The school holidays await: six weeks of entertaining the little ones beckons. Fortunately London has plenty to do – here are our top tips
Six. Weeks. Or thereabouts. The school summer holidays are the greatest test of any parent’s logistical mettle, seeing as they’re longer than mozt people’s entire quota of annual leave. And this isn’t America where you can just send your children off to a camp all summer and forget about them. We have to keep our kids entertained.
So good luck with that! And I mean it: my name’s Andrzej, and I’m Time Out’s theatre and kids editor, and as a parent of two I have to deal with this nonsense every year myself. So to help you organise and plan, here are my picks of the best new and temporary London family events this summer, from theatre shows to dinosaurs, exhibitions to more dinosaurs (there are a lot of dinosaurs around this year).
Officially the 2025 London school summer holidays run Wednesday July 23 to Friday August 29. But many schools will break on Monday 21 July, and virtually all of them will add a teacher training day or two on at the start of September.
See below for a list of new and temporary kids’ summer holiday activities.
For evergreen ideas for things to do with children in the capital, see our 50 Things To Do With Kids In London.
For summer things to do with younger kids, see our 30 Things To Do With Babies and Toddlers in London.
For summer things to do with teenagers, see our Best Things To Do With Teenagers In London 2025.
For general London summer ideas see our summer in London guide.
Check out our full round up of kids’ summer theatre.
What is it? The seemingly unstoppable David Attenborough’s second major project of his ninety-ninth year is this moving immersive film about the evolution and future of humanity. It’s not quite as spectacular as his fully fledged nature docs, but it’s powerful stuff, given added bite by the immersive staging, and the sense it’s meant to be Sir David’s message to humanity after he’s gone.
Where is it? Natural History Museum.
What is it? Central London should be a splash more fun for kids this summer thanks to this extremely fun looking collaboration between the Lego Group and the Serpentine Gallery. Designed by architect Sir Peter Cook, the Lego Play Pavillion is a public artwork partially made of Lego bricks that will sit in Kensington Gardens for much of the summer and play host to various free – but booking advised – events that range from crafting workshops to ‘a Lego-inspired music production showcase’.
Where is it? Kensington Gardens.
What is it? Last seen in London in 2022 – the last time a Jurassic World film came out – Jurassic World: The Experience is an immersive experience themed around the beloved movie franchise returning just in time for Jurassic World: Rebirth. Get a ferry to Isla Nublar, admire some dinosaurs, run off when it all inevitably goes wrong: you know the score
Where is it? NEON, Battersea Power Station.
What is it? Just in time for the summer holidays, here comes Disney’s first big new stage musical since Frozen. Hercules is, of course, an adaptation of the beloved 1997 animated film, and while it perhaps lacks the source material’s quirky charm it’s undoubtedly a huge amount of fun for kids, the sort of big budget family friendly stage show that only comes around very occasionally.
Where is it? Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
What is it? The latest immersive film from the Lightroom is a real family pleaser: the spectacular Prehistoric Planet thrusts you into a lifesized mesozoic era via a dazzling remix of the Apple TV programme of the same name.
Where is it? Lightroom.
What is it? The bar that prompted a thousand eyerolls, Ballie Ballerson is of known for being a ball pit aimed at adults only. Well, this summer it’s experimenting with letting kids in: throughout the summer holiday there will be two under-18s sessions every Friday: 3.30pm-5pm for ages seven to 12, then 5.30pm to 7pm for ages 13 to 16.
Where is it? Ballie Ballerson in Shoreditch.
Why go? Let’s be honest, Ballie Ballerson has always been entirely predicated on the idea that ball pools are a fun kids’ thing that adults aren’t normally allowed to do. Just because adults can access this one doesn’t make it any less of a laugh for little ones. It’s a massive ball pool, that’s why go. Pay a tenner extra and you get bottomless pizza as well.
What is it? The Tate’s Turbine Hall is always a great shout for taking youngsters to during the school holidays – all that glorious concrete space!! But that goes double for 2025 as the hall will play host to an installation by the artist Monster Chetwynd that’s speciaifally aimed at kids. A fantasy world based upon Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 film adaptation of The Magic Flute, visitors will be invited to interact with the work and create scenes based upon the comic opera. (Current image of a different Chetwynd artwork).
Where is it? Tate Modern.
What is it? This summer’s kids’ theme at Kew Gardens is a bit more special looking than the usual picturebook tie-in blah: it’s from nature-based arts specialists Wild Rumpus, whose anarchic collective of ‘Oak Keepers’ will take you on an adventure around Kew starting every half hour from Rhododendron Dell near the Brentford Gate.
Where is it? Kew Gardens.
Why go? Kew during the summer is an embarassment of riches – see also the theatre programme, below – but if it’s almost gratuitously fun for kids in the summer, we’re not complaining.
What is it? Now somewhat hysterically about six weeks long (it really was just seven days once), children go free to most West End shows this summer when accompanied by a paying adult if you book through the official Kids Week portal – a huge bargain.
