Events for Families in the Manchester and Northwest area this Easter

Here are some of the things you could be getting up to with your family in the North West this Easter....

If you have an April event to add, please email it to me with the subject April 2017 and I'll add anything appropriate - we are particularly fond of those which are low cost or free....

The People’s History Museum, Manchester

1 - 17 April 10am-5pm the Rainbow Craft Table takes the colourful inspiration of Never Going Underground, an exhibition that explores the story of LGBT+ rights, and gives you the chance to make a make a rainbow sun catcher. Family friendly, suitable for all age. No booking required,suggested donation £3.

There are also a number of activities that you can book:
Wed 5 April, 1.00pm – 3.00pm Make Your Mark: Molly Spoons Discover the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the museum’s collections! Suitable for over 5s to adults, suggested donation £3
Tues 11 April, 11.00am – 12.00pm The Little People’s History Museum: Mr Ordinary’s Prize Discover the story of Manchester’s Coat of Arms. Someone has stolen Mr Ordinary’s Thinking and Doing! Join in the interactive adventure that features puppets, song, dance and a craft activity. Aimed at under 5s and their grown ups. Suggested donation £3.
Wed 12 April, 1.00pm – 3.00pm Make Your Mark: Identity Boxes What makes you, you? Be inspired by the personal collections in the museum’s exhibition Never Going Underground and think about your family and what makes it unique. Suitable for over 5s to adults. Suggested donation of £3

For further information on the People’s History Museum visit www.phm.org.uk and @PHMMcr

The Museum Of Science And Industry, Manchester 

The Graphene exhibit is still open until the end of June - if you've never heard of this amazing material, head on over to find out. Thinner than a human hair and 200 times stronger than steel...

1st - 17th April - Power
Loads of hands-on workshops exploring power, including Cranes, Dynamo Disco, Wind Turbines Workshop, Manchester Mills and Engineer Eric. Some daily, some on certain dates only, times and age suitability vary, but all of the activities and workshops are free except for a ride on the 1830's Express.... the world's oldest surviving passenger railway.

Find out the full programme of events and activities on the Museum Of Science And Industry website.

Specsavers, Manchester Fort Shopping Centre

8th April 10am onwards to promote the launch of their new JCB range of children's glasses, Specsavers will have an actual JCB Backhoe Loader, meet and greet with the JCB Transformer and face painting - free of charge!

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Trafford Centre, Manchester

The brand new £1m refit is finished and the LEGO Ninjago City Adventure is OPEN. It's actually awesome and well worth a visit. Prices start at £11 per person online, with discounts for joint tickets with the Sealife which is next door. See our review of the new look LEGOLAND Discovery Centre here, and Sealife Manchester review here...

Waterside Arts Centre in Sale, Manchester

Waterside Arts have a huge programme of family theatre events this Easter including Topsy Turvy Theatre, Much Ado About Puffin and The Tap Dancing Mermaid.

Something for children of all ages from 2+ and prices are usually around £6-7 per person. We visited to see their Christmas show and it was excellent. Lancashire Lass has a full itinerary here....

Home, central Manchester 

Home, the centre for the arts right in the centre of Manchester, has the Viva! Spanish and Latin American Fiesta  31st March until 17th April, with an amazing Family And Fiction Fiesta on Saturday 15th April 2pm until 7pm. It gets darker and more suitable for an older audience as the day progresses, but starts out entirely aimed at the younger ones, with face painting and loads of music including instrument workshops to play along. Find out more on the Home, Manchester website.

Hard Rock Cafe, Manchester

Sunday 16 April at 10am you could be having Breakfast with Bunny. Exactly as it sounds, full English breakfast with added face painting, egg decoration, balloon modelling and magic tricks at the Hard Rock Cafe at The Printworks. Tickets £10.95 per person, booking ESSENTIAL. Contact 0161 831 6700 or check out the website.

The Lowry Outlet, Salford Quays

Spring Discoveries - 1st April until 17th April Lowry Outlet have a whole host of fun spring activities to celebrate Easter including arts and crafts, face painting, a flower photo booth, trail map, book swap and Easter Weekend Market to name a few. All activities are FREE - small charge for parking. Find out more on the Lowry Outlet Website.

SHIFT is Cheshire East’s borough-wide programme celebrating digital arts and tech in 2017 and beyond. Exhibitions, installations and workshops, talks, tech meet ups and pop-up maker stations for families over the Easter holidays from Friday April 7th. All the events are free, but advance booking via the venue is advisable as places are limited.

