January 2024: What's on London with kids

Happy New Year! I’m spluttering in my sick bed, so I’ll keep this intro short.

This newsletter includes 20 things to do in January 2024 with kids in London, plus 10 more under 5s activities, and 10 exhibitions I’m REALLY looking forward to visiting in 2024 with my National Art Pass.

Before illness, our December was filled with friends, family, and festivities. Museum Girl met Father Christmas a whopping three times before the big day - at St Augustine’s Tower and Sutton House in Hackney, and the less historic Westfield Stratford City. Can you guess her favourite?

We found some calm amongst the chaos with a winter’s walk at Scotney Castle in Kent and on the magical Glow Wild lantern trail at Wakehurst with CSSC.

Thanks so much for subscribing to this newsletter. I’m currently doing some content planning for 2024 so if there’s anything you’d like me cover in a future newsletter or blog post, just hit reply!

A year of cultural adventures with the National Art Pass [AD]

The National Art Pass helps fuel our art-filled adventures. And as 2023 takes its final curtain call, it’s a fitting time to reflect on this year’s highlights and eagerly anticipate what the year ahead has in store. 

Here are four of our favourite places we visited in 2023, with their National Art Pass offers. And in the spirit of looking forward, I’ve also highlighted the ten London exhibition openings I’m most looking forward to in 2024, and how much you can save with membership:

Four 2023 favourites:

1. Me and Museum Girl were ‘Seoul’ captivated with Hallyu! The Korean Wave at V&A South Kensington. We were stars of our own K-pop music video with their fun dance interactive. Now closed. Usually £20 adult, £10 with National Art Pass. 

2. With a live brass band scoring pop anthems, free face painting and live mural painting, the National Football Museum’s family day proved to be a hat-trick for all ages. Batteries Not Included is filled with hands-on games. Until 25 February 2024. Usually from £10.50 adult, £5.50 child. Free entry with National Art Pass.

3. Museum Boy’s loved The Courtauld Gallery sensory family day - touching textured oranges, infusing pictures with real scents, and creating art in the serene gallery. Their next family activity runs on 16 February 2024. Gallery entry usually from £10 adult, free entry with National Art Pass plus 50% off exhibitions. 

Ten for 2024:

1. Through music, fashion, toys, video games, and social media, CUTE at Somerset House unravels the emotive power and complexity of cuteness. Altogether now… awwww! 25 January-14 April 2024. Usually £18.50 adult, £14 with National Art Pass.

2. Have you got what it takes to make it in the Roman army? Follow Rattus on the Horrible Histories trail through Legion: Life in the Roman army at the British Museum. 1 February-23 June 2024. Usually from £17 adult, from £8.50 with National Art Pass.

3. After rave reviews at the Venice Biennale 2022, Zineb Sedira: Dreams have no titles comes to Whitechapel Gallery. Dance in sets recreated from post-colonial and activist films, alongside performances, sculpture and film. 15 February-12 May 2024. Usually £12.50 adult, £9.50 with National Art Pass.

4. Play on the artist’s all-white chess set, contribute a photograph and heartfelt message on an expansive wall dedicated to mothers, or sow the seeds of peace on a 'wish tree' at Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind at Tate Modern. 15 February-1 September 2024. Usually £20 adult, £10 with National Art Pass.

5. See a magical world of children’s games from around the globe. Francis Alÿs at Barbican Art Gallery showcases poetic and political video works alongside a site-specific community project. 27 June-1 September 2024. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass.

6. Anthony McCall’s works are like stepping into a sci-fi movie, without the popcorn. Enter and explore large-scale sculptural forms created from thin mist and slowly evolving planes of projected light at Tate Modern. 27 June 2024-27 April 2025. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass. 

7. Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens at National Portrait Gallery tells the fact and fiction of the women who forever changed English history. With Tudor paintings, contemporary photography, costume and film. 20 June-8 September 2024. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass. 

