list.co.uk/kids KIDS
tales adapted by Carol Ann Duffy and dramatised by Tim Supple. Ages 6+. Grimm Tales Wed 23 Jul, 12–1pm. £1–£3. Bellcraig Community Education Centre, 10 Gorstan St, 945 2710. See above.
✽FREE The Pokey Hat Thu 24 Jul–Sat 26 Jul, 11am,1.30pm &
3pm. Free, unticketed. Glasgow Green, Greendyke Street. grinagog.co.uk. See review, page 82. The Worm – An Underground Adventure Thu 24 Jul, 26 Jul 11am– noon & 1–2pm. £2–£3 (adults free). The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, 276 5365. An adventure with Wilma and William as they journey to find the elusive worm species. For ages 3–7. FREE Magic Den’s Family Cabaret Thu 24 Jul, 1–2pm. Donations welcome. Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, 113–117 Trongate, 553 0840. Magic Den entertains adults and kids with tricks, puppetry and humour. Part of Merchant City Festival.
EDINBURGH Activities & Fun Bring Your Teddy to Britannia Thu 10 Jul, 9.30am–4.30pm. Included in admission. Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Terminal, Leith, 555 5566. Celebrate National Teddy Bear Picnic Day with some fun for you and Ted. The Comedy Club 4 Kids Workshop Thu 10 Jul, 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–5pm. £20. The Bongo Club, 66 Cowgate, 558 8844. A workshop for kids to hone their comedy skills. Ages 7–11 from 10am; ages 12–15 from 2.30pm. Animal Antics Thu 10 Jul–Sun 13 Jul, Thu 17 Jul–Sun 20 Jul, Thu 24 Jul–Sun 27 Jul & Thu 31 Jul, 12.30– 3.30pm. £3 per child per hour (babies under six months free). Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, 0845 874 3001. A fun space for kids to go a bit wild, with a ball tent, dressing up, arts and crafts, books and more. Under 5s. FREE Sports Challenge Afternoon Thu 10 Jul, 1–3pm. Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate, 529 4143. Try out unusual, current, and historical sports, games and challenges. River Dipping Thu 10 Jul, Thu 17 Jul, Tue 22 Jul, Tue 29 Jul, Thu 7 Aug, 2–3.30pm. Children £3.50. Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road, 455 7367. Come splash around and find out what lives in the river. Bring waterproofs and wellies. FREE Giving Nature a Home Saturdays & Sundays, 11am–4pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2909. Family friendly nature and wildlife activities with RSPB Scotland. FREE Portrait Detectives! Sun 13 Jul, 2–4pm. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. Solve some age-old mysteries from Scottish history. Ages 4–12. Bonaly Multi-Activity Days Mon 14 Jul–Fri 18 Jul, Mon 21 Jul–Fri 25 Jul & Mon 28 Jul–Fri 1 Aug, 9am–5pm. £25 per day (£110 per week). Bonaly Outdoor Centre, 71 Bonaly Road, 02082 371170. Kids ages 8–14 can spend their holidays taking part in archery, climbing, assault courses and bushcraft. Shoebox Running Track Mon 14 Jul, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Turn a shoebox into your very own running track with eight lanes and moveable sprinters. Ages 6+. FREE Arthur’s Amble Mon 14 Jul & 28 Jul, 1–2.30pm. Holyrood Park, Holyrood, 652 8150. Learn all about the folk who lived and worked around Arthur’s Seat on this gentle walk around Hunter’s Bog and St Margaret’s Loch. Tools From Nature Tue 15 Jul, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Get the Robin Hood look by making your very own bow and arrows complete with quiver. Ages 8+.
Wild at Art Tue 15 Jul, 2–3.30pm. £3.50 per child + adult. Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road, 455 7367. Take a look at the world around you and get creative with nature. Parent and Baby Group Art Classes Tue 15 Jul, 22 Jul & 29 Jul, 2–4pm. £6.50. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7101. Art activities for grown-ups and wee ones.
✽FREE Family Fun Day for CCLASP Sun 20 Jul, 11am–6pm. The Meadows, Melville Drive, 07738 154262. A day of fun to raise funds for CCLASP children’s charity, with radio roadshows, dance groups, cartoon characters, side shows, funfair rides and inflatable bouncy castles and slides. FREE The Generator Mon 21 Jul–Sun 17 Aug, 2–4.30pm. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6200. Art lab for kids aged 4+. Summer Wilderness Survival Skills Thu 24 Jul & Tue 5 Aug, 2–3.30pm. £3.50 per adult + child. Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road, 455 7367. Let your kids learn how to fend for themselves in the great outdoors. Scrapheap Art Thu 31 Jul, 2–3.30pm. £3.50 per child + adult. Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road, 455 7367. Recycle rubbish into something fun and creative, and take part in the scrapheap boat race. Pop Lock-In Sat 2 Aug, 2pm. £8. Electric Circus, 36–39 Market Street, 226 4224. An afternoon lock-in for 4–11 year olds, with DJs, streetdance instructor and karaoke. FREE Handling Session Day Thu 7 Aug, 1–3pm. Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate, 529 4143. Get to know some of the objects from historic sports and games such as quoits and tiddlywinks. Watch Out, Beetles About Sun 10 Aug, 10.30am–12.30pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Investigate the undergrowth at Lauriston Castle and learn how to identify the different creepy crawlies so you can create a bug finger puppet.
