TOP 38 THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS THIS MAY
- AG
- May 16
- 14 min read
Updated: Jun 30
London's BEST Family Events this May 2025 and Half-Term
WARNING: Do not approach May without reading this guide.
We've cherrypicked the best family events for May, its half-term and Bank Holidays, from a free tripn to the Moominhouse, adventures with Kevin the Koala; sticky dances, Minecraft sieges, Egyptian blockbusters and a robot zoo.
There are plenty of free experiences and something to entertain every age and flavour of child, so read the below immediately, if not sooner.
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Jurassic World: The Experience
Kicking off half-term with a roar, NEON’s inaugural Jurassic World: The Experience is a fully immersive adventure that brings one of the biggest blockbuster franchises in cinematic history to life.
Returning to London after huge demand, visitors can enter through the iconic gates and walk beneath a towering Brachiosaurus, explore the lab of genetic development, come face to face with Velociraptor Blue, and even get a rare up-close look at the most vicious dinosaur of them all, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Guests of all ages can also interact with baby dinosaurs, discover and engage with actual fossilised dinosaur bones across two floors of curated, immersive environments within this new venue.
Jurassic World: The Experience, NEON at Battersea Power Station, 23 May - 30 September. Tickets from £25
Moomin 80
Marvel at the spectacle of the iconic Moominhouse as it’s built by a Woodland Tribe and lots of little helpers at Riverside Terrace. To celebrate 80 years of the Moomins, Counterpoints Arts and Moomin Characters Ltd have joined forces to commission the building of a very special house.
As well as exploring the house, kids can enjoy a gaggle of events, including storytime and Play, Make, Dream workshops, all celebrating Tove Jansson’s iconic book series
Southbank Centre, London, SE1 8XX. FREE. 27 May - 1 June
The Koala Who Could
This empowering kid’s favourite about embracing change will go from page to stage in this brand new adaptation, featuring brilliant puppetry and music.
It tells the story of “a koala called Kevin, who clung to a tree” too afraid to leave it to play with his friends, kangaroo and wombat in this Australian outback adventure.
Eventually, when his tree falls over, he discovers that “life can be great when you try something new.”
Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley St, London SE1 2HZ. 20 May - 1 June. From £12.50 kids, £18.50 adults. For ages 3+
The Sticky Dance
In this interactive, engaging and colourful performance installation for children and their families, three dancers weave a tapestry of sticky tape.
They invite children to join in, taping, sticking and dancing, to see and feel sound or to be still, watch and listen. Audiences are encouraged to explore freely, choosing how they engage, and turning the rules upside down.
Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN. Kids from £8. Adults from £14
Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue
The European premiere of the new Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue invites fans of all ages to team up and become heroes, rescuing a village under siege from zombies, in an interactive adventure through seven Minecraft zones.
Adventurers are given glowing, vibrating and colour-changing orbs to gather vital ingredients for a life saving potion to save villagers; battle blocky Creepers, and craft buildings.
The high octane quest has made quite the impression on our readers, with a highlight being a real-life “the floor is lava” game, leaping across molten magma to reach the fort.
Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue. Corner Corner, Maritime Street, London, SE16 7LL
Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition makes its UK premiere this March for a limited 14-week run.
Created to wow all ages, visitors are invited to discover the legend of the Boy King, by stepping into ancient Egypt with stunning 8 metre high video mapping, a 360º VR journey, an interactive Metaverse, authentic artefacts from Cairo, and a world-first hologram, unveiling the secrets of the Pharoah’s mummification. Guests will also be able to discover a selection of original ancient Egyptian artefacts from as far back as 4000 B.C, as well as high quality replicas and facsimiles from Egypt.
Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition, Immerse LDN, Excel Waterfront, ExCel, London E16 1XL. 28 March - 29 June
The Robot Zoo
How do chameleons change colour? What makes grasshoppers leap so high? How do bats see at night? Enter the fascinating world of The Robot Zoo and discover the mechanisms that give animals their amazing abilities.
