Nobody likes February half term. It's cold, long and far too close to the Christmas break for our bank account's liking. Keep the peace with these 20 fun family events to keep everyone occupied, wherever you are and whatever your budget...
February frolics
Where: Willows Farm Village, Hertfordshire Willowsfarmvillage.co.uk
When: 11-19 Feb 10am – 5.30pm
See new born lambs being born, learn about the lambing process from resident expert Tuck the Shepherd, take part in Bo Peep’s Lost Sheep Hunt and win a prize, plus watch mind-boggling farming-inspired experiments courtesy of ‘Mad Science’. Log onto the Lamb Cam at home to track the progress of the lambs you see being born during their visit.
Cost: £7.95 per adult, £9.95 per child
Be a monk for the day
Where: The Nave, Norwich Cathedral, Cathedral.org.uk
When: Tuesday 14 Feb 10am–4pm
Go back in time to the 14th Century and experience a typical day in the life of a Benedictine monk including cooking, arts and crafts, plainsong and games. They’ll never complain about tidying their rooms again. For ages 8-12.
Cost: £10.00
Bop 'til they drop
Where: The Ministry of Sound, London, Lollibopfestival.co.uk
When: Sunday 12 February, 12 – 5pm
LolliBop’s Mini Disco for kids aged 3 - 10 is a mixture of dance games, hula hoop and beat box workshops, storytelling and bubble shows with special guest appearances from Scooby Doo and award winning children’s entertainer, Allin Kempthorne plus TV favourites Dick and Dom take to the decks.
Cost: £10.00 booked in advance or £15 at the door
See snowdrops by starlight
Where: Cambo Estate, Fife Snowdrops by Starlight, Snowdropsbystarlight.com
When: 11 - 19 Feb
The 70 acres of woodland at Cambo Estate in Fife is home to the National Collection of 300 species of snowdrop - see how light and sound is used to transform the snowdrop vistas into an enchanted starlit wonderland.
Cost: Book in advance: £9 per adult Monday to Thursday and £12 Friday to Sunday. Children 3-16, £5.50
Science Spectacular Weekend
Where: National Maritime Museum, Falmouth, Cornwall, Nmmc.co.uk
When: 11-12 Feb
Get your geek on at the Maritime Museum! Live and direct from CBBC’s Space Hoppers, author Mark Brake and science rapper Jon Chase present two days of awesome thought experiments. Discover what it might be like to take your holiday in outer space and discover the Science and Fiction of Doctor Who as you investigate aliens, time machines, Cybermen and Daleks.
Cost: A family ticket is £27, but entitles you to free unlimited access to the Museum for a year
Hunt the dragon
Where: Dunster Castle, Somerset Dunster Castle, Nationaltrust.org.uk
When: 11-19 Feb
Follow the treasure trail around the castle grounds in search of the dragon’s lair. Dragon prizes for everyone brave enough to see it through to the end!
Cost: £2 per trail plus normal garden admission: £4.70 per adult and £2.20 per child
Beat Usain Bolt
Where: Enginuity Design & Technology Centre, Telford, Shropshire, Ironbridge.org.uk
When: 11-19 Feb 10am-5pm
Challenge yourself at the Games and Me event. Try to ‘Beat the Bolt’ racing alongside a virtual Usain Bolt in an attempt to beat his world record and watch a playback to see where you went wrong! Test your reaction speeds at a Batak Wall and a speed gun records how fast you can kick different weight footballs.
Cost: Adult £7.50, Child £5
Make a choccy box
Where: The Red House Museum and Gardens, Christchurch, Dorset, Hants.gov.uk/redhouse
When: 14 Feb 10.30am-12.30pm
To mark Valentine’s Day, join a workshop to make a box of chocolates as a gift for the one you love …. (Or scoff the lot yourself of course). For 7 years and upwards.
