By Kate Hodges
25th May 2018
EVENT World Of Wonder
Edinburgh’s Children’s Festival, run by Imaginate, celebrates the very best of children’s theatre and dance from around the world, to an audience of 10,000 children, their teachers and families each year. Choose from a fun and surreal take on the traditional Russian folklore tale of Baba Yaga, the beautiful, immersive dance piece for tinies, Toddler Room, or the dark musical fable A Feast of Bones. The free opening weekend at the National Museum of Scotland promises pop-up performances and dance pieces. May 26–June 3
EVENT Make it So
Part of the celebrations for the Year of Engineering, Manchester’s MakeFest takes place at the Museum of Science and Industry. There’s a range of incredible, fun workshops, including a chance to code a drone, solder a light-up badge, make goggles, join a mass ‘build off’, create binary keyrings, try fabric printing, create steampunk decoupage, make robots or even play a musical banana! Time to get your geek on!
MAKE and LEARN Throwing Shade
The sun is out! Make the most of it, and combine science and art to make a sundial. The very simplest are created from sticks and stones, or paper plates – find instructions here, but you can get really creative with your time-telling sculptures. This garden pot sundial is fun, while this modern take is colourful and fun. Try making a ‘human’ dial that uses a person as a gnomon or be inspired by the sundials here to paint, plant or carve your own incredible creations!
COOK Breakfasts for Spring
A good breakfast sets us up for a day of studying, fun, or running around. The warm weather is inspiring us to try out new ideas for the first meal of the day. Bircher muesli is a well-established favourite perfect for Spring – prepare it the night before for an easy snack in the morning. Pick some marigolds from the garden for these petal-powered nutrient-and-protein-packed treats or try these amazing Lemon Ricotta Courgette pancakes. Alternatively, these Superfood Breakfast Muffins with Manuka Honey are great for boosting immunity and helping keep little brains in tip-top shape.
EVENT East End Fun
Dalston in London comes alive this Saturday (and next!) for the fabulous Children’s Festival. Find fun things to do across the borough, including the chance to make a play in a day, create a peace quilt, learn to draw caricatures, try making avant-garde music with samplers, improvise, join art workshops, or take part in the Pride in the Park Picnic, which includes a show from Drag Queen storyteller Maxi More. Full line-up here
Also in London, from Monday, and running in the week between the massive All Points East festivals in Victoria Park, All Points Equal is a day of free entry and free activities to celebrate the 100 years of votes for (some) women. The event on Bank Holiday Monday kicks off four days of community focussed events, and includes free outdoor screenings of Moana and Suffragette, an immersive rally (there are make-your-own banner workshops for kids and adults) and live panel with Helen Pankhurst, and free live music including the all-female Break Out Brass. Plus free kids theatre from Half Moon, football sessions, yoga and circus workshops with Upswing!
