Half-term in Nottingham city schools is fast approaching! Half-term runs 13 – 17 February in Nottingham schools, and there’s plenty to keep kids busy.
City Council venues, including heritage sites, leisure centres, libraries and parks, have packed schedules full of free and great value events and activities for families.
There are events in neighbourhoods, and in the city centre – all easily accessible by train, bus or tram – and families can get all the info they need at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/halfterm
The Festival of Science and Curiosity runs 8 – 15 February, with free activities designed to inspire curiosity and discovery taking place around the city, including a special day focused on activities for families on Saturday 11 February.
Free events on 11 February include an amazing set of giant lungs in the intu Broadmarsh Centre, a mobile planetarium Inflativerse at NonSuch Theatre on Clarendon Street, an entire day of worm-themed activities at the National Videogame Arcade in Hockley and many exciting demonstrations about optical illusions and dinosaurs at Nottingham Central Library.
And Nottingham City libraries will run more free activities as part of the festival during half-term week, with hands-on science demonstrations taking place in six libraries across the city including Aspley, Sneinton and Radford-Lenton libraries.
More half-term activities:
- All-day activities for kids aged 8 – 15 at leisure centres – The Portland Centre, Clifton Leisure Centre, John Carroll Leisure Centre, Southglade Leisure Centre and Minver Crescent Sports Hall all run School’s Out – the school holiday scheme that costs parents just £1 per day for activities including basketball, cricket, arts and crafts and swimming.
- The City Council has a number of events for children and young people which have been organised by the Play and Youth teams – many of them free. With eight adventure and play centres and 18 children’s centres across the city offering a range of free and low-cost services and activities for families and their children, there will be something for everyone.
- Visitors to Wollaton Park can take part in ‘Explore and Investigate’ fun including activities and trails around the park.
- Visitors to Nottingham parks can drop in to a free nest box making session taking place 14 – 17 February at parks around the city – learning a new skill as well as making a new home for birds in the local area.
- Green’s Windmill is running pizza making, salt dough modelling and cookie baking sessions
- Nottingham Contemporary will run free daily arts and crafts workshops (Tues – Sat 11am – 3pm) where everyone can draw and collage a life-size family.
- New Art Exchange in Hyson Green will celebrate a dance-filled half-term, with free workshops running daily, before ending the week with a free celebration of Polish food and culture at the Fat Thursday event on Saturday 18 February.
- intu Victoria Centre will offer free cooking activities daily from 11am – 4pm, where little ones can learn how to create musical instruments using food and learn about the science of food through fun experiments, plus much more.
- The National Ice Centre will host special half-term skating sessions, including family party sessions and parent and toddler skating sessions.
- The Galleries of Justice Museum are holding a ‘Trial by Snot’, plus free family arts and crafts.
- Nottingham City of Caves visitors can meet the plague doctor and go on ‘curiously contagious’ cave tours, learning about the history of the Black Death in Nottingham.
- The University of Nottingham are running free drop in sessions for families from Tuesday – Friday at their museum on the University Park campus next to Highfields Park, where everyone can learn about history, sample Roman foods and try their hand at medieval crafts.
Families can travel around the city all day by bus for just £4.50 using the Nottingham City Transport grouprider ticket, which covers one or two adults and up to three children.
On the trams, families can get a group ticket for just £5, which covers one or two adults and up to three children to use the tram network all day. Don’t forget – under-fives are always free on trams and buses.
Nottingham City Council’s free weekly What’s On email, which now has over 28,000 subscribers, is sent out weekly on a Sunday, highlighting great events coming up in and around the city. Sign up at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/stayconnected
Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “It’s tremendously important to the City Council that local families have a variety of brilliant free and low cost things to do over half-term.
We’re really proud that there’s such a wide range of great things to do this February and we hope that lots of local families enjoy them.”