Cost: £5 per person
See Bond in motion
Where: Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest Beaulieu National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.co.uk
When: 11– 19 February 10am-5pm
Shaken, not stirred. See 50 original vehicles from the James Bond films, the largest exhibition of its kind staged anywhere in the world. Cop a load of the Aston Martin DB5, the Lotus Esprit S1, from The Spy Who Loved Me and the Rolls-Royce Phantom III starring in Goldfinger. Exercise your code-cracking skills for an opportunity to win a Bond goody bag and have your picture taken in a genuine Bond vehicle.
Cost: £19 adults, £9.50 (5-12 years)
Create pop-up card-art
Where: Guildford Museum, Guildford.gov.uk
When: Wed, 15 Feb 11am - 1pm and 2pm - 4pm
A children’s workshop to design and make fun pop-up cards. (bit late for Valentine’s Day, but good things are worth waiting for….)
Cost: £2 per child
Storytime at the zoo
Where: London Zoo, Regent’s Park, Zsl.org/london
When: 11-19 Feb
Meet top children’s authors and illustrators including Sally Grindley, Michael Terry and Lisa Regan - learn to draw your favourite animals in interactive workshops and hear stories in special sessions.
Cost: Adults £20.50, Child: £16
Rough it with bushcraft
Where: Whinlatter Forest, Keswick, Cumbria, Keswickcanoeandbushcraft.co.uk
When: 12 Feb, 1pm-4pm
Join experienced bushcraft leaders to learn how to survive in the forest using natural materials and specialist skills! Try your hand at shelter building, campfire cooking, tracking, and making fire from flint and steel. Everything your mum won’t let you do at home.
Cost: £10 per child
Go aqua sphering
Where: Nationwide, Spheremania.com
When: Daily, see website
It’s too cold to take a dip in the sea, but if your kids love getting wet. Let them loose in a giant plastic ball with 30 litres of water and watch as they’re tossed around as if in a giant washing machine. They’re kids - they’ll love it!
Cost: From £55
Get cheap thrills
Where: River Deep Mountain High, Coniston, Riverdeepmountainhigh.co.uk
When: 13-17 Feb
Local outdoor activity provider River Deep Mountain High are offering outdoor activity sessions during half term for only £1. Try Canoeing and Kayaking or Guided Walks. Book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Cost: £1
Go Electric in the Forest
Where: Moors Valley Country Park, Dorset, Theelectricforest.co.uk
When: 11-19 Feb, 6.60-9pm
Explore the woodland after dark at The Electric Forest - a special part-lit forest trail dotted with installations of light and sound with illuminated playscapes for children to clamber over, sound installations to listen to and a magical tree-top ‘ballroom’ walkway, which will be transformed by gently spinning mirror balls.
Cost: £15.50 per adult and £10 for children
Ice skate at the museum
Where: Beamish Open Air Museum, Durham, Beamish.org.uk
When: 11-19 Feb
Glide and slide around a rink decorated in a traditional Edwardian style with festoon lighting and fairground organ music. There’s a cosy skate hire hut and drink stall to enjoy a warming hot chocolate. After your skate, stroll around the shops and the houses of the Edwardian town, or go underground at a real drift mine in the Pit Village.
Cost: £5 adult, £4 children, plus special discounted museum entry fee: £8 adult and £5 children
Build a den
Where: King Barrow Ridge, Stonehenge, 01980 664780, Visitwiltshire.co.uk
When: 16 Feb 2-4.30pm
Go wild in the woods and fields, build a den and gather round the fire to toast marshmallows.
Cost: Children £3, supervising adults, free.
What the Dickens?
Where: Museum of London, EC2, Museumoflondon.org.uk
When: Feb 11- 19, 10am - 6pm
Meet Charles Dickens and learn how some of his stories were based on his own tough Victorian childhood in workshops, talks and story time.
Cost: Free
Handle some animals
Where: Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, Thinktank.ac
When: 13- 17 Feb
Get your mitts on some feathery, furry and slithery creatures if you dare in some fun ‘Animal Handling Sessions’
Cost: Family ticket, £39
See Peter Pan the Musical
Where: Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth, Bic.co.uk
When: 15-18 February
Fly away to Neverland with Swish of The Curtain’s musical adaptation of the classic.
Cost: From £10 per ticket
Will you be putting any of these in the diary? Let us know what you get up to over half term below...
