Awesome Stuff For Families in Manchester & the North West this half term

There are fabulous events and activities for families this half term all over Manchester and the Northwest. People have spent months planning and putting together shows, workshops and theatre. Why not try something new...

 Here are some of our favourites - if you have anything to add, please email it to me..

Don't forget your local museum and library, entry is usually free and they arrange all sorts for the holidays - here is a great post by Jollies And Jaunts with 10 quirky items you can find in Manchester Musems.

MANCHESTER AREA

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, Manchester

Friday 26 May – Sunday 28th May
The Scarecrows' Wedding by Julia Donaldson - wit, drama and wedding bells for age 3+
Tuesday 30 May
Film screening of box office hit Moana at 2pm.
Thursday 1 June
Film screening Sing-a-long Trolls. Tickets just £5 (or £2.50 for Family Club members).
Friday 2 June
The Three Musketeers presented by The Three Half Pints for age 5+
Saturday 3 June
Don’t Dribble on The Dragon -  a spectacular musical adventure about growing up and the importance of family is the perfect feel good show. For ages 3+ on .
Saturday 10 June
Award-winning Ballet Cymru present A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Saturdays 27 May and 10 June from 10am - 12noon
Family Club drop in sessions for all age groups - arts and crafts activities (see website for details on each session). Sessions are £2.50 or just £1 for Family Club members.

Families can join Waterside’s Family Club for just £7.50 a year. For full details of the Summer 2017 season at Waterside Arts Centre please visit www.watersideartscentre.co.uk

Museum Of Science And Industry, Manchester

27 May - 4 June: Super Inventors! Can you be an inventor AND a superhero? Who is thegreatest inventor of them all? Planes, trains, cars, cotton mills, the first ever computer, graphene and tons more! One of our favourites.

Find out what else is on, on the Museum of Science and Industry website.  Entry is free, but donations are necessary to keep the museum open.

Heaton Park, Manchester

Saturday 27th May onwards
Treetop Nets - a unique woodland attraction will open its gates to the public for family fun in the great outdoors. An aerial woodland adventure featuring a collection of giant trampolines, walkways, slides and tunnels, all made from super bouncy netting, suspended up to 40ft off the ground - for fun high up in the treetops. There’s even a tree-house too. One of only four sites of its kind in the UK.
In line with Manchester’s famously unpredictable weather, Treetop Nets will be open rain or shine. Suitable for everyone aged three and up, two hours of fun starts from £13 per person. To find out more please visit www.treetopnets.co.uk or call 01539 447 186.

Manchester Opera House

Wednesday 7th June - Sunday 11th June
Gangsta Granny Watch out! David Walliams' cabbage-crunching, criminal mastermind Gangsta Granny is coming to Manchester courtesy of Birmingham Stage Company
 Performances: Wednesday and Friday 10am and 7pm / Thursday 10am and 2pm / Saturday 10.30am and 2.30pm / Sunday 11am Tickets from £19 Box Office: 0844 871 3018 ATG Tickets Online

Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays/Trafford Park

Interactive family friendly exhibitions and workshops, with events and exhibitions each school holiday. See what life was really like on the Home Front during the Second World War and learn about the sorts of jobs the Home Guard did to keep communities safe. FREE entry. Find out more on the IWM North website. 

intu Trafford Centre, Manchester

A week of robot-themed adventures with Titan the robot including art and craft activities for all ages in Orient Way. 

Tuesday 30 & Wednesday 31 May –The Titan Experience, 11am, 1pm & 3pm. A family friendly, funny, fast paced and full of surprises but above all a very interactive show that gets the whole audience involved.
Wednesday 31 May - Robot cookie class Grab your chef’s hat, show off your best robot moves and come make a giant robot cookie to scoff or take home.
Thursday 1 June - Spongey robot artists Step inside our robot art gallery for a masterclass in making your very own spongey robot masterpieces to put in our kids art gallery and come back to take home later.
Friday 2 June - Make me a robot Check out our robot voice-changing machines and make your very own original robot jackets and have a clanky good time!
Friday 9 – Sunday 11June - Toffifee on Lower Peel. Shoppers will be greeted by a giant Toffifee squirrel statue and offered a free special 4 piece trial pack.
Friday 23, Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 June – Eid Enjoy our evening of Eid celebrations with beautiful sitar, table drum and harp music floating through the malls, interactive workshops such as henna art and Bhangra dancing.

Sealife and LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, intu Trafford Centre, Manchester

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, Trafford Centre has the LEGO NEXO KNIGHTS:Book of Creativity and  The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure both showing on the 4D cinema two to three times every hour. The new Ninjago City Adventure Play Area is open and it's awesome - check out our review.

