Kids
FREE Art Cart Sun 6 May, 2pm–4pm. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Family friendly artistic activities. Ages 4–12. Pond Secrets Mon 7 May, 10.30am–12.30pm. £4. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Search the pond for creepy crawlies. Honey Pot Ceramics Wed 9 May, 11am–3pm. £2 as well as zoo admission. Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine Road, 0844 557 2686. Fun, messy arts & crafts session. Ages 6 months–5 years. Physical Matters Sat 12 May, 10am, 1pm & 3pm. £1 as well as normal admission. Our Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, 550 7800. A look at how everyday items are constructed. Book via website. Ages 6–14. Mini Japanese Gardens Sun 13 May, 10.30am–12.30pm. £4. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Explore the Japanese Friendship Garden then recreate the scenes. FREE Portrait Detectives! Sun 13 May, 2pm–4pm. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. Explore and solve mysteries from Scottish history. Ages 4–12. FREE Fascination of Plants Day Fri 18 May, 1pm–4pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2909. Discover some of Edinburgh’s natives. Ages 5+. Oink Sat 19 May, 10am, 1pm & 3pm. £1 as well as normal admission. Our Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, 550 7800. A look at the world of pigs. Book via website. Ages 6–14. Casualty 1852 Sat 19 May, 1pm–4pm. £5 (£3; 2 for 1 tickets all day). Surgeons’ Hall Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, 527 1649. Stage cosmetics experts dish out casualty-style make-up. FREE Minibeast – Monsterbeast Sun 20 May, 1pm. Holyrood Park Education Centre, 1 Queen’s Drive, 652 8150. Discover giant insects from around the world. FREE Bags of Art Sun 20 May, 2pm–4pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Collect a bag of art activities and get creative. Ages 4–12.
✽✽ FREE Introduction to Body Percussion Sun 20 May, 1pm. Dance Base, 14–16 Grassmarket, 225 5525. Workshop blending music and dance to create your own soundtrack, led by a member of Stomp. Ages 8–14. Bear Necessities Mon 21 & Tue 22 May, 10am–12.30pm. £6. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. A teddy bear picnic with bear stories and prize for Best Dressed Bear.
Books & Storytelling Snorlymagink Visits the Vet Sat 28 Apr, 2pm & 3.30pm. £6 per child adults free; max three children per carer). Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, 560 1590. Storytelling, puppets and theatre telling the tale of a bizarre creature at the vet. Telling Tales Storytelling Competition Sat 28 Apr, 1pm. £5 (£3). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Youngsters compete for the first Young Storyteller award. The Story Kist: Inclusive Storytelling Sat 12 May, 11am. £5 (family £16). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Interactive stories for children with additional needs. FREE Talking Trees Storytelling Sun 20 May, 2pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2909. Stories from across the globe. Ages 5+.
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Music Happy Ears Saturdays 28 Apr & 12 May, 10am & noon. £5. Calton Centre, 121 Montgomery Street, 07778 117333. Music group for male carers and their little ones. Ages 0–15 months from 10am; 15 months–3 years from noon.
Theatre & Dance ✽✽ Traverse Mon 7 May, 7pm; Tue 8 May, 10.30am & 1.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. A man’s routine is disrupted by a secret world. Ages 7+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Cloud Man Tue 8 & Thu 10 May, 9.30 & 11.30am; Wed 9 & Fri 11
May, 1.30 & 3.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Church Hill Theatre, 33a Morningside Road, 447 7597. Join expert Cloudia to find a Cloud Man. Ages 4–7. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ By the Seat of Your Pants Tue 8 May, 10.30am & 1.30pm; Wed 9
May 10.30am. £10 (family £16–£48). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Slapstick and clowning. Ages 7+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ By the Seat of Your Pants Fri 11 & Sat 12 May, 7pm; Sun 13
May, 1.30 & 3.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. See above.
