THE KIDDO ULTIMATE LIST OF THINGS TO DO WITH THE KIDS IN THE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER ADELAIDE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Adelaide Spring School holidays: Monday 28 September – Friday 9 October 2020
School holidays are here again! Spring is sprung and the time for the September / October Adelaide School Holidays is upon us.
It seems a little bit ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ when it comes to school term time. But here we are again, with the excitement of long, lazy days, with no schedule and quality time with the kids ahead of us. But there’s also the not to be underestimated issue of….
HOW DO WE KEEP THE KIDS ENTERTAINED?!!!!
But look no further. We’ve got you covered. Below we have a list of the top things Adelaide has to offer throughout the September/October Adelaide school holidays so that the kids are kept active and entertained and mum and dad get a moment (or three) to themselves!
Bay City Rolling
Bay City Rolling is a new event debuting in Glenelg for the September/October Adelaide school holidays. And it’s the perfect springtime activity by the beach!
Strap on your skates and roll under an opened marquee with ocean views. A great affordable family experience for all ages and three weekends of roller-disco fun!
Event Details
When: 25 Sept – 12 Oct. Roller Discos are Fridays & Saturdays 7.30 pm and 8.45 pm-9.45 pm sessions
Where: Moseley Square, Glenelg
Cost:
Adults – $15
Child (under 15) – $10
Family pass (2 adults 2 children/ or 1 adult 3 children) – $40
Roller Disco – Friday/Saturday 7.30 pm and 8.45 pm sessions – $20 per person
For session times or ticket purchase:
Nature Festival | 100+ Events | 10 days
The Nature Festival is a 10 day program of activities and experiences all dedicated to celebrating South Australian nature in positive, creative, and meaningful ways and is running across the Adelaide September/October school holidays, 25 September – 4 October.
The festival features a diverse program of free and ticketed activities provided by local artists, environmental organisations, and nature connection practitioners. It’s an ‘open access’ festival, so anyone can apply to run an event.
With more than 80 events for all ages, the Nature Festival is full of creative ways to connect with others and to set out on adventures near and far.
Check out our Kids Guide to the Nature Festival for our top picks of events for families!
For more information and events program:
Urth Clay Studio Holiday Sessions
Kids have wild imaginations. Urth Clay Studio is a place where children can explore their creativity. They can submerge their hands in the mud to reach places that regular conversations won’t allow. The goal is to build self-confidence, trigger curiosity and allow the artistic flair to bloom from each child.
Urth Clay Studio allows children to do this in a fun, safe and creative way and offers school holidays once-off sessions.
Kids will create an object during the session, decorate it and colour it. Urth Clay Studio will process the item and fire it to make it food safe and item will be ready for pick up 3 weeks later.
Kids will have a small picnic outdoors during the session.
Event Details
Make a plate and a spoon
Date: Friday October 2
Time: 10am – 12:30pm
Buy tickets
Make a cup and a spoon
Date: Friday October 9
Time: 10am – 12:30pm
Buy tickets
For more information:
urthclaystudio.com.au
Circobats Holiday Sessions
Have you ever wanted to run away and join the circus? This September/October school holidays in Adelaide, you can!
Circobats Holidays Sessions run from 9:00am (drop off from 8:30 am) to 3pm (pick up can be until 5.30pm).
Throughout the day students will have an opportunity to try all things Circus!
In a safe and controlled environment they will experience gymnastics skills, aerial silks, tumbling, lyra, hula hoops, flower sticks, plate spinning, mini-tramp, juggling, trapeze and much more!
This is a great experience where they will be challenged, and encouraged to learn something new.
Event details:
Date: September 29 – October 9
Time: 9am – 3pm (drop off from 8:30am, pick up by 5:30pm)
Location: The Roost, 775 South Road, Black Forest
For more information or to enrol:
circobats.com/holiday-programs
See the Grug Live Show
Grug began his life as the top of a Burrawang tree that fell to the ground. Resembling a small, striped haystack with feet and a nose, Grug is fascinated by the world around him and solves everyday problems creatively and without fuss.
