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Kids Events & School Holiday Fun in Canberra - April, 2018
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Published March 15th 2018
A HUGE list of over 40 events, workshops & holiday fun
After a busy March for kids in Canberra, April is another huge month of activities, events, festivals, open days and a loooong list of school holiday fun! The month kicks off with Easter events and before you know it, two weeks have gone by and the ACT school holidays will be upon us. If your kids would like to do a school holiday program, there are dozens to do around the city - see here for a list of 12 to start of with!
The following list has over 40 kids events for the month of April, so scroll down the dates and find the events that your kids will love - there are sure to be many!
Sunday, 1st April - Easter Sunday
Easter Events and Egg Hunts will be held all over Canberra - see the articles for Top Easter Events for Kids in Canberra, 2018 Part 1 and Part 2 for details.
Thursday, 5th April
The Flying Fruit Circus - Junk will be shown at the Canberra Theatre Centre on the 5th and 7th April. Kids will enjoy the magic of this family performance, where all the performers themselves are aged 10- 18 years old! See here for details.
Friday, 6th April
Storytime at the Australian War Memorial will be held every Friday morning during April at 10:30am, on the Lower Galleries. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Saturday, 7th April
The Forage foodie market will be held between 2pm - 7pm, in the car park of the Little National Hotel in Barton, with food trucks and lawn games for the kids. See here for details. Also see here for a full article.
Ignite Walk will be held at Lake Burley Griffin, with a 5 kilometre Family Walk starting at 7pm with glow-in-the-dark entertainment, music and fun. Registration costs $110 for a family of 4, with all money raised going to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. See here for details.
Sunday, 8th April
Canberra Airport Open Day will be held between 9am - 3pm, with family entertainment and the opportunity to walk through planes and helicopters. This is a free event, however bookings are essential. See here for details.
Rise Above Cancer Convoy will held at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), with a family fun day between 12pm - 4pm, with "Mental As Anything" performing live on stage! If you want to see the convoy of trucks on the way there, they leave Beard Industrial Estate in Queanbeyan at 10am and travel to the EPIC via Canberra Avenue, Hindmarsh Drive, the Monaro Highway, Parkes Way and Glenloch Interchange, then north to Sandford Street and finish at the EPIC, ready for the family day. See here for details.
Saturday, 14th April - Start of the ACT School Holidays
Canberra Kids Market will be held at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) between 9am - 12pm, with everything you need for your child between 0 - 12. See here for details.
The Canberra and Region Heritage Festival is held between 14th - 29th April, with a number of family friendly events. See here for details.
Museums and Galleries in Canberra have FREE school holiday activities which run all school holidays. These include WordPlay (the National Library of Australia), NGA Play (National Gallery of Australia), The Discovery Zone (Australian War Memorial), Kspace (National Museum of Australia), Art Cart (National Portrait Gallery) and PlayUp (Museum of Australian Democracy - requires a gold coin donation entry to museum).
Sunday, 15th April
Spoon Smith - Kids Mini Garden Rake Workshop will be held at the National Arboretum, for kids to make their own mini garden rakes just like the first settlers! Cost is $25. See here for details.
Monday, 16th April
Mushrooms and Mini-Beasts will be held at the National Arboretum between 16th - 20th April, for kids aged between 5 - 7 years. Cost is $15. See here for details.
Afternoon Play Space will be open at the National Museum of Australia, between Monday to Friday on both weeks of the holidays (except for Anzac Day), between 2pm - 3:30pm. Cost is $2. See here for details.
Portrait Play is an art and craft activity for children aged between 4 - 8 at the National Portrait Gallery. This popular workshop will run Monday to Friday during the school holidays. See here for details. For a full article on Portrait Play, see here.
Bush and Waterbug Detectives is a fun workshop for kids aged between 5 - 13 at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands. Cost is $8. See here for details.
Family Tours of the Australian War Memorial will run Monday to Thursday through the school holidays (excluding Anzac Day) and each Saturday in the holidays, at 10:15am. Hands On History, which is dress-up activity, will be held after each tour at 11am. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Tuesday, 17th April
Parliament House will be showing Australian movies in their theatre on 17th and 24th April. Introduce your kids to The Man From Snowy River and Playing Beatie Bow . See here for details.
Belconnen Arts Centre will be having art and craft workshops for kids between 17th - 27th April, for $20 a session. See here for details.
