The nights might be drawing in, the leaves may be falling and the air might be colder… but this October half-term is JAM-PACKED full of fun for children and families in Bristol!
This blog post gives you the full line-up of family-friendly events and activities on offer in Bristol from Monday 24th through to Friday 28th of the October half-term.
I will also be posting ideas and inspiration of places to go and things to do with kids on every day of half-term on the Bristol Mum Facebook page and Twitter account so do head over there, too!
MONDAY 24th OCTOBER
Colour in the Crypt: St John on the Wall
A free family craft day at St John on the Wall, a medieval crypt on Broad Street, Bristol offering lots of colour-themed activities to enjoy.
Children will have fun discovering the hidden colour in the crypt, play with medieval toys, make their own kaleidoscope, see colour disappear on a spinning top and watch the bright patterns appear again on the crypt ceiling.
- 11am – 3pm
- FREE
- St John on the Wall, Broad Street, BS1 2EZ
- More details
Family Storytelling: Bristol Cathedral
A family storytelling session with author Mimi Thebo and her book ‘Dreaming the Bear’. The session is aimed at 8-12 year olds, but all welcome.
- 10.30am – 12 noon
- Pay what you think
- More details
Halloween ‘Spooky Soup’ Session: Wildgoose Space, St Werburgh’s
A ‘Spooky Soup’ session with Gloopy Soup. Kids can have fun mixing up witches potions, finding spiders in spaghetti webs, wading in giant trays of green slime, face painting and more.
There will also be a big sister/brother craft table.
- Dates: Monday 24th October (Another Spooky Soup session on Monday 31st October)
- Time: 11am
- Cost: £5.50
- Venue: Wildgoose Space, 228 Mina Road, BS2 9YP
- Contact Jennifer: gloopysoup@gmail.com – booking essential!
- More details
Holiday Club Session with The Outdoors Project: St Andrew’s Park
Holiday club activities for children aged 5 – 12 with The Outdoors Project:
Roald Dahl Special – George’s Marvellous Medicine
Potions making story workshop.
Wizards and Fairy Fizzy fun experiments.
Autumn Natural Dye and Printing Workshops using berries, seeds, coloured leaves and water.
Woodland Adventure Games sessions.
- 10am – 2.30pm
- £22
- St Andrew’s Park, St Andrew’s, BS6
- To book your child on this session please register at http://www.theoutdoorsproject.co.uk/
Steam Powered Fuzzy Felt Workshop: Children’s Scrapstore
A felting workshop for kids aged 6 – 12 to make their own sculptures and pictures. Children must be registered to attend.
- 1.30 – 3pm
- FREE
- More details
TUESDAY 25th OCTOBER
The Steam Powered Big Draw: M Shed
A free drop-in Big Draw event for families. The theme is The Steam Powered Big Draw Festival which brings together Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM).
Be inspired by historic exhibits and iconic cranes, let your imagination run riot and discover the designer hiding inside you.
Draw and explore ideas before you construct your own fantastical creations using a wide range of sometimes unexpected materials.
- 11am – 3pm (drop-in)
- FREE
- Princes Whaf, Wapping Rd, BS1 4RN
- More details
Holiday Club Session with The Outdoors Project: St Andrew’s Park
Holiday club activities for children aged 5 – 12 with The Outdoors Project:
Shelter Build Survival Challenge
Knots and Techniques -“Bear Attack!” There’s a Bear amongst US!
Nerfageddon – All Things Nerf – Bullseye Target Attack, Man Down, Capture the Flag, Base Invasion, Hunger games and all things Nerf.
- 10am – 2.30pm
- £22
- St Andrew’s Park, St Andrew’s, BS6
- To book your child on this session please register at http://www.theoutdoorsproject.co.uk/
Do your kids love LEGO? If so bring them along for a morning of imaginative building fun, games and competitions with prizes for different age groups, all LEGO supplied!
Suitable for ages 4+ but all welcome, Duplo available for very little ones. FREE Minifigure for every participant! Café open all day.
- 10am – 12 noon (please arrive before 10am)
- £2 per child
- Zion Community Art Space, Bishopsworth Rd, BS13 7JW
- More details
Campfire Cooking & Wood Chopping: Windmill Hill City Farm
Half-term fun on the farm for children of all ages. Today the APE Project will be there offering kids the chance to enjoy some campfire cooking and wood chopping.
- 11am – 3pm
- £2 per child
- More details
Babel Babies Free Taster Session: The Cross Hands, Fishponds
A free fun multisensory taster session which will explore foreign languages with babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers with songs and stories from around the world.
There will be singing, dancing, stories, puppets and bubbles to introduce different languages in an accessible way.
- 10.45am-11.15am- Bambinos (toddlers and pre-schoolers)
- 11.30am-12pm – Babies (birth – walking)
- FREE
- Spaces limited – book online at www.babelbabies.com
WEDNESDAY 26th OCTOBER
Halloween Holiday Family Fun: Blaise Castle
Free drop-in Halloween fun for children and families. Kids can make a spooky Halloween mask and follow the pumpkin trail through the house and gardens to claim a chocolate prize!
- 11am – 3pm
- Free (pay what you think)
- Blaise Castle House Museum, Henbury Rd, BS10 7QS
- More details
Creepy Crafts: Arnos Vale Cemetery
A Halloween-inspired workshop for children and families. Come along for some creepy crafts such as flapping bats, scary spiders and amazing monsters. There will also be some outdoors activities to enjoy.
