54 Sydney events for families to add to their summer holiday itineraries

To tap into your kids’ arty side, take them down to the MCA for a look at the new Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory exhibition, which is free for kids 17 and under. On your way out, drop in at the MCA’s activity space Family Space: Drawn Together, where you can experiment with drawing materials inspired by Julie Mehretu’s practice of large-scale layering. Students aged 12-17 are also invited to poetry workshops, where they can create their own poems in response to the headlines of the day.

Over at the Art Gallery of NSW, there’s Hive Festival where you can build, decorate and fly your own kite.

There’s also basket weaving with Muru Mittigar at Rouse Hill Estate; a celebration of all things aviation at the State Library’s Up Up and Away!; And an immersive sculptural installation that you can paint your own designs onto at the Sydney Opera House. 

As Sydney Festival rolls back into town this January for three big weeks of art, the MCA, Art Gallery of NSW and the Australian Museum are keeping their doors open late for after-dark access to their exhibitions.

Journey back in time to ancient Peru at the Australian Museum’s blockbuster exhibition Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru. Or, head to the MCA where you can get nocturnal access to a series of free programming of music, poetry and dance.

The Art Gallery of NSW is open until 10pm on Wednesdays, try the free collage workshops with artist Claudia Nicholson, held in conjunction with the major exhibition Magritte.

If you’ve run out of kid-friendly cinema flicks, take the little ones down to the Sydney Opera House where the London International Animation Festival is showcasing the best children’s animation from around the world. For the budding filmmakers, head to the Museum of Sydney for a screening of Eora, a 20-minute digital film by Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi filmmaker and photographer Michael Riley, which tells the story of Sydney’s First Nations people.

If you’re worried about juggling kids with a full-time job this school holiday, let an outdoor camp keep them entertained for a few days with non-stop sport and adventure. There’s no better place to be in summer than in the water, and Penrith Whitewater is offering up an action-packed adventure taking on the rapids at one of the best man-made courses in Australia.

For a bit more variety outside of Sydney, kids can try their hand at kayaking, canoeing, BMX rides and a fun Amazing Race challenge over two days at Milson Island Adventure Holiday Camp. Just two hours out of Sydney is the scenic Berry School Holiday Kids Club, with lush rolling landscape fit for kids to try out archery, rock climbing, raft building and more.

Clock off work, switch off your phone and take the whole family away for a few days with Summer Holiday Stays. Escape to Lake Burrendong Sport and Recreation Centre in Central NSW, where you’ll be surrounded by the bush on one side and the picturesque lake on the other. It's the perfect place for a family weekend getaway with self-contained cottages to rent and facilities including a pool, campfire circle, BBQ area and plenty of bushwalking trails to stretch your legs.

If you prefer mountains to lakes, head to the Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre just five hours south of Sydney for epic vistas of the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park. There are on-site tennis and netball courts, trampolines and a kids play area. If you’re looking for a place with stunning beaches, friendly locals and pretty much perfect weather, book a stay at Lake Ainsworth Sport and Recreation Centre, just a 15-minute drive from Byron Bay. With cottages, villas and a beachside lodge, this breezy place can accommodate any brood. Just be sure to carve out some time for surf breaks and plenty of wandering with so many stretches of sand, lakes and waterfront cafés to explore.

Who said school holidays aren't for learning? This summer, the Museums of History NSW are hosting a line-up of interactive experiences for kids. Enjoy the History Kids program with Explore the House at Elizabeth Farm and Explore Vaucluse House, where kids can live a day in the life of a family servant, preparing the estate by doing laundry, cleaning, making the bed, working in the kitchen and exploring the cellar.

Plenty of other hands-on activities will also be on offer at the Museum of Sydney’s activity space, including self-guided experiences and workshops all inspired by current exhibitions and displays. Kids can also get a glimpse into the past at Beauty Rich and Rare, a 180-degree visual experience depicting Australia’s one-of-a-kind flora and fauna and dating all the way back to 1770.

The State Library is also getting in on the educational fun. Challenge your kids to a game of I Spy in the Objects Gallery, where more than 1,000 captivating objects from the library’s collection are on display. Then put on your detective hat and track down all the hidden treasures across the State Library, including a giant marble Tasman Map on the Kids Activity Trail.

If filling up your calendar with school holidays activities is crunching through your budget, we’ve got you sorted with plenty of events costing absolutely nothing. Start at the State Library where young readers can find a cosy corner in the building's Family Room or Children's Library. Bigger kids can marvel at more than 300 original artworks at Paintings from the Collection or escape to a hidden corner of Tudor England in The Shakespeare Room.

There's free entry for kids at the Museums of History and the Australian Museum, where kids can get in for free everyday to explore seven exhibitions, including Dinosaurs, where they’ll step back into the Mesozoic era and walk amongst real dinosaur skeletons and life-size models, or Burra, a state-of-the-art education space that immerses you in the history of Burra (eel) through Western science and First Nations knowledge.

Head to the Powerhouse Museum to see the self-captured Super8 footage from Dick Smith’s record-breaking solo flight around the world in a helicopter at Map Your Way.

Over at the Art Gallery of NSW, there’s storytime for under-fives, a colourful children’s art library with cubby houses for reading, and drop-in art workshops where kids can contribute designs to a building artwork by Grace Kemarre Robinya at Kwatja Kngarritja Tnyirlalhama (Big Rain Falling). Save the date for Blak Powerhouse on January 26 at Manning House, Sydney University, and enjoy an evening of First Nations music and culture, headlined by Dan Sultan, Budjerah and Kobie Dee. Plus, see a Lego model of the historic Rouse Hill estate.

This school holidays, the Australian Museum is showing kids how much fun learning can be with a series of STEM events. They can learn how colour can be used to control robots at STEM Together Controlling Colour and learn all about birds with a professional ornithologist at Scientist for a Day: Ornithologist.

Discover how STEM goes hand-in-hand with gaming, coding and even Minecraft at the Powerhouse’s summer school holidays program. Sign them up to one of the many workshops on offer and they can learn the basics of Robotics, follow a step-by-step guide on how to program a robot, try their hand at block coding or python coding with Minecraft, or craft a story through the immersive game.

There are also family-friendly tours at Sydney Observatory, where you’ll climb into the Observatory's domes to see historic and modern telescopes in action.

There's a heap of cool all-ages events this school holiday, including performances at the Sydney Opera House. Take the little ones to see adaptations of the beloved picture books Grug and the Rainbow and Josephine Wants to Dance; get in the holiday spirit at Elf the Musical, a joyful musical spectacular adapted from the heartwarming film; or catch Operation Ouch! Live, a spin-off from the popular kids TV show, where two wacky doctors share amazing facts and perform wild experiments.

Cheer on the green and gold at a series of sports matches happening over summer. Book seats for the United Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena Stage; support women's Australia cricket team as they fight to retain the Ashes against England at North Sydney Oval; head to Sydney Cricket Ground for CommBank Women’s Ashes T20 International series against England; and watch history get made as All Stars Indigenous NRL team versus New Zealand’s Māori All Stars at CommBank Stadium to kickstart the NRL season. 

Find the full program for school holiday activities in New South Wales here.