Friday 7 April: Animations in Minecraft Sandbach Library, The Commons, Sandbach CW11 1FJ 10am-11am / 11.30am-12.30pm // 1pm-2pm / 2.30-3.30pm. Recommended for ages 5+ Already a Minecraft expert? Or just starting out…? Come along to combine coding, making and tech to create 8-bit animations in Minecraft using physical punchcards, powered by PatternCraft. 01270 375355
Saturday 8 April: Interactive LED art (BBC Micro:bit) Sandbach Library, The Commons, Sandbach CW11 1FJ 10am-12noon. Recommended for Age 7+ Get your LEDs flashing and learn to program the Micro:bit LED display to create interactive bitmap art that responds to movement and button presses. 01270 375355
(Both of these SHIFT events at Sandbach Library are part of the BBC Get Creative Weekend 7-9 April ).

Monday 10 April: Animations in Minecraft Handforth Library, The Green, Wilmslow Road, Handforth SK9 3ES 10am-11am / 11.30am-12.30pm / 1pm-2pm / 2.30-3.30pm Recommended for ages 5+ Already a Minecraft expert? Or just starting out…? Come along to combine coding, making and tech to create 8-bit animations in Minecraft using physical punchcards, powered by PatternCraft. 01625 378272
Thursday 13 April: PatternBeats Handforth Library, The Green, Wilmslow Road, Handforth SK9 3ES 10am-11am / 11.30am-12.30pm / 1pm-2pm / 2.30-3.30pm Recommended for ages 5+ Use the PatternCraft punchcard reader to program machines, tempo and sounds and create a basic music composition. 01625 378272

The full SHIFT programme – including talks, workshops, professional training, tech meet ups, art installations, family events and drop-in coding sessions - will be updated throughout the year via the website: www.shift-digital.co.uk

St Helens Theatre Royal’s egg-cellent Easter panto, Beauty and the Beast

Saturday 1 – Sunday 23 April. Cast members include Channel 5 Milkshake’s Amy Thompson as Belle and Big Brother housemate Nikki Grahame as Fairy Rose. This enchanting tale is filled with hilarious comedy, wonderful songs and a story which proves that even the grumpiest of Beasts can change his ways...

Helen and her family from Casa Costello have already been to see this and written up their review.

For more information and to book tickets see the St Helen's Theatre Royal website.. A family of 4 costs around £54 Saturday teatime, prices vary.

Epstein Theatre, Liverpool

Friday 7th – Sunday 23rd April Sleeping Beauty starring 991 vocalist and heart-throb Lee Brennan and Liverpool’s very own Tina Malone. Adults £18.50, Concessions £16.50, Family £60
Tuesday 25th to Saturday 29th April A Midsummer Night's Dream is brought to the stage by Daniel Taylor Productions Ltd.

Find out the full programme, including shows that aren't so child-friendly, on the Liverpool Epstein website

BLUECOAT, Liverpool

Young Fest - a weekend of free activities for young people and their families will take place Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd April at Bluecoat. The ideal way to entertain your little movers and shakers!interactive workshops and performances ranging from a superhero dance party to a monster disco, with activities suitable for three-to thirteen year-olds and their families.
While Young Fest is free, booking is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available now. Visit www.thebluecoat.org.uk or ring 0151 702 5324 to secure your place on Young Fest events.

Easter Medieval Mayhem at Eureka! in Halifax.

Eureka! The National Children’s Museum will be celebrating the Easter holidays by turning their clocks back for a bit of Medieval Mayhem between 1 and 23 April. Meet kings and queens, knights and a few damsels who are most definitely NOT in distress. Join in with daily interactive story sessions and challenge your family to see who’ll be victorious on the medieval assault course. Construct your very own castle in some large-scale den building sessions.

11/12 and 19/20 April Eureka! Knight School.
14-17 April Learn to be a Jester
Throughout the holidays older children are invited on an adventure to explore the Land of the Goblins (age 8 years and up).

All activities are included in the cost of Eureka! admission, or free to annual pass holders. A day ticket can be upgraded to an annual pass free of charge before you leave. Adults: £12.95, Children age 3+ : £12.95, Toddlers age 1-2: £5.25, Babies age 0-11 months: free.Find out more on the Eureka website, and see our review here...