25+ awesome things to do in London with kids during May/half term 2026

This month, visit artist Anna Bruder’s line-drawn flower shop, get lost among monumental Henry Moores at Kew, explore Bold Tendencies’ 20th-anniversary open-air art exhibition and bury your feet in the sand as east London’s favourite urban beach makes a welcome return.

To be updated as events are announced.

Museum of Illusions opens on Tottenham Court Road this month (date tbc). Defy gravity, walk into a kaleidoscope, climb the facade of a building without leaving the ground, witness still images come to life – and learn how all of that is possible – across more than 60 interactive exhibits and installations. Paid.
Crayola’s World of Creativity pop-up will be at the OXO Gallery from 2nd-4th. During this immersive event, visitors will be given a Crayola Passport to help them navigate themed interactive zones, including Color Wonder mess-free areas, a Scribble Scrubbies Pet Parlour, and a Globbles throwing arena. Free.
The Big Birthday Bash at London Zoo is on 2nd-4th, taking the form of a family-friendly street party-style celebration. The zoo will also be hosting Create Something Wild: A Guinness World Records title attempt, with families invited to create a huge collaborative artwork from 23rd-31st. Included in paid admission.
Barbican’s May Family Film Club lineup is packed with treats, including Finding Dory (2nd), Woolly Animations (9th), The Songbird’s Secret (16th), James and the Giant Peach (23rd) and Arco (30th). The centre will also be hosting Delcy Morelos’ colossal Origos installation from 15th May to 31st July. Paid/free.
On the 6th, V&A hosts its monthly Design Baby: Play Build Play session, when 0-3s are invited to play with unusual and experimental materials. From 9th-10th, families can explore the museum’s The Magic Garden drop-in, investigating the world of roots and soil through building sculptures and structures. Paid/free.
Head to Mosaic Rooms on the 8th for its monthly Tiny Fridays under-5s session featuring squishy and crunchy materials, tubes, pipes, boxes, crates, dens and more. Then, on the 28th, 0-11s are invited to take part in Play Lab: Lum’a, featuring shadow theatre, Puppet-making, projected backdrops, and open-ended materials. Free.
Dulwich Festival runs from 8th-17th, with family-friendly highlights including a silent disco, maypole dancing, street-art sketching, a teddy bears’ picnic, family walks, beat boxing, spring fairs, storytelling and illustration events at Paper Cat Bookshop in Herne Hill, and loads more. Free/paid.
After Party by HurlyBurly will be showing at Chats Palace on the 9th. Designed for 0-2s, this brilliant show invites parents to embrace the chaos of the early years and follow their children into a world of transformation and wonder where every gurgle, tumble, and reach becomes part of the performance. Paid.
Young V&A is hosting two creative sessions on the 9th. Join artist Judith Brocklehurst to invent quirky moving sculptures or body extensions in Create! Studio for Families; or have fun with tactile, open-ended making for children with sensory differences or SEND at Sensory Friendly Studio for Families. Paid.
Big Penny Social is hosting loads of fun family events this month, including the Clubhouse: Kids’ Rave family rave on the 9th, the long-awaited Festival of the Boy on the 17th, the iconic Big Penny Beach Club from 22nd May to 30th August and the Housecats Catitude Festival daytime party on the 24th. Paid.
Henry Moore: Monumental Nature will be at Kew from 9th May to 31st January. Explore the gardens and interact with 30 monumental sculptures spanning Moore’s nearly 70-year career and demonstrating the varying shape and scale of his artworks. Included with paid admission.
The Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival takes place at St Paul’s Church Garden on the 10th. Highlights will include a grand procession led by the Superior Brass Band, a special church service with Mr Punch in the pulpit, plus shows, stalls and workshops, folk music and maypole dancing. Free.
