KIDS GO FREE these school holidays at SKYCITY Auckland, with a huge range of activities and special offers for the whole family.

Join SKYCITY  from 6 to 21 July and have the best school holidays ever!

Activities and offers include:

• Free SKYCITY Snow Globe is back. Experience the thrill of snow falling, sit on the ice winter throne and capture memories that last a lifetime.
  Entry to the Snow Globe is FREE for everyone.
• Movies in the Theatre; bring the kids to watch Happy Feet, The Chronciles of Narnia, Ice Age 2 and Mr Popper’s Penguins on the big screen at SKYCITY Theatre these school holidays.  For every paying adult, one child aged 5 to 14 goes free. View the movie schedule here https://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/whats-on/theatre/kids-go-free-movies-at-skycity/
• Sky Tower
  One kid (6-14 years) goes free with a full paying adult at the Sky tower these school holidays. View the city from 220m above street level and spot key landmarks including the Harbour Bridge, Mt Eden and Rangitoto.
• Sky Walk.
  Take a walk on the wild side these holidays! One kid  (10 to 15 years) goes free with any paying adult – there’s no better time to give it a go!
• Kids eat FREE at Gusto at the Grand
  Free* kids meal with a paying adult for lunch or dinner at Gusto, subject to seating availability. Dine-in only. (Guests must arrive between 12pm and 3pm or 5pm and 6:15pm for the offer to be valid)
• 2-for-1 kid’s meals at Andy’s Burgers & Bar
  Bring the kids to Andy’s Burgers & Bar these school holidays and enjoy 2 for 1 kid’s meals with each adult meal purchased.
• 2-for-1 kids meals* at Orbit 360° Dining
  Treat the kids to a lunch with sky high views at Orbit 360° Dining and enjoy 2-for-1 kid’s meal* with each adult meal purchased in July 2019. Bookings required.
• Free toppings at Sky Cafe
  Take the kids to the Sky Café this July and enjoy up to three free* toppings with any ice cream, milkshake or iced chocolate purchase. More sprinkles please!
• Park at SKYCITY for $10 when you visit Sky Tower as part of the SKYCITY Auckland’s Kids Go Free campaign from 6 to 21 July. (When you go to the Sky Tower ticketing counter to purchase your Sky Tower ticket as part of the campaign, pass your parking pass over and the team will have it validated for a new $10 pass valid until 10pm on the day.)

Sky Tower is open from 9am to 1pm daily. For more information and full T&Cs for each offer, visit skycityauckland.co.nz/holidays.

 * Full terms and conditions of each offer are available at: skycityauckland.co.nz/holidays

Looking for fun and affordable school holidays activities in Auckland?

These July Holidays MOTAT is throwing a serious science party with the team from The Science Roadshow.

More than 60 different interactive science exhibits and two engaging live shows will be on offer these holidays and all are included within normal MOTAT admission fees.

Key Themes:
Forces — Ngā tōpana
Comparisons — Ngā whakatauritenga
Observations using measurements — Te mātakitaki mā te ine
Patterns, grouping, classification — He tauira, he whakarōpu, he kōmakatangaMaterials — Ngā matū
Models — He tauira.

Live Shows: 
On The Move — principles of force and movement.
Elemental Chemistry — building blocks of reactions.

Keep those young minds engaged, inspired and entertained these holidays with MOTAT.

It’s that time of the year when winter brings a twinkle in the eastern skies to herald the arrival of Matariki, the Pleiades star cluster.

​Te Ara Rama Matariki Light Trail, now in it’s 8th year, is an annual free-to-the-public outdoor lighting festival combining light, music, and creativity across nine nights in Maybury Reserve, two minutes walk from the Glen Innes shopping village and the train and bus transport hub.

Dress warmly in layered clothing and wear walking shoes.

The light trail starts at Te Oro Music and Art Centre, Performances take place there every night at 7pm From Sunday the 7th of July with some of Tāmaki Makaurau best and upcoming talent. Entry is free of charge, and a full list of who is performers each night will be released closer to the time.

On the last final three nights, an array of scrumptious kai stalls will be at the festival, along with a craft market on the final night.

​PAK’’nSAVE Glen Innes Matariki Fireworks Spectacular will light up the night sky at 9.30pm Saturday 13th July for the festival finale. Last year’s event attracted over 10,000 visitors.

​We live in a great place and this is our very own new year festival. Matariki is a Māori celebration for all New Zealanders to enjoy. It’s a time for fun, feasting, and festivity.

Nau mai. Haere mai.

Grab a free coffee and hang out with other like-minded grownups while Monty the Monkey entertains your under fives with crafts and story time.  Plus your kids can come along and play with thousands of  LEGO® DUPLO® bricks each time, creating and connecting anything their imagination can think of.

