End of term one is almost here in Victoria. As the school holidays in Victoria start at Easter, I thought I would include a couple of Easter activities – the first one is actually this Sunday 24th April. All going well I should also be posting a similar wrap up for Sydney and I am looking to see if I can also do other cities as well.
To read about the activities you can either scroll down the pageor use the links below to go directly to an activity. (If you are reading via email, you will need to click through to the blog to do this.)
- Peninsula Family Easter Picnic
- Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Icecreamery Easter Activities
- Cupcake Central Kids Decorating Workshops
- Flight of the Butterflies 3D at IMAX
- Become a Junior Ranger and Explore Victoria’s Parks
- Eucalypt Festival at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
- National Sports Museum – Finals and Firsts
- Siblings in Sync – Communicating through music
- Mark Trenwith Mr Snot Bottom’s Stinky Silly Show
- Big Screen Gaming
Peninsula Family Easter Picnic
The Peninsula Family Easter Picnic, will be an egg-travaganza for families. Children will be able to hunt for thousands of Easter eggs. Everyone’s favourite friend – The Easter Bunny will be performing on stage and children can join in with the singing, dancing and interactive games being played.
Plus Jimmy Giggle will be joining the fun and hosting this event. There will be ABC for Kids shows and familiar characters will also be making appearances. There will be a free magical craft village where kids can make an Easter masterpiece of their own to take home. And there will be rides and amusements, and so much more family entertainment.
Ages: Family day
Date: Sunday 24 March 2013
Time: 10am – 3pm
Location: Mornington Racecourse, Racecourse Road, Mornington
Cost: $25 3 – 12 year olds (everyone else for free)
Bookings: Door Sale
More information: Peninsula Family Easter Picnic Facebook Page
Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Icecreamery Easter Activities
When: Easter Long Weekend – March 29 – April 1
Where: 35 Old Healesville Rd (cnr Melba Highway) Yarra Glen
What: Easter Egg Hunts will take place four times a day (at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm) in the Chocolaterie’s picturesque grounds. Bookings are not required to join in.The Easter Bunny will help kids under 12 search for special tokens to then claim their complimentary egg.
And of course you can buy all sorts of wonderful Easter treats while you are there. From tiny bunnies and decorative eggs to filled eggs, nearly one metre tall bunnies and decadent truffles, the Chooclaterie’s talented team of chocolatiers are already hand crafting their limited edition Easter chocolate range – plus free tastings!
More info: We loved our trip to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Icecreamery and you can read my full review here and you can find out about more events on the YVCI website.
Cupcake Central Kids Decorating Workshops
Melbourne Central’s Cupcake Central Kids Decorating Workshops let the kids get hands on with some fancy cupcake decorating. Each child gets 4 cupcakes to decorate and bakers from Cupcake Central will show them how to pipe frosting and create fondant decorations. They can take them home and show them off to all their friends and family.
Ages: 4 – 15 with parent supervision required for children under 8.
Date/s: 3rd – 5th April 2013. However if the first week of school holidays becomes booked out more dates maybe released.
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: Cupcake Central, Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Cost: $20 Early Bird, $25 Normal
Bookings and more information: Cupcake central
And while you are at Melbourne Central you might like to stop by the Melbourne Central’s Parents Retreat. It is an architect-designed space designed in an effort to provide parents visiting Melbourne Central a space where they can stop, relax, feed baby if need to and have a safe environment for kids to play. I haven’t been there yet but you can read Jpyce from Tot: Hot or Not’s review here – she says its hot!
Flight of the Butterflies 3D at IMAX
Flight of the Butterflies 3D is a breathtaking new IMAX film that captures one of the longest migrations on earth and the inspiring true story of one scientist’s stunning discovery. This film follows the emotional journey of how Dr. Fred Urquhart spent 40 years trying to discover the mysteries surrounding the journey of the Monarch Butterfly and their secret winter hideaway. What began with a small boy daydreaming about where Butterflies went each winter became a lifelong pursuit by Urquhart, who ingeniously enlisted the help of legions of volunteers, known as “citizen scientists,” to help with tagging and tracking the Butterflies. This decades-long quest yielded the ultimate discovery of the Monarch’s winter sanctuary in Mexico.
Ages: All ages
Date/s: 21 March onwards
Time/s: See website for session times
Location: IMAX Melbourne Museum, Rathdowne Street, Carlton Gardens
Cost: $18.00 adult, $14.50 concession, $13.50 child, $55.00 Family (2 adults & 2 children)
Opening weekend free entry offer: All children coming in to see the film on the opening weekend dressed as butterflies will receive free entry.
Bookings: www.imaxmelbourne.com.au or at the Box Office.
