Family Fun

Sending your gang of sugar-boosted bunnies wall climbing should prevent you from climbing the walls. But whether your mad hatters are into making Easter bonnets or your little chefs like to be busy in the kitchen there’s plenty going on in London to keep them entertained this Easter.

Mad Hatters

Design Museum, London, SE1 2YD
16th, 23rd & 30th March 2008

Sundays throughout March are Mad Hatter days at the Design Museum. Nothing to do with eccentric tea parties but rather workshops where kids aged 5 to 11 can make like Philip Treacy and create their own headwear. The museum's excellent education staff are on hand to help children, teaching them about hat making and then suppling sequins, feathers, beads and ribbons so they can create their own topping hat. Booking is essential for these popular workshops, especially on the busy Easter Weekend. Reserve your place by calling 020 7940 8783 or emailing tickets@designmuseum.org.

More info: Mad Hatters Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Roald Dahl Golden Ticket Trail

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, London, HP16 0AL
Good Friday, 21st March 2008 - Easter Monday, 24th March 2008

What better way to celebrate the choc-centric Easter Weekend than on a Roald Dahl Golden Ticket Trail. Walk through the 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' gates at the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden where the trail begins. Learn more about the man who dreamt up Willy Wonka - and who lived in the town for 30 years - on the trail which takes in local sights including the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery in Aylesbury, Chiltern Park Aerodome and Bekonscot Model Village at Beaconsfield. Check www.visitbuckinghamshire.org at the end of February for full details of the trail which opens just in time for Easter. Starting at the Roald Dahl Museum, you can take part in Easter egg decorating (Friday 21st March) - one hour sessions begin at 10.15am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2.15pm and 3.30pm - with help from local experts, The Chocolate Source (£10 per participant). Or try the free Easter quiz (Saturday 22nd, Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th March throughout the day), where you can follow a trail of clues around the Museum. If you find all the right answers you'll win a chocolate reward. It's all a short journey from London, just 40 minutes by train leaving from Marylebone and there are two trains per hour - or you could just take the Great Glass Elevator.

More info: Roald Dahl Golden Ticket Trail Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Easter at the Westway

Westway Climbing Centre, London, W10 6RP
20th March 2008 - 28th March 2008

If your kids have lots of energy this Easter holidays (only to be expected after they've scoffed all those chocolate eggs), the Westway has a whole variety of ways they can burn it off. There's a shiny new bouldering wall in the recently-opened extension within the climbing centre. Already one of London's biggest climbing centres, the brightly-coloured 4.8-metre high wall with a challenging overhang offering varying levels of difficulty and frequently changing routes adds to the vertiginous fun. It's not just climbing either. There's more action to pack in with the kids' Easter Holiday Programme which has everything from archery to Brazilian Abada Capoeira with tennis, football and handball options available too. To make matters easier, you can now book online; register at www.westway.org/sports/Booking and start your youngsters, from tots to teens, on an energetic escapade.

More info: Easter at the Westway Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Easter at Mudchute Farm

Mudchute Farm, London, E14 3HP
Easter Sunday, 23rd March 2008

Mudchute Farm, situated in the shadow of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, may seem like a surprising place to find farmyard animals. But the farm, set within 31 acres of open green space which includes an official Local Nature Reserve, is like a corner of the countryside in the city. Home to a happy family of sheep, pigs, horses, cows, ducks, geese and dogs, it's a great place to see the first flush of spring with newborn lambs gamboling about. And, just for Easter Day, on Sunday 23rd March, they're putting on a special Easter event from 11am to 1pm which involves basket making in the barn followed by a Grand Easter Egg Hunt around the farm starting at 12.30pm. There's also an equestrian centre is located in the heart of this lush park, catering for all riders, children and adults, from beginners to the advanced. A nature trail beginning near the Education Centre is also a great family activity. With numbered points of interest for your reference you can learn and explore at the same time. Eat at the rustic, family-friendly Mudchute Kitchen or get out in the fresh air for a picnic, but keep an eye out for the llamas who roam the farm's surrounding parklands and who are partial to a sandwich!