Sketchy Tuesday is a free school holiday drawing workshop at the National Gallery of Australia, between 2pm - 3pm. BYO coloured pencils. See here for details.
Boomerang Making with Ngunnawal man Richie Allen will be held at Jerrabomberra Wetlands, at a cost of $20. There will also be another workshop on 26th April. See here for details.
The Harlem Globetrotters will be performing their basketball tricks at the AIS Arena in Bruce, at 7pm. See here for details.
Wednesday, 18th April
Canberra Glassworks will be holding school holiday workshops starting today. Learn how to make your own glass autumn landscape, minecraft tile or paperweight. Various dates and prices. See here for details.
Little Look at ART is held at the National Gallery of Australia, for babies and their carers. See here for details.
Foodish Cooking School at Belconnen Fresh Food Markets will be holding kids autumn cooking classes on 18th - 20th April, as well as 26th - 27th April. The cost is $70 per class. See here for details.
Story time at the National Portrait Gallery will be held between 10:30am - 12pm and feature the book The Journey Home, by Alison Lester. Kids will also enjoy a craft activity afterwards. Cost is $7. See here for details.
Indigenous Plant Use Walks will be held at the Australian National Botanical Gardens for the whole family. This walk will also be held on 21st April. Cost is $5. See here for details.
Clay Sculpting will be held at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, for children aged between 5 - 13. It will also be held on 24th April. See here for details.
CMAG School Holiday Workshop: Facetime will be held at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, for 5 - 12 year olds on both the 18th and 19th April. Cost is $20. See here for details.
Thursday, 19th April
Make and Create will be held at the Australian War Memorial between 11:30am and 1pm, in the Education Space on the lower ground floor. This is a free activity with paper crafts and will also be held on 20th, 26th and 27th April. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Art Scene Investigation (ASI) will be held at the National Gallery of Australia, where kids aged between 7-12 have fun solving problems, mysteries and puzzles. See here for details.
Saturday, 21st April
Oddball the move will be shown at the National Portrait Gallery at 2:30pm, for a gold coin donation. See here for details.
Canberra Classic Boatfest will be held out on Lake Burley Griffin, as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. If your kids love boats, they will enjoy looking at the range of steam boats and horns, between 11am - 2pm starting from the Canberra Yacht Club in Yarralumla. See here for details.
Tuesday, 24th April
Creative Meditation with David Hockney will be held at the National Gallery of Australia at 10:30am and 11:30am. See here for details.
Autumn Storytime will be held at the National Library of Australia, starting at 11:30am. Cost is $2. See here for details. Also stay for the movie, below.
The Love Bug will be shown at the National Library of Australia, starting at 1pm. See here for details.
Wednesday, 25th April - Anzac Day
Anzac Day at the Australian War Memorial is a way to teach older children about the history of Australia and war. See here for details.
Pied Piper Walk at the National Arboretum is a musical walk across the hills of the Arboretum with Mr Tim and the Fuzzy Elbows. Recommended for children aged 6-12. Tickets cost $20. See here for details.
Thursday, 26th April
Art Explorer: Space Age will be held at the National Gallery of Australia, for kids over 8 years old to build their own spaceship. Cost is $60. See here for details.
ICKY-PEDIA is a hilarious kids show at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre between 26th - 29th April. Tickets cost $27.50. See here for details.
Saturday, 28th April
Meeting Mozart is a kids show at the Canberra Theatre Centre, where kids will enjoy the colourful 45 minute performance and then have the opportunity to talk to the musicians afterwards. Tickets cost $30 - $36. See here for details.
Sunday, 29th April
The Dutch Food and Cultural Festival will be held at Albert Hall in Yarralumla between 10am - 4pm. Kids activities will run between 10am - 12pm, with dancing, face painting, games, stilt walking and more. See here for details.
Phew! You made it to the end! These are just SOME of the events happening over April in Canberra! Also check out what's happening at Old Parliament House, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, the National Museum of Australia, National Dinosaur Museum, ACT Libraries, Canberra's movie cinemas and local shopping centres for more ideas. Have fun in the Capital, kids!
The following list has over 40 kids events for the month of April, so scroll down the dates and find the events that your kids will love - there are sure to be many!
