A market for kids run by kids

If you have a young family or are thinking about creating one – this show is a must-attend. The Baby Show has all the best baby retailers and brands under one roof, so you can easily find everything you need to embark on the great adventure of parenthood.

Plus listen to seminars by some of New Zealand’s top parenting and early childhood experts, to give you the advice you need to help you and your baby get off to the best possible start. The show offers invaluable advice and fun-filled entertainment, along with nappy changing, breastfeeding and other helpful facilities to make the whole experience easy.

Looking for something to do with ngā tamariki? Visit the Gus Fisher Gallery to see The Slipping Away exhibition and the kids can also colour can complete an Eye Spy activity inspired by the exhibition. These activities ask children to engage with the artwork, to find objects in our Eye Spy game and to think about our relationship with the environment.

The Slipping Away exhibition brings together pivotal works by leading artists to explore the duality of oceans and humankind. The exhibition aims to prompt pertinent conversations about sustainability, plastic pollution and rising sea levels at a point of criticality in 2019.

The Eye Spy activity is a free drop in activity which will be on while the exhibition is showing until 7 September 2019.

Note: The Gus Fisher Gallery is closed on Sunday and Mondays.

Bill Culbert, Pacific Flotsam, 2007. Collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Image courtesy of Christchurch Art Gallery.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki presents Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys, a major exhibition of work by one of New Zealand’s most influential artists.

The exhibition which is FREE for children is open from 10am to 5pm daily until Sunday 1 September 2019.

Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys is the culmination of a significant international project that brings together artworks from New Zealand and around the globe to explore the artist’s place in 20th-century art. The exhibition traces Frances Hodgkins’ creative and peripatetic life through France, Morocco and Spain to her final days in England, examining the influence of location on her development as a modernist painter and the notion of travel and journeying as a source of artistic inspiration.

Born in Dunedin, Frances Hodgkins (1869–1947) left for Europe in 1901 and, by the late 1920s, had become an important figure within British Modernism, exhibiting with avant-garde artists such as Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. With a professional life that spanned almost six decades, the two World Wars, and periods of massive social and cultural change, Hodgkins caught the spirit of a new age. Today, she is celebrated as one of New Zealand’s most successful expatriate artists of the 20th century, and has an ongoing legacy in both Europe and this country.

The exhibition includes more than 150 artworks produced between 1901 and 1946: from early watercolour travel sketches of the French Riviera, Morocco and Venice, through to her first contact with modernism in Paris, and oil paintings from her later life in Britain.

Dedicated to exposing discrimination in the art world, in politics and in the film and music industries, the Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous collective of feminist activist artists. Formed as a collective more than 30 years ago, the Guerrilla Girls’ gorilla-mask costumes, bold visual language and frank, humorous messages have rendered them iconic in the history of art and as part of wider social movements. Guerrilla Girls: Reinventing the ‘F’ Word – Feminism! follows the collective’s artistic practice from 1984 until 2016 and explores how they employ bold, fun and provocative poster art to criticise ongoing biases in art and society.

The exhibition is recommended for teenagers aged 13 years plus as there is some mature subject matter relating to oversexualisation of Hollywood and reproductive rights. 

The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 5pm until Tuesday 15 October 2019.

Image credits: Guerrilla Girls © George Lange 1990

Have fun exploring cutting-edge science in this inspiring new family exhibition at MOTAT

Hands-on interactives will help visitors get to grips with the science of photonics, advanced materials and nanotechnology.

How do you bend light? How small is nano? How are advanced materials being used in our everyday lives? This thought-provoking exhibition aims to inspire kids to engage with STEM subjects and have fun along the way.

Mighty Small Mighty Bright is the result of an exciting partnership between MOTAT, The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, and Otago Museum.

Recommended for families with children aged 8 to 12 years.

Carried Away: Bags Unpacked showcases over 150 individual bags from Auckland Museum’s collection, many on display for the first time.

Every bag has a history, a story to tell – from haute couture fashion to cultural traditions. Bags can convey social standing, practical needs or be a statement of art.

From curious creations such as an albatross foot purse and bear gut bag with fur trim, to taonga imbued with Māori and Pacific cultural values such as kete and bilum, the exhibition explores the stories associated with their creation and the people who used them.

Carried Away: Bags Unpacked exhibition is on until 1 December 2019 in the Special Exhibition Hall.

Squiggla is a creative learning activity for all ages. Keeping creative minds active through the exploration of mark making, Squiggla encourages the playful use of dots and lines, symbols and signs. Using a selection of enticing tools,  unleash your kids and your imaginations. With Squiggla, there is no judgement – just relax and try it out. Learn how to upload your inventive Squiggla works into your own gallery using the Squiggla App.

