sydney - school holidays spots

Sydney Summer School Holidays Edition - Saturday 22nd Dec 2018 to Monday 28th Jan 2019

art galleries & libraries

• Art Gallery of NSW - School Holiday Programs. Enjoy various free art making workshops. Various dates & times. More info here.

attractions & events

• Entertainment Quarter - Brickman Cities is coming back to Sydney with a NEW exhibition which will focus on some of the world’s greatest cities - Dubai, London, New York, Sydney and Tokyo. This NEW exhibition will also feature for the first-time ever, a brand-new collaboration with LEGO® CITY - an entire wall devoted to showcasing the history of LEGO® CITY, with CITY Fire Stations from decades ago.  This interactive master builder zone offers kids the opportunity to get hands-on with over half a million LEGO® bricks, become the heroes of LEGO® CITY and spark their creativity and build the LEGO® CITY of tomorrow. Opens 4th Jan 2019 till 10th Feb 2019. Prices and dates vary. More info here.

• Sydney Opera House - Junior Adventure. Uncover mysterious secrets and unusual facts with this jam-packed journey through the Sydney Opera House. The Junior Adventure Tour is filled with interactive activities and games for the whole family: explore with our expert guides, and inspire your inner performer to become a Sydney Opera House star. Only during school holidays. Adult $32 and Child $22 for kids 5 to 15. Children under 5 are free. 29th Sep 8th Oct. More info here.

• Sydney Opera House - Sarah & Duck Live Tour. Following a hugely successful tour of the UK, the enchanting world of the CBeebies’ hit animated series Sarah & Duck will be brought to life on stage for the first time in Australia this summer! Kids aged 3 to 6 years will love the Sarah & Duck show! Showing at the Sydney - Sydney Opera House Thu 6th Dec to Sun 23rd Dec 2018. Tickets from $29 + booking fee. More info here.

• Sydney Opera House - Deadly 60 Down Under. After two sell-out Australian tours, Steve Backshall, star of the hit TV series Deadly 60 returns to the Concert Hall with a brand new stage show, Deadly 60 Down Under. 11th and 12th January 2019. Tickets from $39. Ages 5+. More info here.

• Sydney Opera House - 91-Storey Treehouse. Explore the nutty world of Andy and Terry’s 91-Storey Treehouse live on stage this summer. 3rd to 20th January 2019. Tickets from $39. Ages 6+. More info here.

• Sydney Opera House - Wolfgang's Magical Musical Circus. The wonderful, wacky world of Mozart is brought to life on stage in Circa’s new family show with a circus twist. The man known as Mozart appears amid a storm of powder, tumbling and twirling, as musical mayhem and movement reinvents the composer’s magical music in a skillful and illuminating show. 15th to 25th January 2019. Tickets from $25. Ages 4+. More info here.

gardens

• Centennial Parklands - School Holiday Programs - From lego robotics, Wild Play Bush School, Pizza Party in the bush, Wild Play kids vs wild, Wild Play Bush Rangers, CSI Forensics with Fizzics, Gross and Gory, chemical concoctions, and more. Ages, dates and prices vary. More info here.

• Royal Botanic Garden - School Holiday Programs - Choose from a range of sessions from Create and Play!, Kids Veggie Patch, Indigenous Olympics, City Slicker Critters, Botanic Beats - Garden Disco and Garden Grubs. Ages and prices vary. More info here.

• Royal Botanic Garden Sydney - Plants with Bite. Be impressed by the NEW Plants with Bite green wall composed of 18,000+ plants. Carnivorous Plants are under threat of extinction and it has been said that among the 800 known species, 56 percent of them are under threat from habit loss, poaching and weeds. Free entry. Read our review here.

museums

• Australian Maritime Museum - Children can unleash their creativity in a world where their imagination meets the sea at the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Aquatic Imaginarium these school holidays. From Wednesday December 26, children can step inside the imaginarium to find a play and discover space and encounter a wonderland of giant inflatables, evocative sensory installations, object storytelling and hands-on art making activities. There will also be there are also creative workshops for children aged 8-14 years old as well as family torchlight tours and under 5s summer tours. Enjoy sensory friendly experiences too. Ages, prices and dates vary. 26 Dec 2018  - 28 Jan 2019. More info here.

• Australian Museum - Whales | Tohorā. Enjoy the Whales | Tohorā exhibition and explore the diversity, biology and how whales have adapted and have been treated by humans in their oceans thro.ughout history. Kids will enjoy taking the Whale trail, checking out various species around the world, watch movies about whales, walk into a life size whale heart and enjoy the other interactive spots. Our review here.

• Australian Museum - School Holiday Programs. Enjoy free drop-in activities, theatre and science workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, craft activities, live shows, film screenings and talks at the Australian Museum this summer. Workshops this summer include craft, photography and a marine biologist workshop. Ages, dates and prices vary. More info here. Checkout our top 5 things to do at the Australian Museum while you’re there. Our review here.

• Elizabeth Farm - Kids in the Garden. Come for a tasting tour of Elizabeth Farm. Hunt for edible flowers in the kitchen garden and try your hand at creating your own refreshing iced tea spring drink. Various dates & times. Ages 5 to 12 years. More info here.

• Justice & Police Museum - The Justice & Police Museum. A great place for primary school children, teenagers and adults to read up on, understand and appreciate the rich history of the buildings and underworld Sydney. The Museum is only open weekends and the Mock Trial is only on once a day on Saturday and Sunday so make sure you attend during those times. Kids can play dress ups and follow a little trail to find their missing friend provided at reception. Read our review here.