Fun for kids at The Forage food festival, on Saturday, 7th April. Image: The Forage Facebook
Sunday, 1st April - Easter Sunday
Easter Events and Egg Hunts will be held all over Canberra - see the articles for Top Easter Events for Kids in Canberra, 2018 Part 1 and Part 2 for details.
Thursday, 5th April
The Flying Fruit Circus - Junk will be shown at the Canberra Theatre Centre on the 5th and 7th April. Kids will enjoy the magic of this family performance, where all the performers themselves are aged 10- 18 years old! See here for details.
Friday, 6th April
Storytime at the Australian War Memorial will be held every Friday morning during April at 10:30am, on the Lower Galleries. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Saturday, 7th April
The Forage foodie market will be held between 2pm - 7pm, in the car park of the Little National Hotel in Barton, with food trucks and lawn games for the kids. See here for details. Also see here for a full article.
Ignite Walk will be held at Lake Burley Griffin, with a 5 kilometre Family Walk starting at 7pm with glow-in-the-dark entertainment, music and fun. Registration costs $110 for a family of 4, with all money raised going to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. See here for details.
Sunday, 8th April
Canberra Airport Open Day will be held between 9am - 3pm, with family entertainment and the opportunity to walk through planes and helicopters. This is a free event, however bookings are essential. See here for details.
Rise Above Cancer Convoy will held at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), with a family fun day between 12pm - 4pm, with "Mental As Anything" performing live on stage! If you want to see the convoy of trucks on the way there, they leave Beard Industrial Estate in Queanbeyan at 10am and travel to the EPIC via Canberra Avenue, Hindmarsh Drive, the Monaro Highway, Parkes Way and Glenloch Interchange, then north to Sandford Street and finish at the EPIC, ready for the family day. See here for details.
Family fun at the Rise Above Cancer Convoy, Sunday 8th April. Image: Original photos from Rise Above Cancer Convoy Facebook
Saturday, 14th April - Start of the ACT School Holidays
Canberra Kids Market will be held at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) between 9am - 12pm, with everything you need for your child between 0 - 12. See here for details.
The Canberra and Region Heritage Festival is held between 14th - 29th April, with a number of family friendly events. See here for details.
Museums and Galleries in Canberra have FREE school holiday activities which run all school holidays. These include WordPlay (the National Library of Australia), NGA Play (National Gallery of Australia), The Discovery Zone (Australian War Memorial), Kspace (National Museum of Australia), Art Cart (National Portrait Gallery) and PlayUp (Museum of Australian Democracy - requires a gold coin donation entry to museum).
Sunday, 15th April
Spoon Smith - Kids Mini Garden Rake Workshop will be held at the National Arboretum, for kids to make their own mini garden rakes just like the first settlers! Cost is $25. See here for details.
Autumn school holiday fun at the National Arboretum. Image: Sticky Tickets/ National Arboretum website
Monday, 16th April
Mushrooms and Mini-Beasts will be held at the National Arboretum between 16th - 20th April, for kids aged between 5 - 7 years. Cost is $15. See here for details.
Afternoon Play Space will be open at the National Museum of Australia, between Monday to Friday on both weeks of the holidays (except for Anzac Day), between 2pm - 3:30pm. Cost is $2. See here for details.
Portrait Play is an art and craft activity for children aged between 4 - 8 at the National Portrait Gallery. This popular workshop will run Monday to Friday during the school holidays. See here for details. For a full article on Portrait Play, see here.
Family Tours of the Australian War Memorial will run Monday to Thursday through the school holidays (excluding Anzac Day) and each Saturday in the holidays, at 10:15am. Hands On History, which is dress-up activity, will be held after each tour at 11am. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Hands on History, after the Family Tours at the Australian War Memorial. Image: Australian War Memorial Facebook
Tuesday, 17th April
Parliament House will be showing Australian movies in their theatre on 17th and 24th April. Introduce your kids to The Man From Snowy River and Playing Beatie Bow . See here for details.
Belconnen Arts Centre will be having art and craft workshops for kids between 17th - 27th April, for $20 a session. See here for details.
Sketchy Tuesday is a free school holiday drawing workshop at the National Gallery of Australia, between 2pm - 3pm. BYO coloured pencils. See here for details.
Boomerang Making with Ngunnawal man Richie Allen will be held at Jerrabomberra Wetlands, at a cost of $20. There will also be another workshop on 26th April. See here for details.
