Easter is the most chocolatey time of the year, especially here in Birmingham, thanks to Cadbury’s World. But if your children have already eaten or decorated every egg in the house, don’t panic. From printing with LEGO to making mind-controlled drawings, here are some of the best family-friendly creative activities for kids in Birmingham’s museums, galleries and historic houses. And best of all, many of them are free.
1. Print with Lego at Ikon Gallery – Friday 29 March, 11-3pm
This holiday season, Stirchley Printworks are taking over Ikon Gallery with a giant bucket of LEGO. Rather than building with it, children will be invited to print pictures, using the blocks to create original designs and create posters or cards on a mini printing press. This fun, accessible and hugely popular workshop has been devised for the whole family to enjoy.
2. Join ‘Wind in the Willows’ at Selly Manor – Monday 25 March – Friday 5 April
Hop on down to Selly Manor this Easter for a range of activities inspired by the Wind in the Willows. Families are invited to join the lovable Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad to eggsplore the garden and take part in a fantastic egg hunt, get creative with some eggtremely cool Easter themed crafts, and play games in the lovely Selly Manor garden. Plus, children can visit the Tudor manor for dressing up and a family trail.
3. Make mind-controlled art at Thinktank – Thursday 4 April – Saturday 6 April
Arriving at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum this Spring is Cinematica, an exciting new digital project that allows families to create ‘mind-controlled’ art. Led by digital artist Rosa Francesca, members of the public can join her to wear a special headband that will connect their brainwaves with a drawing machine.
This drop-in activity is included in the price of admission.
4. Build with The BRICK People at MAC – Thursday 4 April, 10am-3.15pm
Travelling to MAC are The BRICK People, who’ll be offering a wide range of LEGO related activities this Easter. Across a range of activity tables, there will be mosaic and raceway building, as well as a timed tower build and small model builds, where names of the challengers are written on a leader board for the day for all to see. There will also be a selection of amazing official and unofficial LEGO creations by The BRICK People and the wider LEGO hobbyist community.
Pay what you choose. Timed slots 10am-3.15pm must be booked.
5. Take a creative route around the Botanical Gardens
Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens have a whole range of fun activity trails and activity sheets to keep children occupied on their route around nature’s amazing gallery of plants, trees, flowers and cacti. They can collect colours, make tree rubbings and make butterfly-inspired artworks.
6. Decorate a tea set at Aston Hall – Saturday 6 April, 10am -1pm
Join ceramic artist Nessa Grimes of Fire Formed to decorate tea set items inspired by those in the museum’s collection. From tea cups and pots to milk jugs, children will be invited to paint and glaze clay creations before they are fired in a kiln. Pieces will be available to collect at the next Arts Club on Saturday 4th May or little artists can loan their work to the Tea Set Trail and see it on display at Aston Hall! This session is part of Aston Hall’s monthly Art Club, which takes place on the first Saturday of the month.
7. Craft Spring flowers at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens – Wednesday 3 April, 11am-12 noon
In this workshop, children will discover Hapa Zome, a fun and creative way of connecting art and nature. Originally from Japan, it involves pounding leaves, flowers and other natural materials onto fabric and paper to create colourful and beautiful patterns. After being introduced to Hapa Zome with a demonstration from an artist, children can experiment, taking inspiration from the gardens, and create their own mini-masterpiece to take home.
£6.50. Tickets include entry to the gardens.
And if you’re looking for ideas to get more creative back at home, ‘This Book Will Make You An Artist (Nosy Crow)’ features 25 art and craft activities inspired by great artists, from crafting a Cubist collage like Picasso to making an abstract mobile like Hilma af Klint and splash painting like Janet Sobel. Suitable for creative children aged 5-11.
