If you’re after a screen-free school holiday activity that keeps little hands busy without requiring military-level organisation from you, Re:PLAY at Adelaide Festival Centre is worth putting on your radar.
Held in Artspace inside the Dunstan Playhouse building, Re:PLAY is a series of drop-in workshops where families make art together using recycled and repurposed materials. Think packaging, offcuts, scraps and all those odds and ends that would normally go straight in the bin, transformed into sculptures, prints, textured creations and collages.
Each session is led by prominent South Australian artists who work alongside kids and their grown-ups. It’s collaborative, hands-on and refreshingly unstructured.
Drop in, stay as long as you like
The drop-in format is the part parents tend to appreciate most. You book a session time, turn up, and stay as long as your child is engaged. There’s no curriculum to keep pace with and nothing that has to be finished by the end. Kids move between activity tables at their own speed, try a few different techniques, and take their work home with them.
For parents of kids who lose interest quickly or get overwhelmed in structured settings, this flexibility is a game-changer. No pressure to stick it out until the official end time, no guilt about leaving early. You read the room, go with the flow, and call it when your child is done.
And for kids who could happily glue bottle caps to cardboard for three hours straight? They can do exactly that.
Artspace is designed for young people
The space itself is a big part of the appeal. Artspace is purpose-built for young people, with floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the room with natural light, plenty of room to spread out on the floor, and quiet corners for kids who need a minute away from the action.
It’s the kind of environment that feels calm and creative rather than chaotic, which makes a difference when you’re trying to keep everyone in good spirits through the school holidays.
And when you need a caffeine hit mid-session? The Playhouse Cafe downstairs serves barista-made coffee alongside fresh pastries and treats. Because no school holiday outing is complete without a coffee bribe for the adults.
More than just mess and glitter
There’s a bigger idea running underneath all the glue and glitter. Re:PLAY asks kids to look at something headed for the bin and see what it could become instead. That old yoghurt container isn’t rubbish, it’s a building block. Those fabric scraps aren’t waste, they’re the start of something new.
It’s a useful habit to build early, and it tends to follow them home. Plenty of parents report a sudden interest in the recycling bin in the days after a Re:PLAY session, with kids eyeing off cardboard tubes and bottle lids with fresh intent.
Whether that translates into long-term environmental consciousness or just a lot more craft projects cluttering up your kitchen table remains to be seen. Either way, they’re thinking differently about what things can become.
The details
What: Re:PLAY drop-in art workshops for families
Where: Artspace, Adelaide Festival Centre (inside the Dunstan Playhouse building)
When: 30 September to 3 October 2026
Tickets: Available online or in person at Dunstan Playhouse
More info: Adelaide Festival Centre website
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