47 awesome things to do in London with kids this February/half term 2025

This month, celebrate Lunar New Year across the capital, launch your own album at the Whitechapel Gallery, get stuck into the Southbank Centre’s inspiring Imagine Festival, and explore two new child-centric exhibitions: the Horniman’s Robot Zoo and Young V&A’s Making Egypt.

Festivals, workshops and events

Head to Hawley Wharf on the 1st for their Chinese New Year celebrations, featuring live music, performances and craft workshops. Then embark on a boat ride along the canal to Kings Cross, enjoying Chinese snacks, music, and activities along the way. Free/paid.
London Museum Docklands’ Lunar New Year Festival runs from the 1st-2nd (sold out but walk-ups available). The museum is also hosting half term activities and performances including Pet Sounds, Paper Puppets, Paws, Claws & Tiger Tales and Double Bass Dan. Free.
Campfire Adventures, Discover’s event for 5-11s, starts on the 8th, with supper, scavenger hunts, a visit to a Monster Funfair and hot chocolate round a campfire. The centre is also launching a Poppy and Sam exhibition from the 1st and garden trail from the 15th. Paid.
V&A South Kensington has plenty on for kids this February, including Crafting with Colours & Screening on the 8th, Digital Kids: Listening Garden on the 18th-21st, How Food Shapes Us on the 19th-21st and Make it: Fashion for and 15th and 22nd. Free/paid.
Head to Dulwich Picture Gallery on the 9th for Wild Life Drawing for Families, for a chance to draw birds of prey. Then on the 15th, take part in Family Festival: the Art of Play, featuring live toy theatre performances, storytelling, collaborative art making and more. Paid.
Wiggle Wonderland will be at Croydon’s Whitgift Square from 14th February to 2nd March, with an exciting workshop programme happening inside the pavilion. Head down for an inflatable arts session, a chance to make a Mile of String art installation and more. Free.
Discover’s Stomp and Stamp Trail runs from the 15th. Children aged 2-8 are encouraged to pick up a map and visit the beautiful buildings around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, collecting the stamps at each of the stops and making a note of what they see. Free.
Battersea Power Station is running a whole host of family-friendly events from 15th-21st, including stained-glass and Northern Lights-inspired artwork making, dreamcatcher spinning and spider crafts, glow-in-the-dark bracelet making and LED hula-hooping. Paid
There’s loads going on at Young V&A for all ages this month, including Play Saturdays: Pattern on the 15th and 22nd, Family Workshop (4-11): Salt Dough Statue Family Workshop (7-14): Tempera Painting, and Making Egypt from 19th-21st. Free/paid.
Holiday Make Studio: The Joy of Feeling is at Tate Modern from 15th-23rd. Explore a playful space created by HoLD Art Collective and inspired by the art of Dorothea Tanning. Sway, slide and spin to a dreamy soundscape specially composed to delight the senses. Free.
Whitechapel Gallery is running two family workshops with artist Jenny Pengilly this month. Make album artwork, write lyrics and record audio in Our Album Launch on the 15th, then make short silly silent films in Film for Foley on the 22nd. Free.
Head to the Estorick Collection on the 16th for Family Art Day: Discover, Play and Share. Celebrate Valentine’s Day and craft a visual poem with your family using collage, drawing and heartfelt words to express emotion and strengthen family bonds. Free.
Somerset House is hosting family workshops to coincide with their new SOIL exhibition from 17th-22nd. Choose from DIY seed bomb making, a Language of Landscapes workshop, storytelling, science and seed sowing, and a screening of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. Paid.
Museum of the Home’s Lunar New Year Family Day 2025 is on the 18th. Experiment with fabric, paper, shadows and sound to embody your version of a snake, make your own temporary homes in the Mini Playhouse and immerse yourself in musical storytelling. Free.
The Foundling’s creative workshops are back this half term, inspired by the museum’s current ceramics exhibition. Choose from clay tile making on the 18th, plasticine stop motion on the 19th, clay house making on the 20th and clay story pot making on the 21st. Paid.
The Royal Parks’ February Nature Roadshows will take place in Greenwich Park on the 18th and Kensington Gardens on the 20th. Follow a scavenger trail, use binoculars to take a closer look at nature, create your own nature crafts and play interactive games. Free.
Imagine Festival returns to the Southbank Centre from 18th-23rd, with highlights including a Roblox Designathon, a street art masterclass, Club Origami, a pop-up gig-theatre for 0-3s, pop-punk juggling, an LGBTQIA+ Bollywood family disco and loads more. Free/paid.
Head to the Horniman this month for Storytelling and Recycling Fun with Laura Henry Allain, author of JoJo and Gran Gran, on the 19th, and Powered by Nature: Wild Fangs, a hands-on, up-close animal-packed session on the 18th, 19th and 21st. Paid.
Sir John Soane’s Museum will run a Gorgeous Gargoyles: Family Drop-In on the 19th. Join artist and educator Caroline Dorset to create your own gorgeous gargoyles from clay, inspired by the Museum collection. Free.
On the 20th, take inspiration from the stunning interior and windows of the Fitzrovia Chapel to make Creative Light Sculptures with artist Christina Rose Brown. Play with paper, shapes and shadows and make your own model of an imagined light sculpture. Paid.
South London Gallery will host Family Space with Fungai Marima on the 22nd. Children aged 5–12 years and their parents and carers will be invited to explore memory through lino printing, memorial making and sound in this drop-in workshop. Free.
The RA’s Family Studio: Trash to Treasure takes place on the 23rd. Led by artist Sarah Hunt, this drop-in workshop for families with kids of all ages will take inspiration from El Anatsui, with attendees invited to create woven sculptural pieces from recycled materials. Free.
Head to artsdepot on the 23rd, when The Brick People invites kids aged 3-12 to choose their own adventure and get stuck in to various LEGO activity tables, as well as checking out a selection of official and unofficial LEGO creations. Paid.

