UPDATE: Where to go in Central London this February Half-term…
A few updates and new finds for the half-term holidays inLondonthis week. Please note, Classical Babies in BelsizeParkis not having their weekly concert on Wednesday.
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Museum Activities and Workshops:
British Museum: Monday 13th – Friday 17th, 11:00 – 4:00pm, Great Court, free and drop-in. Middle Eastern Scenes: help build a huge landscape map. Caravan to Mecca: A Travellers Tale. Learn Arabic, take on a role, discover fascinating facts in Alid Alzougbl’s engaging tale. 11:00, 12:30 & 3:15pm. 45 minutes in the Islamic Room (room 34). Design a Compass. Ages 7+, use photoshop to create a decorative compass. Rythms of the Middle East. Join Louai Alhenaw’s drumming and ney flute playing for workshops and performances. Ages 7+ workshops noon & 2:30; performance at 1:30.
V and A: Digital Kids: Saturday – Sunday, 10:30 – 5pm daily ages 5+, create digital art with the help of an digital design expert. Pop-up Performance: Spider Stories Monday – Friday 11:00, 1:00 & 3:00pm come along to the creepy creature’s storytelling sessions. Imagination Station Saturday – Sunday, 10:30 – 5:00pm, make your own imaginative spider to take home. Gallery Plays Saturdays 11:00, 1:00 & 3:00pm duration 25 minutes; join famous puppeteering families as they travel around Europe and help make their puppets sing and dance. Craft Club at the V and A: Thursday 16th and Friday 17th, 11:00 – 5:00pm, British Galleries, room 121. Join the Crafts Council for a drop-in crafts bonanza. Free and all ages.
National Portrait Gallery: Tour and Draw: Monday 13th - Friday 17th, 11:00 – 11:45, 1:30- 2:15, ages 3+, discover the hidden stories behind the portraits in the collection. Family Art Workshops there are variety of workshops over the half term from working with set designers from Royal Shakespeare Company to hiding messages in your own Tudor portrait, do not miss the opportunity to partake in the free workshops for ages 5+, free and tickets allocated on arrival.
London Transport Museum: Queue up at 9:45 Monday - Thursday, 10:45 on Friday, but the earlier in the week the better. If you miss one of the free workshops listed above, its a short walk over to the Transport Museum. Entry to the museum costs £13.50 per adult, but this is a year-long membership to the museum and kids enter free. The museum is so much fun for children and adults alike: you can learn about the history of London and the history of design of modes of transport. If that is not enough, the museum offers a variety of craft activities for children. Monday 13th –Friday 17th: Make a Mini Art Gallery, noon – 1:00pm, ages 5+; Design a Picture Frame, 2:00-3:30pm, ages 5+; Storytelling, 11:00am, for the under 5s
Wallace Collection: Special Day Event: A Day in the 18th Century! Saturday 18th February, 11:00-4:30pm, all ages, free. Step back in time and immerse your family in the Ancien Regime and Rococco period. Learn traditional dances, songs, get your hair and makeup done 18th century style, try your hand at popular games, make puppets, even meet Marie Antoinette herself. Divide and conquer: one takes the kids, the other can attend a free lecture. You are right next to Marylebone High Street with the amazing shops and there is a great playground just beyond the Waitrose parking lot.