The Harlem Globetrotters will be performing their basketball tricks at the AIS Arena in Bruce, at 7pm. See here for details.
Image: AIS Arena website
Wednesday, 18th April
Canberra Glassworks will be holding school holiday workshops starting today. Learn how to make your own glass autumn landscape, minecraft tile or paperweight. Various dates and prices. See here for details.
Little Look at ART is held at the National Gallery of Australia, for babies and their carers. See here for details.
Foodish Cooking School at Belconnen Fresh Food Markets will be holding kids autumn cooking classes on 18th - 20th April, as well as 26th - 27th April. The cost is $70 per class. See here for details.
Story time at the National Portrait Gallery will be held between 10:30am - 12pm and feature the book The Journey Home, by Alison Lester. Kids will also enjoy a craft activity afterwards. Cost is $7. See here for details.
Indigenous Plant Use Walks will be held at the Australian National Botanical Gardens for the whole family. This walk will also be held on 21st April. Cost is $5. See here for details.
Clay Sculpting will be held at the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, for children aged between 5 - 13. It will also be held on 24th April. See here for details.
CMAG School Holiday Workshop: Facetime will be held at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, for 5 - 12 year olds on both the 18th and 19th April. Cost is $20. See here for details.
Thursday, 19th April
Make and Create will be held at the Australian War Memorial between 11:30am and 1pm, in the Education Space on the lower ground floor. This is a free activity with paper crafts and will also be held on 20th, 26th and 27th April. See here for details - scroll down and download the Autumn 2018 brochure (PDF file).
Art Scene Investigation (ASI) will be held at the National Gallery of Australia, where kids aged between 7-12 have fun solving problems, mysteries and puzzles. See here for details.
Saturday, 21st April
Oddball the move will be shown at the National Portrait Gallery at 2:30pm, for a gold coin donation. See here for details.
Canberra Classic Boatfest will be held out on Lake Burley Griffin, as part of the Canberra and Region Heritage Festival. If your kids love boats, they will enjoy looking at the range of steam boats and horns, between 11am - 2pm starting from the Canberra Yacht Club in Yarralumla. See here for details.
See Oddball at the National Portrait Gallery, 21st April. Image: National Portrait Gallery website
Tuesday, 24th April
Creative Meditation with David Hockney will be held at the National Gallery of Australia at 10:30am and 11:30am. See here for details.
Autumn Storytime will be held at the National Library of Australia, starting at 11:30am. Cost is $2. See here for details. Also stay for the movie, below.
The Love Bug will be shown at the National Library of Australia, starting at 1pm. See here for details.
Wednesday, 25th April - Anzac Day
Anzac Day at the Australian War Memorial is a way to teach older children about the history of Australia and war. See here for details.
Pied Piper Walk at the National Arboretum is a musical walk across the hills of the Arboretum with Mr Tim and the Fuzzy Elbows. Recommended for children aged 6-12. Tickets cost $20. See here for details.
Thursday, 26th April
Art Explorer: Space Age will be held at the National Gallery of Australia, for kids over 8 years old to build their own spaceship. Cost is $60. See here for details.
ICKY-PEDIA is a hilarious kids show at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre between 26th - 29th April. Tickets cost $27.50. See here for details.
Saturday, 28th April
Meeting Mozart is a kids show at the Canberra Theatre Centre, where kids will enjoy the colourful 45 minute performance and then have the opportunity to talk to the musicians afterwards. Tickets cost $30 - $36. See here for details.
Sunday, 29th April
The Dutch Food and Cultural Festival will be held at Albert Hall in Yarralumla between 10am - 4pm. Kids activities will run between 10am - 12pm, with dancing, face painting, games, stilt walking and more. See here for details.
Phew! You made it to the end! These are just SOME of the events happening over April in Canberra! Also check out what's happening at Old Parliament House, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, the National Museum of Australia, National Dinosaur Museum, ACT Libraries, Canberra's movie cinemas and local shopping centres for more ideas. Have fun in the Capital, kids!
Squeeze in one last school holiday show before back to school! Image: Canberra Theatre Centre
Traditional fun and games at the Dutch Food and Culture Festival. Image: Dutch Food Festival Facebook
Related Articles
Why? Keep the kids entertained all month long!
When: See individual websites for details
Where: All over the Canberra region
Cost: See individual websites for prices
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