33 things to do with kids in Brisbane these school holidays

Kids love this time of year, when weeks of freedom stretch out before them, but parents can feel quite the opposite. With school on hold, how on earth do you keep children occupied without resorting to rectangular babysitters?

Beach trips north and south are one strategy, and there is no shortage of Gold Coast theme parks – if you can cope with the expense and the crowds. But we’re here to tell you that there are things to do right here in Brisbane to help pass the holiday period painlessly.

From kid-friendly theatre and exhibitions to brand new public playgrounds, from dinosaurs to swimming spots, from magicians to movies, here is a page of ideas to bookmark and refer to, right through to February.

Dad Bandit, Mum Chilli, Bluey and Bingo.Credit: Ludo Studio

Bluey’s Big Play
QPAC, Dec 30-Jan 20, $44-$84.

Parents will be nagging their kids to go see Bluey and family – for real life – via this 50-minute theatrical presentation from Bluey’s actual creators.

The Boy and the Heron
In cinemas from Dec 7

The first film from animation legend Hayao Miyazaki in 10 years has a boy going in search of his late mother in an alternative dimension. Don’t let them see you snivelling.

Bradbury Park in Kedron, Brisbane.Credit: Brisbane Times / Nick Dent

Bradbury Park
91 Kitchener Road, Kedron, free

Bradbury Park’s thrilling Playscape takes the form of a deconstructed fort in burnt-black timber, steel, rope and coloured glass. If the crowds get too much, try the park’s nature play space or new scooter track instead.

Carols by the River
Riverside Green, South Bank, Dec 18-23, free

Free carols take place each night at 4.30pm, 6pm and 7.15pm – bring a picnic or get takeaway.

A Christmas Carol at QPAC.Credit: David Fell

A Christmas Carol
Concert Hall, QPAC, Dec 8-14, $65-$75

Eugene Gilfedder is back as Scrooge – along with the ghosts of Jacob Marley and Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come – in another season of Dickens’ feelgood classic from Shake & Stir theatre company.

Christmas Putt Putt
Victoria Golf Course, daily from 6am, until Jan 3, $0-$20

This popular mini golf course takes on its yuletide livery again with tinsel, snow people and more. (If sold out, the Alex Hills Hotel in Capalaba also has a decent putt-putt course that has embraced the seasonal theme.)

Christmas Stories with R. A. Spratt
Brisbane Powerhouse, Sat Dec 9, 2.30pm, $25

The podcast star and author of Friday Barnes, The Peski Kids, Nanny Piggins and Hamlet is Not OK performs her favourite Christmas tales.

Daisy Hill Koala Centre

253 Daisy Hill Rd, Daisy Hill. Mon-Sun 10am-4pm, free

You can’t cuddle them, but you can observe koalas up close for free at this Queensland government-funded mini zoo and educational centre.

Dinosaur World Live
Brisbane Powerhouse, Jan 9-14, $64.90-$79.90

Lifelike dinosaur puppets come to life on stage, including T Rex, Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus.

The Enchanted Garden

The Enchanted Garden
Roma Street Parkland, until Dec 20, Mon-Sun from 6.30pm, $0-$9

Lights, holograms and lasers have turned the Celebration Lawn into a dazzling wonderland, with staggered entry nightly and bookings essential.

Fairy Tales
GOMA, until Apr 28, $0-$28.

GOMA’s family-friendly exhibition of art, movie costumes and installations based on folk tales includes costumes from movies like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.

The Gruffalo
QUT Gardens Theatre, Dec 14-16, $24

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s hugely popular picture book comes to the stage with its clever story of a mouse who outwits his predators with stories about a monster called a Gruffalo.

Hercules Street Park, Hamilton.Credit: Brisbane Times / Nick Dent

Hercules Street Park
18 Hercules Street, Hamilton, free

Yellow shipping containers have been repurposed into futuristic exploration areas, with cargo ropes and a tube slide, plus a huge, squishy hill made of wet-pour rubber. Cool down with a run down the avenue of water sprinklers.

Holly Jolly Kids
Little Stanley Street Lawn, South Bank, Dec 18-23, free

Every day at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 7pm, kids can take part in colouring in, a Wishing Tree installation and the Elf Dance Party.

Jurassic World by Brickman at the Queensland Museum.Credit: Anna Kucera

Jurassic World by Brickman
Queensland Museum, Dec 8-Jul 14, $19.90-$29.90

Ryan “Brickman” McNaught has built life-size dinosaurs and movie sets from Lego with models of Triceratops, Velociraptors, T Rex and many more. Don’t miss the museum’s free display of Queensland dinosaurs while you’re there.

Metaverse of MagicCredit: QPAC

Metaverse of Magic
Concert Hall, QPAC, Jan 4-13, $79-$149

Bring your phone to this interactive evening of hocus pocus by magicians including Ash Magic, Sabine van Diemen, Horret Wu and Charli Ashby.