• Museums Discovery Centre. Explore the Museums Discovery Centre and expect to find millions of treasures, with hundreds on display, and thousands more waiting to be discovered through booked tours of the deep collection stores. Our review of the centre here.

• Museum of Sydney - How Cities Work. A must visit exhibition for the summer holidays. Kids will love exploring and creating their own city and interacting with James Gulliver Hancock’s world of his popular How Cities Work book. Every area in the exhibition is interactive, kids will be busy for hours. Perfect for busy city kids! Our review of the exhibition here. Don’t forget to checkout the Lonely Planet Kids videos on level 1 while you’re there for some fun videos & facts as well as the Street Photography exhibition on the same level as the exhibition and wonder around the rest of this great museum. A great morning in sight!

• Powerhouse Museum - STAR WARS™ Identities is this Summer’s must see exhibition. Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, kids and their parents will love this very interactive and family friendly exhibition. Read our review here. Checkout the Wiggles’ exhibition while you’re there too, our review here.

• Powerhouse Museum - School Holiday Programs - Enjoy a range of different workshops and sessions these holidays at the Powerhouse Museum. Ages and prices vary. More info here.

• Rouse Hill House & Farm - Rouse Hill House & Farm in LEGO® Bricks exhibition. Explore models of the iconic Rouse Hill House, outbuildings, stable and barns constructed from LEGO® bricks with breathtaking architectural detail and accuracy by the Southern Hemisphere’s only LEGO®-certified professional, Australia’s Ryan McNaught. Kids can get hands-on with over 200,000 loose LEGO® bricks too. Adult $12, Concession $8, Family $38, Member free. Wednesday to Sunday. Our review here.

• Rouse Hill House & Farm - Boomerang Art & Dance. Boomerangs play a significant role in both traditional hunting and in traditional ceremonies. They are sometimes used to tell the didgeridoo player when to start playing, to keep beat and rhythm for dancers, to scare the birds out of the trees or for hunting kangaroos. Various dates & times. Ages 5 +. Bookings essential. More info here.

• Rouse Hill House & Farm - Family Tours. Head to the farm these holidays and find out about the fascinating history of Rouse Hill House & Farm! Take a farmyard tour to explore the stables and meet the chooks, ‘Pudding’ the cow, and our horses Larry and Ziggy. Sat 22 Dec 2018 – Sun 27 Jan 2019. Included in museum entry. Daily in the school holidays. There are also family tours at Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Farm, Elizabeth Bay House, Meroogal and Rose Seidler House. More info here.

• Sydney Living Museums - School Holiday Programs. Take part in The Water Picnic, Jungle Book performances, Convict Kids at Vaucluse and Elizabeth Farm these holidays. Ages, dates and prices vary. More info here.

programs

• Bricks 4 Kidz - School holiday Programs - Choose from a range of great school holiday workshops. Kids can have fun with friends creating cool BRICKS 4 KIDZ® models with LEGO® Technic, building 3D characters, or making craft projects and other activities that centre around our SUPER FUN themes. (Shhh… they’re also educational, but the kids will never know!). Or sign them up to one of their robotics workshops to create and learn to program their own ‘bot! Ages and Prices vary. More info here.

• Fizzics Education - Choose from a range of school holiday programs Science Shows and Workshops across Sydney with Fizzics Education. They will be running programs at ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation), Centennial Parklands, The Australian Botanic Garden, Museums of Discovery Centre and Sydney Olympic Park. Dates, locations and prices vary. More info here.

• Northern Beaches Council - Kids on the Coast School Holiday Activities. A Jam-packed Coastal Environment Centre program offers kids the chance to explore the world of science, try their hand at cooking some tasty treats, be a marine biologist for the day and so much more. Ages 6 to 12 years. $61 per day. More info here.

• Northern Beaches Council - Other events. Checkout various activities taking place these holidays at Northern Beaches libraries, vacation care programs, kids on the coast holiday program, Glen Street Theatre and Manly Art Gallery & Museum. More info here.

zoos - aquariums - farms

• Sydney Sea Life Aquarium - Day and Night on the Reef. Checkout the impressive $5 million NEW interactive exhibit Day and Night on the Reef developed by a team of over 100 people. This great exhibit is the largest Great Barrier Reef display in the world with interactive experiences which help visitors appreciate the Reef. Kids will love this new exhibition, lots to see experience and checkout and interact with. Read our review here. Checkout the Penguin Expedition, hop on a boat and experience this cute expedition while you’re there. Read our review here.

• Taronga Zoo - Dinosaurs at Taronga. Make boredom extinct this summer at Taronga’s Rise of the Tarongasaurs. Follow the Dinosaur Trail to be amazed by the life size, moving, roaring and even spitting Dinosaurs you see and learn about what Dinosaurs are still among us. From Triceratops to T-Rex, Brachiosaurus to the fearsome new Utahraptor, the whole family will be able to see their favourite Dinosaurs up close! On Daily this summer. Free entry included with Zoo entry. More info here.

• Taronga Zoo - Zoo Adventures. Taronga’s Wild Squad Zoo Adventurers is a fun, educational holiday program for children aged between five to 10 years of age, where they are taken on an exciting zoo journey, learning about animals and the environments they live in. Ages 5 to 10 years. Prices vary. More info here.

For more ideas on what to do with the kids in Sydney, head to our blog, our daily spots list or pools & beaches or playgrounds list. And for a full list of parents rooms around Sydney, head to our parents room page.