Join Westfield St Lukes for fun from 9:30am to Noon  located on the Food Court, Level 1

Join Auckland Zoo these school holidays (6 July – 21 July) for a very special Matariki themed programme.  Matariki, the Māori New Year, is a time to gather with family to celebrate new beginnings and reflect on the past. Kids will learn the story of Matariki and discover the stunning nocturnal creatures that come alive at night.

With a special activity sheet, families will explore Te Wao Nui (the Aotearoa precinct) to learn all about our New Zealand animals and what makes them so special to us. After journeying through the Zoo, finish your visit by checking out the Domes to collect your final Matariki sticker, marvel at our fantastic Matariki digital installation and enjoy fun family activities while you’re there.

This new co-production between The Stage Company and Pop-up Globe brings the magic of Shakespeare to life for young people in a specially-commissioned one-hour-long production guaranteed to delight children aged between 5 and 12 years old, and their families.

Featuring a strong cast of top professional actors, arts factory dancers from Auckland Academy of Dance, costume design Erika Farrant & Musical Direction Penny Dodd & Direction Nancy Schroder bring you an interactive world.

Escaping the harsh world of the Athenian court, two pairs of lovers flee to the forest. There they encounter the King and Queen of the fairies, who place spells on them, changing who they love. When the fairies also come across a group of amateur actors, and change one of them into a donkey, madness ensues.

Bring your family to enjoy the delights of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, blending song and dance with brilliant costumes and lively action to provide the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for tamariki and their whanau. There’s free face-painting for the children, and barista-made coffee and tea for the parents!

For ten years The Stage Company have delighted children across Auckland with their lively and colourful productions. Now they join forces with Pop-up Globe in a co-production opening up the beautiful Pop-up Globe playhouse specially for children and their families, in a first for both companies.

Notes for children and their families attending The Children’s Midsummer Night’s Dream:
– This special new production is one hour long and takes place on the main stage at the Pop-up Globe playhouse.
– The theatre will open twenty minutes before the show, and there is no interval.
– The atmosphere is relaxed. If you have groundling tickets, you can stand or sit with your family on the carpeted floor.
– Feel free to bring your own cushions!
– Free water is available, and you can come and go during the performance if you need to.
– The house lighting will be kept on during the performance.

The Delicate Balance of Wobbling Stars is an exhibition by nationally renowned weaver, Maureen Lander, to celebrate Matariki 2019. Lander uses woven stars to represent Te Iwa o Matariki, and explores the astronomical phenomenon of “wobbling stars”, star motion that can be seen amid constellations.

Exhibition suitable for all ages. The exhibition is on daily from 6th June to the 19th July, apart from Sunday’s when the museum is closed.

Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

The Aotea Square Ice Rink and Ice Slide are back!

Enjoy an exciting variety of special events including themed parties, skating lessons and much more.

Take a spin or a slide on the ice in the heart of the city and experience the magic of your very own winter playground.

Helmets and skating frames for beginners are available for hire.

Open daily until Sunday 28 July 2019. Skating time limit is 90 minutes.

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 10pm
Friday and Saturday: 10am – 11pm
Sunday 28 July: 10am – 9pm

Te Manu Atua is an art installation project, celebrating the Māori new year on Karangahape Road. Kites were believed to be messengers, and like birds, they were considered to have spiritual connections with the gods. The community are invited to write down their own messages to the Atua and loved ones in this interactive installation.

The event is on daily to 6pm and closes on Sunday 14 July.

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.

Come along for some fun activities to learn about trees at Auckland Botanic Gardens.

Make your own 3D tree, test your identification skills, pick up a challenge sheet to explore the Children’s Garden and learn more about our native trees and limber up for some tree yoga poses.

Suitable for all ages. Children must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.

Drop any time between 10am and Noon.

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 Friday 11 October 2019.

Image credits: Guerrilla Girls © George Lange 1990

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.

Pop-Up Fun Park is an indoor Carnival with free entry and discounted rides including 12 inflatable rides and 6 mechanical rides.

Rides best suited for younger children include: Tea Cups, Bug ride, Combo Castle. Rides best suited for the older kids include: Bootcamp, 4M and 6M Stunt Jump, Wipe out ball challenge and 2 giant slides.

Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition is on at the iconic Eden Park, where in 1981 flour bombs were dropped in protest at the Apartheid regime and the ongoing imprisonment of the future South African president.

The exhibition will provide visitors with a glimpse into the extraordinary personal life of Nelson Mandela. Produced by iEC Exhibitions, Museums Victoria, and TEG Live in full collaboration with The Nelson Mandela Foundation based in South Africa, this brand-new world class exhibition arrives direct from the prestigious Melbourne Museum, exhibiting in Auckland as part of a 5-year worldwide tour.

Expertly curated by a team of Museums Victoria staff headed by iEC Exhibitions’ Samantha Heywood, Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition features over 200 original artefacts, documents, personal items and artworks from The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Nelson Mandela’s private collection. This is the most comprehensive collection ever to be shown outside of South Africa.

