Kids Activities Melbourne – September School Holidays 2011

Two weeks until school holidays are here in Victoria – so looking forward to them! I have listed just 10 great kids activities in Melbourne, we are really lucky with how many we have to choose from. My emphasis has been towards central, low cost and free activities.

1. Born to be Wild 3D

This is not going to be a low cost activity for us as we have five kids, but after watching the trailer, I really want my kids to see this. It looks gorgeous and has messages that I want them to hear.

Warm up your heart with Born to be Wild 3D – a gorgeous movie about amazing people who save orphaned orang-utans and elephants and return them to the wild, saving endangered animals one life at a time. Born to be Wild 3D will touch animal lovers of any age!

When: Screening throughout the spring school holidays
Where: IMAX Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens
Tickets: $18.00 Adult, $14.50 Concession, $13.50 Child, $55.00 Family (2 adults & 2
children)
Enquiries: 03 9663 5454
Bookings and more info: IMAX

2. Kids In The Studio

We have made a couple of animations at the school holidays session run at ACMI and have had such a great time doing them and they are free and you don’t have to book!

Here are the animations we have made previously:

This September School Holidays the theme is ‘A Trip to the Moon’:

We have lift off! Make your own animated moon movie in our holiday workshop. Using cut-out techniques and digital animation, kids can create their own trip to the moon.

In 1902, French filmmaker Georges Méliès made Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), which is featured in the Star Voyager exhibition. It was the first science fiction film to use innovative animation and special effects, including the well-known image of a spaceship landing in the eye of the moon.

ACMI invites all budding animators and filmmakers to recreate their own version of A Trip to the Moon in this fun animation workshop. Suitable for children 3 years and up.

Dates: Mon 26 Sep – Fri 30 Sep 2011, 11am-3pm, Mon 3 Oct – Fri 7 Oct 2011, 11am-3pm
Location: The Cube, ACMI
Admission: Free! Drop in anytime between 11am and 3pm
Website: ACMI

3. My Grandma Lived In Gooligulch

Kids Activities Melbourne
Three of my kids have seen this on school excursions and all of them have loved it.

Presented by Garry Ginivan Attractions & Gooligulch Productions Based on the book by Graeme Base
Adapted by Graeme Base & Garry Ginivan Producer Karen Keegan

From Graeme Base, international bestselling author, and Garry Ginivan, producer of Wombat Stew and Possum Magic, comes this rollicking Australian musical. Based on the much-loved book, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch tells the story of Kate, a city kid who has to spend the summer holidays with her eccentric Grandma in outback Gooligulch. Kate is sure it will be the worst holiday of her life – but when she finds the animals in Gooligulch can talk, her eyes are opened to a whole new world.

The show is on at different locations across Melbourne:

Where: Clocktower Centre, 750 Mt Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
When: Thursday 29 September at 11am
Bookings: online or 9243 9191

Where: Whitehorse Centre, 397 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading
When: Saturday 1 October at 9.30am and 11.30am
Bookings: online or 9262 6555

4. Royal Botanic Gardens’ – Spring Open Day

Spring Open Day is the biggest event on the Royal Botanic Gardens’ calendar and a once-a-year opportunity to wander behind the scenes at the Gardens. Best of all, the tours, activities and entertainment are all FREE! For full details you can check out the RBG blog, but here are the kids activities that are on:

  • Sing along with hey dee ho music as they bring percussion, music and movement to the Children’s Garden.
  • Have fun making magical wands, ears and tails from natural plant materials.
  • Make a boat from natural materials and race it down the Children’s Garden waterways!
  • Create your very own crafty friends from nuts, bark and leaves with volunteers from Plant Craft Cottage.
  • Plant a colourful sunflower to celebrate spring.
  • Curl up under the shady Cork Oak for afternoon story-time.
  • Head to The Terrace for face painting, balloon animals and fairy floss!

When: Sunday 25 September 10am – 5pm
Where: Royal Botanic Gardens, Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra
Cost: Free
More info: Contact the Visitor Centre on (03) 9252 2429.

5. Build a Book Workshop

KIds Activities Melbourne
This is just one of the activities on at The Arts Centre. In the bookmaking workshops kids will do just that – fold the pages, write a story and create the illustrations for their very own books. The sessions are lead by illustrators Sue DeGennaro, Elizabeth Honey and Mitch Vane.

When: Wed 28 Sep – Sun 2 Oct, 10am & 12.15pm (Duration: 60 mins)
Ages: 4-10. All kids must be accompanied by an adult. Accompanying adult free.
Cost: $16 (accompanying adult free)
Bookings: online or 1300 182 183
More info: To see all school holiday activities click here.

