Can’t bear the thought of another two weeks spent at an obnoxiously loud playcentre or crowded movie theatre? Enter the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Fun, safe and nurturing, the Garden is a lovely environment for getting kids involved in some active and educational activities that will connect them with nature.
This spring school holidays, the stacked program features everything from bush tucker workshops to horticultural exhibitions and night-time spotlight tours.
On September 26 and 27, you and your little ones will meet powerful pollinators as part of the Bees, Butterflies and Bugs session. Journey into the Garden to discover all sorts of interesting facts about the special relationship between these insects and flowers – like how flowers use colour, perfume and shapes to attract their invertebrate friends.
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, the Gardens will be running an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour with a First Nations guide. On this one-hour experience you’ll journey through the Cadi Jam Ora garden and learn about Indigenous bush foods and how they were used traditionally and then adapted to the modern plate and palate – you’ll even get to try some for yourself!
If you’ve always wanted to explore the Garden at night, now’s your chance. The Sunset Spotlight Tour will run on September 28 from 6.30pm, and you’ll wander illuminated paths, visit diversity hotspots and look for nocturnal animals like brush-tailed possums, microbats, flying foxes or tawny frogmouths.
Another twilight option is the Ghostly Garden Tour on September 23. During this spine-tingling event you’ll hear spooky tales of the Garden’s past – including stories of people long-since dead – as bats flit above your head and glassy-eyed creatures stare from the treetops.
For the budding horticulturalists, don’t miss the immersive Love Your Nature exhibition, opening on September 26. Celebrating all kinds of plants, it features more than 20,000 types of flora, and one of the largest living green walls in the Southern Hemisphere.
And if you need some time to yourself, send the kids off to Garden Grubs vacation care on September 26 or 27. They’ll have a ball exploring, getting their hands dirty and participating in a range of creative and action-based activities.
For more information and to book tickets, head to the website.