The best October half-term things to do in London

What is it? London Zoo’s brand new attraction (opening October 18) involves a very specific type of animal: children aged three to eight. ZooTown is a 45-minute-long indoor roleplay adventure for primary schoolers staged inside the building that used to be the Reptile House.  

Why go? It’s a sweet-looking mini town that allows little ’uns to dress up and play in a variety of wholesome zoo-related roles including zookeepers, conservationists, scientists and vets. Worthy in itself and also perhaps an acknowgement that smaller children sometimes need a change of scene from the wildlife.

How much is it? It’s £1 to reserve a space, with booking for a day’s time slot opening three days in advance (you’ll still need to pay zoo entry of course).  

What is it? October half-term means Halloween, Halloween mean pumpkins, and pumpkins mean pumpkin picking season. The complexities of gourd growing are such that come half-term week you may have missed literally harvesting your own (two words: ground frost) but lots of farms in or around London will sell you recently harvested squash and lay on a fun series of spooky activities to boot.

Why go? Provided you’re actively trying to kill time – and what else are the school summer holidays about – it looks about a million times more whimsical a way of acquiring a pumpkin this holidays than nipping down to Tesco.

Where is it? Lot of places – click through for our guide to where to go pumpkin picking in and around London.

What is it? It’s all pretty much there in the name. The Hunger Games: On Stage is the first of Suzanne Collins’s hugely successful YA novels, adapted for the stage. Youngster Mia Carragher (pictured) will play teenager Katniss Everdeen as she is entered into the titular dystopian gladatorial survival games.

Why go? Obviously this is one that’s going to predominantly appeal to people already into the films or novels. But it should be a thrilling theatrical spectacle too, staged in a barnd new in-the-round theatre, with a top creative team. The age advice is a loose 12-plus.

Where is it? Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre.

How much is it? £35-£195.

What is it? After almost 40 years, the Science Museum’s original permanent Space gallery closed at the start of the summer. Now an entirely new one has replaced it.

How much is it? As with the original incarnation, it’s free.

Why go? It’s a superb rehang, that takes most of the stuff in the old exhibition – which includes two actual spaceships that have been to space – and makes it look bigger, closer and cooler. And its new projected tour of the solar system (and beyond) is a real treat.

What is it? This new play for kids aged eight to 13 concerns two teenage girls – Kemi and Norah – who set out to become actual wrestling champions after cool kid Bentley refuses to invite them to his wrestling themed party on grounds of their being dweebs. For ages eight to 13.

Why go? London has lots of children’s theatre for young kids, but an original – very fun sounding – new adventure for tweens is a rare and precious thing and should be pounced upon this half-term.

Where is it? Polka Theatre.

How much is it? £14.

What is it? Although the publicity rather optimistically describes it as doing ‘for mathematics what the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum do for the physical and biological sciences’ (it is obviously a fraction of the size and resources of either), the new MathsWorld nonetheless seems like a wholesome new London attraction for number-loving youngsters. 

Why go? It’s pretty inexpensive and sounds like it should offer a fun series of interactive maths-based experiences, including stepping inside a giant soap bubble or a kaleidoscope, a laser ring of fire (!), crack secret codes, playing pool on an elliptical table and more. 

Where is it? In Southwark, not far from the Tate Modern.

How much is it? £14.50, £13 kids, includes annual pass.

What is it? Ella Hickson’s Wendy & Peter Pan – a family friendly feminist reworking of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan – was a festive hit for the RSC over a decade ago, and now finally makes it to London.

Where is it? Barbican Centre.

How much is it? £25-£95.

Why go? It is by all accounts a fun, feisty spin on a classic tale (as you can imagine, it puts Wendy at the centre a little more) and has a top-notch cast, most notably Toby Stephens as Captain Hook/Mr Darling, his first stage role in an age.

What is it? ‘Story Explorers’ is a new, free exhibition at the British Library is aimed at young audiences aged two to nine and offers them and their families a chance to explore the institution’s gargantuan collection via imagination and play. The exhbition is divided into four themed areas: a library, outer space, the depths of the jungle, and to the bottom of the ocean floor.

Where is it? British Library.

How much is it? Free but booking online is advised.

Why go? Because the works on display sound really cool. They include a Victorian record from the Library’s Sound Archive featuring animal sounds, a near-200-year-old photo of the Moon by Welsh astronomer Theresa Dillwyn Llewelyn, a colourful nineteenth century Thai manuscript depicting elephants frolicking and a map by sixteenth century cartographer Abraham Ortelius that depicts an Iceland surrounded with sea monsters. In other words, it’s not just a collection of dusty tomes: any children with any curiousity about the world should be fascinated.

What is it? The Natural History Museum always has fun with its big, slick temporary exhibitions: for 2025 it poses one of the biggies – are we alone out there? Helpfully (and possibly even deliberately) running while the neighbouring Science Museum’s 40-year-old Exploring Space exhibition is being taken down and reworked, Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? is pretty self-explanatory in what it’s asking. 

Where is it? Natural History Museum.

How much is it? £14-£16.50, £7-£8.25 kids.

Why go? Because the NHM’s collection isn’t just about taxidermied finches: it has some of the world’s best space rocks, and after 144 years they’re finally gettin their own exhibit. We’re promised the opportunity to snap a selfie with a piece of Mars, touch a fragment of the Moon and lay your hands on the Allende meteorite, which is, remarkably, older than Earth itself. Plus loads of fun interactive stuff if your ungrateful child isn’t wowed by a collection of very, very old rocks.

What is it? The V&A’s lavish new exhbition is a celebration of the extraordinary, groundbreaking style of France’s doomed queen. Gathering together 250 objects – many never displayed in this country before – it makes a case for her as a misunderstood woman with exquisite taste (who didn’t actually say ‘let them eat cake’).

Why go? While clearly not one for the tots, it’s the perfect show for a fashion-loving teen.

Where is it? V&A.

How much is it? From £23.

What is it? Iconic historic ship the Cutty Sark – the fastest tea clipper of her age – has long been the crowning tourist jewel of London’s maritime borough Greenwich. And this half term (nay, this double half-term, Oct 20-Nov 2) children go for free when accmpanied by a paying adult.

How much is it? One child goes free with each full-paying (£22) adult.

Why go? Because you’ve always been Sark-curious and this offer gives you the push you need for a visit. Plus in ‘proper’ half-term week (Sat Oct 25-Sun Nov 2) there’s a lively programme of bonus activities including storytelling, sea shanties and the opportunity to meet various Cutty Sark ‘characters’.