Five Things To Do With Your Family This Weekend

DO, MAKE, RECIPE Get Outside!
We interviewed the brilliant Linda McGurk for our last issue. She’s the writer of There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather, a funny, insightful take on the cultural differences in raising a family in America and Sweden. Linda’s website is an inspiration – read her take on five ways outdoor play benefits kids here. This half-term, we’re going to do some family hikes, so her homemade trail snacks recipes will come in handy, we will make a gorgeous natural hiking stick en route, and if we get bored, stop for a quick outdoor memory game.

EVENT Show Time
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival runs for a colourful week. Curated by artists, it brings the best theatre and dance in the world to the city. Catch shows from around the world; puppetry, comedy, immersive and funny events that are performed in venues across the Scottish capital. The event opens with a free Family Day of activities at the Museum of Scotland this Saturday, with drag kings and eggy ladies, a massive craft table, dance activities and puppets! May 25–June 2

MAKE, DO, LEARN Bricking It
For many families, this is half-term. Why not fill your holidays with fun projects? These ideas are half-DIY toy, half art, with a hefty dash of science. Why not try making your own cardboard building discs? These remind us of the classic 70s toy, Octons. Customise them to suit your family. A little more complex, these magnetic shapes stack together to make towers and structures. Create your own city! Or go super lo-fi with your pre-schoolers, and make mud bricks – which recipe will hold together most effectively, and what will you build? Older kids will love basic engineering experiments – using marshmallows and toothpicks is a classic project, but you’ll find some new twists on the concept here. Find more clever sculpture ideas and inspiration here

EVENT Inner City Life
Find charming, fun and free things to do all over Dalston in London this Saturday at the Children’s Festival. Try art, gardening and pizza-making at the lovely Curve Garden, learn Bollywood dancing and make a peace quilt in Dalston Square, have a caricature drawn at Macaroni Liberation Front, or learn to hula-hoop at Gillett Square. And the fun happens all over again the following Saturday. Plus lots more fun across the borough. Find the full line-up here.

EVENT Fab Stanley
Do you have a Stanley in your family? Manchester Museum are on the hunt for Stans to try to break the world record attempt for the most Stanleys gathered in one place. It’s part of this Saturday’s Stanley’s Big Day Out, an event inspired by a 7-year-old boy who loves dinosaurs and has a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Regardless of your name, dress as a dino and get involved in arts and crafts, a treasure hunt, object handling and more. It’s organised by Muscular Dystrophy UK and the day is all about raising awareness of MD. Free