Kids

Gorilla Kingdom
Opened in March this year, Gorilla Kingdom is London Zoo’s biggest project in 40 years, a £5.3 million home for three primates called Bobby, Zaire and Effie. The environment has been carefully planted and crafted to look as much like a forest clearing in Gabon as possible, with the addition of a moat, ‘enriching’ gym, and a crowd of Colobus monkeys zipping about.
London Zoo, Regent’s Park, NW1 (020 7722 3333/www.zsl.org) Camden Town tube. Open 10am-5.30pm, £14.50, £13 concs, £11.50 three to 15s, under-threes free, family £48.50 (two adults, two kids or one adult, three kids). Feature continues

Fun learning at Camden Arts Centre

A spot of colour on the South Bank

Enjoying a break with an ice lolly

Out on the Thames

Fun at Blue Kangaroo

Tucking into some well-earned grub

Dig for Victory
An allotment-sized portion of St James’s Park has been fenced off by the royal park keepers and planted with market-garden vegetables, as part of an education programme for the Cabinet War Rooms museum. It’s a celebration of the allotment culture that sprung up in London during World War II, and it’s free to enter (you’ll have to pay for the museum proper). There is a series of events for kids over the summer (see website for details)
Dig for Victory, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, Clive Steps, King Charles St, SW1A (020 7930 6961/ cwr.iwm.org.uk) Westminster tube. Open 9.30am-6pm (last entry 5pm), free. Museum adm £11, £9 concs, under-16s free.

Learning at the Roundhouse
As well as being a superb music and theatre venue, Camden Town’s revamped Roundhouse features a high-tech set of studios and rehearsal spaces that are ideal for creative children. Courses range from rap to contemporary dance, film and TV to experimental drama; there’s even the chance to be a presenter on Roundhouse Radio, broadcast over the internet. Brochures and enrollment forms can be dowloaded from the website.
Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 (020 7424 9991/www.roundhouse.org.uk) Camden Town or Chalk Farm tube.

The Royal Observatory
The £15m Time and Space refurbishment was finished in May, and it’s well worth a visit to this Greenwich landmark, originally built for Charles II by Wren in 1675. The new 120-seater Peter Harrison Planetarium is particularly spectacular, with an advanced laser projector and presentations specifically aimed at children. Most are suitable for kids over six, with special shows for children aged three to six at weekends and during the holidays (check the website).
Royal Observatory, Greenwich Park, SE10 (020 8312 6565/ www.rog.nmm.ac.uk) Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich DLR. Open 10am-5pm (last entry 4.30pm), free. Planetarium shows £6, £4 under-16s.

WWT Wetland Centre
Just four miles from the West End, this outpost of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is a brilliant family day out. The wetlands support 170 species of bird, as well as myriad insects and amphibians, bats and butterflies. There are trails to follow, feeding tours (at 3.30pm daily), and the Explore playground – expect to lose the little ones for a while here as they run off some energy and get wet.
WWT Wetland Centre, Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, SW13 (020 8409 4400/ www.wwt.org.uk). Barnes Bridge rail and 209 bus. Open 9.30am-6pm, £8.75, £6.60 concs, £4.95 four to 16s, under-fours free.

Art classes
Dulwich Picture Gallery runs an award-winning education programme for budding artists of all ages and abilities, averaging around £6 an hour. Classes for seven- to ten-year-olds are on Saturday mornings (£12), 11- to 14-year-olds can head along on Thursday evenings (£10), and 15- to 18-year-olds can take classes on Tuesday evenings (£10). There are also free drop-in classes on the first and last Sundays of the month. Similar classes run at the National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk) and National Gallery (www.nationalgallery.org.uk). And the ever attractive Camden Arts Centre runs two-day holiday courses in anything from clay to mixed media (costing about £46).
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Rd, SE21 (020 86935254/www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk) North Dulwich or West Dulwich rail.
Camden Arts Centre, corner of Arkwright Road and Finchley Road NW3 (020 7472 5500/www.camdenartscentre.org). Finchley tube/rail.

Parkour
The latest suprising activity to have been opened up to the kids is parkour – the art of traversing an urban environment via a series of freeform movements. Urban Freeflow runs classes specifically for kids, and it’s the ideal outlet for their energy. And don’t worry: they won’t be flinging themselves off buildings (at least not on the first lesson).
Parkour Academy, Stowe Centre, 258 Harrow Rd, W2 (020 7266 8220/www.urbanfreeflow.com) Royal Oak tube. Classes Mondays 6.30pm-8.30pm, £5 (ages 12s and over only).

Opera
Given its beginnings as an artistic outlet for the poor (courtesy of legendary nineteenth-century philanthropist Lilian Baylis) it’s unsurprising that the English National Opera should have a reputation for accessibility. There are workshops for kids aged seven and above in the Clore Education Room (plus a free creche for under-sevens, subject to availability) and a chance to explore the ENO’s current productions for just £4 a head. There are also regular special events for families, most recently the opportunity to experience a day in the life of an opera singer (check the website for events).
English National Opera, The Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (Education 020 7632 8484; box office 020 7632 8300/www.eno.org). Charing Cross tube/rail.

Dancing
The renowned Pineapple Performing Arts School offers a drop-in street dancing class on for eight- to 16-year-olds every Saturday; you just need to turn up and pay a fiver. It’s a great way to either keep the kids fit, or drain them of excess energy. For the really keen there are also summer schools in street dance and musical theatre, for nine- to 17-year-olds (£160).
Pineapple Performing Arts School, 7 Langley St, WC2 (020 8351 8839/www.pineapplearts.com) Covent Garden tube. Sat classes 1-2pm (eight to11s) and 2-3pm (12-16s).

Archaeology
It’s not quite Indiana Jones, but the Young Archaeologists Club (for eight to 16s) meets on the last Saturday of each month at the Pumphouse Educational Museum in Rotherhithe to discuss all things digging. It’s part of the Museum of London Archaeology Service, and activities include walking the Thames foreshore to collect objects that have washed up, identifying bones and mosaic making.
The Pumphouse Educational Museum, Lavender Rd, SE16 (020 7231 2976) Rotherhithe tube. Info on MoLAS (020 7410 2200/www.molas.org.uk )

Clubbing
Another activity that’s no longer just for the grown-ups. It’s taking a break, but from September Babygroove will be back up and running, a club night playing funky house designed to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Reaction to the events earlier this year was rapturous, so keep an eye on the website for the next set.
(www.babygroove.co.uk).

Puppets
It’s not a new thing, but the Little Angel Theatre is a perennial Time Out favourite. Established by John Wright in 1961, this is London’s only permanent puppet theatre, and if you haven’t been yet you should this summer. Themes, styles and stories are drawn from a range of traditions, and the programming is innovative. Weekly Fundays (on Sundays) for families or unaccompanied children involve meeting the puppets and their owners, seeing a show and a puppet-making workshop (£30, £25 concs).
Little Angel Theatre, 14 Dagmar Passage, off Cross St, N1 (020 7226 1787/www.littleangeltheatre.com) Angel tube. £8-£9 (£6-7 under-16s).

And a bite to eat…
The prime draw for kids at Blue Kangaroo in Chelsea is the playground, but the food is great too. The minors’ menu (£5.45 including drink) consists of tasty, own-made burgers, chicken goujons, scrambled eggs, spaghetti carbonara, penne pasta or salmon fishcakes. Kids get served first.
Blue Kangaroo, 555 Kings Rd, SW6 (020 7371 7622/www.thebluekangaroo.co.uk) Fulham Broadway tube.