Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

06th April 2018

Nordic kids design celebration, birdwatching for beginners, cutting-edge games, marbling for kids, use up your excess chocolate!

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

06th April 2018

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

06th April 2018

DO, MAKE, LEARN Wings and Things
April the perfect time for birdwatching – the trees are still bare, but there are nests to be built, songs to be sung, and eggs to be laid. The RSPB is not only custodian to some of the most stunning bird watching reserves in the country, it’s also a fine first port of call for learning about ornithology and bird spotting. The Easter holidays are a fine time to set up your garden for maximum birdage – try making your own bird box, creating your own bird food, or even raising mealworms. Alternatively, learn how birds create their nests by making your own!

EVENT Nord-Vana
Love Scandinavia’s classic, low-key, clever design for kids? Head to the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green for their new Century of the Child: Nordic Design for Children 1900 to Today exhibition. It explores the influences which have helped forge Nordic design and examines how children have inspired some of the century’s most progressive designs, architecture and literature. Think Moomins, IKEA, BabyBjörn and Arne Jacobsen. Make a day of it; the airy, family-loving museum’s gigantic collection of vintage toys is an absolute joy to explore, while their nature-inspired Easter workshops are a chance to create miniature clay worlds, stop frame animations, or prints. Look out for their free drop-in activities that include arts and crafts, storytelling and tactile play sessions.

EVENT Game On

This weekend, London’s Somerset House will be buzzing with the very latest games – those played indoors, outdoors, and even completely in your head – at Now Play This. It’s a chance to explore “The peculiar, the beautiful, and the deeply experimental”. See prototype games, play by running across courtyards or through London, and interact with friends and families in new and wonderful ways. The event somehow promises to combine cutting-edge awesomeness with retro magic – a perfect combination!

RECIPE Choco-Lot
Did your family get more chocolate than you expected this Easter? What a lovely problem to have. Why not use it up creatively? The mini chocolate cheesecakes here are easy enough for kids to make , as are the winningly retro cornflake cakes. For a more grown-up treat, try making Spanish-style hot chocolate, or why not try making fancy (yet very easy) chocolate truffles?

MAKE Marvellous Marbling
We’ve been inspired by this incredible vintage professional marbled paper printing video to have a go at making colourful prints. This ingenious shaving cream method is easy and enjoyably messy, while this technique uses oil and bits and bobs you’ll already have around the house. This way of marbling using milk creates spectacular results, or you could even use nail polish. It’s art that works for all ages – even cool teenage mag Rookie has gone wild for the psychedelic patterns.

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