More info: Easter at Mudchute Farm Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Sea Life at Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo

Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo, London, KT9 2NE
From Good Friday, 21st March 2008 (official opening)

If your name's Jackson Pollock or Richard Herring you can get into the brand new aquatic attraction at Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo absolutely free. Opening just in time for Easter on 15th March, with the official launch on 21st March, the Sea Life Centre houses over 20 marine life displays with a walk-through ocean tunnel as the main attraction. See all aquatic life from shrimps to sharks in the 250,000 litre aquarium and interact with the sea creatures living in the special touchpools. To celebrate the opening over the Easter Weekend the first 100 people per day called something fishy - with the ID to prove it - will get in for free between 21st and 24th March (only visitors who are paying on the day can qualify). So, Mr Mullet, this could be one of the few times you can use your name to your advantage.

Sea Life at Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo - Information

London, Sugar & Slavery

Museum in Docklands, London, E14 4AL
Free admission from Good Friday, 21st March to Easter Monday, 24th March 2008

Before you scoff all your sweet treats this Easter you'd do well to stop and think about how that sugar-coated bunny came to be melting in your mouth. It may taste delicious but sugar doesn't have such a sweet history, it turns out. London, Sugar & Slavery, the permanent exhibition at Museum in Docklands, helps explain the hidden history of the sugary treats we traditionally eat to excess at this time of year. Sugar was a key factor in the enslavement of millions of Africans and dock workers - on which London grew rich and Britain powerful. The museum's Docklands location is pertinent, too. As a significant port, shipments of sugar arrived here; this very building was once used to store the valuable cargo. By the 1790s a quarter of Britain's income came from imports from the West Indies. As this exhibition shows, the history of London and that of sugar and slavery are intrinsically linked. Something to think about when you bite into your Easter bunny. And, just for Easter, 21st - 24th March, entry to the museum is free. You can also join in the fun and make your own chocolate mobile on 23rd March (12.30pm & 2.30pm). Advanced booking necessary by telephoning 0870 444 3855 or emailing bookings@museumindocklands.org.uk. Lasts for one hour, minimum age 5.

Current events at Museum of London Docklands

Little Mudlarks Toddlers Group: Musical Mondays (Over 1s) event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 at 10am-10.50am and 11am-11.50am PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group: Musical Mondays event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group (Under 5s) event running until Monday 28th May 2012
TIMES Monday 28th May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Storytime (Under 5s) event running until Thursday 31st May 2012
TIMES Thursday 24th May and Thursday 31st May 2012 - 3pm-3.30pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

All events at Museum of London Docklands

X Marks the Spot

Livesey Museum for Children, London, SE15 1JF
11th February 2008 - 20th April 2008

Go treasure hunting instead of egg hunting at the Livesey Museum this Easter. X Marks the Spot includes all kinds of maps. There's one to find your way around London in a simulated taxi ride, a treasure island map to help you get passed the scary sharks and crocodiles creek as well as a Map Movie with illustrations by David Eagleton. The fate of the Livesey Museum is looking very uncertain at this time and this exhibition could well be its last. Due to funding cuts (nothing to do with the Arts Council this time), this much-loved children's museum may be forced to close its doors for the last time in April. Best to get down there and enjoy one of the few places in London where kids can interact with displays and touching them is positively encouraged.