8. Barbiemania shows no signs of abating with Barbie®: The Exhibition at Design Museum, London. Dive into this iconic brand’s history, featuring rare items from the Mattel Inc. archive. 5 July 2024-23 February 2025. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass. 

9. Be blown away by Van Gogh’s most spectacular paintings in the once-in-a-century exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at National Gallery. It promises fresh insights into his pivotal years in the South of France. 14 September 2024-19 January 2025. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass. 

10. Delve into the fantastical world of the master of gothic fairytales and cinematic misfits. The World of Tim Burton at Design Museum explores his remarkable creations and key collaborations with designers. 25 October 2024-21 April 2025. Price tbc, 50% off exhibitions with the National Art Pass. 

Find out more about the National Art Pass here. Add a free Malika Favre tote bag to your order in January when you use the code NEWHABITS at checkout.

January 2024: What’s on London with kids

1. London’s New Year’s Day Parade, aka LNYDP, features cheerleaders and marching bands, large inflatables, London borough floats and The One and Only Chesney Hawkes. 1 January 2024. W1. Free, drop in.

2. Start the year with art with a 30-minute family tour around Tate Modern, SE1 (2 & 6 January 2024) or Tate Britain, SW1 (2 & 5 January 2024). Each tour explores two or three different artworks. Free, drop in. Ages 5-11.

3. Play detective in the Family Murder Mystery Experience at World Rugby Museum, TW2. Analyze crime scenes, piece together alibis, and cross-examine witnesses throughout Twickenham Stadium to uncover the culprit. 5 January 2024. Paid, book. Ages 6+.

4. Explore the evolution of Fingerprints! at Bow Street Police Museum, WC2. Identify the criminal who left their fingerprints at the crime scene and create your own police-style fingerprint form to take home. 5 and 6 January 2024. Paid, book.

5. Wish for a good year to come via the ancient tradition of Wassailing. Family-friendly wassailing events include MHA The Wilderness, CR9 (6 January 2024. Free, book); Gunnersbury Park Museum, W5 (20 January 2024. Paid, book); Dulwich Village Orchard, SE21 (20 January 2024. Free, drop in); or Morden Hall Park, SM4 (27 January 2024. Paid, book).

6. Help Magic Box Stories tell a story using odd things found in their box at Open Sundays at Pitzhanger, W5. And it’s your last chance to see Idris Khan & Annie Morris: When Loss Makes Melodies. 7 January 2024. Free/paid, drop in.

7. A kingdom is torn between its old order and youth striving for hope and renewal in Cirque Du Soleil’s revamped Alegria at Royal Albert Hall, SW7. With a catchy soundtrack, exciting acrobatics, surreal costumes, vibrant sets, and fun humour. 11 January-3 March 2024. Paid, book.

8. Craft your own beautiful books in Family fun: bookbinding at Leighton House Museum. 13 January 2024. Paid, book.

9. Collaborate on exquisite corpse drawings, sculpt mini-beasts and bowls, find forms in blob painting and relief-print clay slabs in Camden Art Centre’s Family takeover: Making with Myths workshops. Saturdays 13, 20 & 27 January and 3 February 2024, NW3. Free, book/drop in. Best ages 3+.

10. Approach, touch and interact with giant soft robots in The Glowbot Garden at Strand Aldwych. It’s the largest presentation to date from creative soft robotics studio Air Giants. 17-20 January 2024. Free, drop in.

11. Winter Lights at Canary Wharf, E14 showcases 12 spectacular temporary light installations. Expect flickering flames, a meditative marble run, geometric monoliths, Squidsoup’s Submergence, and a larger-than-life laser projection. 17-27 January 2024. Free, drop in.

12. Did you know Shakespeare’s First Folio was stolen, burnt, drowned, and even shot at? Hear more in this family storytelling session with Kevin Graal at the British Library, NW2. 20 January 2024. Free, book.