✽✽ Rumpelstiltskin Tue 8 May, 10.45am & 7pm; Wed 9 May,
10.15am & 1pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Brunton Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. New version of the well-loved fairytale, with live music. Ages 8+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Titus Tue 8 May, 10.45am, 1.15pm & 7pm; Wed 9 May, 10.15am. £10
(family £16–£48). Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. A ten-year- old boy who has a lot of growing up to do. Ages 11+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Paperbelle Tue 8 & Thu 10 May, 1.30 & 3.30pm; Wed 9 & Fri 11
May, 9.30 & 11.30am. £10 (family £16–£48). Church Hill Theatre, 33a Morningside Road, 447 7597. A show about the world of colours. Ages 2–5. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ This (Baby) Life Wed 9, Fri 11 & Sat 12 May, 11.30am & 1.30pm;
Thu 10 May, 10 & 11.30am. £8 per adult + child; additional siblings £4. North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. A playful two-way dance. Ages 4–18 months. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Sunflowers and Sheds Thu 10 & Mon 14 May, 10.15am & 1pm; Fri
11 May, 9.30 & 11am; Sat 12 May, 1.30pm; Sun 13 May, 2.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. The story of an allotment-based friendship. Ages 5+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Mikey and Addie Thu 10 May, 10.30am & 1.30pm; Fri 11 May, 10.15am & 7.15pm; Sat 12 & Sun 13 May, 2pm; Mon 14 May 10.15am, & 1.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. A show about growing up. Ages 9+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Kindur: The Adventurous Life of Sheep in Iceland Thu 10
May, 11.30am & 1.30pm; Fri 11 May, 10.30am & 7pm; Sat 12 May, 11.30am & 3.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Brunton Theatre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. The story of some adventurous sheep. Ages 6+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Grug Thu 10 May, 1.15pm; Fri 11 May, 9.45 & 11.15am; Sat 12 May,
11.15am & 1pm; Mon 14 May 9.45 & 11.30am. £10 (family £16–£48). Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Meet small stripy haystack Grug. Ages 3–6. Part of Imaginate Festival. The Ollissey Fri 11 & Sat 12 May, 7pm. £7 (£4). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Strange Town youth theatre share a birthday odyssey. Ages 11+. Gender Specific Fri 11 & Sat 12 May, 9pm. £7 (£4). Scottish Storytelling
FAMILY DAY THE MAGICAL WORLD OF MACKINTOSH Scotland Street School Museum, Glasgow, Sat 19 May
It went from a place of learning, to a place to learn about learning – but whatever its use, the brilliance of its architect shines through. Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904, Scotland Street
School Museum has many of its creator’s signature trademarks. But look closer, and there are hidden gems most of us just pass by. Which is something the next family day at the museum is seeking to address.
Part of this year’s Festival of Museums, The Magical World of
Mackintosh is a chance for adults and children alike to get beneath the skin of Mackintosh’s designs, and explore his inspiratons for the school. ‘There are a lot of decorative motifs that are quite subtle,’ explains
Jenny Bell Harman of Glasgow Museums, ‘but once you look into the design behind them, you find lots of ideas about seeds, leaves and branches. Mackintosh wanted to have something that was relevant to it being a building of education, so there are symbols depicting the development of plant life, which would be compared to the growth of the children attending the school.’
Mackintosh’s career as an architect, designer and watercolourist has informed the day, with puppet making, storytelling, watercolour workshops, a giant mosaic and opportunities for under 5s to build their own structure.
Roaming the building will also be three living history characters:
Mackintosh, his wife and fellow-artist, Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh, and the wife of the school janitor. ‘They’ll be dramatising some of the stories and secrets hidden within the building,’ says Bell Harman. ‘There was tension between Mackintosh and the school board, because they weren’t really on the same page in terms of design. And the janitor’s wife was critical of Mackintosh, because the accommodation he created for her family was quite small. So there are different points of view, and different interactions Mackintosh had when he was building the school, that could help visitors see his designs in a new way.’ (Kelly Apter)
Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. A story about a young Edinburgh couple and an annoying third wheel. Ages 11+.
✽✽ .h.g. Sat 12 & Sun 13 May, 10am; Mon 14 May, 1pm. £10 (family
£16–£48). Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. Venture into the forest for a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Ages 9+. Part of Imaginate Festival.
✽✽ Aston’s Stones Sat 12 & Sun 13 May, 10.30am & 1.30pm; Mon 14
May, 1.30pm & 3.30pm. £10 (family £16–£48). Church Hill Theatre, 33a Morningside Road, 447 7597. Touching story about a boy caring for two stones. Ages 3–6. Part of Imaginate Festival. BANG! Sat 12 May, 2–2.35pm. £7 (£4). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High
Street, 556 9579. Play set in 1822 Edinburgh, performed by Strange Town. 8–10-year-olds. OUTSIDE THE CITIES
Children’s Classic Concerts: Bang On! Sat 28 & Sun 29 Apr, 3pm. £10 (£6). MacRobert, University of Stirling, 01786 466666. Captivating rhythms created by household goods. FREE Quentin Blake: As Large as Life Fri 27 Apr–Sun 24 Jun, Tue–Sat 11am–4pm; Sun 2pm–5pm. Paisley Museum, High Street, Paisley, 887 1010. Over 50 images by the much-loved illustrator. With special storytelling sessions for ages 2–5 on Tuesdays (11am–noon, £4 per adult, children free).