Become a Junior Ranger and Explore Victoria’s Parks
Kids who have an interest in nature, history, animals and the outdoors have the opportunity this Easter holidays (29 March – 14 April) to join a Park Ranger for fun activities.
Parks Victoria is putting on its exciting Junior Ranger Program in many parks around Victoria throughout the school holidays including Serendip Sanctuary, Croajingolong National Park, Point Nepean National Park, Werribee Park, Wilsons Promontory National Park, State Coal Mine (Wonthaggi), Dandenong Ranges National Park and the National Rhododendron Garden, Great Otway National Park, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Coolart Wetlands and River Red Gum Parks.
Ideal for kids aged 6-12, Parks Victoria’s Junior Rangers holiday program is all about having hands-on fun while learning more about the environment, Victoria’s history and how parks protect native animals and plants.
Led by a park ranger, children and their families will have the opportunity to go on a range of activities including:
- Quarantine Me – Find out what it was like to be quarantined in the late 1800’s at Point Nepean Quarantine Station.
- Bush Detective – Become a bush detective and help the park rangers track the secretive animals in the park. Look for clues that the animals have left behind including tracks, skulls, scats and territorial markings. Keep your eyes open for the furry culprits!
- Rockpool Rambles – Join a park ranger to explore a hidden underwater world and discover the creatures that live on our rocky shores.
- Play Games of the early 1900’s – Long before computers there were three-legged races, bocce, horse shoe throw, quoits, tunnel races, hoop’n’stick, fill the skip, sack races, hopscotch, skipping races and skittles.
- Birdwatching – Learn how to use binoculars and get a close look at some of Victoria’s birds! Take a walk with the park ranger where you’ll learn ‘What bird is that? How do they fly? Where do they nest? What do they eat?’
- Water Watch/Mini Beast Discovery – Have fun exploring the park with a park ranger and discover which little beasties make it their home. Dip your nets into the water, see what critters you can find and what part they play in the world of wetlands.
- Heritage Days – Celebrate our history by being part of it at Werribee Mansion. Experience the wringer and dolly in the laundry, are you as good as our laundry maid? Play old fashioned games on the lawn and find out who Aunt Sally is. Make some rope with our hand operated contraption and find out how to spin with a spinning wheel. You can chat to experts about our Victorian clothes and try your hand at writing with a slate pen
- Craft – Get inspired by the plants and animals in the park and create some cool craft.
- Dreamtime Discovery – Spend some time with an Indigenous park ranger. Be inspired by Dreamtime Stories and discover the connection Aboriginals have with Country.
You can see the exact schedule and dates here – Junior Ranger What’s On.
Those taking part are reminded to bring a hat, sunscreen, sturdy footwear and a sense of adventure. Most activities require a booking and children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all sessions. Junior Rangers is not a club; no membership is required to take part. Junior Ranger programs are run mostly during school holidays and on some weekends.
More information: Visit juniorrangers.com.au or call Parks Victoria on 13 1963 to make a booking or for more information.
Eucalypt Festival at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
When: Sunday 31 March and Monday 1 April 2013.
What: Take the opportunity this Easter to celebrate Australia’s most iconic plant – the Eucalypt – at the Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.
With over 800 species spread across Australia, the Eucalypt is a rich part of the nation’s culture.
The Eucalypt Festival has a range of free family fun from kids’ activities to walks, talks and workshops.
The kids will love the chocolate Easter Bandicoot Hunt, art and craft activities, live music, face painting and roving performers.
Those looking for an educational experience can take a guided tour through the Eucalypt Walk of the Australian Garden, a hands-on gardening workshop, or learn how to play a didgeridoo and find out how they were made from eucalypts.
Some of the kids activities include:
- Easter Bandicoot Hunt – Chocolate Bandicoot hunt in the Woodland Picnic Area.
- Marvellous Mini Beasts – Welcome to our magical garden, where you can giggle with the Grasshoppers and Buzz with the Bees! Meet a very hungry Caterpillar, who turns into a beautiful butterfly. Discover how mini beasts eat, move and protect themselves and most importantly, how we can care for them.
- This show includes stories, dancing bees, hopping Grasshoppers, a poem about bugs, and singing. The children will meet the Queen Bee, a Lady Bug, a cheeky Grasshopper and a Caterpillar. Audience members will be able to dress up in the show, and will be provided with simple costumes.
- Dreaming of the Dreamtime – Travel to the outback with the beautiful Rainbow Serpent, and enjoy some traditional tales from the Aboriginal Dreamtime.
