Mega Guide to the Canberra July School Holidays

Jul 11

9 min read

The 2024 Canberra July school holidays have more to offer than we’ve ever seen, so we've curated ANOTHER list for you! From bubs through to college-age teens, there’s something for everyone in this mega holiday guide.

Play School Live in Concert - Let’s Play Together

Ideal for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

13 - 15 July

Good news, baby! Play School is coming to Canberra, and babies under 12 months are free of charge! With songs to move to, as well as quiet time to watch and listen, this show is sure to be a hit with your babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The concert is presented by two Play School presenters, along with everyone’s favourite Play School toys, and encourages lots of audience participation.

Tickets: $27 per person (under 12 months free). Book tickets here.

The Vault

Fun for the whole family

Space Time

15-22 July

Immerse yourself in outer space with this incredible sensory experience at The Vault. Bring the kids along to see a rocket take-off, look through pinholes in the sky to the beginning of the universe, and experience the sounds and projections on a massive 17-metre screen.

This is an easy-going, beautiful experience that is safe for all ages. The sound is set so it is safe for kids’ ears, there’s seats to rest, pram and wheelchair accessibility, baby change rooms, a bar, and so much more. You can also get out and explore the Dairy Road Precinct and all it has to offer.

Tickets are really reasonably priced, and babies under 1 are free.

Bangin’ Beats and Bubbles

13 July

We know dance parties in the living room with the kids can be fun, and now you can do it in public (and with a drink in hand!).

The Vault brings us yet another family friendly event with their Bangin’ Beats and Bubbles dance party. It’s been designed with little ears in mind, and is totally kid friendly. There’ll be a balloon drop, beach balls, bubbles, interactive activities, a soft baby area, a wood fire and a real bar (drinks for mum and dad, red cordial and skittles for the littles).

For more detailed info, visit The Vault’s website.

Questacon - Late Nights

Ideal for the whole family

12-13, 19-20 July

Questacon is staying up late for four nights over the July school holidays, with doors open from 9 am to 8 pm. Escape the crowds and visit Questacon at a quieter time, and even stay for dinner, with the Atomic Cafe open until 8pm.

Mount Stromlo Public Astronomy Nights

Ideal for the whole family

12 & 13 July

Ever wanted to see the rings of Saturn, the craters of the moon, beautiful star clusters or nebulae? Mount Stromlo Observatory, in conjunction with the Canberra Astronomical Society, are holding public observing nights on the 12th and 13th of July from 7-9pm. Be taken on a ‘tour of the universe’ with talks by astronomers from Mt. Stromlo Observatory, and observe the night sky through several telescopes.

Entry by gold coin donation. You can find out more here.

Shake it Off - Taylor Swift Experience

Ideal for kids and teens

Got a Swiftie in your house? Take them along to the ‘Shake it Off - Taylor Swift Experience’ at the Canberra Hellenic Club. Swiftie’s can unite at this all ages event, where a live band will be playing all of Tay Tay’s greatest hits. The 11am show still has some tickets available - hurry, get in quick! At $25 each, they’re sure to be snapped up quickly. Get tickets here.

Little Wing Puppets - ‘The Fish that Wanted to Fly’

Ideal for preschoolers and younger primary aged kids

18 & 19 July

The Tuggeranong Arts Centre presents ‘The Fish That Wanted to Fly’, a story about friendship, resilience and sustainability. Performed by Jenny Ellis, a puppeteer with over 20 years’ experience, this beautiful story is about a Fish whose lagoon is drying up, and the perils she faces.

Following the performances is an optional ‘Under the Sea’ workshop (additional booking/payment required), where kids can craft their own sea creature puppet and learn puppetry skills.

Visit the Tuggeranong Arts Centre website for more info.

Canberra Youth Theatre Holiday Workshop

Primary aged kids

15 - 18 July

Is your child a budding entertainer? Send them into outer space with Canberra Youth Theatre’s second holiday workshop, ‘It’s Not Rocket Science!’. Young artists will work with a workshop facilitator in this collaborative four-day workshop to build dramatic skills, be led through practical exercises and creative play, build new friendships, and sharpen their performance skills.

