School holidays in Melbourne: 18 things to do with the kids

20 September 2026 · 7 min read · every pick checked against the organiser's own page

Sixteen days, one Grand Final long weekend in the middle, and a small person asking what we're doing today by 7am. Here are 18 things to do with the kids around Melbourne these school holidays, from a cardboard forest at Fed Square to monster trucks at AAMI Park.

The spring school holidays in Melbourne run from Saturday 19 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, weekends included (Term 3 finished on Friday 18 September and Term 4 starts on Monday 5 October). Every pick below links to its live page on Keen, with dates, prices and the ticket link, and every one was checked against the organiser's or venue's own page on 19 September 2026. Things sell out and get rained off, so tap through before you promise anything to anyone small. For the always-current list, kids and family events in Melbourne is rebuilt from the catalogue every night, and there is a free page too.

Shows and theatre

Room On the Broom

Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne · Fri 25 to Sun 27 Sep: Fri 2pm, Sat and Sun 9.30am and 11.30am · Ticketed · Ages: 3 and up

The witch, the cat and one badly overloaded broomstick, live on stage with songs, from the team behind The Gruffalo shows. It runs 55 minutes with no interval, so that is nearly an hour of sitting down in the dark for you. Both 11.30am sessions were already showing low availability when we checked, so don't sit on it.

Where is the Green Sheep?

Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, Southbank · Until Sat 26 Sep: Wed 23 Sep 10am, 12pm and 3pm; Thu 24 and Fri 25 Sep 10am and 2pm; Sat 26 Sep 10am · From $35 · Ages: 1 to 6

Mem Fox and Judy Horacek's picture book turned into 45 minutes of puppetry and animation, made for ages 1 to 6. If you can recite the book from memory by now, here is your chance to let someone else do the voices. It finishes on Saturday 26 September, so this one is a first-week job.

Circus The Show

Spiegel Haus Melbourne · Wed 23 Sep to Sun 4 Oct, 12pm daily (no show Mon 28 Sep) · From $29

Acrobats, jugglers, aerialists, illusions and a clown with a six foot balloon, all squeezed into 60 minutes at Spiegel Haus on Lonsdale Street. It plays at midday almost every day of the holidays, which leaves you the morning for coffee and the afternoon for recovering.

The Wobbly Wallaby

Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre, South Morang · Tue 29 Sep, 11am to 11.50am · From $16 · Ages: 3 to 8

A musical puppet show for 3 to 8 year olds about a wallaby who can't hop in a straight line and is often running late (no judgement here). It is based on the book by local author Prema Nishan, runs 50 minutes, and saves northside families the trek into town. Kids are $16, adults $20, or $54 for a family of four.

Museums and exhibitions

Scienceworks Melbourne: Entry Ticket

Scienceworks, Spotswood · Open daily through the holidays, 10am to 4.30pm · Adults $15, kids up to 16 free

Hands-on science under the West Gate Bridge, where kids up to 16 get in free, so it is $15 for you and nothing for them. Planetarium and Lightning Theatre shows are $10 extra. The museum's own site lists the Sportsworks and Think Ahead exhibitions as opening on Sunday 20 September, which is handy timing.

Spring School Holidays at Melbourne Museum

Melbourne Museum, Carlton · Until Sun 4 Oct, 9am to 5pm daily · Adults $18, kids 16 and under free · Gladiator workshop suits 12 and under

Kids 16 and under are free, adults are $18, and these holidays the theme is ancient Rome. The gladiator mask-making workshop (Creative Lab: Rise of the Gladiators) is $12 a child for 30 minutes, and Mosaic Monuments is a free colour-a-tile activity that ends up in one big artwork. There is also the new Our Wondrous Planet exhibition for when you need somewhere to walk off the gladiator energy.

Billie B Brown and the Case of the Missing Treasure

Old Melbourne Gaol · Daily until Sun 4 Oct, 10am to 5pm · Family tickets from $70 · Ages: 5 to 12

A treasure hunt through the old gaol with Billie B Brown and the Secret Mystery Club, made for ages 5 to 12 and done at your own pace (an adult has to tag along). It is included in family tickets, $70 for one adult and two kids or $90 for two and two, or it is a $5 activity booklet on top of general entry. The Gaol says this is Billie's final season there, and bookings are essential.

Festivals and big days out

Monster Jam

AAMI Park, Melbourne · Sat 3 Oct, shows at 12.30pm and 6.30pm (Pit Party 8.30am to 11.30am) · Ticketed

Ten monster trucks, Grave Digger and Megalodon among them, tearing up AAMI Park on the last Saturday of the holidays. There are two shows plus a morning Pit Party where you can see the trucks up close and meet the drivers. Everyone aged 2 and up needs a ticket, and the venue warns of flashing lights, haze and pyrotechnics, so ear muffs all round (yes, you too).

Melbourne Festival of Puppetry

La Mama Theatre and other venues, Carlton · Until Sun 27 Sep. Free Puppet Picnic Sat 26 Sep, 10am to 2pm · Free picnic and street shows, kids' shows listed at $25 · Shows grouped for ages 2 to 6 and 5 to 10

Six days of puppets around Carlton and the city, with kids' shows at La Mama such as Trinket the Robot and Puss in Boots (both Fri 25 to Sun 27 Sep). The freebie is the Puppet Picnic on Saturday 26 September on the Carlton high rise estate lawns: puppet making, roving puppets, two shows and a puppet parade at 1.40pm. Several shows were marked selling fast when we looked, so book the paid ones before you promise anything.

