The best school holiday programs and activities in Canberra

Give the kids a chance to explore their creativity these school holidays with Art and Action at Tuggeranong Arts Centre (TAC).

For one day only, children will get to learn from local professional artists, musicians, dancers and actors, showing off their skills in 'an action-packed visual and performing arts explosion of creative joy'.

Kids can expect a morning of theatre sports and drama games before taking part in age-based art classes, using a range of modes and materials to create fantastic keepsake pieces. Collage making, anyone?

Fresh Funk will be there with bells on, running contemportary hip hop dance classes.

To finish off the day with a bang, musicians Katie Cole and Matthew Armstrong have high energy music sessions planned that will get everyone involved and having fun.

PJ Sims sung TAC's praises on Google. "I feel like this place is a real hidden gem," he said. "Magic happens here...The programming, the shows and the exhibits are world class."

Home to Australia’s largest reference library the National Library of Australia offers more than a collection of books. Housed in iconic architecture a visit is a fabulous way to nurture a love of culture, history, and the arts.

Each school holidays, the Library hosts fun activities for kids of all ages.

Next school holidays sees the National Library present a Photoprint workshop. In this two hour workshop, participants will have an opportunity to have a guided tour of the Viewfinder exhibition and experience producing a cyanotype print (which is a photo-imaging process using the sun). Bookings are essential, and tickets are $5 each.

Dostum wrote on Google, "A library of the nation, a great place to learn and think. I brought my children and their children's space is not that big or fancy but has lots of great books around for them to read."

Kids will have a dino-mite time at the National Dinosaur Museum over the school holidays, and participate in adventures they’ll never forget.

With 23 complete skeletons and more than 300 displays of individual fossils, the museum is an amazing place for young ones. Kids can visit exhibitions and participate in interpretive displays covering the history of life on this planet. They can also wander through the landscaped Dinosaur Garden and be in awe of life-like fibreglass models. Kids enjoy meeting ‘Stan’, Canberra’s larger-than-life dinosaur who is 20 metres long and six metres tall. They also love the fossil, crystal and minerals shop.

Zoe Baldwin wrote on Google, “The museum has a great range of exhibitions, with informative plaques for the adults, animatronics for the young ones and videos for all. The displays are fun for all ages, its great that the place is wheelchair accessible, air conditioned and photography friendly. My two-year-old (and hubby) had a great time.”

Woden Community Service offers a diverse and rich school holiday program, at schools in 10 locations across Canberra -Garran, Curtin, Torrens, Lyons, Duffy, Wanniassa, Denman Prospect, Red Hill, Evatt and Taylor. Programs are packed with fun, educational and entertaining activities that rotate throughout the holidays.

Activities vary from location to location but can include artist’s box, crazy constructions, cotton art, clay beading and melted crayon art. Memorable excursions and incursions are also woven into school holiday programs, such as movie days, fashion day, park crawls and scavenger hunts.

Morning and afternoon tea and lunch are provided, with yummy meals like stir fries, spaghetti and meatballs, and pizza muffins.

Woden Community Service school holiday programs are designed to keep kids active, learning and having such a great time they’ll be keen to return for more.

Risk management plans for excursions are available at each service or by request.

Tayyab Bashir wrote on Google, "Friendly staff who've always provided excellent services and communication."

School holidays are a breeze with the National Gallery of Australia’s (NGA) school holiday programs. From free tours and workshops to art-making spaces, there are so many ways the kids can enjoy the NGA. Activities includes storytelling, tours, making art, participating in performances and dance, and listening to music. Kids get to visit exhibitions and incorporate art into their lives.

Exploring the outdoor areas, including the Sculpture Garden, is a must. Activities are designed from young ones through to teens.

As Peta Crossley wrote on Google, “Amazing collection of Indigenous art … There's things for the kids to do and exploring outside in the gardens is a must. We love the fern tree garden.”

Located in the Old Parliament House building itself, the Museum of Australian Democracy is a living museum of social and political history. The mission of the Museum is to provide people with a deeper understanding of Australia’s social and political history through engaging, child-friendly activities to educational, enlightening tours and thought-provoking exhibitions.

As Google reviewer Celia Lancaster writes, "Beautiful gardens outside. Lots of Australian parliament history inside. Play-up runs during weekdays for young kids and is lots of fun. It's a great activity if it's raining."

As the largest provider of children’s services in Canberra, Communities at Work School Holiday Programs offer a huge selection of quality, engaging, inclusive and fun activities at over 10 locations in Canberra each school holidays, such as excursions to the movies, Questacon and Big Splash, battle games, inflatable obstacle courses and much more.

As Stephanie Brady said in her feedback, “My child has loved every minute of the excellent holiday care program, and comes home each day raving about the activities he’s been doing with his new friends!”