This family-friendly exhibition features larger-than-life animals that have been cleverly recreated using a variety of familiar machine parts and gadgets to reveal how their real life counterparts see, eat, hunt and hide.
Interactive exhibits also give you the chance to try jet-propelled squid racing, and shoot a chameleon’s ‘tongue-gun’.
Horniman Museum, Lower Ground Floor, 100 London Rd, London SE23 3PQ. 14 February-2 November. Child ticket £6.50. Adult ticket £9.75
YOUNG V&A - Making Egypt
Following the success of its first exhibition, Japan: Myth to Manga, Young V&A invites you on a fascinating journey through the ancient past to modern day, exploring ancient Egypt's creativity and how it continues to influence art, design and popular culture today, via more than 200 fascinating pieces - the oldest is a stonking 5,500 years old.
Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PA. Tickets £10pp. The Exhibition Pass gives unlimited visits to Making Egypt.
Kedi Studio
This unique, splatter paint experience is the perfect way to entertain and inspire Jackson Pollock Jrs.
The innovative art studio welcomes all ages and skill levels to enjoy the thrill and freedom of creative expression in their colourful Splat Room.
They provide the protective smock and shoes, stretched canvas and paints and kids provide the creativity - splashing, splattering, spraying, and throwing paint - in exactly the way they’re not allowed at home - to create their masterpiece, ready to take home in a custom box.
Kedi Studio, Arch 91 Tiverton St, London SE1 6FX. Every Thursday-Monday. From £45.
Ride the UK’s Longest Toboggan Run
Take on the country’s epic, 740 metre toboggan run through pretty scenery for under a tenner.
Chatham Snowboard Centre’s toboggan run invites everybody aged four up to whizz around its metal course, for an adrenaline-packed experience with low skills and big thrills.
And the cheeky bonus is that if your child is under 7, you get two rides together for £9.
Chatham Snowsports Centre, John Nike Leisuresport Alpine Park, Capstone Rd, Chatham ME7 3JH. £9 for two toboggan rides (adults ride free with kids under 7) £17.50 for five rides.
NEW Science Museum Afternoon Tea
The Science Museum has launched a new afternoon tea, mixing science, art and food.
The experience is curated by Benugo chefs, featuring fun treats like petri dish jelly, their signature pink lemonade which invites kids to use chemistry to create their own fizzy drink, cupcakes with ‘blood’ syringes and test tubes filled with popping candy, moon rocks and edible soil.
Science Museum, Gallery Café, Level 2, Exhibition Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD. Kids’ Afternoon Tea, £22. Every Wed-Sun
Bella the Tower Bridge Cat Trail
Two and four legged guests can go on a feline trail at the London landmark, meeting character from the popular Bella the Tower Bridge Cat books and tottering across its astonishing glass walkways, 42 metres above the Thames.
The cat trail is open all year, for people (as well as pets) and is a fabulous adventure for little ones, filled with fascinating history, as they get their Apprenticeship Records stamped by characters along the way.
And keep your eyes peeled for the famous feline's birthday celebrations, when they turn up the meowsic and get the pawty started.
Tower Bridge, Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 2UP. Daily, 9.30am - 6pm. Included with your ticket - £6.70 kids, £13.40 adults.
Replay: A Limitless Recycled Playground
Part installation, part adventure playground, REPLAY is a space built entirely out of waste materials repurposed for fun by The Herd Theatre, which children can transform in any way their imaginations lead them.
Everything here can be moved, changed, combined, worn and reimagined, for kids to build their own worlds, invent games and leave ideas for players to come. It’s designed for all ages, with designated sessions grouped by age.
Replay. The Royal Festival Hall. until 1 June Tickets from £7.50
Magic of Afternoon Tea at Vintry & Mercer
Five star boutique hotel, Vintry & Mercer launched a brand new candlelit Magic of Afternoon Tea, for little (and big) wizards, which is full of delicious surprises.
Our menu comes to life with a UV torch, there are chocolate soil-filled coffins to excavate, magical elixirs to mix, dramatic smoking tiers brimming with edible spell books, chocolate wands, owls and a chocolate and mango Excalibur dessert stabbed with a chocolate sword.