- 10.30 – 11.30am
- £5 per child – booking essential
- Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Rd, BS4 3EW
- More details
Holiday Club Session with The Outdoors Project: Oldbury Court, Fishponds
Holiday club activities for children aged 5 – 12 with The Outdoors Project:
Stream Walk
Scrambling, Rope Swing, Cave Hunting, River paddling, Exploring. This is a big day, for the most intrepid. Bring a change of clothes and boots/shoes that can get wet.
- 10am – 2.30pm
- £22
- Oldbury Court, Fishponds
- To book your child on this session please register at http://www.theoutdoorsproject.co.uk/
Parcels of Comfort – Family activities exploring WW1: Bristol Cathedral
See what was posted during WWI – have a go at making your own parcel! Join us for an activity morning inspired by our WWI exhibition ‘Parcels of Comfort’. This textile display brings to life the packages sent to the trenches in 1914.
Children can make their own parcels to add to the existing exhibition, while listening be music from the era.
Free event best suited for 5-13 years.
- 10am – 12 noon (drop-in, no need to book)
- FREE
- The Nave, Bristol Cathedral, College Green, BS1 5TJ
- More details
Do your kids love LEGO? If so bring them along for a morning of imaginative building fun, games and competitions with prizes for different age groups, all LEGO supplied!
Suitable for ages 4+ but all welcome, Duplo available for very little ones. FREE Minifigure for every participant! Café open all day.
- 10am – 12 noon (please arrive before 10am)
- £2 per child
- Zion Community Art Space, Bishopsworth Rd, BS13 7JW
- More details
Behind the Scenes in the Geology Store: Bristol Museum
A family friendly curator-led guided tour of the Jurassic fossil treasures cared for behind the scenes in the geology store.
This unique tour will showcase some of the magnificent and rarely seen specimens cared for in the geology collection. Suitable for children aged 7+.
- Tours take place at 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm
- Limited places – book at reception on the day
- Free (pay what you think)
- Queens Rd, BS8 1RL
- More details
50 Ways to Make a Drawing: Arnolfini
A free drop-in activity for children of all ages. Experiment with as many different ways as we can think of to make drawings. From giant depictions to tiny sketches, fuel your imagination and see what wonderful creations you can make.
- 1 – 4pm
- FREE
- Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA
- More details
Scrap Robots: Children’s Scrapstore, St Werburgh’s
A free drop-in event where children can enjoy a spot of scrap robot-making in the scrapstore’s inventing room!
- 10.15 – 11.45am
- FREE
- More details
THURSDAY 27th OCTOBER
Pizza Making: Windmill Hill City Farm
Half-term fun for children of all ages making pizza in the farm’s outdoor kitchen.
- 10am – 12 noon
- £2 per child
- More details
Farm Tours: Windmill Hill City Farm
A chance for children of all ages to go behind the scenes of the animal pens and feed the goats and chickens.
- Tours at 1.30pm and 2.30pm
- £1 per person
- More details
Holiday Club Session with The Outdoors Project: St Andrew’s Park
Holiday club activities for children aged 5 – 12 with The Outdoors Project:
Hazel whip Hunter Bows
Make your own bow and arrows: Target practice and all out Hunger Games Showdown.
Circus Skills
Poi, peddle racers, hula hoops, unicycling and diabolo.
- 10am – 2.30pm
- £22
- St Andrew’s Park, St Andrew’s, BS6
- To book your child on this session please register at http://www.theoutdoorsproject.co.uk/
Apple Day: Lawrence Weston Community Farm
A free afternoon of Autumn activities for all ages. Opportunities to make delicious apple juice, taste different varieties of apples and you can try your hand at apple crafts. Storytelling, music and much more.
- 1 – 4pm
- FREE
- Saltmarsh Dr, BS11 0NJ
- More details
Owl Evening: Says Court Farm, Frampton Cotterell
A free event suitable for children aged 6 years +. Children will dissect an owl pellet to find out what owls have been eating and as dusk settles they will head onto the farm for a night walk.
Hawk and Owl Trust will also be there to introduce kids to a real native owl.
- 5 – 7pm
- FREE – booking essential
- Says Court Farm, Badminton Road, Frampton Cotterell, BS36 2NY
- More details
FRIDAY 28th OCTOBER
‘Halloween Special’ Holiday Club Session with The Outdoors Project: St Andrew’s Park
Holiday club activities for children aged 5 – 12 with The Outdoors Project:
“Halloween Special” – Come dressed as the Undead!
HALLOWEEN GAMES Special – Zombie Eyeball Run – Ninja Warrior assault course team time trial – Don’t drop your eyeballs. The Great Pumpkin RELAY!
Nerfaggedon all things Nerf.
- 10am – 2.30pm
- £22
- St Andrew’s Park, St Andrew’s, BS6
- To book your child on this session please register at http://www.theoutdoorsproject.co.uk/
Halloween Fundraising Party: St Alban’s Church, Westbury Park
A Halloween party with activities including fancy dress, games, prizes and much more. All proceeds are going to a small UK-based charity called Play Kenya who run a safe house, called Rafiki Mwema, for sexually abused children in Kenya.
- 3 – 5pm
- Tickets £4 per child
- St Alban’s Church Hall, Westbury park, BS6
Halloween Activities: Windmill Hill City Farm
Halloween activities for children of all ages such as apple bobbing and lantern making. There is also a special Halloween Farm Trail to complete!
- 2 – 5pm
- £2 per child
- More details
Creepy Kids Tour: Arnos Vale Cemetery
Discover nocturnal creatures, hidden histories and tall tales on this creepy kids’ tour of Arnos Vale cemetery. Kids can enjoy a history and wildlife walk with games and a treasure hunt. Dress up as your favourite Halloween creature, spook or character!
Suitable for children aged 5+.
- 2 – 3pm
- £7 per child – booking essential
- Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Rd, BS4 3EW
- More details
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