If you have one, bring your device so the Squiggla team so they can help you download the freee app to get started.

Weekly FREE Saturday Code Club at Albany Village Library to help Kiwi kids get a jump-start into modern IT and the new Digital Technologies curriculum.  Code Club is offering free basic software training to children in years 5 to 8. You need to bring your own laptop.

This course will cover the core concepts of computer programming, software design and small-scale Internet of Things projects using Netduino and external sensors.

Kiwi kids now have a chance to create web and mobile apps quickly and offer them to a global market instantly. With a basic understanding of programming, design and a big imagination, the world can be your oyster.

Note: This event does not run on public holidays or during school holidays.

Stories, games, music and fun for families to share. Join Te Manawa for this free, interactive event on Saturdays from 10:30am to 11:00am

This event is recommended for children aged 3 to 7 years old.

No bookings required. For more information email: temanawa@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate tells the story of Sam, an ordinary man who wears an ordinary suit and who works in an ordinary office. But his mother is an extraordinary mother – she’s a pirate and yearns to see the sea again.

A wonderful and madcap adventure ensues as they travel to the sea, with much audience involvement. You and your children will adore this all-time favourite story by New Zealand’s literary treasure, Margaret Mahy.

“Looking for a cute, entertaining show for the school holidays? One that will entertain kids and adults alike? I highly recommend The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate – fun for all the family.” Broadway World, April 2019

Costume Parade: Encourage your children to dress up as their favourite character from The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate for the onstage Costume Parade

Your kids will have so much fun meeting Baby Shark and Pinkfong at Westfield St Lukes.  There will also be free face painting, giveaways and Monty the Monkey will be making an appearance too.

You’ll find the characters roaming on level 2 at the following times*:
11am – 11.30am
12pm – 12.30pm
1pm – 1.30pm

*Parental supervision is required at all times.

The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate tells the story of Sam, an ordinary man who wears an ordinary suit and who works in an ordinary office. But his mother is an extraordinary mother – she’s a pirate and yearns to see the sea again.

A wonderful and madcap adventure ensues as they travel to the sea, with much audience involvement. You and your children will adore this all-time favourite story by New Zealand’s literary treasure, Margaret Mahy.

“Looking for a cute, entertaining show for the school holidays? One that will entertain kids and adults alike? I highly recommend The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate – fun for all the family.” Broadway World, April 2019

Costume Parade: Encourage your children to dress up as their favourite character from The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate for the onstage Costume Parade

See the planetarium Show Dinosaurs at Dusk at Stardome.

It’s a learning adventure of a father and his teenage daughter Lucy, who share a fascination for all things that fly. You’ll travel back in time to meet the pterosaurs and the ancestors of modern-day birds: the feathered dinosaurs.

Lucy and her father navigate from continent to continent, looking for clues about the origins of flight. When time runs out, they experience first-hand the cataclysmic “last day” of the dinosaurs. Science topics include continental drift, proper motion of stars, asteroids and impacts, extinctions and the convergent development of flight among species.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for shows. Late entry into the planetarium is not possible once the show has started.

Recommended for ages 6 years plus.

An explosive 360-degree experience on asteroids, comets and Earth!

Discover how asteroids and comets have collided with our planet throughout its history, changing the course of life on Earth and shaping the world we know today. Embark on a dynamic journey on the trail of asteroids and comets. Get an up-close look at the technologies that allow scientists to detect asteroids before they reach Earth and visualise historic space events, billions of years in the making; all within a fantastic 360-degree domed theatre environment.

Narrated by George Takei, Incoming! explores the past, present, and future of our Solar System and the landmark discoveries scientists have made by sending spacecraft to visit tiny worlds.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for shows. Late entry into the planetarium is not possible once the show has started. 

Recommended for ages 8 years plus.

Bookings essential.

Reporter Miles O’Brien reports live from his Space Headquarters TV Studio in New York while events unfold for the crew on their heroic 1001 days long mission. You’ll witness their brave attempts to put human footprints on Mars and return safety back home to Earth. Featuring a mix of live-action, advanced digital simulations and cutting-edge technology, you’ll embark on the greatest adventure of the 21st century and unlock the secrets of humanity’s next home.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for shows. Late entry into the planetarium is not possible once the show has started. 

Recommended for ages 6 years plus. Bookings are essential

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT

Grab your chance to back our teams in black with the All Blacks and Black Ferns only match in Auckland this year.

Get hold of your family and friends and act now to book your place at an incredible night of international rugby.

Always purchase All Blacks tickets via authorised links such as the one above. We strongly recommend that you do NOT purchase tickets through resellers like Viagogo, prices are often hugely inflated and tickets could be fraudulently altered or invalid.