Books & Storytelling FREE The Gruffalo’s Birthday Sun 27 Jul, 11am–3pm. Waterstones, 98/9 Ocean Terminal, Ocean Drive, Leith, 554 7732. Meet the Gruffalo at his 15th birthday party. FREE Mrs Mash: The Storyteller Cook Mondays, 10.30– 11am. The Skylark, 241–243 High Street, 629 3037. Delicious stories and songs for ages 4+. Tiny Tales Tue 15 Jul, 10am & 11.30am. £5 per child (adults free). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Magical nature stories, rhymes and songs for wee (and not so wee) ears. Ages 1–3. The Dragon of the Castle Sun 20 Jul, 10.30am–12.30pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Hear stories about dragons and make a clay sculpture of one FREE Talking Trees Storytelling Sun 20 Jul & 17 Aug, 2–2.45pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2909. Talking Trees transport you to a magical land far, far away. Ages 5+. Sleepover Under the Stars Sat 26 Jul, 6.45pm–8.30am. £35. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. A sleepover in the Gallery’s Great Hall for kids aged 7–11 and their accompanying adults, with art activities, a spy-themed gallery adventure and storytelling. Music Happy Ears Wed 9 Jul, 16 Jul, 23 Jul, 30 Jul, 10–11am. £5–8; £35 for five week block. Calton Centre, 121 Montgomery Street, 07778 117333. Informal music group for parents and babies with live music, instruments and puppets. Ages 0–3.+
OUTDOOR GAMES SCOTCH HOPPERS Parnie Street, Glasgow, Thu 24 Jul–Sun 3 Aug
In an era when having the latest iPhone is top priority for many children, it’s hard to imagine that a piece of string and a stick of chalk ever passed muster. Yet whiling away the afternoon playing hop scotch / peevers / beds (whatever you called it) used to be a wholly acceptable leisure activity. In a bid to dust off the childhood memories of adults, and to
introduce today’s youngsters to the kind of fun that doesn’t require a screen, Brian Hartley has created Scotch Hoppers. Taking over Parnie Street in Glasgow’s Merchant City for ten days, Hartley and his team are giving young and old the chance to engage with traditional outdoor games, but with a new twist.
‘It’s unpredictable who will come along,’ he says, ‘but that was
one of our interests in making the work – to try and create a variety of activities for different levels of physicality, interest and skill, and for people of all ages.’ Hartley anticipates people engaging with the games in small groups of friends and family, as individuals, or joining forces with strangers to create large groups. Simplicity will be the key to much of the activity, with minimal need
for materials and no complex rules. Keen to bring the natural world into an urban environment, Hartley has also commissioned special objects (a wood carver is making wooden spinning tops, for example), to bring ‘small, well-crafted, tactile objects’ back into our lives. Open for public use each afternoon, Scotch Hoppers will also
feature weekend performances to inspire the public to engage with the space. ‘The fact that we can close a street in the middle of the city for ten days, and invite people to play in it, is in itself quite powerful,’ says Hartley. ‘And I hope people will use it as a catalyst for sharing their own memories of childhood and playing.’ (Kelly Apter)
Summer Rock Club Mon 14 Jul–Fri 18 Jul, 11am–1pm. £60 for one week (£54). Academy of Music & Sound, 1 Grassmarket, 656 0600. Tuition for wannabe guitarists, bassists, drummers and vocalists. Ages 10–16. Theatre & Dance Baby Loves Disco Sun 3 Aug, 11am. £6. Electric Circus, 36–39 Market Street, 226 4224. A chance for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents to get their grooves on and enjoy some dayclubbing.
OUTSIDE THE CITIES
Activities & Fun ✽Scotland’s National Airshow Sat 26 Jul, 10am–5pm. £20 (£18;
children £10; family £50; under 5s free). National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, North Berwick, 0300 123 6789. Aerial displays ranging from historic warbirds to
contemporary military jets, plus children’s activities, fairground rides and stalls. Day Out with Thomas Sat 26 & Sun 27 Jul, 10am–5pm. £11–£12. Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, Union Street, Bo’ness, 01506 822298. Take a rail journey on one of Thomas the Tank Engine’s friends, and watch the children’s entertainers. Fringe by the Sea Mon 4 Aug–Sun 10 Aug, Times, prices and venues vary. North Berwick, 01620 890787. North Berwick’s multi-arts festival offers kids events including music with Mr Boom, dancing with Jo Jingles and drama from Sparkle Arts. Theatre & Dance The Singing Kettle: Fantastic Funfair Fri 1 Aug, 2pm; Sat 2 Aug, 11am & 2pm; Sun 3 & Sat 9, noon & 3pm. £12.50. Howden Park Centre, Livingston, 01506 777666. The Kettle gang take on the helter skelters and merry-go-rounds of the funfair.
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