As the school holidays draw to a close, the Grug Live Show begins, so grab your tickets for one of the first shows which fall in the second week of the October school holidays!
Celebrating 10 years of performances in 2020, Ted Prior’s hugely popular character is brought to life in Windmill’s magical stage production. Having performed to more than 50,000 children and families worldwide, Grug is perfect for our youngest theatre lovers.
Grug Live Show Details:
Date: 6 October – 18 October 2020
Location: Dunstan Playhouse
Tickets: $25
Adelaide 36ers Basketball Training Camp
Make your little baller’s swishes come true this school holidays by sending them to the Adelaide 36ers School Holiday Training Camps.
Kids will improve their skills, develop techniques, enhance their game, meet new friends and have fun!
Adelaide 36ers Junior Camps are held during each school holidays aimed at children of all ages, genders and abilities.
OCTOBER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 36ERS TRAINING CAMP
Date: 6 – 8 October 2020
Time: 9.00am to 4.00pm
Venue: Wayville Sports Centre, 142 Rose Terrace, Wayville
Cost: $190 per child
Facilitated by Community Coaches and 36ers legends Brett Maher and Scott Ninnis, the 36ers 3-day School Holiday Training Camps are attended by all current 36ers players and provide the perfect environment for tomorrow’s NBL stars to hone their skills and to learn from Basketball stars past and present!
Places are limited so book now:
Spend a day at Woodhouse Activity Centre
Woodhouse Activity Centre is only 15 minutes drive up the freeway and truly offers a unique experience for kids and families; it’s like a time warp in the best possible way, taking you back to the days where kids had scuffed shoes, grassy knees, and mud smudged faces. The times when they were exhausted by the end of the day because of non stop adventuring, running, jumping, climbing and yes, maybe even falling.
Without a Nintendo Switch or Netflix account in sight.
To find out more about what it’s like to spend a day at Woodhouse Activity Centre, or to stay overnight, check out our comprehensive review of a day, a stay and a play at Woodhouse.
Woodhouse ‘Drop and Go’ School Holiday Day Camps
Woodhouse Activity Centre is here to help administer some ‘Adventure Therapy’ to your 5-13 year old (sorry, no parents allowed!)
With 9 awesome activity themes to choose from across each week day of the holidays; from building a ghost cannon and life-sized birds’ nests, to laser skirmish and tube sliding – there’s something to suit all interests and abilities.
For more information or to book a day camp:
Fairytale Trail at Carrick Hill
History and fairytales come together for a magical day with the Royal Princesses at Carrick Hill these school holidays.
Enter the land far far away, where children will see fairytales come to life right before their eyes as you make your way up the winding road that leads to the castle. Stroll through the exquisite flower gardens filled with sweet scents from blooming roses, and marvel at the manicured lawns, gardens, creeks, water features and ponds, and take in the picturesque views overlooking the city and coast. You may even spot the local ducks and cockatoos.
Event Details
LOCATION: Carrick Hill Castle, 46 Carrick Hill Drive, Springfield
DATE: Tuesday 6 October 2020 (school holidays)
DURATION: 1.5 hours (as per COVID recommendations)
COST: Children and adults $45.00 each. Extra children from the same family $35.00 each. Children under one are free without a gift, or normal ticket fees apply.
Please direct any inquiries to:
Hahndorf. Handmade. Handcrafted. Handpicked.
Catch the tail end of the Hahndorf. Handmade. Handcrafted. Handpicked. Festival.
During the month of September Hahndorf has been celebrating their rich linage of artisan culture, with the festival hosting more than 250 intimate events and experiences in and around the Main Street of the historic village.
The program is filled with bespoke experiences for all ages and tastes and runs until September 30.
Uncover the treasures of Hahndorf with events that fall under the following categories:
- food & drink
- art & craft
- family fun
- history & story-telling
- workshops & masterclasses
Or if you simply love a free event – there is something for everyone on the program!
Most events are small and intimate, some only happen once, and some happen every day – so get in quick to avoid disappointment.