13. There’s rare spaces on the perennially popular Great Fire of London family walk with Museum of London. Take a fun, family-friendly walk around the City of London exploring the Great Fire of 1666. 20 and 27 January 2024. Paid, book.

14. I’m so excited for Cute at Somerset House I’m giving it a second newsletter mention! There’s a games arcade for all ages and it marks the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty. 25 January-14 April 2024. Paid, book.

15. Enjoy Japanese punk pop by Frank Chickens, street theatre, and a benshi narrating a 1920s anime with live music in Celebration of Storytelling at Young V&A, E2. 27 January 2024. Free, drop in.

16. Celebrate Burns with the bairns in the Family Ceilidh at Grand Junction, W2. All ages and abilities can get that floor shaking with live music from The Ceilidh Liberation Front. Tartan optional! 27 January 2024. Paid, book.

17. Catch a special preview and pre-film workshop of Oink! (U*) with Barbican Cinema Family Film Club, EC2. This lively stop-motion from the Netherlands has gentle charm and plenty of pig poo jokes. 27 January 2024. Paid, book.

18. Join BAFTA-winning filmmaker Esther May Campbell at Wasteground Circus, W3 for free image-making and photography workshops plus The Red Balloon screening (27 January 2024. Ages 8-14). T A P E Collective host a workshop and screening for teens (28 January 2024). Part of London Short Film Festival. Paid, book.

19. Make a collaged creature magnet using natural materials and images with Zaiba Jabbar of HERVISIONS in Wild Wired! Family Day at William Morris Gallery, E17. 28 January 2024. Free, drop in. Ages 5+.

20. Trace beautiful, delicate prints and paint with watercolour in Sunday Sessions: Shadow Printing at Garden Museum, SE1. 28 January 2024. Free, drop in. Ages 3-10.

Please do mention me online or in person if you attend any of these events - how else will I know it’s worth producing these guides?

January 2024: What’s On for Under 5s

Here’s my selection of January’s cultural events that will especially appeal to babies and toddlers.

1. Have fun dressing up, moving and singing along to some favourite nursery rhymes in Story Space Read Aloud: Jarmel Carly Campbell at Tate Britain, SW1. 6 January 2024. Free, drop in.

2. Drop in to RIBA London, W1 for a morning of emboldening babies through play and exploration in RIBA Baby: Bricks and Bubbles. 9 January 2024. Free, book. Ages 0-3.

3. Tour through the galleries and explore the worlds of army rations, transport, animals and espionage in Mini Marchers at the National Army Museum, SW3. 9-12 January 2024. Free, drop in. Ages 2-5.

4. Free crafting, storytelling, singing and dancing sessions with Artburst in Pip and Posy and the Super Scooter at Museum of the Order of St John, EC1. 10 January 2024. Free, book. Under 3s.

5. Join award-winning artist and illustrator Dapo Adeola for storytelling and create your own monster at Monster Hunt at British Library, NW1. 12 January 2024. Free, book. Ages 3-4.

6. Touch, hold, stick, cuddle and learn how to explore the sense of touch in Early years studio: texture at Royal Academy of Arts, W1. 17 January 2024. Free, drop in. Under 5s.

7. Dwell in the dark den, create a snowflake mobile and wander the wintery path in Little Feet: The Wonder of Winter at British Museum, WC1. 18 January 2024. Free, drop in. Under 5s.

8. January and February event dates are now available to book for Post and Play at the Postal Museum, WC1. 18 & 25 January and 1 & 8 February 2024. Paid, book.

9. Make a curious owl shadow puppet and learn how to create a sensory light box at home in WOW! It's night-time family workshop with Little Angel Theatre, N1. 20-27 January 2024. Paid, book. Ages 2-5.

10. Tots on the Docks: At the Docks at Museum of London Docklands, E14. 31 January 2024. Free, drop in. Under 5s.

I’ll share more events for all ages as they are announced over on my Instagram stories.

Whatever you get up to this evening, I wish you a happy new year! May 2024 be the year we want, and need - and filled with fun.

Until next time,