Book online, or purchase at box office on the day

The exhibit is open from 10am to 4pm each day until Sunday 4 August 2019*

*Hours may be subject to change due to private events, so please check with the organiser before you go to make sure it is open on the day you want to go..

It’s mission time! Grab your astronaut suit and join Stardome these school holidays on a journey to our neighbour in space, the Moon!

Mission to the Moon
It’s been 50 years since astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history in July 1969 by being the first humans on the Moon. Now 50 years later, you can become Neil or Buzz yourself and journey to the Moon, making school holiday history at Stardome.

Space Room Fun 
Come to mission control (aka. Stardome’s Space Room activity centre) and learn all about landing on the Moon, what the Moon is really like (is it actually made of cheese?), what it’s like being an astronaut, and how one day when you grow up you may even get the chance to move to the Moon! You’ll explore all of this through fun interactive experiments, virtual reality, augmented reality, crafts, activities and more.

Rocket Launching
Then, if the weather is fine, you’ll head outside and become a real astronaut by joining the countdown and helping us launch water-powered rockets.

Planetarium Show
Finish up your mission in the planetarium theatre, where you’ll catch the 360-degree immersive show The Accidental Astronauts. Join Cy, Annie and their dog Armstrong in an unexpected journey into space and encounter a Moon landing.

Sessions are at 10am, 1pm and 2pm on weekdays during the July school holidays.

Recommended for children aged 5 to 12 years old. Bookings are essential.  The programme is 1.5 hours long, made up of the three components above. Children under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult throughout the 1.5 hour programme. You must arrive at least 15 minutes before your session time. Late entry is not permitted.

Head to NorthWest these school holidays for free entertainment, including a snow ball pool, winter tattoos and amazing galaxy snow globes!

Visit Highwic during the school holidays and dress-up on the Children’s landing as a Victorian child and take a selfie!  You are welcome to wear your chosen outfit around Highwic house during your visit.

If the weather is fine you can play Victorian games on the lawn or make a chalk drawing on the paths around the house, but in the true Victorian style please keep your clothes clean or Mama won’t be pleased!

Suitable for all ages.

Note: Highwic have limited clothes and limited sizes that might not fit bigger children.  Please be prepared to help your pre-schooler!

Make a peg doll of a Buckland family member or one of your favourite historical figures at Highwic House. Your finished doll is yours to keep and take home. All materials provided and expert doll makers on hand to help.

This is a drop in activity and there is no need to book.

All materials provided and expert doll makers on hand to help.

Suitable for all ages, but please be prepared to help your preschool children!

For brave hunters and bear-lovers, the classic chant-aloud by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

Follow and join in the family’s excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest!

Costume Parade : Encourage your children to dress up as their favourite character from We’re Going on a Bear Hunt for the onstage Costume Parade just prior to the start of the show.

Performances are at 10:30am and 2pm each day.

Recommended for children aged 3 to 8 years old.

The WestCity Explorers invite you to visit the custom made underwater world these school holidays.  Little explorers can pick from a range of sea creature puzzles to assemble and decorate. Children will enjoy learning about the ocean whilst creating a puzzle to take home.

Bookings will be taken on the day of the activity and take place at the Centre Court, Level 1.

July school holiday drop in sessions from 10:30am to 2pm on weekdays.

Explore the NZ Maritime’s latest exhibition, One Man’s Treasures, and uncover John Street’s curious collection from Auckland’s century-old ship chandlery. An ongoing play space in the exhibition will get families thinking and playing together.

The Fosters Shop Play
Dress up and recreate the historic century old ship chandlery featured in our latest exhibtion. Encounter shop keepers from times gone by and take on a range of maritime and boat building tasks with them – weigh and price materials to fix your boat, measure lengths of rope, learn knots and look through the exhibition, full of curiosities from the well-known Foster Shop.

The Treasures Trail
Grab a ‘Treasures Trail’ activity sheet to complete while you’re in the exhibition.

Innovate and Create
Be inspired by the chandlery’s boat building customers and design and build you own vessel. You’ll be able to test its floating capacity in water and take it home at the end. Be inspired by rangitahi from Ormiston Junior College who took on this very challenge as part of their school work.

No bookings required.

REACH FOR THE STARS!

Glow Show will have kids on the edge of their seats! Watch as the magic unfolds with more than 40 giant scale glow-in-the-dark puppets, including a 5 metre long Taniwha, telling a delightful story of the Matariki stars as they prepare for the Māori New Year. Seats are limited so get in quickly!

TWO shows each day at 11am and 1pm  at TAPAC.

Bookings recommended.

Keep the kids busy these school holidays with free arts and craft activities next to The Coffee Club at Milford Shopping Centre.