And that's before we discuss the savouries and other surprises, which you can read about in our review. Hint: It's one of our favourite new family afternoon tea experiences.
Vintry & Mercer, 19-20 Garlick Hill, London EC4V 2AU. Adult's Magic of Afternoon Tea - from £49.50 pp. Kid's Wizard's Afternoon Tea - £37.50
F1 Driving, Skywalks and Tours at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Little adrenaline junkies can get their kicks at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a hat trick of high octane tours, from The Dare Skywalk - climbing to the top of the stadium, 46.8m above the pitch - to the UK’s first controlled descent from a stadium, once at the top. Plus a Stadium Tour for those who want to keep their feet on the ground. They can also experience a high tech Formula 1 driving experience, with an exciting track layout and LED steering wheels.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 782 High Rd, London N17 0BX
The Paddington Bear Immersive Experience
Everybody’s favourite, Peruvian bear has had the immersive treatment, with The Paddington Bear™ Experience.
The marmalade-addled, interactive adventure across more than 26,000 square feet of Southbank’s London County Hall invites guests into a series of themed rooms, inspired by iconic locations from the Paddington stories.
Fittingly, it kicks off at Paddington Station, where guests will be greeted by a friendly Station Master and taken on a colourful train journey through London’s most famous landmarks, to the Browns’ charming, No. 32 Windsor Gardens home.
Once inside the famous, tree-adorned hallway, guests will embark on a multi-sensory adventure to help the Brown family and Paddington prepare for the all-important Marmalade Day Festival.
The Paddington Bear™ Experience, London County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7PB. Adult tickets £34pp. Children (2-15) £24. Under 2s go FREE
Science Museum Astronights Sleepover
Budding scientists (aged 7-11) can spend the night at The Science Museum, exploring the museum out-of-hours, sleeping among space rockets, a Moon rock or in the world’s largest medical galleries. Young campers will experience the ultimate sleepover, with an evening full of activities, including science shows and interactive workshops.
This year’s Astronights programme is supported by official sponsor TEMPUR®, who will gift all campers a travel pillow to help budding scientists get some rest during this exciting night.The following morning, campers can refuel at breakfast, before exploring Wonderlab, their interactive gallery, with hands-on exhibits and immersive experiences, and catch a 3D documentary on their giant IMAX screen.
Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD. Dates vary, £70pp standard, £100 VIP.
Monster Funfair at Discover Children's Story Centre
Stratford's immersive, sprog-storytelling Mecca has launched its new family adventure, taking visitors through a fantastical circus tent and into the woods. In amongst the trees you’ll find an amazing, marvellous, EXTRAORDINARY… Monster Funfair!
Created with the award-winning Nadia Shireen, this magical world also has a fairground mystery to solve – just who has stolen ALL the candyfloss?
Discover Children's Story Centre is brimming with entertainment across three floors, plus a wonderfully imaginative Story Garden. Creep through caves, find fairy worlds within magical trees, explore hidden ships, perform in a puppet castle, leap over alligators and man your own spaceships and rockets across two floors.
Discover Children's Story Centre 383-387 High St, London E15 4QZ. Ages 0-8
Art in the Docks - FREE
There are FREE art classes every Saturday morning at Art in the Docks, which can be booked online, with 30 spots for each class. Children are encouraged to use their imagination and gain confidence in a nurturing environment, hosted by ceramic artist Mariana Alemany. The classes are suitable for all ages, and all materials and equipment will be provided.
Art in the Docks, 25 Shackleton Way, London, E16 2XJ. Every Saturday. 10am-12pm. FREE.
iFly Childrens’ Skydive
Anybody from the age of 3 to 103 can experience the superpower of flight at iFly, as long as they can comfortably wear a helmet.
The instructors allow children to safely feel the sensation of an exhilarating, 12,000 ft free-fall and flight, without jumping out of a plane.