Sealife has all of the usual exhibits and Jurassic Seas over half term - try the Jurassic Ranger Experience to go back in time.

From £11 per person booked in advance for each attraction. A combi-ticket is from £20 per person

For the latest on what's happening in Manchester City Centre and bigger events in the area, see What's On In Manchester.

THE NORTHWEST UK
 

Eureka Children's Museum, Halifax

27 May - 4 June Animal Adventure. A jungle, story sessions, animal handling, falconry and a miniature mobile farm - as well as all of the usual interactive attractions. We're big fans of Eureka. 

All activities are included in the price of standard admission, or free to Eureka! annual pass holders - £12.95 per person but upgrade to annual membership FREE. Find out more on the Eureka website.

SHIFT programme - Cheshire East

A borough-wide programme celebrating digital arts and tech in 2017 and beyond continues over half term with the following exhibitions, installations and workshops to talks, tech meet ups and pop-up maker stations:
Tuesday 30 May 10am-12noon / 1-3pm Congleton Library
PatternCraft. Create 8 x 8 punchcard designs, feedback your card into the reader and by the magic of python code converting the physical holes in to binary files of 0’s and 1’s, build it on a minecraft map. Drop In – FREE – All Ages Call 01260 375550
Wednesday 31 May 10am-12noon / 1-3pm Electric Picturehouse.
Superhero Sewable Circuits . Make your own light up superhero mask. Learn the basics of e-textile sewable circuits and stitch light up LEDs onto felt to customise and create your own design. Ages 7+ FREE Places limited – to book call 01260 270908
Thursday 1 June 10am-12noon / 1-3pm Holmes Chapel Library
Interactive LED art with BBC Micro:Bits. Learn to program the Micro:bit LED display and create interactive bitmap art that responds to movement and button presses. Ages 7+ FREE Places limited – to book call 01477 689550
Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th June. Bollington Town. 
Interactive curiosity cabinets awaiting audience’s participation to unlock stories hidden inside. Located at several points in the town – Clarence Mill, the rec, Market Place, St John’s Church and the viaduct.
Saturday 3rd June, 11 - 3pm Bollington Arts Centre
A free family fun day including Time Capsules with Bollington Cross Primary School and Family Creative Workshops to make take-home paper time capsules or get hands-on with the technology involved in the interactive exhibition. Free maps, activities and refreshments!
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

The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool

Friday 2nd June
Channel 5’s Milkshake! Live, The Magic Storybook will be coming to town. Characters from The Magic Storybook will come alive from page to stage in this brand new live show starring all the Channel 5 favourites from Bob the Builder, Little Princess, Noddy, Fireman Sam, Shimmer & Shine and Pip from Pip Ahoy to Winnie and Wilbur, Wissper, Milkshake’s very own Milkshake Monkey and two Milkshake presenters! Find out more about Milkshake! Live, The Magic Storybook by visiting the milkshakelive website or on social media @milkshakelive.
Time: 12pm and 4pm Tickets: Adults £15, Concessions £13.50, Family £54 To book tickets please call 0844 888 4411* or go to the Epstein Liverpool website

Williamson Square, Liverpool

Monday 29th May
Street Theatre Day will be returning for Physical Fest 2017 c/o Tmesis Theatre. Liverpool’s international physical theatre festival is the only festival in Europe specialising solely in physical theatre and the Street Theatre Day line-up has now been announced!
PERFORMANCE LISTINGS: Highly Sprung - Urban Astronaut’s: 12pm – 2pm Headstrung - Here Be Dragons: 11am – 2.40pm Where the F**k is Debenhams - Anthony Cairns: 12.30pm – 3.30pm Werewomen - Suzie Ferguson, Beth Frieden and Diane Thornton: 11.15am – 2.40pm Dirty Laundry Campaign – Sarah Rose Graber and Ruxundra Cantir: 11.30am – 3.45pm The Loyal Liars – The Loyal Liars: 11.30am – 3.45pm Limits – Fadunito: 1pm – 3pm
To book tickets for a festival performance at the Unity Theatre call 0844 873 2888/0151 709 4988 or visit the website www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk or in person at the Unity Theatre Box Office. To book a place on any of the workshops or classes, please visit: www.physicalfest.com

Following the Street Theatre Day, there will be FREE entertainment at Invisible Wind Factory from 5.30pm - 7.30pm with delicious Italian street food and a bar.

Storyhouse, Chester

27th May onwards
Alice In Wonderland will be one of  the first performances at the new Storyhouse. The performance will run until 20th August, but over half term week they are also running Alice's Half Term Wonderland (£15pp). See the play, dress up in the clothes and have a Mad Hatters Tea Party! For more information, check out the website. After half term show tickets return to '1 free child under 12 with each paying adult'.