in, best dressed. And of course, there’s the water park and playground at Darling Quarter, the Chinese Gardens of Friendship (check out the daily 11.30am koi fish feeding), an artic-themed Amazing Race and Saturday night fireworks. Too much to fit into one day – want to make a stay-cay out of it? Check out our review of Novotel Sydney Darling Square here.
More than 3000 kids aged between 5 and 18 entered this year’s Young Archies Prize – the little sibling to Australia’s oldest and most prestigious art award, the Archibald Prize. Now in its 11th year, 70 entries were selected as finalists and these artworks will be exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW until 3 September. If you’ve got a young artist at home, this is a fantastic exhibit to visit. There are also free kids activities over the school holidays including a story time session for under 5s, a Make Art with Us Monster workshop, and ticketed school holiday art programs. Head to Art Gallery of NSW for all the details.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Budding Piccasso’s can get their creative fix at our fave waterfront art gallery, the MCA. These Winter school holidays, there’s a program of in-gallery and online workshops so your kids can join in from wherever they are. Pick from a weekend storytelling workshop to a 5-part guided online activity where young creatives can make a picture from objects around the home. To find out more visit, Museum of Contemporary Art School Holiday Programs.
Back in the day (and by that we mean the 80s), the drive-in was the height of school holiday family fun. Give your ankle biters a taste of this old-school cinema experience at Skyline Drive-in Blacktown. With family friendly films screening throughout the school holidays all you have to do is bring a blanket and snacks, pack your brood in your car, and if the little ones doze off mid-way you can rest easy knowing you won’t have to shake them awake until you get home! Visit Skyline Drive-in Blacktown for session times and to book tickets.
Heard about a school holiday activity or attraction you’d like to share? Leave a comment below or email us at info@theinnerwestmums.com.au