Held at the Gorman Arts Centre in Braddon from 9am - 3pm. Enrollments can be made here.

Pokémon Go Fest 2024 - Canberra

Ideal for primary aged kids and teens (and adults too!)

13 July

The biggest Pokémon GO event of the year is back! In case you haven’t heard of it, the Global Pokémon GO Fest is a special event where trainers from all around the world can participate in unique challenges and activities. Canberra participants will be meeting at Garema Place from 10am - 6pm, during which time 70 Pokémon will appear, plus special costumed Pokémon, bonuses and more.

For detailed information, visit the event page.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Trading Day

Ideal for primary aged kids

14 July

If your kids still aren’t over the frenzy of the Pokemon Go Fest, send them along to Ronin Games in Woden for a Pokémon card trade day. There’s no entry cost, they just need to turn up and get amongst it. From 12pm - 3pm.

Tickets and more info here.

Squishbook Kids Comic Workshop

Ideal for primary aged kids (or bring the whole family along!)

16 July

Smith’s Alternative is holding a family-friendly school holidays comic workshop in celebration of Squishbook, the first book collection by 13 artists and writers from Squishface Studio in Melbourne. Workshopped with grade 2 students at Kensington Primary School, Squishbook is a silly but truthful guide to making your own comics and stories, essential for the kid or teen who won’t stop drawing.

All materials are provided for the activities, plus get a copy of Squishbook with your family entry ticket.

Tickets and more info here.

Retro Roller Rink

Ideal for kids 6+

8 - 21 July

For the entire school holiday period, South.Point Tuggeranong will have a retro-themed roller skating rink. The 20-metre rink will have a giant boom box, with song requests more than welcome. There are over 50 pairs of skates available to hire, as well as skate mates to provide balance and support. Plus, if you forget your socks, you can buy some for just $2. Running 10am - 3pm daily, outside Big W.

For more info, visit the South.Point website.

Canberra Airport Runway Tours

Recommended for children 7+

15 & 16 July

Canberra Airport is running a behind-the-scenes bus tour of the airport. The Runway Tours are led by Canberra Airport staff, who will share information about aircraft operations, interesting aviation facts, and more!

Session times:

- 9am, 9:45am and 10:30am Monday 15 July

- 9am, 9:45am and 10:30am Tuesday 16 July

Prices:

Children under 15 - $5

Adults - $20

With all proceeds going to Hands Across Canberra.

Tickets and information available here.

Sushi Making Workshops

Kids aged 4-12

15 & 16 July

Got kids who love sushi? Head to Sushi Hub in Westfield Belconnen’s food court where kids can create their own sushi rolls. Using fresh ingredients like sushi rice, seaweed, cucumber, chicken and more, kids will get to enjoy their tasty rolls once they’re done.

Multiple sessions will be run over both the 15th and 16th of July. Check here for more info and to book tickets.

Uno Deathmatch

All ages welcome

We know kids love competition, and if that involves beating an adult, then all the better! Take the family along to Token Canberra’s Uno Deathmatch night, where the winner takes home some cool prizes (and ultimate bragging rights!).

Tickets are $5 each, and kids under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult.

See here for more info and to book tickets.

National Film and Sound Archive - Family Friendly Screenings

Ideal for the whole family

Canberra’s National Film and Sound Archive is a pretty amazing place - from the art deco buildings, ‘The Library’ (with a curation of the NFSA’s most precious, wondrous and whimsical artefacts), a cafe and bar, as well as the very well-priced Arc cinema - there’s plenty to keep kids entertained.

These holidays, you can catch these screenings:

12 July - Bend it Like Beckham

14 July - Rocky

18 July - Howl’s Moving Castle

19 July - Lilo and Stitch

20 July - Uproar

Our top pick - take your teens to see Uproar. It’s funny, heartfelt, and leaves you with some life lessons that are worth thinking about.

