The May Half Term approaches, the final break as schools wing their way towards the end of the year; and that means parents and guardians will be on the hunt for ways to entertain the younglings. So roll up and take in Daily Info’s top picks in Oxford and the surrounding areas.
Museums
Oxford is home to some truly fabulous museums and they are great venues to spend a few hours exploring. Two of the best in the city are the Museum of Oxford and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, with each running several events throughout the week. MOX (which is celebrating its 50th anniversary) has a hands-on history session, Nursery Rhyme Crimes, where CSI tactics are applied to some very familiar stories, and A Hare’s Journey, where you can make your own brown hare puppet. The Museum of Natural History has a pair of events at the end of May – What Makes a Scientist, which explores ground-breaking achievements in science, and Fossil and Findings, a hands-on adventure for older children.
Over in Woodstock the Oxfordshire Museum has sessions where participants can make their own garland, explore stone circles, and design a coat of arms they can take home. And Henley’s River & Rowing Museum has craft and play sessions throughout the week.
Two museums that are a short train ride away are Banbury Museum and Aylesbury’s Discover Bucks Museum, and both are certainly worth the journey. Banbury Museum will be running daily craft activities, giving participants the chance to make kites, sock monsters and bird feeders, whilst Discover Bucks Museum has both the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery and their current exhibition, WEIRD, which curates some of the odd objects the museum has collected over the years.
Outdoors
As summer approaches you may find yourself seeking to chase the sun, which means you’ll want one of Oxfordshire’s outdoor venues. And in this regard a pair of farms have got you covered. Big Bale Play returns to High Lodge Farm, with a colossal maze for the bambinos to leap around and explore. And over at Hogshaw Farm there’s Hogfest, which mixes circus activities, a miniature train and daily animal encounters for a terrific time.
The Earth Trust is always on hand to explore the natural world and this May is no exception, with a Little Acorns session at Wallingford’s Riverside Meadows and a family history day, which explore the archaeological finds at the Trust’s main site. Another family day to take part in is the Harcourt Arboretum’s Marvellous Meadow Family Day, with guided tours, educational activities and bug hunts that are sure to entertain the wee ones.
Finally there’s the Waterperry Gardens, which has hidden eight gnomes throughout the gardens as part of Gnometastic. Find them all and you can get a prize!
Theatre & Circus
A pair of circuses return to Oxfordshire during half term, with each sure to offer spectacle to please the whole family. At Millet’s Farm there’s John Lawsons Circus, mixing clowns, laser shows, trapeze and amore. And over at Blenheim Palace you’ll find a world of acrobats, jugglers, horses and musicians with the 25th anniversary show from Giffords Circus. Plus characters from Pip & Posy can be found in the palace’s Adventure Play area.
Over at the Cornerstone Arts Centre there’s the charming Woodland Tales with Granddad, which mixes magical puppetry with a timely environmental message. And for those looking to get more hands-on with their theatre, Creation Theatre’s School of Creativity returns with daily masterclasses focusing on the likes of Shakespeare, stage combat and puppetry.
Image credit: Harcourt Arboretum, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, High Lodge Farm, Cornerstone Arts Centre