Six of the Best Things To Do With the Kids This Summer (That You’ll Enjoy, Too)

Let’s Party: Fashion for Kids, and more, at the NGV

The NGV is in fashion mode right now with headline exhibition Westwood | Kawakubo, and the summer children’s show is similarly themed. Let’s Party showcases splendid evening gowns, fabulous accessories and more by top designers, milliners and creatives, with a series of drop-in sessions with different hands-on activities. There’s a central dance floor with disco balls sparkling and music pumping (Beyonce, Lady Gaga, ’70s tunes and Berlin techno are all on the playlist).

The NGV Kids Summer Festival runs for a week over the holiday break with story sessions, disco parties, performances and creative drawing and craft workshops. It’s all free and designed for kids through to teens.

Let’s Party runs until May 3, 2026 at the NGV International. Entry is free. The NGV Kids Summer Festival runs from January 10 to 16. Entry is free.

Storytime Ballet: The Nutcracker, by the Australian Ballet

Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is one of the world’s most famous ballets and a children’s classic. But the full ballet is a big ask for a little one. The Australian Ballet’s Storytime version is perfect for young children – they keep the runtime to under an hour, and dress-ups and dancing are encouraged.  

Storytime Ballet: The Nutcracker runs from January 22 to 25 at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne. Tickets begin at $65. Children under two are free provided they are seated on the lap of their accompanying adult.

Ten Thousand Hours at the Arts Centre

Have you got any aspiring gymnasts or acrobats in your family? They’ll love this one. The show features eight pro acrobats compressing 10,000 hours of practice into a one-hour extravaganza of acrobatic flair. The award-winning show has toured 46 countries and had rave reviews since it started.

Ten Thousand Hours runs from January 13 to 26 at The Playhouse. Tickets start at $32.

Nature Play, at the Royal Botanic Gardens

Educators are on hand for you and your miniature green thumbs and eco-explorers at these free sessions in Melbourne and Cranbourne. They’ll guide the kids through a range of casual, nature-inspired activities: messy mixtures and potion making in the mud kitchen; cubby building; creature making using materials like gumnuts and clay; and using microscopes to zoom in on nature. Cranbourne also has more than six kilometres of flat bike trails to explore once the session has finished.

Nature Play runs on January 6 and 7 at the Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and the Kids’ Backyard at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne. Entry is free.

Catch some waves, at Urbnsurf Melbourne

There’s a break for everyone at every age and every level at Melbourne’s beloved wave park, with its sprawling blue lagoons. There are learn-to-surf and beginner sessions for new grommets and bigger waves for cruisers and intermediates. Boogie boarders can have a go in the shallows. Or, just go for a swim – there’s a section with gentle rolling waves designed for it. Grab a snack at Three Blue Ducks and settle in for the day.

Urbnsurf Melbourne is open seven days a week at 9 Melrose Drive, Melbourne Airport. Tickets start at $114.

Tiny Tours: Rainforest to Reef, at Melbourne Museum

Tiny Tours eschews the traditional “look-but-don’t-touch” museum ethos with tours deigned for curious kiddies, aged three to five years old, built around interactive storytelling and sensory engagement. These tours run all year, and January’s program looks at “Different Homes, Different Tools” within the Our Wondrous Planet exhibition – it’s a digestible exploration of the biological “gear” animals use to survive. Think of it as an immersive ecology class for your kids that feel more like a playground than a classroom.

The Rainforest to Reef Tiny Tour starts from January 6 at Melbourne Museum. Tickets start at $18. Member adults have free entry.