20 awesome things to do with kids in London: November 2023

Coram’s Fields annual fireworks event takes place on the 3rd. Expect performances from local schools and young people, including St. Albans Choir and the LAPS Ukrainian Dance Group, as well as food stalls and a dazzling firework display. Free.
Fellowship Square will host the Guy Fawkes Waltham Forest Spectacular from the 3rd-5th. Rather than fireworks, expect an immersive light show displayed across the facade of Waltham Forest Town Hall. There will also be street food, performers and a full bar. Paid.
Young V&A’s Mini Play workshop series for 0-3s starts from the 3rd, and will combine messy play, singing and more. The museum will also be running a Quiet Morning on the 19th, for children who would benefit from visiting at a quieter and calmer time. Paid/free.
Family Takeover: Otherworldly Creatures is at Camden Art Centre on the 4th. Participants will transform scavenged materials such as clay, natural objects, fabric and yarn into sculptures and build new worlds, with a focus on sensory play and experimentation. Free.
Tate Modern’s Uniqlo Tate Play Rhythm Make Studio runs every weekend and on Wednesdays from the 4th. Be inspired by materials and sounds in Tate’s collection and discover the many ways you can make and listen to all kinds of unusual noises. Free.
The Mosaic Rooms will host its A Tale of Cities family workshop on the 5th. Make houses and streets from cardboard with Sahra Hersi, add graphic characters with Alaa Satir and use materials from RESOLVE Collective to build your own cities and narrate their stories. Free.
Head to Hawley Wharf on the 5th for immersive family storytelling and canal-boat trips as part of Diwali at Camden Market. You can also expect Hanuman, live music and an Indian dance display, plus giveaways, arts and crafts and henna painting. Paid.
The Enchanted Cinema will be popping up at the Horniman on the 12th and 26th. Use instruments, hands and voices to help create the soundtrack to well-loved animated films, expertly guided by The Enchanted Cinema’s musicians and multi-instrumentalists. Paid.
British Museum is running two Little Feet sessions this month. Find out why mummification was important to the ancient Egyptians in All Wrapped Up on the 13th, or create a window decoration and celebrate the light of winter in Light up the Day on the 24th. Free.
RIBA Baby: Bricks and Bubbles will return to RIBA on the 14th. Designed for ages 0-3, this hands-on session will draw inspiration from the RIBA Collections and seasonal exhibitions, and focus on emboldening babies through play and exploration. Free.
Two major exhibitions open at Saatchi Gallery from the 15th. If Not Now, When features work by 29 female sculptors, while Christo and Jean-Claude: Boundless offers a retrospective look at the career and achievements of the artistic collaborators and life partners. Paid.
On the 15th, the RA’s Early Years Studio: Messy invites under-5s and their adults to have some messy sensory fun. Then on the 26th, Family Studio: Impressionists encourages the whole family to create their own dancers and shimmering pastel impressions. Free.
Francesca DiMattio’s Wedgwood opens at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery from the 17th, transforming the space into an immersive installation featuring wallpapers and flooring that will function as a maximalist backdrop to sculptures from the stately to the diminutive. Free.
Play Works opens at Orleans House Gallery from the 18th. Created by Assemble and Assemble Play, this interactive exhibition transforms the gallery with vivid colour, inventive objects and peculiar props. Everyone is welcome to come and play! Free.
Diwali Family Day is at Museum of the Home on the 19th. Expect storytelling and Diya lamp painting with Vaishali Raithatha, art workshops with PiNS and dance workshops with Bollywood Magic, as well as Diwali displays to explore in the Museum. Free.
The Queen’s House Ice Rink Festive Fun Day is on the 25th. Expect festive face painting, Christmas decoration crafting workshops and a live choir performance featuring classic carols. You may even bump into some festive characters throughout the day. Paid.
William Morris Gallery’s Family Day: Once was Walthamstow is on the 25th. Take inspiration from the Radical Landscapes exhibition and make a clay monument. Learn about 3D scanning by adding to a physical and virtual map of Walthamstow from 200 years ago. Free.
Head to Bow Arts on the 26th for a Bow Families workshop. Join artist and educator Dunya Kalantery to mould your own tiny treasures, vessels and objects out of salt dough, and bring them to life with a splash of colour using food colouring and other fun materials. Free.
Bubble Planet opens in Wembley Park from the 29th. Voyage through 11 fantastical, pastel landscapes designed to appeal to all five senses, including infinity rooms, inflatables, ball pools, an interactive shop and lots more. Paid.