Kids activities Sydney

Add a little bling to the autumnal evenings with this sparkling dessert festival. Milk N’ Sugar is mixing together ice-cream sandwiches, rainbow bagels and wild milkshakes for an after dark sugar-based feast at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. It’s running for three nights during Vivid, offering the sugar-mad Sydney populous a centralised hub full of the city’s finest sweet treats. When the Vivid lights switch on from 6pm each evening, you’ll find buckets of award-winning gelato by Enmore’s Cow & the Moon, crazy complex macaron sliders from Western Sydney’s Arelio Sweetbox, and light-up doughnut ice-cream cones from Sydney’s Hungarian street food provider, Hungary Bites. The ‘flurritos’ – a fairy floss-based dish rolled together with ice cream and Fruit Loops to resemble a shockingly pink burrito – may be taking dessert a step too far, but we’ll leave judgement up to those holding the cake forks. If that sweet adventure doesn’t impress you, perhaps the giant, interactive dessert displays will. We’re not totally sure what these one metre-tall structures will be, but if they’re following the glowing Vivid trend, we’re bound to see some sparkles. If you’re more into savoury snacks, we recommend you get your salty fix earlier in the evening, as this really will be a sugar-only zone.

Strap on your skates and head to Central Park Mall because Sydney’s grooviest ice rink is about to re-open this May. You can practice your twirls and backwards gliding every day from 10am to 8pm, and from 4-8pm you can take it up a notch, listening to music pumped through your headphones by the resident DJ – if you book in for these dance-skating sessions from Monday-Wednesday, you’ll also get a $10 voucher to blow at the mall. Skating and glowing headphones are free, however the sessions are limited to 45 people on the ice at any one time, and each session runs for one hour (or 30 minutes for when the hordes descend at popular times). Skates are offered on a first-come first-served basis for each session.

Budding horticulturalists who like plants with attitude should head to the Royal Botanical Gardens from October 1 for a free exhibition of carnivorous greenery. The Calyx will be filled with 25,000 of the world’s hungriest, most clever plants. Watch as the venus fly trap lures unsuspecting insects with nectar and snaps them up in its jaws, where they’ll spend their final days being slowly digested. Or meet the drosera, who use their sticky tentacles to attract and snatch their prey before devouring them. Then marvel at the simplicity of the pitcher plant’s hunting technique, which is to lure hapless bugs with honey and let them fall into the pool of digestive enzymes in their pitfall trap. The Plants with Bite display does sound a little like a horror film, but it’s really all bark and no bite (for humans, anyway) and families can expect a very kid-friendly experience. Plus, there will be a range of themed education programs, workshops and a regular feeding display that will intrigue little greenthumbs and their grown-ups.

If you’re looking for a gentle woofer friend to bring into your family, a greyhound might be your perfect doggo match. These docile cuties laze or lollop alongside you with intense loyalty and affection. Many ex-racing greyhounds are looking to find their perfect human partner in Sydney, and you can find your true greyhound love at this adoption day hosted by Yulli’s Brews. The Alexandria brewery will be teaming up with NSW charity Greyhound Rescue for a day dedicated to rehoming retired racing dogs. There’ll be the standard delicious snacks and brews on offer, alongside meet-and-greets (and cuddles) with greyhounds. If you’re ready to make the commitment, you’ll also have the chance to adopt a gentle boy or girl at a reduced price. Yulli’s will be pouring from their karma keg, so if you’d like to donate to Greyhound Rescue, you can sink a few from the charitable brew and the proceeds will go towards saving dogs.