The best May half-term things to do in London

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? This half-term marks your absolute last chance to see the OG Exploring Space gallery at the Science Museum: 39 years on from its opening in 1986, it’ll close for good on June 2.

Where is it? Science Museum.

How much is it? Free.

Why go? Exploring Space closing is not a bad thing in and of itself: it’s an old exhibition that opened considerably closer to the first Moon landings that the present day. It needs a refresh and it’s getting one. Nonetheless: it’s an icon and it’ll be sad to see it go; if you kids are fans or have never been, definitely sneak in this half-term for a last look.

What is it? The Southbank Centre is going all out to celebrate the eightieth birthday of The Moomins and the Great Flood, Tove Jansson’s first book starring her beloved cartoon creations the Moomins.

Where is it? Southbank Centre.

How much is it? All events are free.

Why go? Whether you’ve raised your little ones as fans of the hippo-like trolls or Moominpappa, Moominmamma et al are completely new to them, there should be something fun for them. The splashiest highlight is surely The Door is Always Open, which will see adventure play and child lead building experts Woodland Tribe erect an actual (well, sort of) Moominhouse over the course of the week (Tue May 27-Sun Jun 1). If little ones want to help build – they can! Just sign up for one of the Play, Make, Dream sessions.

What is it? Aimed at older primary school children, The Vanishing Forest from English Touring Opera is a kids’ opera sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which Puck and his fairy crew must find Oberon and Titania and put an end to the deforestation around Athens that is robbing them of their magic.

Where is it? Polka Theatre.

How much is it? £11-£20.

Why go? Because it’s cool that there’s a 50-minute, cheap tickets kids opera coming to Wimbledon – often these things are lavishly expensive, but this is more a fun sounding story with great singing than all the pomp and circumstance of ‘an opera’.

What is it? The Unicorn’s big half-terms kids’ show is Emma Earle and Eamonn O’Dwyer’s adaptation of Rachel Bright and Jim Field’s beloved kids’ picturebook about a Kevin, a stay-at-home (well, tree) koala who only very recuctantly embraces change. 

Where is it? Unicorn Theatre.

How much is it? £12.50-£25.50.

Why go? It’s a thoroughly loveable book given a thoroughly loveable stage treatment, with the wonderfully expressive Kevin puppet its beating heart.

What is it? The beloved London Wetland Centre in Barnes has teamed up with the legendary Aardman Studios for an augmented reality trail based on its new TV series Lloyd of the Flies. Your last chance to catch it is June 1.

Where is it? London Wetland Centre.

How much is it? The trail is free with entry, which is around £50 for a family ticket.

Why go? The London Wetland Centre is pretty cool already, but if you’d been putting off making that journey to Barnes then now is the perfect time to go: Aardman are awesome and having the excuse to look at a phone (the AR bits are done via an app) generally cheers most kids up if it’s all too much nature for them.

What is it? A rare dance show for little ones, The Sticky Dance by Second Hand Dance is an installation-like show in which three dancers move around a tactile tapesty of sticky tape.

Where is it? Sadler’s Wells East.

How much is it? £14, £8 children.

Why go? It’s a chill out, laid back taste of dance for an audience rarely catered for. Young attendees are encouraged to interact with the show as they see fit, be that sticking on more of the tape themselves or joining in with the dancing. The show runs two hours start to end, but there are staggered start times and audiences are encouraged to spend around 45 minutes to an hour watching. 

What is it? A fixture at the Southbank Centre on and off since it made its debut in 2023, REPLAY is the playground-slash-installation made from reclaimed materials that’ll be winding up for the year on June 1.

Where is it? Royal Festival Hall. 

How much is it? £5.63-£7.50.

Why go? Because on the one hand it’s a pretty damn good playground and on the other hand you’re a right on London parent looking to find to interesting and ethical variants on the classic playground… and this is your last chance to book into REPLAY, this year at least.