20 awesome things to see and do with your little Londoners in October 2019

Barbican Blocks will be taking up residency at Holborn Library every weekday morning this month. Under-fives are invited to unpack the blocks to create a world of texture and colour, and to shape the space around them in a sensory adventure.
Jonathan Baldock’s ‘My biggest fear is that someone will crawl into it’ will pop up at Fitzrovia Chapel from the 2nd-5th. Visitors are invited to crawl into an exuberant four-poster bed and listen to a personal narrative recorded by the artist’s mother.
The Store x The Vinyl Factory will present UVA’s Other Spaces immersive a/v exhibition at 180 the Strand from the 2nd. Expect three large-scale immersive installations comprising laser projections, soundscapes and kinetic structures.
Kara Walker’s Hyundai commission piece will take up residence in Tate’s Turbine Hall from the 2nd. Walker’s will be the fifth in a 10-year series of Hyundai commissions, following on from Tania Bruguera in 2018 and Superflex in 2017.
Mary Sibande’s I Came Apart at the Seams opens at Somerset House on the 3rd and follows the evolution of Sophie, who appears as a series of human-scale sculptures, transgressing from domestic housemaid into myriad empowered characters.
Fenton House is hosting tons of seasonal activities this month, including Apple Weekend on the 5th-6th, with badge making, apple juicing and giant lawn games; and a Halloween Pumpkin Trail with art activities and storytelling on the 19th-31st.
This month Barbican will show two Studio Ghibli films as part of its Family Film Club. Mary and the Witch’s Flower will screen on the 5th after a show and tell with feminist film activist So Mayer, while My Neighbour Totoro will show on the 19th.
Zabludowicz Collection will run a special Families Create workshop at Frieze Sculpture in Regent’s Park on the 5th. Join artist Rosemary Cronin and draw inspiration from the sculptures and landscape to create your own sculptural pieces.
Zabludowicz Collection will also host a free baby- (and adult) friendly tour of the gallery’s current Shana Moulton exhibition on the 6th. Join artist Lucy Stein and her daughter as they explore their favourite works in the exhibition.
London Transport Museum’s Hidden London exhibition opens on the 11th. Immerse yourself in an ‘abandoned’ Tube station underworld, exploring recreations of Churchill’s secret dining room and Aldwych’s abandoned ticket hall.
Half Moon will present Drag Queen Story Time with The Nightbus on the 12th.Listen to readings from I’m a Girl by Yasmeen Ismail and They She He Me by Maya Christina Gonzalez and Matthew SG, before joining in with a play session.
Tate Modern is running a Discarded Objects Make Session for ages 3+ on the 13th, inspired by Emily Rand’s book The House Full of Stuff. Join Emily to create a collage using images of junk objects, or dream up a new invention like a mouse trampoline.
Tate Modern’s Nam June Paik exhibition opens on the 17th. Called a “mesmerising riot of sights and sounds”, it will feature more than 200 works, including robots made from old TV screens, video and all-encompassing room-sized installations.
The Design Museum launches its Moving to Mars exhibition on the 18th. Described as a multi-sensory adventure for all ages, it will feature immersive environments, including a full-scale Mars home, plus the first spacesuit designed for Mars.
Kings Place will host Storystock Presents: Goldilocks on the 19th. This instrumental musical adventure takes 0-3s and their families on an unexpected journey through songs and quirky characters. Tickets include access to the Kings Place Craft Day.
As part of London Literature Festival from the 21st-27th, Southbank Centre will run a Fairy Tales of the Turntable dance workshop and DJ/MC set, a Fairy Tale Trail, drum/vocal and story workshops, and two storytelling sessions – all for ages 3+.
RIBA will present its free Festival of Learning programme for people of all ages, including families, from the 22nd-26th. Workshops are free and will include Designing Happiness, Archi-Tech, Drawing Together and Climate Emergency.
Halloween comes to The London Eye from the 23rd-31st, when spooky storytellers will be regaling kids of all ages with eerie London tales. Tickets include a 30-minute Eye experience plus story, and a bag of ghoulish goodies from Hotel Chocolat.
Wellcome Collection’s Play Well exhibition opens on the 24th, with visitors invited to consider the impact of play in our lives. Expect to find video games, playing blocks, comic strips and a newly commissioned play space by artist Adam James.
Second Hand Dance will perform Touch, an improvised and interactive show for 0-3s, at The Place on the 26th-27th. Adults and children can watch, play and dance as the performers move delightfully and deftly to a live mixed music score.