The best school holiday activities in Sydney

The beloved Opera House knows how to put on a killer school holiday lineup to entertain little minds and this winter is no different. Headlining the lot is the Sydney premiere of Roald Dahl's classic: James and the Giant Peach, but look forward to a whole heap of other shows and workshops. The program tailors for ages 4 through to 104, so even the big kids are covered here too. There's architecture club, dance-mania, singing veggie patches and alien rescue missions. Strap in!

Hidden deep (well, kind of deep) within the heart of Centennial Park is a playground like no other. Fit out with a wild tree house, bamboo forest, a fancy water-play area, banksia tunnels, turtle mounds and dry creek beds, this ‘wild play’ locale is full of wonderful nooks and crannies that keep kids fresh, entertained and connected to the big outdoors, all from within the controlled paradise of Centennial Park. 

IMAX Sydney closed for a rebuild back in 2016, and after a longggg wait, it's finally relaunched in October 2023, better than ever, in the W Sydney building. When we say this is huge news, we mean it. IMAX Sydney’s new movie screen is the third largest in the world, spanning a staggering 693 square metres. If you're looking to get the title of coolest parent ever, a seat in one of IMAX's private pods or recliner chairs might just bring you one step closer. You can book tickets for IMAX Darling Harbour over here.

When it rains in Sydney, it pours. So it pays to have a few wet-weather saves up your sleeve for when the kids are home and bored with Youtube and colouring-in. Luckily, our city has a whole load of indoor playgrounds and kid-friendly museums – as well as craft workshops, leisure centres and active areas – to keep ’em busy. Click here to get inspo.

Would you believe kids as young as three can do indoor skydiving at iFLY in Penrith? It’s all about the "look mum, look dad" here, as the indoor skydiving takes place behind glass in the middle of the venue – so even being a spectator is fun. They also have a camera taking pictures throughout your ‘dive’ so you can purchase your most impressive pose – complete with g-force cheeks.

For two weeks, Darling Harbour will turn into a spectacular winter wonderland as it hosts its annual Winterfest event. The schedule is nothing short of jam-packed, including an ice-skating rink open daily from 10am-9pm that gazes over Cockle Bay, Tumbalong Park will transform into a four-day long festival venue with a gaming zone, slime-making, and exhilarating winter sport film screenings, and there are night time firework shows to look forward to. 

Enrol the little dancer of the house into one of Sydney's most established dance school's school holiday workshops. The classes dabble in everything from jazz, to contemporary, to hip-hop, to theatre. The classes target both beginners and kids who have been dancing since they could walk, so hit up the timetable to find something that suits. Learn from some of the best including performers from Grease The Arena Spectacular, the Moulin Rouge in Paris and Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. The multi-day wokrshops will take place both at Bondi Pavillion and the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct 

Hyper close-up shots already give us a good look at Aussie animals we may never have the pleasure of viewing in the wild, but The Australian Museum and AGB Creative went ahead and projected the images on towering screens for an unreal immersive experience. In addition to the Creatures Gallery, there are videos where you get to meet zoologists, caretakers and scientists. The Wild Walk lets you feel leaves rustle and water ripple right under your feet, while the AR Booth will snap a selfie of you with a visual animal friend and put you in touch with your favourite conservation organisations. 

The work of the late May Gibbs has given Australian children wondrous fantasies for years, with The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie enduring as an essential component in our collective childhood memory. Nutcote is where Gibbs wrote her books and long-running cartoon strip Bib and Bub. Reminisce about Gumnut babies and Banksia men in that childhood fantasy world when you visit the museum, learn about Gibbs and her characters, and then relax in the gardens.

Calling all aspiring astronauts! The incredible Katherine Bennell-Pegg (the first astronaut trained under the Australian flag), will be stopping by the largest Lego store on the planet this month – and you could meet her. The Sydney-born explorer will be greeting space enthusiasts at the CBD’s sprawling Lego megastore from 10am on Tuesday, July 16. One of the brand’s latest (and perhaps most otherworldly) releases is inspired by outer space, and rather than just releasing alien-style figurines, Lego decided to go all out – creating a Lego-style brick from (4.5-billion-year-old) meteorite dust donated by the European Space Agency (ESA) where Katherine trained.

Game on, Sydney. Last summer, Australia’s very first interactive gaming rooms opened in Darling Harbour, offering full-scale, immersive versions of Squid Game, Angry Birds, Ghostbusters and a whole lot more. Little ones aged five and up can come for the adventure, too, with light-hearted games featuring beloved characters from Paw Patrol and Shaun the Sheep. You can find Immersive Gamebox next door to Sea Life, with sessions running daily from 10am until 6pm on weekdays and 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights. 