Along with watching the instructor perform a mesmerising dance on air inside the vertical wind tunnel, your family can enjoy the extraordinary sensation of weightlessness, soaring around the glass tube and unlocking a core memory of their newfound super powers.
iFLY London at The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX. Tickets and vouchers to fly can be purchased by clicking here and are available from £69.99 per person
Wizard Exploratorium
Soho's magic-themed Wizard Exploratorium is a five-storey, geek wonderland, offering a 4D wand-making workshop, immersive trick shop and suitably magical afternoon tea encompassing tea brewing, molecular gastronomy, and technology.
Wizard Exploratorium, 26 Greek St, London W1D 5DE
Slimy Gootopia Sessions
Slime is a gloopy rite of passage for every child - parents quickly learn the art of removing it from hair and unwitting pets and it’s up there with ice cream in the kiddie delight department. Enter stage left: Gootopia, which brings its gloopy joy to Brixton and Lewisham. The venues have shelves of ready-made slime, slime ingredients, activator, and their ‘goo-to-go’ slime vending machine. They also offer a range of activities and experiences for kids of all ages, including slime workshops, birthday parties, school science workshops, drop-in slime-making sessions and live slime-making demonstrations by goo alchemists
Gootopia. Brixton and Lewisham locations.
Power Up at the Science Museum
Following five successful runs, Power Up will make its permanent home at the Science Museum from July, allowing visitors to try over 160 consoles and hundreds of the very best video games, all year long. With the new Power Up annual passes, visitors can return whenever they fancy, to journey through the world of gaming. Experience the evolution of gaming – from classics such as Pong and Street Fighter to the latest PlayStation and Xbox – while discovering the science and history behind gaming’s most iconic developments.
Power Up Ticketed, daily passes: £10, annual passes: £15 . Age: 5+. Science Museum, Exhibition Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD
Get the Kids Climbing the Walls
Get the kids climbing the walls at London’s Parthian Climbing centre in Wandsworth.
The 25,000 square foot beast combines climbing with lifestyle, thanks to its café, bar, gym, retail and co-working space. And it is the first indoor climbing facility in the UK to feature an exact replica of The Titan Olympic bouldering wall, which will be used at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
They offer a range of kids’ sessions and courses for ages 3 and up. There are instructors for little ones taking on their first climbing experience, as well as the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS) for a progressive syllabus. They also host kids’ parties, for 1.5 hours of climbing activities and games which are the perfect antidote to ‘Fun Freddie’ wrestling a balloon into a drooping sausage dog.
Parthian Climbing Centre, 52 - 58 Garratt Ln, Wandsworth, London SW18 4TF
Avora Family Experience
Up an unassuming, Shoreditch street is a secret portal to another planet. And on school holidays and Sundays, you can take your kids for a well-deserved break from Earth, on planet Avora.
This otherworldly adventure will see you encounter scientists, mocktails, aliens, army villains and closes with a child-pleasing, farty finale.
Avora: Family Immersive Adventure 5C, 127 Hackney Road, London, E2 8GY. Sundays, 12pm – 3:30pm. School Holiday weekdays. £24.50 per child (6-13) £29.50 per adult.
Play Captain on a GoBoat River Picnic
If you’re looking for somewhere to spend a genuinely relaxing few hours for parents and children (plus dogs, if you have one) we recommend a GoBoat trip.
You can enjoy a picnic as captain of your own, electric boat through Canary Wharf, Paddington, Kingston, Thames Ditton or Birmingham.
GoBoat UK, Open 7 days a week from 9am - dusk. Prices start from £85 for 1 hour and £125 for two hours on the 8-person boats. GoBoat Canary Wharf, 22 Churchill Place, London, E14 5RE
Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
Brigit's Bakery official Paddington Bear afternoon tea bus tour has built-in screens, so that Paddington and Mrs Bird can provide an animated guide to the tour, which includes some of Paddington's favourite landmarks, like Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Nelson’s Column, Downing Street, St. Paul's Cathedral, Borough Market, Green Park and Piccadilly Circus. The tour takes just under two hours, while you scoff treats including glittering shortbreads, designed to look like nibbled marmalade sandwiches, mini pizzas, smoked salmon and cucumber pretzels, turkey ham and cheddar or cream cheese and cucumber finger sandwiches and naturally, marmalade sandwiches. And for those who share the bear’s sweet tooth, the homemade sweet treats included a rice pudding studded with chocolate honeycomb, chocolate cupcakes crowned with Paddington’s chocolate paws, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate macarons and freshly baked scones with cream and jam. Brigit’s Bakery also provide vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal afternoon teas.