Southbank’s Imagine Children’s Festival
Friday 10th – Sunday 26th February; a few highlights from the festival include: Fun Fair, daily 11:00am – 8:00pm: take the kids for a ride on the traditional carousal and vintage fairground activities including a 1950s helter skelter. Imagine Craft Pavilion, Saturday 11th – Sunday 19th February 10:30 – 4:00pm, all ages, free, drop-in. Stop by the Imagine Festival’s craft pavilion and get creative thinking about your favourite storybook characters and their adventures: wear messy clothes and be prepared to make some art! Carnival of Animals, Saturday 11th February, free, all ages. Roll up for a musical tour of the animal kingdom. Join a team of actors and Britain’s best young musicians from The National Youth Orchestra as they lead you on a whirlwind adventure. Kathak Stanzas, Sunday 12th February 3:30pm, Clore Ballroom, free all ages. Come and explore traditional Indian mythology with your voice, feet and imagination. Shivani Sethia celebrates the voice in dance with this imaginative workshops that combines words and traditional South Asian Kathak dance. Chris Bradford: Young Samurai, Monday 13th February 11:00am, £8.00 adult/£4.00 child. Come join the author of the award-winning Young Samurai series as he talks about writing and demonstrates some of the martial arts in his stories (sounds ideal for helping encourage boys to read). Become a Superhero, Thursday 16th February 11:00am, ages 5-12, free. Join Laura X Carle and Rachel Rose who will help you decide your superhero powers, choose and decorate your superhero cape and eye mask. Pick a name and get photographed, free. Voicelab’s Superpower Family Sing, Friday 17th February 3:00pm, all ages, free. Don your capes, masks and best Superhero outfits, come and discover the power of song! Power ballads become Superpower ballads in this fun-packed singing extravaganza for the family. All ages, all abilities welcome.
School Holidays for the Budding Ecologist/Naturalist/Biologist at the Holland Park Ecology Centre
Head over to Holland Park Ecology Centre Monday 13th – Friday 17th February, where twice daily there are enchanting workshops for children to explore and engage with wildlife. Choose from a building a shelter in the wood, orienteering, hunt for minibeasts, discover animal homes, look for animal tracks and much more. The workshops are for children 5 – 10 years old, they run 10:00am – noon and 2:00 – 4:00pm, £4 per session for RBKC residents; £5 non-residents, pre-booking and pre-payment are necessary. Over 8s can be left unaccompanied by an adult who can run off down High Street Kensington and pick up things for the kids. These workshops are very well staffed and brilliantly run; the kids will make a quality artefact to take home and have a nice, relaxing time learning and playing.
Family and Baby Concerts
Cadogan Hall: Saturday Spectacular Family Concert Under the Sea, Saturday 18th February 11:30am. Join the charismatic Richard Sisson as he presents the Southbank Sinfonia’s performance of well-loved themes, movements and songs from Saint-Saens, Debussy, Beatles, Satie, Menken and Sarasate. £8 per adult, £6 per child, family tickets £22. Concert begins at 11:30, but there are activities that begin at 10:45 (while the activities are great, they are extremely crowded).
Royal Festival Hall LPO Funharmonics Family Concert, The Jungle Book, Sunday 19th February, noon. All ages, tickets from £10 - £18, with children’s tickets 50% off. Take the family to listen the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of this mystical from score with the story narrated by the event presenter, the charming Chris Jarvis.
Notting Hill Community Church, Notting Hill, Classics with my Baby: Once Upon a Time Thursday 16th February from 10:30. If you Tuesday, come along to Hampstead on Thursday.
St. Luke’s Church, Clapham, Classics with my Baby: Once Upon a Time Friday 17th February 10:30. Live it all again on Friday in Clapham with the same format.
Upcoming Events:
Cinema Knit-Along with Craft Club: Saturday 25th February. Stratford East Picturehouse, Salway Road, London E15 1BX. Come join Craft Club and learn how to knit with your family and be inspired by a new Craft Club short film. Learn how to finder knit, kids can take home their knitting and a starter kit. Craft Club is a national scheme that champions Craft in schools and communities. www.craftclub.org.uk
NCT Kensington & Chelsea Family Yoga
Join the NCT for family yoga for toddlers and children aged 1- 4 years and parents. The eight-week course will start on Friday 9 March, 10am to 11am, in Earl’s Court.
The classes are designed to explore the yoga world movement through your child’s eyes by combining songs, games and props. The classes are fun and encourage the children to maintain their curiosity in movement and the world around them, as well as develop self-awareness and self-confidence. Price £85 per adult & child (if enrolling more than one child, please email [email protected]).
Bookings Online via credit card at http://nctkensingtontoddleryoga.eventbrite.co.uk
Enquiries [email protected]