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Facepainting

Wednesdays and Saturdays: Dreamcatchers – make a dreamcatcher using a wonderful array of craft items, ribbon and feathers.

Thursdays and Sundays: Animal Art – Create a wonderful wildlife scene using stencils and dyes.

Fridays: Spin Drum Art: Create a colourful spin drum with card, papers, beads and string.

Minimum age 3 years old. Parents/caregivers should be present at all times. No bookings required. Spaces may be limited.
There are no childrens activities on Mondays during the school holidays.

For brave hunters and bear-lovers, the classic chant-aloud by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

Follow and join in the family’s excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest!

Costume Parade : Encourage your children to dress up as their favourite character from We’re Going on a Bear Hunt for the onstage Costume Parade just prior to the start of the show.

Performances are at 10:30am and 2pm each day.

Recommended for children aged 3 to 8 years old.

Come and join Albany Village Library and the Auckland Astronomical Society after hours for a special Matariki event!

Niven Brown, from The Auckland Astronomical Society, will share an interactive presentation that will take everyone on a journey through the stars. Then enjoy some hot chocolate and go outside to view the night skies through telescopes!

This event will start at 6:30pm on Wednesday 10 July, and we aim to finish by 8:30pm. If the weather is cloudy, there will be some activities to do in the library.

Tight passes. Soft touches. Hustle out there and mark your man. Every Saturday, nine teenage girls come together to train and play soccer. They’re high achievers and burnouts, insiders and outsiders, best friends and vicious bullies and – often – they’re all of the above, all at once.

Bristling with confidence and ferocious energy, Sarah DeLappe’s barnstorming, Pulitzer Prize-nominated debut is a frank and hilarious portrait of nine young warriors – messy, mean and full of compassion – working out who they are and the battles they’ll have to fight.

For the first time in Silo’s history, the company casts a powerhouse ensemble of teenage performers.

Recommended for teenagers aged 14 years plus and adults.

Duration: 90 minutes

Sinarella is a heartfelt twist on the children’s story Cinderella, performed with a South Auckland flavour. Written by Goretti Chadwick and Sean Coyle, the story follows the adventure of a young woman called Sinarella, who, after the mysterious death of her beloved father, lives with her demanding step family, where she is expected to do all the housework twenty-four seven. She must escape, but is marrying Prince Charming really the answer? Whatever path she takes, Sinarella knows she must make her own future.

Since 2014, Alison Quigan, Troy Tuua and the award winning team at Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku, have forged a new musical theatre production each April school holidays, bringing together the local community and the performing arts industry. This year’s production Sinarella has already had a sell-out season at Māngere Arts Centre, delighting audiences with clever wit, vibrant music and it’s uplifting message about not giving up.

Don’t miss out on seeing this fun-filled family show and a true South Auckland community collaboration in the Rangatira Theatre at Q Theatre.

Sinarella is presented by Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku  in collaboration with Q Theatre and supported by the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board.

Join astronomer Dr Rangi Matamua, maramataka Māori expert Rereata Makiha and master navigator Hoturoa Kerr for one night only, as they share their latest research and passion for Māori astronomy with the audience.

With extensive knowledge of the maramataka (lunar calendar), celestial navigation and the Matariki star cluster, this is a unique opportunity to hear from three tohunga (experts) in person. Learn about Matariki, as well as other stars and celestial bodies — how they guided the traditional way of life for many Māori throughout Aotearoa in days gone by and their continuing importance in today’s modern world. Matariki on the Move tours Māori arts around Tāmaki Makaurau. This year there are three very different Matariki on the Move events: Kōrero, Tirotiro Whetū and Waiata.

TheatreWorks is proud to present Enid Blyton’s classic, ‘Noddy’, adapted by David Wood and directed by David Blakey  All Youth Production!

Noddy and his friends are pitted against the sneering goblins and a greedy witch, in this funny and inventive adaptation.

As in the original works, Noddy learns the value of friendship, hard work, and honesty through a series of adventures: building his house in Toytown, driving a car, outwitting his enemies, even surviving a hair-raising experience at Noah’s Ark! Noddy is a mix of adventure, morality tale and pantomime, with plenty for the whole family to enjoy!

Venue accessibility: the auditorium is wheelchair accessible, but unfortunately our toilets are not.

Production run time: Approximately 90 minutes including a short interval.

“When I grow up, I’m going to be happy.”

A drama adapted by Richard Tulloch from the book by Guus Kuijer
Directed by Alex Gleed

A magical story about a child learning to act when faced with fear and injustice. Thomas has started writing a book. His father says all important books are about God. Even so, Thomas writes down all the interesting things he sees that other people seem to ignore. He also writes down his greatest determination: to be happy. Adult content.

The Book of Everything has been described as a “hilarious, honest, and beautifully rendered play” for anyone from 9 to 90 years old.