Film & Theatre

Barbican is showing a great selection of films as part of its Family Film Club this month, including Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (including a Q&A with Nick Park) on the 1st, Labyrinth on the 8th, Up on the 15th and My Neighbour Totoro on the 22nd. Paid.
A Squash and a Squeeze is at Little Angel Theatre from 1st February to 27th April. Aimed at ages 3- 8, the show will be full of beautiful puppets and enchanting songs. Then from the 15th February to 19th April, Miniature Travelling Circus will be a tiny delight for 2-5s. Paid.
There’s lots on at Polka this month, including An Ant Called Amy (5-8s) from 6th-9th, Whipped Up! (0-2s) from 12th-16th, The PEA and the Princess (3-7s) from 15th February-30th March, Boxville (3-10s) from 19th-23rd and Sandscape (2-7s) from 28th February-2nd March. Paid.
Home Song will be at Unicorn Theatre from 7th February to 9th March. Featuring puppetry, interactive soundscapes and a capella singing throughout, this multi-sensory show creates a vivid and soothing musical experience for babies aged 6-18 months. Paid.
The Albany will play host to three exciting shows this February, including Soft or Spiky? for ages 6-18 months on the 11th, The Mystery of the Albany for ages 7-11 on the 18th, and Fairytale Musical MashUp for ages 5+ on the 21st. Paid.

Exhibition openings

Linder: Danger Came Smiling is on at the Hayward Gallery from 11th February to 5th May. The artist’s first London retrospective showcases 50 years of the pioneering feminist artist’s work, dissecting our fascination with the body and its representation. Paid.
Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture will be at the Saatchi from 12th February to 5th May. Occupying nine gallery spaces, the exhibition will feature large-scale installations, fashion and archival objects exploring the influence of flowers on human expression. Paid.
Australian sculptor Ron Mueck’s En Garde will be on display at Thaddeus Ropac from 14th February to 2nd April. The exhibition, displayed for the first time in the UK, consists of a colossal trio of black dogs, standing almost three and a half metres tall. Free.
The Horniman’s interactive Robot Zoo exhibition runs from 14th February to 2nd November. Expect larger-than-life animals that have been innovatively recreated using familiar machine parts, plus hands-on exhibits and specially commissioned interactive murals. Paid.
The Making Egypt exhibition opens at Young V&A from the 15th. Embark 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. Paid.
Luminous by Luxmuralis will be at St. Paul’s Cathedral from 22nd-28th. Transforming the interior of the Cathedral and drawing on its rich history, collections and archive, this immersive light show will offer a breathtaking fusion of art, sound and architecture. Paid.
Tate Modern’s Leigh Bowery exhibition is on from 27th February to 31st August. Embracing performance, club culture and fashion design, this eclectic and immersive exhibition is a rare chance to experience many of Bowery’s ‘Looks’ alongside his many collaborations. Paid.

Under-5s

Head down to V&A South Kensington on the 5th for Design Baby: Play Build Play for 0-3s and their adults. Play with unusual and experimental materials, explore the space and sensory areas, share your experience with other families and create new connections. Free.
Head to the British Museum’s Little Feet: Explore the Silk Roads with your 0-5s on the 10th and let them try their hand at some of the activities that took place across this vast landscape, including jewellery making, souvenir making and haggling at the market. Free.
RIBA will host RIBA Baby: Sensory Stories for 0-3s and their carers on the 11th. Join sensory storyteller Dani Bradstreet on a Thames river adventure. Meet the birds and fish who live in and near the Thames, all while travelling along in an imagined Clipper boat. Free.
Bounce House is back at Big Penny Social from 17th-23rd. The entire Event Space will be taken over by massive inflatables, including a huge inflatable assault course. The 10am session every day is for under-3s only after feedback from previous events. Paid.
Head to the RA on the 19th for Early Years Studio: Paint. Designed for 0-5s and their adults, this drop-in workshop invites attendees to investigate the sensory qualities of paint and have a go at process-led painting and mark-making at their own pace. Free.

SEND-friendly

Head to V&A South Kensington on the 8th for Sensory Friendly: Design and Draw with Light. Design, make and draw using lightboxes and overhead projectors. Create and experiment using a mixture of different art materials to make colourful projections in the space. Free.
The Southbank Centre is hosting a Relaxed Session with Club Origami on the 8th. Join a sensory-adapted, inclusive and smaller creative session and get ready to rip, fold and scrumple, to see what can happen with a single piece of paper. Free.
Exploring Mesopotamia is on at the British Museum on the 8th. Join artist Stuart Milburn from arts charity Outside In and create your own cuneiform tablets using clay. Explore the galleries and take part in sensory-based activities including object handling. Free.
Autograph Gallery’s monthly Free Family Workshop for Children with SEND will take place on the 8th. The whole family is invited to get involved in this creative play session, led by artist Amy Leung, and play with textures, light, sculpture and a variety of art materials. Free.
Battersea Power Station will host a variety of specially adapted workshops for children with SEND this half term, including Stained Glass Art on the 15th and 20th, 3D Wooden Spider Crafts on the 18th, and LED Hula Hooping on the 21st. Paid.
Big Penny Social is hosting two relaxed Bounce House sessions with The Together Space on the 19th. Expect massive inflatables, including a huge inflatable assault course, and quieter sessions that have been specially adapted to be autism-friendly. Paid.
The Barbican is running a relaxed screening of Paddington in Peru on the 17th. Expect the volume levels to be a little lower than usual, and feel free to move around the screen and make noise during the screening. Paid.