TO SAVE THE LIVESEY SIGN THIS ONLINE PETITION:
www.gopetition.com/online/16681.html

SAVE SOUTHWARK'S MUSEUMS on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8314768438

Current events at Museum of London Docklands

Little Mudlarks Toddlers Group: Musical Mondays (Over 1s) event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 at 10am-10.50am and 11am-11.50am PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group: Musical Mondays event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group (Under 5s) event running until Monday 28th May 2012
TIMES Monday 28th May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Storytime (Under 5s) event running until Thursday 31st May 2012
TIMES Thursday 24th May and Thursday 31st May 2012 - 3pm-3.30pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

All events at Museum of London Docklands

Lambeth's Living Waters and Spring Science Fair

Roots and Shoots, London, SE11 6DN
16th March 2008

"When people think of spring they usually think of crocuses and things like that," says David Perkins of Roots and Shoots, "but the microscopic life, at the bottom of the food chain, is blossoming at this time of year too." At Lambeth's Living Waters and Spring Science Fair, part of National Science Week, the bacteria and diatoms (microscopic plants) come to life, revealed with the help of a microscope. "Walking into the Wild Garden and Study Centre will be like walking into magnified pond," David says. Water samples collected from the Thames by local children from Walnut Tree Walk Primary will be projected onto the walls, so we can see the otherwise secret aquatic life in all its vibrancy. Don't worry if science isn't your strongest subject, microscope workshops help make sense of the squiggling bits. Other children's activities include story-telling, demonstrations, and workshops on solar energy by Solar Century, suppliers of the Roots and Shoots hall roof. Stalls selling organic food are also available and, all being well, the Lambeth Walk Musical Dragon will be heating up the day. You won't get a closer examination of the start of spring.

Current events at Museum of London Docklands

Little Mudlarks Toddlers Group: Musical Mondays (Over 1s) event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 at 10am-10.50am and 11am-11.50am PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group: Musical Mondays event Monday 21st May
TIMES Monday 21st May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Mini Mudlarks Babies Group (Under 5s) event running until Monday 28th May 2012
TIMES Monday 28th May 2012 - 12.45pm-1.45pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

Storytime (Under 5s) event running until Thursday 31st May 2012
TIMES Thursday 24th May and Thursday 31st May 2012 - 3pm-3.30pm PRICING Free
... More about this event

All events at Museum of London Docklands

Easter Cooking for Kids

La Cucina Caldesi, 118 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QF | Maggie & Rose, 58 Pembroke Road, London, W8 6NX
16th March 2008 | 27th March 2008

Chocolate eggs, roast lamb for lunch and Easter cakes for tea, Easter has many associations with eating (well, after abstaining for 40 days in Lent you’re entitled to a bit of a splurge). A great way of getting kids involved in cooking is to enrol them on one of the capital's many child-friendly courses. Held the Sunday before Easter, the ‘Italian Sunday Family Lunch’ workshop at La Cucina Caldesi couldn't be more timely. This unique event is divided up into bite-sized chunks. Firstly, Carola and Stefano Borella take families on a foodie exploration of the nearby Marylebone Farmers' Market. Then, having filled up baskets full of fresh ingredients, parents are free to leave the kids to rustle up a three-course lunch at the cookery school while the adults enjoy some more leisurely shopping in Marylebone’s pretty streets. Food-lovers should seek out the excellent La Fromagerie and next door Ginger Pig. Adults then return at lunchtime to enjoy the feast their children have prepared. Less ambitious maybe are the Cookie Crumbles (tel 020 8876 9912) chocolate-themed workshops designed especially for kids, to be held just after the Easter weekend on 27th March at Maggie & Rose (10am-12pm for 4 to 8-year-olds, £35; and 2pm-5pm for 9 to 16-year-olds, £50).

Cookery Classes at La Cucina Caldesi - Information

Maggie & Rose - Information

Sweet

Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PA
24th November 2007 - 24th May 2008

Looking for all the world like the witch's house in 'Hansel and Gretel', London's buildings have been built from dolly mixtures and jelly beans for this Sweet exhibition at the Museum of Childhood. Using sugary snacks, wrappers and chocolate drops, artist Jaimini Patel has, with the help of primary and secondary school children, recreated a city out of sugar. Although they look cute and the picture of candy coloured innocence, these sweet buildings carry a serious message about Britain's colonial trade in sugar and spice and the buildings that arose from the profits of the slave trade.

More info: Sweet Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube