perks!Kids
Great things to do in London for kids, teens and families
Kids’ events and highlights in London
Cartoon Museum
On the ground floor of the Cartoon Museum - a transformed former dairy - the cartoons are displayed chronologically, starting with the early eighteenth-century when high-society types back from the Grand Tour introduced the Italian practice of the caricatura to polite society. From Hogarth the displays move on to British cartooning's 'golden age' (1770-1830). 'Modern times' covers political wartime cartoons and social commentary produced between 1914 and 1961. The 'new satire' section – works published from 1961 onwards – includes Ralph Steadman, Steve Bell, Dave Brown, Matt and others. Downstairs the artists' names are immediately recognisable; upstairs – where comic strip art from 2000AD, the Dandy and the Beano is displayed – is much more about the characters portrayed: Rupert the Bear, Dan Dare, Judge Dredd et al. The excellent shop is recommended, as is the library where – by appointment – you can search the catalogue of some 3,000 books. Children's animation workshops are held during school holidays.
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
In addition to the hundreds of varieties of fish and sea life from all over the world, including stingrays, sharks, piranhas and sea scorpions, the aquarium's Shark Walk allows visitors to walk over a glass platform with sharks swimming just below their feet. Californian cownose rays, which swim in synchronised formations, are another notable feature, as is a tunnel constructed from a 25m-long whale skeleton, beneath which visitors can watch a tropical ocean of fish, coral and green turtles. The Rainforests of the World area, complete with exotic vegetation and a tropical waterfall, is home to a pair of six-foot dwarf crocodiles. A crustacean invasion is coming; the aquarium's, 'Claws' brings together species from the gigantic Japanese Spider crab (which can grow to 12 feet long) to the humble blue lobster (apparently they aren't pink until they are cooked). Guests can see the crabs from all angles in the new crawl-through tunnel and discover how these armored creatures’ function with a giant mechanical claw. A charming recent addition to the aquarium is Sea Dragon Kingdom, a new collection of strange and colourful fish including Weedy Sea Dragons, Alligator pipefish and yellow seahorses. Little explorers can venture into the lost temple to catch glimpses of these mystical creatures. To draw the crowds in for half term and holidays in 2015, when the attraction stays open till 8pm, a new zone has been created, themed around the River Thames. It can be hard to spot any kind of