Paddington Afternoon Tea Bus tour Departs from Trafalgar Square, Wednesdays to Sundays. Prices from £45 adult, £35 child.
Whizz Down The ArcelorMittal Orbit
How about hurling your children down the world’s tallest slide? The 178m long ArcelorMittal Orbit was the iconic landmark of the 2012 London Olympics and is now an attraction with three adventure experiences. Families can speed down the winding slide, abseil, or walk around the glass orbit at the top. You can also pretend it's a high-brow, cultural experience, because the orbit is also a sculpture by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond. And it beats the usual views of grubby swings and bins, because here you can check out the stunning views of Queen Elizabeth Park. To ride the slide, children must be at least eight years old and over 1.3m.
ArcelorMittal Orbit, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, 5 Thornton St, London E20 2AD. From £10.75.
Cutty Sark Rig Climb Experience
Originally climbed when the ship first arrived to Greenwich in 1954, visitors can now recreate this, by clambering up the famous masts of the Cutty Sark.The Rig Climb Experience invites kids and brave parents to step up from the main deck onto the ship’s ratlines and climb up its top mast, as hundreds of sailors did during the Cutty Sark’s heyday. Once at the top, climbers will experience a controlled descent from the rigging. Participants will be rewarded with some of the best views in London, overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard and Tower Bridge.
Cutty Sark King William Walk, London SE10 9H
Snot, Sick and Scabs at the Centre of the Cell
Deliciously disgusting and sneakily educational centre in a futuristic, light-studded pod suspended above the laboratories of the Blizard Institute in Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Children can learn about the heart, teeth or senses, see scientists at work and enjoy their delightfully vile ‘Snot, Sick and Scabs’ session.
Centre of the Cell, 4 Newark St, London E1 2AT
Out-of-Hours at the British Museum
Your little ones can walk in the footsteps of the ancient Greeks, Pharoahs or journey through the cultures of China at The British Museum's family-friendly, out-of-hours tours. Taking place between 8.50 – 10am, before the galleries are open to the public, you can beat the unsavoury crowds. And from 4 - 25 March, children can explore Roman history through Minecraft, create a Japan-themed family photo (11 March) and make mosaic masks inspired by the Aztec gods on 18 March.
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Under fives go free. £16.50 for 5-15 year olds. £33 Adults
Monopoly Lifesized
Go big or go home… or straight to jail at Monopoly Lifesized, an immersive, on-your-feet version of the classic, family game, played on a 15m x 15m lifesized Monopoly board. Enter the 4D experience and compete in challenges for your chance to buy properties. Stage a heist in Mayfair, compete against a clock to build some of London’s iconic buildings, solve a baffling murder mystery or step into the world of codebreakers. The 80-minute experience is suitable for kids from 9 and older and is open every day except Mondays.
Monopoly Lifesized, 213-215 Tottenham Court Road, W1T 7PS. Tickets £49 pp
Crystal Maze LIVE Experience
Older children (from 8 onwards) can take on this immersive adventure, which brings the hit 90s TV show to life.Run around like mentalists, yell, complete a host of difficult challenges and end the game in a fetching, satin bomber jacket.
Crystal Maze Live Experience, 22 - 32 Shaftesbury Avenue W1D 7EU
Holiday to Space at Royal Observatory Greenwich
Join Ted and Plant as they explore the Solar System in search of the best place to take a holiday in an intergalactic morning adventure, including a planetarium show and interactive workshop. Recommended Age: 3 - 6 yrs. Open 10am-5pm daily
Royal Observatory Greenwich Park, Blackheath Avenue SE10 8XJ
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