THE EXHIBITIONS
dance, music and comedy. Tickets from £50 for adults, £20 for children. justsofestival.org.uk
LASHINGS OF PICNICS Celebrating Enid Blyton’s birthday on August 11, and 75 years of the Famous Five, the four RHS Gardens -—Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire — will be holding a giant picnic party. Each garden will have family activities from adventure trails to writing and craft workshops, along with storytelling. Entry prices vary. rhs.org.uk/gardens London is being taken over by the Romans this summer, with the threemonth-long Londinium programme, celebrating the city’s heritage. Running from July 28 to October 29, events range from storytelling at the Museum of London to family fun days at the Guildhall Art Gallery, including a mini dig at the Amphitheatre Family Fun day on August 8-9, and the Gladiator Games from August 25-28 at Guildhall Yard. See visitlondon.com/romans for more details.
Or discover life below the waves at the Natural History Museum’s new Whales: Beneath The Surface exhibition, with more than 100 specimens from the museum’s research collection on display for the first time — plus the chance to get up close to a double decker bus-sized sperm whale. Runs July 14 to February 28, tickets from £7.50 for children, from £11.50 for adults, nhm.ac.uk.
London’s newest heritage attraction, the Postal Museum is opening on July 28 in Clerkenwell, including interactive family play space Sorted! for under-eights, as well as five centuries of history following Britain’s earliest social network. Adult tickets cost £16, entry to Sorted! costs £5. postalmuseum.org
BEST OF THE REST:
The Robots exhibition at London’s Science Museum looks at 500 years of attempts to create humanoid robots, with more than 100 on display. Adults £15, children £13, to September 3.
Or meet robotic animals at the Horniman Museum’s Robot Zoo until October 29, including a squid with 18 foot tentacles. Adults from £7, children from £4.
Sci fi lovers can venture Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction at the Barbican Centre until September 1, with more than 800 works from science fiction. Adults £14.50, children from £5.
And Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition runs at the O2 until September 3, with props, models, costume and art from the classic movies. Adults from £20, children from £10. Kids Week returns to the capital, with one child free at many of London’s most popular shows alongside a fullprice adult ticket, plus two more child tickets half-price. There are also activities staged by some of the casts. From August 1-31, prices vary, kidsweek.co.uk
And along with its ongoing Amy Winehouse exhibition, the Jewish Museum (jewishmuseum.org.uk) has several workshops aimed at kids over the summer. The Spoken Word with Sonority Turner workshops on August 2 look at song lyrics and how to write and perform spoken word poems, children £5. Or 12-16-year-olds can sign up for the Animated Museum from August 14-17 to learn the secrets of stopframe animation, priced £15.
Explore Wonderland as you search for Alice at The Vaults arts space near Waterloo, with two immersive story experiences — Alice’s Adventures Underground for 11+ and Adventures in Wonderland for over fives. Until September 23, tickets £39. alice-underground.com
Or use augmented reality to discover more about the artworks in this summer’s Polish exhibition at the Ben Uri gallery, celebrating Polish artists in Britain. benuri.org.uk
BEST OF THE REST:
Explore London’s cultural explosion at the Guildhall Art Gallery’s free #Londontrending exhibition until August 28, or relive the music and design of Pink Floyd at the V&A until October 1, £20-24.
At the V&A Museum of Childhood, the free Seen But Not Heard exhibition features images showing children as they prepare to leave primary school and move to secondary school.
And The Adventures in Moominland exhibition at the Southbank Centre has been extended to August 20, for ages 7+ £12-18.