A lovely and loyal friend from Cairns visited us this week in Melbourne. To say she was unenthusiastic about Melbourne’s winter weather is an understatement. Admittedly her visit co-incided with a once in four year weather cell that created havoc. Her visit did get me thinking though about all the indoor activities we have at our fingertips here for when the weather is not our friend. There are heaps!
Winter school holidays are imminent and for those visiting our cosmopolitan metropolis, and for locals looking to fill the days with their kids I have compiled this list. In no particular order, here are nine indoor activities in and around Melbourne that are great to enjoy with kids this winter.
The Once Apon a Time Exhibition at the State Library of Victoria: This free exhibition displays artwork from classic, and modern children’s literature. A cosy venue in the heart of the city it is open until the 31st of August.
Once Apon a Time Exhibition. State Library of Victoria
Watermarc: An indoor swimming center in Melbourne’s north (Greensborough) it offers two giant waterslides and a water play/splash area, as well as toddler pool. Watermarc is on the Hurstbridge train line, about half an hour from the city.
The splash play area at Watermarc
Yarra Valley Choclaterie and Ice-Creamery: The home of all deliciousness as far as I am concerned. Nestled in the gorgeous Yarra Valley this is a classy, family friendly treat-fest that puts other chocolate tourist traps to shame. Kids can watch chocolates being made on the factory floor, there is free tasting, a cafe that serves good savory meals as well as decadent desserts. Every manner of chocolate are for sale including bush-tucker and garden varieties.
Try the garden flavored chocolate?
Eureka Sky-deck: Visit the Southern Hemisphere’s highest building. Our kids enjoyed spotting favorite Melbourne icons from up high. Don’t be deterred by bad weather – our own visit typified the Melbourne cliche of four seasons in one day – we witnessed rain, cloud, sunshine all in one hour. Kids that like character experiences can cuddle up to Deckstar, the Skydeck’s mascot. During the school holidays there are kids activities onsite from 11am-4pm.
Federation Square viewed from Eureka Skydeck
Dinosaur Adventures: This fun, over the top dinosaur fest is undercover at Caufield Racetrack until July 20th. Dinosaur animatronics, dinosaur themed play areas and activities as well as a good spash of educational content combine to make this attraction a winner. You can read more about our own experience of Dinosaur Adventures here.
Dinosaur Adventures Melbourne
Rescue Exhibition at Scienceworks: Scienceworks is great all year round for kids and adults. Until October 5th the Rescue Exhibition gives kids the opportunity to learn all about the rescue services through play and interactivity. We loved this exhibit when it was open in Sydney and so visited again recently at Melbourne’s Scienceworks in Spotswood. Kids get to fly a helicopter simulator, put out pretend fires (my three year old put out about 20 – he would have stayed there all day) and perform mock water rescues.
Rescue Exhibition at Scienceworks
The Melbourne Museum: A regular haunt of ours, my own kids never tire of the Melbourne museum. You can read about our experiences of the museum here. The museum offers many school holiday activities which are usually great. Just a warning though – their performance “Aztec City” that is on these school holidays does contain content that is inappropriate for young children, and the museum staff have unfortunately not realised this. My own kids love the bug room, dinosaurs, ocean and space areas. There is a great kids interactive play area.
Bub 2 in the Children’s Museum.
Sealife Melbourne Aquarium: There is nothing like imagining your winter away by watching tropical fish swim through a coral reef. The Sealife Melbourne Aquarium displays marine creatures living in many different environments including a Great Barrier Reef display. Our own favourite though – the penguins.
Penguins at the Melbourne Aquarium
High Tea: Another treat and a half are traditional high teas. Plan to miss dinner after a high tea, they are massive. The Langham Melbourne hosts children’s themed high teas every school holidays. Read about our Frozen themed high tea at the Langham in the summer school holidays.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all that is on this winter in Melbourne – rather tried and tested successes from our own family experience. Have a look at Little Melbourne’s list for other ideas.
Bubs on the Move provides tips and advice for parents traveling with small children including attraction and accommodation reviews. You can join us on Facebook or Twitter to receive updates to your news feed.
I’m just pausing here to marvel at the concept of an indoor water park.