6. Vegecation

Kids Activities Melbourne
Teaming up with educational group The Gould League, Centro Box Hill is again transforming its Centre Stage into an educational hub where kids can learn about bugs, pot their own plants and even star in an interactive play.

Running from 11am to 2pm daily, parents and children can visit Centro Box Hill and be treated to a fun, free and educational experience – away from the classroom.

Vegecation will offer lots of free activities taking kids on an educational journey, including:

  • Plant potting station – creating your own salad garden, a different seedling offered each day
  • Interactive performances – Minibeasts in spring veggie gardening
  • Compost display – how to prepare your soil for planting
  • Live bug station – getting up, close and personal with minibeasts
  • Colouring in competition – enter and win a wheelbarrow of gardening tools
  • Cooking day – learn how to cook tasty meals with your seedlings, Friday 7 October

Where: Centro Box Hill Centre Stage, South Precinct (opposite Woolworths)
When: 3 -7 October, 2011
Time: 11am to 2pm each day, interactive play 11.30am and 1pm
Ages: Aimed at children aged six – 15 and their families
Cost: FREE to attend
More info: Vegecation Melbourne Facebook page

7. Artcart: Sculpture hunt


Learn to look at art and create artworks of your own. Find exciting contemporary sculptures around the gallery and transform simple drinking straws, sticks and other materials into imaginative and amazing standing sculptures. Parent/ carer supervision required.
When:

  • 11 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 18 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 25 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 27 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 28 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 29 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm
  • 30 Sep 2011 12.00pm – 03.00pm

Where: The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square
Cost: Free entry (some exhibitions showing do require an admission fee though)
More info:NGV website

8. Junction Skate & BMX Park Family Fun Day

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The Family Fun Day includes:

  • Free skate clinics
  • Fun activities and games
  • Free sausage sizzle
  • Free Board Hire
  • Parents welcome to join in

The skate park has safety gear that you can loan (helmets, elbow and knee pads) which is great if your kids just want to try it out safely.

When: Wednesday 28 September 2011
Where: Riversdale Rd, Camberwell Melways Ref: 59 H1
Cost: Free
Bookings: essential for programs and you can rsvp on 0459 988 125 or junction.skatepark@ymca.org.au
More info: Junction Skate & BMX Park

9. Northcote Kids Festival

The Northcote Kid’s Festival is a yearly event based in Northcote, Victoria, with current homes in the Northcote Town Hall & the Northcote Uniting Church. Comprised of local artists from right across Melbourne, each performance, workshop, and activity is created as a high calibre experience to engage an audience of children and their adults.This year there is over 55 shows, workshops, competitions, and free events and tickets are now on sale.

Here are just a couple of the fab events that you can take the kids to these school holidaus
Cake Decorating
Dates: September 25th, 26th, 27th, & 28th
Times: 10:30am / 25th of September and 1:30pm / 25th to 28th of September
Duration: 30 minutes
Ages: 5 to 12 year olds, Kids Only!
Venue: Northcote Uniting Church Courtyard
Cost: FREE!

Preschoolers Circus Workshop
Preschool kids and their adults can expect some seriously fun circus, where they will learn the basics of juggling and acrobalance.
Dates: September 26th
Times: 12:05 to 12:35
Duration: 35 minutes
Ages: 3 to 5 (carers must participate)
Venue: Northcote Uniting Church Hall
Cost: $5 per person
Bookings: (03) 9481 9500 or Click Here

The Mighty bUZZniks CD Launch

If Dr. Seuss started a rock band, this would be it! The Mighty bUZZniks are a fully Rock! group that is great for families. Come join them at the CD launch for their latest album being launched on ABC Music, ‘Bugout.’ A giant house party with kids and adults alike dancing to the grooves, don’t miss this fantastic performance on the last day of the Northcote Kids Festival!

Dates: October 9th
Times: 11am & 2pm
Duration: 50 minutes
Ages: 3 to 9 year olds & their families
Venue: Studio One, Northcote Town Hall
Cost: $15 regular, $12 concession
Bookings: (03) 9481 9500 or Click Here

10. Painting a Family Canvas

We painted a family cavas (above!) in 2009. It remains one of my favourite things I have done with the kids. You can see my full write up here.

When: Monday 3 October 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Where: Box Hill Community Arts Centre, 470 Station Street, Box Hill
Cost: $50 (I had to pay more per child as I think the price only includes 1 child and 1 adult.)
Bookings: Phone 9895 8888. Credit card payment required.
Visit the centre: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm. We accept EFTPOS, credit card, cash or cheque.
Complete online enquiry form

If you have favourite school holidays activities in Melbourne you would like to share, feel free to add a link in the comments -thanks!