For more information and full events listing:
Check out our KIDS AND FAMILY GUIDE to Hahndorf. Handmade. Handcrafted. Handpicked:
kiddomag.com.au/do/kids-guide-to-hahndorf-this-september/
Visit the Adelaide Botanic Garden After-Dark
Make an evening of it this school holidays, and take the kids to see the Botanic Gardens under lights in October, with two events announced that coincide with Adelaide school holidays.
Botanica Lumina is a program of curated night-time events in Adelaide Botanic Garden, where the community can connect with nature and each other, and experience the garden and its living collections in a new way.
Visitors to both events can bring their own picnic, or consider complementing their evening by pre-ordering a Gardens Café and Kiosk gourmet picnic box, enjoying dinner at the Botanic Gardens Restaurant, or choose from many other dining options in Adelaide’s East End.
EVENT DETAILS
Event: Noise//Nature
Location: Conifer Lawn, Adelaide Botanic Garden
Date: Saturday 3 October
Time: Gates open 7pm – 10pm. Stay for an hour, or three!
The event has been styled for you to arrive and leave when it suits you.
Cost: $15 General Admission | FREE for under 12 year olds
Access: Entry and exit to the event is via the Main Gate on North Terrace only
For more information or ticket purchases:
botanicgardens.sa.gov.au/whats-on/noise-nature
Event: Acis & Galetea
Location: Conifer Lawn, Adelaide Botanic Garden
Date: Friday 9 October & Saturday 10 October
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm (includes intermission) – Gates open 6.30pm
Cost: $60 General Admission | $30 (concession/pension)
Access: Entry and exit to the event is via the Main Gate on North Terrace only
For more information or ticket purchases:
botanicgardens.sa.gov.au/whats-on/acis-and-galatea
Warm up with AFL MAX
AFL MAX has plenty of activities to get you moving – out of the house and back at MAX! The recreational facilities will be open for the Adelaide School Holidays October 2020, filled with plenty of exciting facilitated play.
The AFL MAX specialty is getting kids active and having fun and there are a range of offers and activities available for the Adelaide School Holidays in October.
With all regular sessions available throughout the holidays, as well as MAX Active Holiday camps, there’s something for every kid of every age and ability level!
AFL MAX also hosts birthday parties, for more party venue ideas check out our KIDDO Adelaide Party Venue guide
32 Butler Bvd, Adelaide Airport
For more information on what’s happening at AFL MAX in the September/October Adelaide school holidays:
aflmax.com.au/school-holidays/
Jump into BOUNCE!
We’re all jumping for joy, because Bounce is where it’s at for kids in the Adelaide School Holidays this September/October!
Good news for parents too; the BOUNCE tribe have recently built a brand new check-in and cafe experience for bouncers to enjoy, so you can sit back, relax and watch on as your little people bounce their little hearts out and you have to do absolutely nuhhhhthing. Ahhhhh.
With extra seating, large balcony viewing area and dedicated power for laptops and phones, parents and caregivers can work remotely while watching their little people leap, spring, skip and bound across the whole BOUNCE venue!
BOUNCE also hosts birthday parties, for more party venue ideas check out our KIDDO Adelaide Party Venue guide
To book your sessions and get bouncing:
164-168 Richmond Rd, Marleston
Play mini golf at The Beachouse
GET READY TO PAR-TEE!
The freshly renovated mini golf course at The Beachouse is ready to go with an updated look and a whole lot of new obstacles!
The surfaces have been stripped back, new greens installed, upgraded landscape garden masterpieces added and some awesome new obstacles… let’s just say the course is looking beauTEEful, there are no ifs, ands or putts about it!
Need a little more convincing? Surely not! Check out our review of the mini golf course at The Beachouse.
If you’re not keen to try your hand at a little putt putt, there’s so much more to do at The Beachouse!
From waterslides (yes, they’re heated!), to arcade games, dodgem cars, bumper boats, and a 7 storey high play castle… not to mention the 120 year old historic carousel, a day of the Adelaide school holidays spent at The Beachouse is a day having all the fun imaginable.
The Beachouse will be open every day of the school holidays!