- This show includes a poem about the bush, dancing, bright costumes and two Dreamtime stories which look at droughts and floods- “Tiddalik” and “Why The Koala Has A Stumpy Tail”. The children are able to dress up as Australian animals, such as a kangaroo, an echidna, a blue tongue lizard and more! They meet lots of Australian animals, such as a Tree Kangaroo, a grumpy Koala and a giant frog. It also includes dancing, a meeting with the beautiful Rainbow Serpent, and lots of fun information about the Australian bush.
- Face painting – Become a koala, a gum tree or your favourite forest creature.
Other kids activities through out the school holiday at the Royal Botanical Gardens Cranbourne are:
- Magical gum nut craft
- Vacation care groups: Seed to Tree
- Junior Detective – Who killed the Eucalypt
- Gum nut fairies and elves
Bookings or more information: (03) 5990 2200 – Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne and the Australian Garden
National Sports Museum – Finals and Firsts
When: Tuesday April 2 – Friday April 5, 2013 and Monday April 8 – Friday April 12, 2013
Where: The National Sports Museum is located at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Brunton Avenue in Richmond within the confines of Yarra Park. (You need to enter from Gate 3 in the Olympic Stand.)
Opening Hours: Opening hours can vary due to activities on at the MCG, but are generally 10am – 5pm through out the school holidays, with last admission at 4.00pm. (They recommend you allocate at least 90 minutes to fully experience the National Sports Museum and I would say that would be the absolute minimum time you needed). Be sure to check out their website for more info before you head in.
What: Even with out school holiday activities the National Sports Museum is a great place to take kids. You can see my full review of the fab time my kids had here – Review: National Sports Museum Melbourne. The scheduled activities for these school holidays are
The Coaches Courtyard (Activities Zone)
A space for families to relax. Within the designated area will be a range of activities including colouring-in sheets that will celebrate all of the sport that is happening over the April holidays. There will also be some activities to test visitors’ skills, such as hoola-hooping and quoits.
The main feature of this area is the Panna Football Cage (open 10am-3pm daily). Patrons will be able to enter the cage and play one-on-one soccer, with the aim of the time in the cage to keep the ball from your opponent.
Trivia Trail
Answer questions relating to eight of our exhibitions and galleries as you make your way around the museum.
Challenge a Champ
An opportunity to get an autograph and meet athletes that are available to come to the NSM (subject to availability). Scheduled daily at 2.00pm.
Siblings in Sync – Communicating through music
Siblings in Sync is an award-winning, two-session program for children and young people with special needs and their siblings.
It aims to foster relationships between siblings, provide positive shared experiences, and give children the opportunity to express themselves and communicate with their sibling through creative music-making, utilising the unique music technology resources of the Digital Learning Hub. Run by Registered Music Therapists, these small group sessions are tailored to suit individual needs.
Where: Digital Learning Hub – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road Melbourne
When: 9 and 11 April 2013. Two sessions beginning 11am or 1pm each day
Duration: 60 min
Pricing: $25 per family for two sessions.
Ages: 5 – 15. All kids must be accompanied by an adult.
Bookings: Book Online or phone 1300 182 183 9am – 8.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
Mark Trenwith Mr Snot Bottom’s Stinky Silly Show
This show is part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Horrible kids comedian Mr Snot Bottom returns with his sell-out show from 2012! Deeeesgusting kids comedy brimming with all the topics kids love: boogers, bottoms, pop-offs and smells! Little boys love him and girls love to tell him off!
Be repulsed by the story of the great bum-rubbing festival, get grossed out by his giant hanky and be horrified by the antique Fart Gallery! Perfect for kids aged 4-10.
When: Tue-Sun 11am throughout the festival 27 Mar – 21 Apr
Duration: 50 minutes
Where – Melb Town Hall – Lower Town Hall
Prices: $12 – $15
More info and booking details: Mark Trenwith Mr Snot Bottom’s Stinky Silly Show
Big Screen Gaming
Fed Square has free video games on the Big Screen through out the school holidays. Perfect school holiday activity for the older kids.
Games played include arcade classics Pac-Man and NBA Jam, the dark and mysterious Limbo, the addictive Trials HD, Kinect-enabled smash hit The Gunslinger, Forza Motosport 4, the much-loved LEGO Starwars 3 and many more.
Dates and times:
- Tuesday 2 April, 10am – 2pm, The Adventures of TinTin
- Wednesday 3 April, 2pm – 6pm, LEGO Batman
- Thursday 4 April, 4pm – 6pm, (game TBC)
- Monday 8 April, 10am – 2pm, The Need For Speed
- Tuesday 9 April, 2pm – 6pm, LEGO Starwars
- Wednesday 10 April, 4pm – 6pm, (game TBC)
Where: Big Screen, Federation Square, Melbourne
Cost: Free
More info: Federation Square or 9655 1900
What do you have planned for the school holidays?