Where is it? Theatreland.
What it it? Crowd-funded out of a budget-imposed hiatus, the Greenwich Fair – aka the free colourful family friendly festival within the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival – is finally back in 2025. Restored to its old two-day length it will this year take place in Greenwich Park and features a host of live acts, running the gamut from heartwarming intergenerational dance show Go, Grandad, Go! to full on aerial highwire work from French compang Cie des Chaussons Rouges and their show Epiphytes (pictured).
Where is it? Greenwich Park.
What is it? If you’re hankering for a visit to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich then now’s the time: it has just concluded a major overhaul of its central Ocean Court space, aka the giant map room. The room has been completely overhauled but the most striking change is the map: it now uses a 'realistic’ model that emphasises the fact that the planet is 70 percent covered by ocean, with landmasses comparitively few and far between. There’s also a new cafe there – perfect for a sit down while the kids rampage across the map.
Where is it? National Maritime Museum.
What is it? A large scale outdoor attraction that did the rounds in 2021 under the name Jurassic Encounter. It it, audiences wander around – and occasionallty sit on – dozens of life-sized dinosaurs, some of them animatronic.
Where is it? Beddington Park, Sutton.
What is it? Summer is always a relatively quiet time for London’s children’s theatres – but not at the Polka, which has a big adaptation of Lenny Henry’s The Boy with Wings. His kids’ novel about Tunde, a boy who sprouts wings and shortly therafter discovers that his dad is a ferocious alien warrior. In a co-production with Birmingham Rep, it’s substantial – and fun! – looking show for kids aged seven to 12.
Where is it? Polka Theatre.
What is it? The View from the Shard is of course the viewing platform at the top of the Shard, aka London’s tallest building. And this summer, prices have been slashed (or trimmed, anyway) in an initiative to attract more tourists.
Where is it? The Shard.
Why go? A massive whacking great vista of London is obviously very cool for kids, but the absurdly high tickets are off putting. To be honest they’re still not cheap, but they are a little more managable this summer.
What is it? Kew Gardens is a day out all in itself, but to really make your trip special, why not take in one of the three theatre shows the Australian Theatre Company is running there this summer? For tots there’s The Dream Fairies, Alice in Wonderland is for bigger kids, and the evening production of Macbeth isn’t a bad shout for teens. Tickets include admission to Kew and for the kids’ shows the price difference between a regular Kew ticket is negligible.
Where is it? Kew Gardens.
What is it? What if science is the only way of putting food on our plates in decades to come? This new free exhibition at the Science Museum looks at fascinating projects like Norway's ice-cold seed vault and the first beef steak to be grown outside a cow, as well as looking at community-led sustainability projects. And it invites you to get involved, with a multiplayer game where you can cook up your own future for food. Delicious!
Where is it? Science Museum.
What is it? If you’ve not caught it yet the Young V&A’s Making Egypt combines clear, lucid historical and cultural storytelling with an intriguing collection of historic artefacts set alongside modern pop cultural items influenced by them.
Where it is? Young V&A.
How much is it? £10 (which gets you return entry throughout the run).
Why go? The Egypt-influenced modern pop cultural artefacts are good fun, but the showstoppers are the thousands of years old ancient objects, notably the the ravishing painted wooden sarcophagus of Princess Sopdet-em-haawt and the beautifully coloured 4,000-year old funerary boat.
What is it? This immersive Minecraft spin off experience has extended its run through the summer into late September. It’s possible it’ll extend again, but there’s a good chance the summer holidays will be the last before it moves on.
Where is it? Corner Corner, in Surrey Quays.
How much is it? £29.50-£31.50 (£24.50-£26.50 for children)
Why go? If your kids like Minecraft and are of primary school age, they’ll doubtless love this frenzy of object gathering and mob slaying. At 45 minutes it doesn’t sound that long but it’s so intense they’ll probably have burnt themselves out by the end.
What is it? The Natural History Museum’s new temporary exhibition is a calming and elegant journey into the question of whether life is out there.
Where is it? Natural History Museum.
How much is it? £14-£16.50, £7-£8.25 children
Why go? The carefully curated exhibition instils an appropriate amount of awe in its presentation of objects – rocks, meteors – that are older than Earth. It provides a good overview of how life got underway on our planet. And it provides a sober contemplation of the odds of life existing outside of it. And there are, eventually, aliens.
What is it? Transport Explorers is a new family theatre show staged at the Transport Museum that sees two trainee engineers tackle transport challenges from London’s past, present and future. We’re promised science demos and audience interaction in the 60-minute show. For ages five to eleven.
Where is it? Transport Museum.
How much is it? £12-£15.
Why go? An informative theatrical enhancement to a trip to the Transport Museum – which lest we forget is free to kids – is a lovely idea, and after a brief trial last half term the summer holidays are when Transport Explorers should really come into its own.
Discover Time Out original video