Melbourne Kids Book Fest

Southgate Melbourne, Southbank · Fri 2 and Sat 3 Oct · Free hub, ticketed workshops · Ages: 5 to 13

Two days of authors, illustrators and workshops at Southgate for readers aged 5 to 13, run by Mary Martin Bookshop. The Festival Hub is free (signings, face painting, Australian animals, craft and a scavenger hunt), while the workshops are ticketed by day pass. Saturday wraps up with Andy Griffiths taking questions at 3pm, a rare hour where someone else has to come up with the answers.

Outdoors

Fitzroy Gardens Wonder and Whimsy

Fitzroy Gardens Visitor Centre, East Melbourne · Daily until Sun 4 Oct, 10am to 3pm · Kids $8.20, adults $4.50 · Primary school age

Grab a map from the Visitor Centre and follow a clue trail around Fitzroy Gardens, with a prize for every child who finishes. It is $8.20 a child and $4.50 for the adult tagging along, and that includes entry to Cooks' Cottage. It is aimed at primary schoolers, grown-up help is required, and no booking is needed, which suits anyone whose holiday planning is mostly vibes.

Possum prowl for kids

Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary, Bundoora · Fri 2 Oct, 6pm to 7.45pm · $5.50 per child · Preschool to early primary

A twilight wander at the wildlife sanctuary in Bundoora for preschool and early primary kids: nature activities first, then a guided spotlight tour of about 45 minutes as it gets dark. It is $5.50 a child, bookings are essential, and the guides bring the spotlights. Closed shoes and mozzie repellent are on the official packing list, and an adult has to stay (that's you).

Rippon Lea Estate: Entry ticket

Rippon Lea Estate, Elsternwick · Open daily through the holidays, 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm) · Garden entry: adults $15, kids $9, family $40

A heritage mansion set in nearly 14 acres of Victorian gardens with a lake, made for a picnic rug and kids who need to run. Garden entry is $15 an adult, $9 a child or $40 for a family of four (the house costs extra), and the Gatehouse sells tea and coffee, which is all the encouragement some of us need. The National Trust also lists a fairy show in the gardens these holidays, Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, booked separately.

Free

Children's Play: Ragnar Kjartansson

NGV International, Melbourne · Daily until Sun 4 Oct, 10am to 5pm Free

The NGV's free kids' gallery is a theatrical feast this season: dress-ups and a stage to perform on, drawing tables, and soft cushions to stack into wobbly cake sculptures. It is open 10am to 5pm with no booking, and its last day is Sunday 4 October, which is also the last day of the holidays. You get to stand in an art gallery and call it parenting.

Footy Fest

Yarra Park, East Melbourne · Wed 23 to Sat 26 Sep: Wed and Thu 10am to 5pm, Fri from 9am, Sat 9am to 7pm Free

Grand Final week's free festival in Yarra Park: Auskick and Superkick clinics, AFL and AFLW player appearances, giveaways and live entertainment. The Mik Maks play Thursday at midday, and Friday's Grand Final Parade finishes here, with The Wiggles part of the day. Clear some space in your head now for a weekend of Wiggles songs on loop.

Chinatown Lion and Dragon Moon Festival

Cohen Place, Chinatown, Melbourne · Sat 26 Sep, 5.30pm to 8pm (parades 5.30pm and 7.30pm, main performances from 6pm) Free

Lion and dragon dancers, kung fu, a guzheng performance and a lantern parade through Chinatown for the Mid-Autumn Festival, all free. Parades run at 5.30pm and 7.30pm with the main performances from 6pm at Cohen Place, and kids are invited to bring a lantern, try lion dancing and get photos with the junior lion heads. Dinner in Chinatown afterwards more or less plans itself, which is the kind of parenting win we like.

Paper Planet at Fed Square

The Edge, Fed Square, Melbourne · Mon 28 Sep to Thu 1 Oct, 10am to 12pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm; Fri 2 Oct 10am to 12pm Free

Polyglot Theatre fills The Edge with a forest of tall cardboard trees, then hands kids paper and tape to build the rest of the planet. It is free and drop in, you can stay ten minutes or the full two hours, and there may be a short wait if it is full. All you need to bring is a willingness to wear whatever they make you.

Emergency Services Expo - Blessing of the Emergency Services Fleet

Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre, South Morang · Sat 3 Oct, 10am to 1pm Free

Emergency vehicles and gear to explore, the people who use them to meet, plus pony grooming and face painting, all free in South Morang. It includes the 30th annual multi-faith Blessing of the Emergency Services Fleet, and there is a coffee van, doughnuts and a sausage sizzle, so breakfast is sorted.

The part where you actually go

That's the list. Finding things to do was never the hard part. The hard part is getting the other parents, the cousins or Nan to agree on a day.

That's the job Keen does. The quickest way in is Find a time: pick two or three days that could work, add an idea or two from this page, and drop one link in the group chat. Everyone answers from their browser, no app and no account needed. You see which day wins, tap once, and it's a real plan with RSVPs and a chat of its own.

And once your mates are on Keen too, it starts doing the noticing for you: everyone marks the times they're free, and when yours line up, Keen tells you, along with what's on that actually suits the crew. Which, in the holidays, mostly means whatever gets everyone out of the house.

Pick one, name a day, and send the message before someone asks for a snack.

Keen. Made in Melbourne, live across Australia.