Bold Tendencies’ 20th Anniversary Season opens from the 15th. Taking its cues from the theme Euphoria, this rooftop art exhibition and events programme will include work by Andreas Gursky, Emma Hart, Athen Kardashian & Nina Mhach Durban, Tarek Lakhrissi and Louis Morlæ. Free.
Head to Half Moon from 15th-16th for Pie-Rat Island, a fun and gentle introduction to theatre for 2-6s. Then on the 21st-23rd, the theatre will be staging Boxed In, a playful and largely non-verbal story for anyone who’s ever felt a bit confused, a bit left out, or a bit boxed in (ages 3-6). Paid.
The Southbank Centre is the place to be this half term. Highlights include FUNharmonics: Stan and Mabel and the Race for Space on the 17th, Michael Rosen’s Birthday on the 23rd and Play Along: Virtual Orchestra on 27th-28th. Also see my sponsored post on May half-term activities at the Southbank Centre here. Free/paid.
Chelsea in Bloom and Belgravia in Bloom both run from 18th-24th. London’s largest free-to-attend festival of flowers, this ever-popular floral art show will transform the streets of neighbouring Chelsea and Belgravia with breathtaking installations made from fresh flowers. Free.
On the 20th, British Museum is running a May Day Mini Makers event for 0-5s and their adults. Meet May Queens, Green Men and woodland creatures; stop and smell some floral scents; draw and scribble with a range of art materials; and make crowns and masks to wear for spring festivities in this child-led session. Free.
Natural History Museum’s Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep exhibition runs from 22nd May to 3rd January. Meet the legends of Earth’s prehistoric oceans, explore how marine reptiles rose to dominance, dare to touch a mosasaur tooth, feel what shark’s skin feels like and even get to touch fossil poo. Paid.
Head to Leighton House on the 23rd for Family Fun, Creative Calligraphy: Eid Letters for 5-10s. Learn how to write the phrase Eid Mubarak in Arabic using fun and accessible calligraphy techniques. Engage with playful mark-making and watercolour to create your own Eid cards to take home. Paid.
There’s loads on for families at Battersea Power Station this Holiday. Head to A Line Florist by Anna Bruder from 23rd-31st, pick your favourite hand-drawn flower to personalise from the pop-up flower shop. Or explore Luminarium: LUXART, an immersive world of interconnected colourful domes, also from 23rd-31st. Paid.
London Museum Docklands has loads on from 23rd-31st, including a chance to make an optical illusion toy in Eye Spy, craft a paper theatre, learn how to be a music hall comedian in Barrel of Laughs, sing timeless tunes and music-hall classics at Baby Broadway, and bring your own character to life in Peg People. Free/paid.
Thames Rockets’ Hamley Bear & the Secret Treasure Mission speedboat experience departs on the 24th, featuring live character performers and a chance to meet Hamley Bear. Hamleys will also be running special events throughout half-term, from meet and greets to fun interactive experiences. Paid/free.
Head to Discover’s Stratford Centre popup on the 25th for Make Your Own Fantasy House with Christina Rose Brown. Use collage and junk modelling to create your own fantasy house, whether it’s the house of your dreams, a home for a character or a building on the moon or under the sea. Paid.
British Library is hosting The Fairy Tale Fan Club with Richard Ayoade and David Roberts on the 26th. Ever wondered if it was really Happily Ever After? Get ready to find out if the Big Bad Wolf actually that bad or what happens when Rapunzel finally lets her hair down in this entertaining family show (8+). Paid.
Design Museum’s Family Day: Design and Worldbuilding is on the 29th. Young designers aged 5-11 and their families are invited to enjoy a day of hands-on making and creative discovery, inspired by the cinematic worlds of Wes Anderson and Thames & Hudson’s Mini Artists series. Paid.
Royal College of Nursing’s Home and Heart: Arts & Health From Around the World Family Event takes place on the 30th. Visitors aged 4-11 are invited to enjoy hands-on activities exploring nursing’s global roots. There will also be storytelling for 2-8s and a bookable writing workshop for 11-14s. Free.