Top 20 Spring School Holiday Activities in Canberra, 2019

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Posted 2019-09-01 by Sue W ⇒ follow

The spring school holidays are the busiest holidays of the year, with thousands of families coming to Canberra to enjoy Floriade and explore all of the city's other attractions. With so many kids in the city, the museums and galleries around the Capital have a variety of free activities on offer, creating a smorgasbord of choice on what to do each day.

Take a scroll down through this list below to see what's on around the city these school holidays. This list of 20 activities is just a mere glimpse at what there is to do - ensure you check back with Canberra Weekendnotes for more event listings. Which ones will you be ticking off these school holidays?

All School Holidays

1/ The National Museum will be hosting the exhibition DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition — Journey from Sketch to Screen, which has more than 400 objects from the studio's archives. Kids will love to see "behind the scenes" of how their favourite shows were made! Tickets cost $20 adults, $16 concession, $12 for kids and $50 for a family. See here for details.

2/ Floriade flower festival is a fun day out for the whole family with children's rides, markets, food stalls, workshops, kids' activities, roving entertainment and of course, the flowers! During the school holidays there will also be DreamWorks characters to meet, craft activities every day at the Kidz Klub, Giggle and Wiggle for the littlies, Storytime to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and much more! Floriade has free entry, so you can visit every day in the school holidays. See here for the program.

3/ Tulip Top Gardens is another flower festival held at the same time as Floriade, across the border in NSW. This private garden has an entry price to get in and is a relaxing morning out for the whole family. See here for details.

4/ The Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) has a range of family activities, with craft in their PlayUP area each day between 10:30am and 12:30pm. There is something for every age group at this family-friendly museum. Entry to the museum costs $2 adults, $1 children/ concessions and $5 for a family. See here for details.

5/ The National Portrait Gallery will be having a daily free kids activity space called Art Cart: Fashion it Fierce & Fancy as well as two paid activities - Portrait Play: Portrait Detectives Workshop and Story Time, at a cost of $7 per child. See here for the events program.

6/ Canberra Glassworks will be hosting glass-making school holiday workshops, where kids can learn how to make terrariums, glass brooches, tiles and more. Prices start from $30. See here for details.

7/ Playful Endeavour will be held at Glebe Park in the city centre these school holidays, with a selection of found and made materials to encourage creative play for children. Also check out the garden oasis in Garema Place in the city centre, with fresh tulips and a secret fairy garden for the littlies to play in. See here for details.

8/ The National Film and Sound Archive will be having a new exhibition called Game Masters: The Exhibition starting from the 27th September. This exhibition is a "must" for all gamers, with a fascinating exhibition and 80 playable games. Ticket prices range between $12 - $19. See here for details.

9/ Oliver the Musical will be showing at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), with tickets ranging between $25 and $50. See here for details.
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10/ The National Library** has an exhibition called Story Time in their Exhibition Gallery, which displays Australian children's literature from the colonial period through to the present day. Check out the old favourites and kids can write their own short story in the kid's area, Playtime. See here for details.

11/ Tuff Nutterz is a touring inflatable obstacle course and these school holidays it will be set up in the Parliamentary Triangle! It will be positioned on the corner of King Edward Terrace and Parkes Place West between 28th September and 6th October. The Tuff Nutterz course is 270 metres long and has over 30 individual obstacles - all joined to form one continuous course. Tickets cost $35 for a 1 hour session. See here for details.

12/ A Wild Night Out at Tidbinbilla family camping experience will be held at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve these school holidays. Take part in the ranger-guided activities and experience the nocturnal animals of the national park by torchlight. This camping experience is designed for children aged between 5 and 12 years, with lights out at 10pm. Prices start from $490 for 1 adult and 1 child. See here for details.

13/ The Australian War Memorial will be hosting free Family Tours, Make & Create craft workshops and Hands On History activities. See here for details.

29th September, 2019

14/ Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, 45 minutes from Canberra's CBD, will be hosting an Open Day with free entry and kids activities between 10am - 3pm. Take a picnic and your walking shoes and go looking for platypus in The Sanctuary , take a family friendly bushwalk to learn about indigenous culture, spot koalas in the wild or visit the Tidbinbilla Nature Discovery Playground . See here for details.

15/ The Next Step will be showing at the Canberra Theatre Centre with nine of the cast members from the hit television series, The Next Step – Absolute Dance. The 90-minute stage show features solos, duets, trios and group numbers choreographed to popular hit songs along with original music from the show. Tickets range between $76.80 and $111.20. See here for details.

1st October, 2019

16/ Recycling Discovery Hub October School Holiday Family Sessions will be held at the Recycle Centre in Hume on 1st and 3rd October, between 10am - 11am and 1pm - 2pm. Kids can get crafty and learn about recycling. See here for details.

17/ Parliament House will be showing free screenings of Australian cartoons Bluey (1st October) and Blinky Bill (8th October). Bluey will be the star of the school holiday show with 10 episodes on the big screen for the first time and there will be games to play, craft to make, and stories to tell. See #screenings ">here for details. Bookings essential.

2nd October, 2019

18/ Kids Cushion Concerts: Music Around the World is a concert presented by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, held in the Nishi Building in the NewActon Precinct. Take a cushion and learn about music from Europe with narrator, Matilda. See here for details.

3rd October, 2019

19/ Andy's Amazing Adventures will be held at the Canberra Theatre Centre for one day only on 3rd October. There will be 3 shows at 11am, 2pm and 4pm. Tickets cost between $40.90- $48.60. See here for details. Who knows what time in history you will travel to?

4th October, 2019

20/ Puss in Boots stage production, produced by Pied Piper Productions, will be shown at the Canberra College in Woden between 4th - 12th October. Tickets cost $20 each. See here for details.

For more ideas, also check out the websites for the shopping centres around Canberra, with most holding free activities or concerts during the holidays. See what's on at Gungahlin Marketplace , Belconnen Westfield , Canberra Outlet Centre , Woden Westfield , Cooleman Court and South.Point Tuggeranong shopping centre.

Why not get out and about these school holidays and enjoy all the fun activities there are to do around the Capital. With so many things to do, the kids will be jumping out of bed every morning, wondering where they will be going to first! Sorry mums and dads - there's no time for a sleep-in these school holidays...but what's new?