Mia Muddle in A Forest Tale
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Jan 12-14, $59-$129

This full-length musical production is suitable for kids aged 3-13 and their families.

Migration
In cinemas from Dec 26

A family of ducks takes an ill-advised vacation in an animated comedy from the makers of Despicable Me.

The Mill Petrie Waterpark and Playground.Credit: Brisbane Times / Nick Dent

The Mill Petrie Water Park and Playground
1 Moreton Parade, Petrie, free

The park boasts a massive, colourful waterpark with “crab” fountains and one of those large tipping buckets designed to douse delirious children – along with the odd unsuspecting adult.

Museum of Brisbane Summer School Holidays
Level 3, Brisbane City Hall, Mon-Sun 10am-5pm

Make carnivorous plant puppets, a badge or a flower sculpture, and join a guide inside the original cage lift built in the 1920s to do the Clock Tower tour.

A wombat goes about its business while viewed with night vision equipment as part of Nocturnal at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.Credit: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Nocturnal
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Mon-Sun 5.30pm & 7.30pm, $53-$79.

In Lone Pine’s new immersive night-time adventure, visitors are given handheld thermal imaging devices that pick up the heat signature of animals in the dark.

The Smeds and the Smoos
QUT Gardens Theatre, Dec 21-23, $24-$45

Another picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler – about star-crossed alien lovers – has been adapted as a live kids’ show from The Gruffalo team.

Ericsson ‘Ericofons’ at the Queensland Telecommunications Museum, aka Telstra Museum.Credit: Nick Dent

Telstra Museum
3 Oriel Road, Clayfield, Wed 9am-2pm & Sat 9.30am-2.30pm, free

The Queensland Telecommunications Museum is a surprisingly kid-friendly display of vintage equipment. Send a telex or telegram, and make calls on vintage receivers.

Storytime Ballet: Cinderella
Brisbane Powerhouse, Jan 18-21, $42-$63

A one-hour narrated retelling by The Australian Ballet will delight little ones (3+) and provide an introduction to the delights of the ballet.

Streets Beach in Brisbane.Credit: iStock

Streets Beach
Stanley St Plaza, South Brisbane, free

The artificial beach in South Bank is a rightfully popular must-do in the warm months. Don’t miss the Boat Pool and interactive water-play park, Aquativity.

Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium
Mount Coot-Tha Rd, Mount Coot-Tha, Tue-Sun 9am-4pm, free (Cosmic Skydome shows attract a charge).

Be greeted by a replica of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo spacesuit, spacecraft models and real asteroid fragments; peruse images from the Hubble Space Telescope; and examine other NASA memorabilia.

South Bank Christmas Cinema
River Quay Green, South Bank, Dec 18-23, 6pm & 8pm, free

This free outdoor cinema is showing seasonal flicks such as Elf, The Grinch and Home Alone 2.

Swimming pools
Various locations

Entry to the council’s 22 pools is just $2 this summer for all adults and children. The offer lasts from December 1 to February 29 and means that cost of living pressures won’t prevent you from heat relief.

Walkabout Creek Discovery CentreCredit: Lucy Stone

Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre
60 Mount Nebo Road, Enoggera Reservoir, Tue-Sun 9am-5pm,
$4.25-$8.90 (family $22.90); with Wildlife Discovery Show $11.45-$17.30

This small zoo overlooking the Enoggera Reservoir has snakes, lizards, a Mary River turtle, an echidna, Queensland lungfish, an emu and a pair of chilled-out wallabies. Star attraction Billy the wombat takes a walk with handlers once a day at 11am.

Wish
In cinemas from Dec 26

Marking 100 years of Disney, this newest animated fantasy concerns an idealistic teenager in a fantastical kingdom wishing upon a star.

Timothee Chalamet plays the eponymous young chocolate maker in Wonka.

Wonka
In cinemas from Dec 14

An origin story for Roald Dahl’s mercurial chocolatier Willy Wonka may sound like a terrible idea but with Paddington director Paul King on board and Hugh Grant playing an oompa-loompa, we’re sold.

Workshops Rail Museum
North Street, North Ipswich, Mon-Sun 9.30-4.30pm, $11.50-$14.50 (family $44.50).

The museum has locomotives spanning the history of train travel in the state. Kids can spend hours with hands-on gadgets demonstrating magnetism, electricity and the physics of train travel.

Wynnum Whale ParkCredit: Brisbane City Council

Wynnum Whale Park & Tidal Pool
137 Wynnum Esplanade, Wynnum, free

The popular “sprayground” features a pod of spouting whales and a tipping bucket. Next door, the huge tidal pool was built in 1932 is a great place to escape the heat and features a small spiral slide for the kids.