Educational Summer Events for the Whole Family
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Keeping their brains ticking over the school break.
School is soon to be over for another year, but that doesn’t mean that education also has to come to an end. We have selected the top educational summer events across the UK to keep young, creative and curious minds active and engaged this summer.
Spectacular Storytelling at Kynren
Kynren offers a day out to be remembered. The main event is a spectacular outdoor show, which will transport you through the history of England. This is one history lesson that won’t have them yawning.
The 1,000-strong cast provide the 8,000-strong audience with a visual feast, telling the tale of England. Two thousand years of history are brought to life on the outdoor seven-and-a-half acre stage, including the dramatic story of invasions, royal splendour, wars and sacrifice.
Before the show you can take your children through time. New for 2019, there is a Viking Village where you can visit the cookhouse, complete with its own vegetable patch and a woodworker’s cottage built into the hillside. Also making its debut is the 1940’s bar and food village. Travel back to the excitement of post-war 1945 and celebrate the end of the fighting, while enjoying food and drink and listening to swing music in a nostalgic street party setting.
Where: Flatts Farm, Bishop Auckland, County Durham DL14 7SF
When: Performances take place most Saturdays from June until September.
Ages: All
Festival Fun for the Family
If your child can find the classroom boring then this is for you. From family raves to survival skills, SUP Yoga to trying out the trapeze. Not only does Port Eliot offer a chance for your child to try out every extra-curricular activity under the sun but it also caters for you as well.
Alongside music, at this seriously chic Cornish summer festival you’ll find talks from some of the biggest names in children’s literature and a dedicated children’s area with interactive theatre and many other curious and creative performances.
There’s also kayaking and archery down by the river along with plenty of spots for wild swimming. This is education outside of the classroom at its finest.
Where: St. Germans, Cornwall
When: 25 to 28 July 2019
Ages: All
How: Buy Port Eliot Festival tickets here.
READ: The Best Family-Friendly Festivals for 2019
Marvel at the Magic of Shakespeare
Shake off the stigma that Shakespeare is boring and enthuse your kids with England’s most famous playwright. Take them to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where they will revel in the atmospheric display of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This tale of fairy enchantment follows four mismatched lovers as they escape to the forest in search of true love. The journey has many twists and turns as the characters navigate jealousy and confusion, all brought to life in the enchanting setting of a forest. No doubt your child will finally stop asking why schools still teach Shakespeare.
Where: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
When: 28 June to 27 July 2019
Ages: 11+
How: Buy A Midsummer Nights Dream Tickets here.
Shocking Science Performances
Described by The Telegraph as the show that will ‘beat school holiday boredom this summer’, Braniac Live brings science to the stage this August. The science show offers kids – and adults – the opportunity to be awestruck by the experiments children dream of doing at home, but, for good reason, are not allowed to.
From exploding dustbins to combustible microwaves, the energy of this educational summer event is literally uncontainable. And the best news? If you book now, kids go free.
Where: Braniac Live, Garrick Theatre, London
When: 31 July to 1 September 2019
Ages: 6+
How: Buy Braniac Live Tickets here.
Enthuse Engineers and Inspire Inventors
Bonhams is exhibiting a crazy, kinetic sculpture – all eight metres of it – in their new New Bond Street saleroom this summer. Made by the late Rowland Emett, the man most famous for the magical flying car and the crackpot contraptions he invented for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, it is sure to entertain adults and children alike.
© JamesBastable.co.uk and CloudCuckooValley.com
This was Emett’s largest, most ambitious sculpture. Entitled A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley, it remains in full working order and will be displayed in its entirety at Bonhams, New Bond Street, from 12 August to 3 September. The sculpture will then be sold off in a stand-alone auction at Bonhams, and is likely to attract a six-figure sum.
© JamesBastable.co.uk and CloudCuckooValley.com
Engaging with the wacky and wonderful mind of Rowland Emett will no doubt inspire your children to start brainstorming their own incredible inventions at home. Plus, did we mention it’s free to see?
Where: Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London
When: 12 August to 3 September 2019
Ages: 3+