Ninja Parc South Granville is a perfect stop for kids wanting to burn off some steam while simultaneously finessing their parkour skills. Featuring rope climbs, bouldering challengers, vertical and horizontal doors, a sea of poles and, the ever-classic ‘warped wall’, this gym-meets-play extravaganza is totally equipped to obliterate every last vestige of school holiday boredom. 

This round up of some of the hottest films on the big screen right now is one the aspiring little movie buffs can't miss. The festival is going to be graced by a special guest: Australian gem and children's book author Leigh Hobbs (do Old Tom or Horrible Harriet ring any bells?) with his short film Mr Chicken Goes to Mars. There'll be blockbusters like the freshly released Inside Out 2, plus Australian premiere titles, and international films with subtitles, all for kids. For the full program and to book tickets, head here.

Spend hours cooing over a barnyard of baby animals: chicks, lambs, calfs, kids, ducklings and rabbits, you name it. The almost too adorable experiences at Golden Ridge Animal Farm are largely aimed at human kids wanting to learn about the 500 furry and feathered farm residents – but grown-ups can tag along too.

If you’ve ever wanted to get seriously close to tigers (without there being a terrible ethical or safety problem in the way), this is your chance. Tiger Trek is an entertaining but also hugely educational experience that helps you make better supermarket choices to help protect the endangered Sumatran tiger's habitat. The Tiger Trek is included in your ticket to Taronga, so it's free to zoo attendees.

The Hunter Valley Gardens have created a spectacle of a winter wonderland for the whole family, perfect for a little weekend away this July. The botanical venue already takes the cake for the largest Christmas light display in the Southern Hemisphere so expect nothing short of magnificent for their ‘Christmas in July’. In terms of the kids (and kids-at-heart) burning off some steam, there will be a mega snow play zone for snowman building and snow angel making, a 45-metre ice slide toboggan, and an ice skating rink. For the little artists, a craft area will be housed in the Igloo Marquee and roaming mascots will be performing and taking super cool photos with visitors (mind the pun). 

A cold breeze is brewing and Elsa is calling. There's icy fun on in Sydney this winter, so you can practice your ice-skating twirls, double axels and graceful tumbles. Click through for our guide to permanent ice-skating rinks as well as temporary pop-ups in Sydney and nearby.

This little pocket of Alexandria is the perfect place to hide out on a rainy day. You’ve got 9 Degrees for indoor climbing, Hijinx Hotel for group challenges (more info below), Holey Moley mini golf, boozing for the grown-ups at Rocks Brewing Co – plus an arcade of retro games, bowling and laser tag at Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. Inside, there are bowling lanes, an interactive 3D theatre ride (our pick of the whole venue), a laser tag zone for kids, the tightest dodgem track you’ll ever come across, and a whole lot of arcade games.

The Fullerton is a hotel partly housed in what used to be the Sydney General Post Office (GPO), a heritage building that was built back in 1887. It was Sydney's first major development, and regarded as a building that would come to symbolise Sydney in the way the Houses of Parliament in Westminster represent London, and the Eiffel Tower, Paris. You can discover the rich history of the building and the Post Office on the 90-minute GPO Heritage Tour. Their resident guide will take you on a journey through time, sharing the tales and legends of the city’s iconic Grand Dame. Book here.

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium is the world's largest indoor system of Australian marine life, with 60 tanks and three oceanaria filled with more than 13,000 animals from 700 different species. Perfect for kids of all ages, and a good time for parents too, they are open seven days a week during the school holidays. 

Kingpin have it all when it comes to adrenaline pumping, bounce-off-the-walls fun. It's a good thing, then, that these school holidays they're offering over $100 worth of fun times for just $55 per person. You'll get 2x activities (take your pick from bowling, darts, laser tag, escape room or karaoke), a feed, $40 to spend in the arcade and don't stress if you don't win anything, because you'll also get 200 prize tickets to spend at the vault. For more fun, there's also a Kingpin outpost in North Strathfield where you can (laser) battle it out with your besties. 

Swim in a giant cereal bowl ball pit, tip-toe around a floor of lava, or enter a neon polka dot universe or an old-timey carnival in this incredible challenge rooms 'hotel' where no two rooms are the same. You’ll have just four minutes in each room to earn as many points as you can – it's a fun, high-energy vibe for the whole family.

If the Art Gallery of NSW wasn't already on your radar for the school holidays (how could it not be?), you might want to put it on now. The gallery is a super kid-friendly space for exploring art and it's a great place to foster creative minds. These winter school holidays, kids can craft their own little paper headpiece inspired by the ethereal Alphonse Mucha exhibition. Some other workshops for little hands include printmaking portraits and sketching botanicals.

