With term three coming to an end and school holidays fast approaching, it's time to start planning out the school holiday schedule to ensure the kids are kept entertained these spring holidays. If you aren't lucky enough to be jetting off to an International destination or even doing the tourist thing in your own backyard, you can always be sure that Newcastle will always have something planned to entertain the kids. The City of Newcastle facilities is a great place to start with some great events happening at the Newcastle Museum, Newcastle Libraries and Civic Theatre.
So, what's ON in Newcastle for kids and families in the spring school holidays?
Get creative these Spring School Holidays with a great range of events happening at the Newcastle Libraries.
On September 28 at Newcastle and Wallsend Library, kids are invited to learn the basics of visual storytelling, world building and drawing techniques to create your own comic books with illustrator Louie Joyce.
Come and try the Magic Table at Wallsend Library on the September 4 & September 6. The Magic Table projects interactive light to stimulate and engage people living with a range of cognitive disabilities. As the colourful objects respond to hand and arm movements, you can play with the light images reflected on the table. The interactive games stimulate both physical and cognitive activity and encourage social interaction. People of all ages living with cognitive disability and their families, support workers or carers are encouraged to come to the library and play.
You can't go past a special interactive storytime where you become part of the story. Bring your imagination and big voices to Newcastle and Wallsend libraries and be prepared to go on an adventure as you will draw, move, create and make some noise!
Have your feet ever helped you to read a story? Pop on your walking shoes and come along to Lambton Park to follow the trail of Max and Arnie's Adventure written especially for beautiful Lambton Park and Library by Dale Forward. The Tale Trail is an outdoor reading adventure. Start with Page 1 in the Lambton Park playground and follow Max and Arnie's Adventure along the path. Meet lots of fun characters as they try to help Max and Arnie find what they are looking for.
Why not bring a picnic, visit the playground, and check out the fully renovated Lambton Library while you are there.
Get back to nature with the Newcastle Museum and explore their new outdoor exhibit Living Labels in Museum Park. Chat to staff from the Seed Library and the Museum about plants, seeds and bees and then plant your own seed to take home and grow!
Activate your science brain at the Jollybops Water Show at Newcastle Museum on Friday 07 October and Friday 30 September. During the Jollybops Water Science Shows children will make water in a safe but explosive reaction and see Eddy the AquaBot make enough toothpaste for an elephant, cover Professor Puddle in toilet paper, and make a flower shower work by singing!
The Museum's latest exhibition will amaze both the young and old these holidays! Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators combines real fossils from millions of years ago, gigantic replicas including a 13m long Elasmosaurus and 9m Prognathdon, hands-on interactives to make your own monster, dress ups, dino poo and much more! Discover the secrets of these monsters of the deep in this new exhibition that will delight all ages! Be sure to commemorate your visit by stopping into the Visitor Information Centre afterwards to get your very own Sea Monsters show bag, full of colourful activities, for just $10.
Make your way to Wallsend Rotunda on Wednesday 28 September and Wednesday 5 October to join in the fun with dancing and singing group, the Little Scallywagz. Pack a picnic lunch and bring the whole family.
City of Newcastle's inaugural arts festival New Annual, kicks off right in time for the school holiday period and there is plenty of shows, exhibitions and hands on workshops to book into.
Menagerie is a new, interactive community performance from Curious Legends and heading to Civic Park Stage from the 24 September to 2 October. Throughout the festival, participants are invited to help Curious Legends create Menagerie. Across 4 making workshops, festival-goers of all ages are invited to help create our Gentle Giant - a towering, illuminated puppet with a pulsating heart.
These holidays, Civic Playhouse will be playing host to WELL, another New Annual event for children and families. WELL is an immersive narrative journey for young audiences aged 6-11. Theatre artists Conor Fox and Janie Gibson lead children through a world of make-believe where they are invited to become the protagonists in an unfolding fairytale. Children enter an imaginative world through an immersive set where they encounter puppets, characters and riddles.
From award-winning theatre to baroque music, dinosaurs,and acrobats, New Annual will be bringing the stage to the screen with four films guaranteed to entertain all ages and tastes. On September 25, Newcastle Museum will be screening ERTH’S PREHISTORIC PICNIC Presented by Erth and The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust in association with Sydney Festival. Meet the ancient creatures that are remembered in the stories of the first people of our nation.
Take an outdoor adventure around the city with Chalk the Walk, The Big Picture Fest and the Little Festival. Be inspired by the creative artists as they showcase their mediums in a family friendly and quirky way. Little Festival will take over the metropolis of Newcastle’s CBD with 50 artists installing a mix of temporary and permanent small scale outdoor artworks.
See the footpaths of Newcastle turn into concrete canvases with a collection of mind-bending artworks during Chalk the Walk, an award-winning street art event produced by Zest Events International that is accessible for all abilities and fun for all ages.
The Big Picture Fest is a three day, large-scale street art festival that brings together world class artists to showcase their work spread across 20 prominent sites in the city.
If STEAM is your thing, there are two fabulous robotics workshops scheduled in the New Annual Program. On the 28 September at the Newcastle University Q Building Black Box, you can program a robot to dance, play instruments, and learn about simple visual coding in the Robot Dance Party workshop. On the following day, the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music are holding a Robotics and Music all day workshop. Build, code, play, imagine and experiment with a range of technologies and musical tools, including drumming robots, robotic textiles, midi-triggering, and more.
Step into the world of iconic artist Vincent Van Gogh at Foreshore Park at Van Gogh Alive; a large-scale, multi-sensory experience. This digital spectacular gives visitors the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in Van Gogh’s artistry and truly venture into his world.
Check out the full range of family friendly programs and shows happening during New Annual HERE.