By Kate Hodges
13th July 2022
EVENT, DO WOW AND FLUTTER
Taking part in Citizen Science projects helps boffins find more about the world and beyond, gets you outside, teaches children about nature and are a lot of fun. The Big Butterfly Count brings purpose to a picnic and uncovers something new about our environment. Organised by the Butterfly Conservation, it’s simple enough for even tiny children to join in, and is a fun introduction to nature spotting. Download and print an identifying chart or use their free app to record which butterflies you spot. Find more incredible butterfly facts here or discover how to make a simple paper member of the Lepidoptera family here
Or perhaps you’re a fan of the butterfly’s cool, goth cousin, the moth. Moth Week (July 23-31) is an annual celebration of moths and moth recording. Why not see how many different kinds you can spot? One of the very easiest and effective ways is simply leaving your curtains open when you’re inside; moths will come to rest on your window pane. Alternatively, open your bathroom windows, throw on the light, wait and watch the fluttering creatures come into your house (it’s probably best to check that all of your family are happy to have a few winged visitors swing by). Submit your findings and find out more about these night-time beauties here.
EVENT SHIP AHOY
The Bristol Harbour Festival (Friday to Sunday) celebrates the city’s maritime past and present with a stunning line-up of music, dance, and family-friendly offerings, plus of course, water-based fun on the quayside. This year is their 50th birthday. The line-up includes The Blue Aeroplanes, Nikita Gill and Black Roots, while Circus Bijou take over Queen Square, with spectacular aerial shows, comedy, acrobatics, and workshops for children. The Matthew ship at Undersell Yard presents the world premiere of The Hamlet Voyage, which is a theatrical critique of the beginning of Britain’s colonial ambitions and suitable for all ages. Head to the harbour to see spectacular steamboats and powerful water cannons firing from the Pyronaut ship. Free, July 15–17
LEARN AND DO SECRET MESSAGES
Make like 007 and explore the world of codes and cyphers this weekend. Younger children will enjoy using simple codes – a symbol for each letter of the alphabet – to write messages. Older kids will love trying out our favourite pigpen code to write messages to each other quickly and secretly Sit down together and learn morse code, so junior spies can signal to friends using lights at night, or whistles across a park. Try the Google Morse trainer for a whizzy way to learn. Alternatively, try semaphore for sending messages across long distances - Y-O-U-R T-E-A I-S R-E-A-D-Y There are ideas for more elaborate ways to hide messages here - we love the Cardan Grille method. Playing with cyphers fosters basic computer coding skills, makes literacy fun, and opens gateways to our spying past.
EVENT LAMBS IN LAMBETH
A chance for kids in London to experience the sounds, sights and smells of the country, the free and wonderful Lambeth Country Show (Saturday and Sunday) is a clever blend of urban grit and rural bliss and brings the tastes, sounds and, um, smells of rural life to the city. Expect sets from bands big and small (we like the family-friendly village stage), plus beekeeping, dancing sheep, falconry, and sheepdog exhibitions. Don’t miss the wonderful produce competitions – for us, the big one is the Vegetable Sculpture competition. Like Have I Got News For You meets an explosion in a greengrocers, the competition embraces topical veggie arrangements, often titled with terrible puns, topped off with some incredible carving work and artistic arrangements.
DO SPLASHING OUT
Cool off this hot, hot weekend and have fun by making a water wall in your garden. Older kids will love to help construct the splashy maze, and younger children will adore sploshing around with it. The network of pipes and tubes can be endlessly reconfigured, built on, and experimented with – try getting creative with food colouring and using your own collection of junk, pipes, and oddly-shaped bottles to make it more interesting. Find more of our creative and fun ideas for garden play here.
STAY COOL!
It’s going to be a hot, hot weekend. Find our suggestions for ways to help kids stay chilled and get a better night’s sleep here, ten genius ways to cool kids off here and our favourite cooling foods here.
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WHAT WE’RE EATING Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies Anshu Ahuja founded Dabbadrop with Renee Williams from their homes in East London. Here they share a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies. Get the recipe here
WHAT WE’RE READING From government schemes to eating free across the country, keeping children entertained during the long summer months doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Read more here