Funtopia Prospect
Jump into the full swing of indoor adventures
Your kiddos can look forward to a funbelievable time these October school holidays; whether it’s climbing up Jack’s beanstalk, scaling brick buildings or climbing Funtopia’s interactive pro climbing walls, they’re going to keep going back for more, over and over again!
There’s something for all the kiddos, big and small, with Playground World and Toddler World offering an alternative to the common playground, with super slides, go carts and a mirror maze to keep little people busy and buzzing.
But the kids don’t get all the fun!
Mr Spriggin’s Cafe is fully licensed (woot woot!) and parents, family members and friends can sit and watch their little people while indulging in good food and great coffee by Five Senses.
Mr Spriggin’s Naughty and Nice menu, put together by Executive Chef Stewart Wesson (of Whistle and Flute fame!), has been recently refreshed, with a section dedicated to healthy bowls, house made nuggets and even popcorn cauliflower for snacking!
Limited capacity and social distancing measures will apply. Online bookings essential.
For more information and updated trading hours:
259-269 Main N Rd, Sefton Park
Tree Climb Adelaide
Your tree top adventure awaits at Adelaideʼs first inner city aerial adventure park. Tree Climb has over 70 obstacles in 7 courses and thereʼs something for varying ages and abilities. Plus, youʼre outdoors in nature while youʼre having fun. Perfect. Tree Climb is perfect for children aged 3 and over.
Tree Climb also hosts birthday parties, for more party venue ideas check out our KIDDO Adelaide Party Venue guide!
Cnr Greenhill Road + Unley Road, Adelaide
treeclimb.com.au
Latitude
If cabin fever has struck a little these school holidays and the kids are climbing the walls, we have just the answer for you… head over to LATITUDE where they can, quite literally, climb the walls and burn off some energy while having the time of their lives!
With rock climbing, trampolines to bounce away on, a kids zone and just a complete fun-overload, this is a must visit these hols!
LATITUDE also hosts birthday parties, for more party venue ideas check out our KIDDO Adelaide Party Venue guide!
13-15 Fosters Rd, Greenacres
latitudeair.com
Hahndorf Farm Barn
Hahndorf is just a short drive up the freeway and is the cutest lil town you ever did see. Thereʼs loads to do there and lots of rich German culture and history to immerse yourself and the kidlets in. Itʼs also home to the Hahndorf Farm Barn where your little ones can get up close and personal, interact, hold and feed most of the animals with the cutest little residents from baby lambs to guinea pigs to donkeys. And itʼs educational too, children learn all about the animals as well as have opportunities to milk a cow and ride a pony!
The Hahndorf Farm Barn also hosts birthday parties, for more party venue ideas check out our KIDDO Adelaide Party Venue guide
2282 Mount Barker Rd, Hahndorf SA 5245
farmbarn.com.au
Windmill at Home
If your family generally enjoy a trip to the theatre in the holidays, this Spring September/October break might be a little different given a lot of theatre companies are still finding their feet again. But while many theatre’s are still closed across the country, a collection of innovative theatre makers have created alternative experiences that will more than fill the theatre void these holidays – without the stress of finding a car park!
WINDMILL AT HOME is an exclusively digital platform from Windmill Theatre Co that features a smorgasbord of content from their beloved performance repertoire.
Windmill at Home is offered free to the public and features recorded readings of Grug (including some lycra-clad grugercise sessions), and a suite of craft activities and Windmill’s award-winning immersive digital experiences.
For more information:
Mountain Goat Mountain
If you’re after something that you can all do together, MOUNTAIN GOAT MOUNTAIN is an audio lead theatre experience for families, perfect for an indoor activity during the winter school holidays.
This delightful lounge room adventure guides families through a series of activities to help them set up for a theatre show before stepping into their own imaginative world. This unique experience is perfect for families with children aged 5+
With an exquisite soundscape that transports you to ‘Mountain Goat Mountain’, families will explore tunnels, cross lava pits and dive through underwater caves without ever leaving their home, and at at just a fraction of the cost of going to the theatre.
For more information:
