Egg hunting Get your skates on, literally, for the Easter Bunny's annual visit to Battersea Park. This egg hunt is a mobile affair for rollerblading youngsters as well as adults, and follows the tarmac track around the park's two-mile perimeter where dozens of differently coloured eggs have been hidden. Don't worry if you're a rookie. There's an introductory lesson costing £5 and the skate itself is free, friendly and fully marshalled.
DETAILS: Easy Peasy Easter Skate at the Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park SW11. Saturday 15 April. 10am - 11.30am. Accompanied children only.
 | | Eyes peeled for those eggs! |
The walled garden of Fenton House in Hampstead is the setting for an Easter Egg Trail over the Bank Holiday weekend. You can hunt for clues among the spring flowers, admire the sunken rose garden and apple orchard, or enjoy the delights of the house itself.
DETAILS: Fenton House, Hampstead Grove, Windmill Hill NW3. Friday 14 - Monday 17 April. 11am - 4.30pm. £1.50 per child, accompanying adults free. Info: 01494 755 563. Fancy something more crafts-based? Head out to Canary Wharf where children are invited to decorate eggs and egg-cups, and be distracted by the baby chicks, bunnies and guinea pigs of an animal roadshow. Chocolate eggs are available and goodie bags will be given away.
DETAILS: Mixed Easter Crafts at Jubilee Place, Canary Wharf E14. Saturday 15 April. 12noon - 5pm. Free admission. Out and About Kew Gardens comes into its own over Easter with five million bulbs to remind you that spring has finally sprung. Climbers and Creepers, the garden's play area for young children, is an obvious attraction as are the animal farm and glasshouses. There's also an Easter bonus: the pagoda will be open for the first time in years, offering stair-climbing exercise and great views of London.
DETAILS: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Daily 9.30am - 6pm, 7pm at weekends and bank holidays. Adults £11.75, children free. Info: 020 8332 5655
 | | A taste of Morocco on the South Bank |
Escape the everyday this Easter and experience a traditional Moroccan souk or market on the South Bank. Housed in tents stretched across the riverside will be a range of North African jewellery, leather goods and woven rugs. A henna artist to work on your hand is promised, along with free music shows and a Moroccan tearoom.
DETAILS: Moroccan Market at Festival Riverside, South Bank SE1. Friday 14 - Monday 17 April. 10am - 8pm. Free admission. Where better to impress the kids with your explanation of the concept of Longitude Zero than Greenwich's Royal Observatory? It's the home of the Prime Meridian after all, which means you can stand with one foot in the eastern and one foot in the western hemisphere. There's also a planetarium and delightful parkland for a walk or a picnic afterwards.
DETAILS: Royal Observatory, Romney Road, Greenwich SE10. Daily 10am - 4.30pm. Free entry. Info: 020 8312 6565 Be a nature detective and hunt for wildlife clues at any one of the hundreds of nature reserves run by the Wildlife Trust. London has 26 of them, often tiny enough to be manageable for an hour or two, like the one hectare reserve at Camley Street behind Kings Cross station. DETAILS: Camley Street Natural Park, 12 Camley Street NW1. Weekdays 9am - 5pm (closed Fridays), 11am - 5pm weekends. Free entry. Info: 020 7833 2311 Museums and Galleries Feeling cheerful, bossy, greedy or forgetful? Fans and young enthusiasts will recognise the terminology from the Mr Men and Little Miss books, created by Roger Hargreaves and continued after his death by his son Adam. 35 years after the first appearance of Mr Tickle, London's Animation Art Gallery pays tribute to the phenomenon with original sketches, some of the first books to be published and rare memorabilia.
DETAILS: Animation Art Gallery, 13-14 Great Castle Street W1. Free entry. Info: 020 7255 1456
 | | Toy Story's Woody on the zoetrope |
Marking the 20th anniversary of the iconic animation company Pixar is an exhibition at the Science Museum, which displays the art and craft behind Toy Story, Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles and the soon-to-be released, Cars. It reveals how much hand-drawn perspiration is involved and includes examples of the so-called 'colourscripts' - works of art in their own right - which set the visual style and tone of each story. The star attraction is a 'zoetrope', which uses figures from Toy Story to show how static figures can be made to appear to move.
DETAILS: Science Museum, Exhibition Road SW7. Daily 10am - 6pm. Adults £9, children £7. Info: 0870 870 4868 If you'd rather not venture into town, there's always Hendon and the unsung delights of the Royal Air Force Museum. Attractions include enough aircraft to satisfy your inner child, an interactive area, a popular simulator ride and 'Milestones of Flight', a permanent exhibition of some of the most important RAF aircraft along with classics from America, Germany, Japan and France.
DETAILS: Royal Air Force Museum, Grahame Park Way, Hendon NW9. Daily 10am - 6pm. Free entry. Info: 020 8205 2266 Theatre activities Continuing the Moroccan theme on the South Bank (see above), the Queen Elizabeth Hall hosts Taoub, a North African circus production from the Collectif Acrobatique de Tangier. Expect mesmerising acrobatics and magical scenes, and a seemingly endless sheet of fabric, which gives the show its name, and which morphs from bellowing backdrop to lavish dress, taking on a life of its own.
DETAILS: Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank SE1. Friday 14 - Tuesday 18 April. £15 - £20, family packages available. Info: 0870 163 3838
 | | Kids in action at the Theatre Museum |
Beleagured it may be on the funding and development front, but London's Theatre Museum is still unparalleled as a treasure trove of the performing arts. Daily costume workshops can be enjoyed here and kids are encouraged to discover what theatre is by exploring the Museum's costume collection.
DETAILS: Theatre Museum, Russell Street, Covent Garden WC2. Open Tuesday - Sunday. 10am - 6pm. Costume workshops 2pm and 3.30pm. Free admission. Info: 020 7943 4700 For another free alternative, head west to the Lyric Hammersmith for a family day that includes performances and workshops from Improbable, Theatre-rites, Dynamic New Animation and Lyngo Theatre Company.
DETAILS: Lyric Hammersmith, King Street W6. Saturday 15 April. Free admission. Info: 0870 050 0511 Films Ice Age - The Meltdown: things are getting a bit soggy for Diego, Manny and Sid as the Ice Age comes to an end in the sequel to the CG hit of 2002. Alien Autopsy: Ant and Dec make their big-screen debut in Brit director Jonny Campbell's comedy sci-fi. Scary Movie 4: yet another spoof horror sequel starring Ana Faris with Airplane! helmer David Zucker in the director's seat. Take The Lead: Antonio Banderas hotfoots to the dancefloor to play a real-life professional ballroom dancer who taught kids in New York public schools. INTERESTED? Find more details on any of these selections by using the links in the right-hand column. LOOKING FOR MORE? Try BBC London's entertainment correspondent Brenda Emmanus's holiday guide. See the link below (you'll need Realplayer). RELATED LINKS:
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