MOAD @ Old Parliament House

Ideal for babies - primary aged kids

15 - 19 July

The Museum of Australian Democracy at Canberra’s Old Parliament House can keep your little ones entertained these school holidays with free events and activities.

For babies through to preschoolers, there’s PlayUP, held daily from 9am - 4:30pm. If you haven’t been to PlayUP before, visit our post that gives a detailed overview. These school holidays in PlayUP, celebrate Aboriginal storytelling with Wiradjuri man Larry Brandy. Children will learn about traditional Wiradjuri culture, and will be transformed into kangaroos, emus and hunters through Larry’s use of animal masks and real artefacts. This is a free, drop in, family friendly event, run between 11am - 12pm from the 15th - 19th of July.

For your primary school aged kids, they can undertake an adventure or two in The People’s House. Kids can test their knowledge, find clues, solve puzzles and walk in the shoes of people who worked at Old Parliament House throughout the years. See if they can complete all of the challenges and collect the ultimate badge! Run from the King’s Hall inside MOAD.

Visit their site for more details.

Corin Forest

Fun for the whole family

If you just can’t get enough of the cold, head out with the fam to Corin Forest these school holidays. On top of the normal alpine slide, snow play, skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, cosy cafe and picnic area, they’re also offering live music performances, face painting, balloon artists, fairy floss, a coffee van and the Brazbecue Brazilian Barbecue food van. Sounds good, right?

Keep an eye out for more details on their Facebook page.

Come try Watercolour Painting - Trove Canberra

Ideal for older primary aged kids - teens

20 July

Got a budding artist on your hands? Head along to Trove Canberra’s event, ‘Come try Watercolour’, a free event provided by local watercolour artist Museum of Me. All supplies are provided - just come and have a play!

From 11 - 2pm.

National Arboretum Canberra

Preschoolers - teens

Canberra’s National Arboretum has a host of family friendly activities these July school holidays. Visit their website for more information, including prices, age limits and specific dates/times.

Stories in the Forest

For little ones aged 4 -8 years, there’s ‘Stories in the Forest’, a special quest and fairy hunt through the 100 year old Cork oak forest. Bring along a picnic blanket to sit and listen to the story. Tickets are $15, accompanying adults are required to stay but do not need to purchase a ticket.

Animal Art - Paper Folding

As part of the Warm Trees exhibition, the Chilean Embassy is partnering with the National Arboretum to bring kids an immersive paper animal folding workshop. Sessions are run by Australian-Chilean design studio, Eggpicnic. They are based in Canberra and are dedicated to wildlife conservation. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with nature and contribute to wildlife conservation efforts. For children 5+ (younger children with parents/carers).

Family Orienteering

Get the whole family off the couch and out of the house for a day of family orienteering. Head to the Arboretum’s Village Centre to pick up your map and clue sheet, then head out into the forests and gardens on a letter search. This is a drop in activity and no bookings are required - running 9am - 4pm each day of the school holidays. There is a cost of $5 per family.

Want to get out for a leisurely pram-friendly stroll at the Arboretum? Visit our post here for more information.

Parks ACT

Suitable for primary school aged children

Parks ACT are holding various events throughout the July school holidays. Activities include building cubby houses, swagman damper and billy tea, ‘world of waterbugs’, guided walks, first aid awareness and many more. If you’ve got active little ones that you want to keep entertained, have a look at the Parks ACT website for more info on their range of activities.

The Girl who Glows

Recommended for kids aged 5 - 11

18 - 21 July

The Girl who Glows is an awesome musical adventure about a girl who glows. It’s got plenty of twists and turns and songs and jokes, it’s magical, joy-filled, playful and just a little bit scary. The story is told by three musicians/singers/actors/puppeteers called Zeeko. Part pop concert, part theatre show, part foley studio and part audio-visual playground, the whole family will enjoy this magical adventure. Showing at the Street Theatre - check here for more info and to book tickets.