{"id":267950,"date":"2025-07-17T00:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T00:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/267950\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T00:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T00:33:20","slug":"summer-in-the-city-cultural-things-to-do-with-kids-over-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/267950\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer in the city: Cultural things to do with kids over the holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Six weeks; a 1008 hours. Think about what you could achieve with 1008 uninterrupted hours. Actually, don\u2019t \u2014 because the six weeks I\u2019m talking about are the ones where you\u2019re expected to entertain school-age children, while keeping the rest of your life afloat. There\u2019s something quietly satisfying about smuggling a bit of culture into those long summer days. Consider this list, then, the cultural equivalent of hiding extra carrots in a Bolognese. <\/p>\n

Yoshitomo Nara\u2019s work rightly has a magical hold over children, teens and adults alike. Until August 31, the Hayward Gallery is hosting the largest-ever European retrospective of the Japanese artist, with more than 150 works of art to enjoy. Themes include rebellion, home, nature, music and dreams. It’s striking, soulful, and a great conversation starter for budding young artists. southbankcentre.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Thunder, crackle and magic<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tate\u2019s new large-scale installation in the Turbine Hall is called Thunder, Crackle and Magic, created by Turner Prize nominee Monster Chetwynd. Running from July 19 until August 25, it is loosely based on Mozart\u2019s Magic Flute \u2014 it\u2019s never too early to get them started on opera \u2014 but go for a spectacle of theatre, with enough monsters and villains to keep even the most wildly imaginative little ones happy. <\/p>\n

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Thunder, Crackle and Magic<\/p>\n

Monster Chetwynd<\/p>\n

The new V&A venue is finally here, V&A East Storehouse. Consider it the national museum of absolutely everything: there are three storeys of curiosities to explore, with more than 250,000 objects and 350,000 books. There\u2019s everything from vintage Vivienne Westwood clothing to motorbikes to ancient bronze statues. Whatever your lot are into, it\u2019s likely to be here too. Open now.<\/p>\n

Kew\u2019s Treetop Walkway is a cathedral of culture for the leafy-inclined. Climb 118 steps to the canopy and meet fungi, lichen, and bugs living the high life. Back on ground level, kids can run riot in the Children\u2019s Garden \u2014 complete with trampolines, tunnels and hammocks \u2014 or explore giant wooden sculptures that explain how trees grow. <\/p>\n

From lab-grown meat to climate-conscious snacks, the Science Museum\u2019s new exhibition (July 24\u2014January 4) asks: how will we eat in the future? It\u2019s a fun, free and interactive way to explore how science is reshaping food \u2014 and yes, they\u2019ll actually learn something between asking you for more snacks. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Science Museum<\/p>\n

If your child loves surrealism and rabbits, and perhaps even playing cards, in August head to the Royal Opera House for their fantastical Alice in Wonderland Adventure Tour. With an actor as the guide, go backstage to peek at ballet shoes, view costumes up close, and maybe even glimpse the Royal Ballet rehearsing. Add a lunchbox picnic, a bespoke Eat Sleep Doodle gift to colour, and a dedicated family space, and you\u2019ve got yourself two-and-a-half hours of cultured fun.<\/p>\n

Sir Peter Cook\u2019s play pavilion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lego meets architecture at this colourful outdoor commission by Sir Peter Cook. The Play Pavilion, open until August 10, is an immersive play space next to Serpentine South in Kensington Gardens, designed to explore the creative possibilities of play. It\u2019s all about interaction, imagination, and letting kids explore \u2014 with just enough design kudos to feel like a proper cultured day out.<\/p>\n

Prehistoric planet: Discovering dinosaurs<\/strong><\/p>\n

A screen? Bear with. The Prehistoric Planet, which opened last week and runs till November 2, is an immersive experience at Lightroom. A 360-degree CGI feast, it will have kids roaring their heads off, as they\u2019ll be surrounded by lifelike dinosaurs who roam across vast digital landscapes. It\u2019s educational, cinematic, and lasts just under an hour.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Play Pavilion<\/p>\n

Serpentine<\/p>\n

Drop into the National Portrait Gallery throughout this summer for family-friendly workshops inspired by its collection. With artist-led activities like collage, 3D paper sculpting, and zine-making, your child can explore faces and expressions \u2014 that aren\u2019t yours! \u2014 while making something genuinely cool to take home.<\/p>\n

Our Story by David Attenborough<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as the Natural History Museum being full of exciting things to look at, including in the garden \u2014 did you know they have a garden? \u2014 this summer, head there to watch Our Story with David Attenborough, an epic and immersive tale of people and planet. It\u2019s on until January, and is a huge 360\u00b0 cinematic experience, recommended for those 8 and over (with no under-4s). Also worthwhile is the T.Rex Show with Teach Rex, a free event for neurodivergent children. <\/p>\n

Time travel to Ancient India <\/strong><\/p>\n

For something equal parts calming and educational, head to the British Museum for its Ancient India-themed summer programme. Every Wednesday in August there\u2019s a free drop-in storytelling session for children aged 6+. Think Gods, tigers and ancient myths. Pick up a Museum Explorer trail while you’re there and turn your visit into a scavenger-hunt-style wander.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six weeks; a 1008 hours. Think about what you could achieve with 1008 uninterrupted hours. Actually, don\u2019t \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,18097,393,4884,101981,257,101980,7587,81161,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-267950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-british-museum","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-kew-gardens","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-science-museum","15":"tag-tate-modern","16":"tag-the-natural-history-museum","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114865767126680109","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}