Luna Park was already pretty magical, and then they went and launched ‘Dream Circus’, an enchanting $15 million immersive experience. A high-tech ‘Magic Box’ inside Luna Park’s existing 3,000 square metre Big Top building has custom-designed 360-degree projections, motion-activated LEDs and hologram technology. Tickets for the Dream Circus experience are on-sale over here. The hour-long experience is priced at $35 for children and $45 for adults. 

There's a little something for everyone at Manufactor, the new dine and play precinct in Penrith. There are a whole heap of dining options like fried chicken from Flappy's and American barbecue from Brisket Boys. While you tuck in, the kids can play in the extensive garden surrounds, and explore the art installations around the site. The precinct is even dog-friendly so you can truly make it a full-family affair. 

NAIDOC Week happens to fall in the winter school holidays this year, and to celebrate Indigenous Australia, The Royal Botanic Gardens are running two workshops on the world's oldest continuous living culture. Even better is that both tours, Aboriginal Bush Tucker and Aboriginal Harbour Heritage, will be free from July 8 - 13. You'll hear stories of the native Gadigal people, sample your own bush tucker, and explore Sydney's gorgeous garden space. Book yourself and the little ones in for fun that is equally cultural and exciting as it is botanical. 

Want your kid to get benefit out of their screen time? Children aged 5-13 can develop valuable computer skills at a two- to three-day Code Camp. There are 121 Code Camp locations around Australia, though they can also join in online. Choose a camp based on their interests – there are themes such as Roblox Legends Camp (where they'll learn to code their own Roblox game), Drone Camp (program and code a drone), YouTube Creators camp (for budding content creators), and even a DJ Camp.

There are Holey Moley centres all over Sydney now, but one of the newest ones is right next door to the aforementioned Hijinx Hotel challenge room hotel, and the ever-popular Archie Bros Cirque Electriq. Holey Moley features 27 pun-tastic novelty putt-putt holes spread across three madcap courses. Good for kids and adults alike. 

The Australian National Maritime Museum know exactly how to cater to creative minds. School holiday workshops this winter are pretty wild, revolving all around the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. There are free educational trails all around the museum and the Kids on Deck section will be open all holidays with a heap of interactive activties. You can check out the full program here.

Squeeze the last out of Sydney's warm weather, with these family-friendly pools. There are delightful nooks in our most popular beaches and aquatic centres, with slides and dumping buckets to keep things exciting. Here's our pick of Sydney's best.

Every school holidays, Leichhardt's creative haven Art Est hosts a whole bunch of creative workshops. Budding artists can get their hands busy learning the ropes of skills including illustration, painting, cartooning, mixed-media art and more with several one-to-two-hour workshops. Check out the program and make a booking here. This activity is eligible for Creative Kids Vouchers.

Something's coming to the Carriageworks from July 16 to 21 and it looks alive. Dinosaurs and insects that used to roam earth are making an appearance at this Sydney arts space for a thrilling show (in puppet form, shhh). For the apprehensive archaeologists, you can sit back and watch from afar but for the little Indiana Jones', the show is designed to be super interactive. Learn about some of the smallest and largest critters of the prehistoric animal kingdom, including some Aussie natives like the carnivorous Australovenator.

Sydney is home to some pretty fascinating museums – some that you may not have even heard about. Places where you can learn about nature, science, design, ships, time, military history, society, the police force and more. Rain or shine, head out on a journey of discovery at these all-weather-friendly houses of knowledge.

Bowling is a lark for all ages, and Strike Bowling has multiple venues throughout Sydney, inclduing the harbourside location at King Street Wharf, complete with a cocktail bar, three escape rooms and gourmet nibbles; the Entertainment Quarter location in Moore Park, as well as the Chatswood, North Ryde and Castle Towers bowling alleys.

If your child is a budding Mozart, the Sydney Youth Orchestra school holiday program could be just the place for them this break. They'll be led by some of Australia's finest conductors and musical tutors to develop their musical skills with an orchestral and band setting. Their final learnings will be showcased in a big concert at Sydney Conservatorium of Music on the final day of the program. Tune those instruments!

Taronga TV isn't a bad way to while away a gnarly weather day, when you don't feel like leaving home. Taronga TV features some live streams from animal enclosures, as well as behind-the-scenes 'sneak peeks’ and after-hours footage revealing what the keepers and animals get up to when the park is closed to the public.

Sydney Olympic Park has you covered with an action-packed program of autumn holiday activities. Their school holiday fortnight of fun is designed for kids of all ages and abilities. Choose from $22 archery sessions, beginner diving lessons and ball game clinics led by sports stars, or opt for the full experience with all-day recreational and aquatic camps. Plan ahead and book your spots before they sell out.

Sydney's playgrounds are the perfect place to use up any pent-up energy. Let wriggly little ones run free at these parks and playgrounds that know how to entertain the real bosses of the household. Click through to see our top picks and find one you haven't been to before.