Affordable school holiday fun at City’s cultural venues

City of Newcastle is ready to welcome families back to some of its recently reopened facilities these school holidays while providing a range of online opportunities to be creative, experiment with science, or make something memorable.

With COVID-19 restrictions still affecting regular school holiday programming, the City’s cultural venues are getting creative to deliver a digital-led calendar of events sure to keep the kids busy.

These activities will complement the growing list of places reopening their doors to the public, with families also invited to get out and about - from a safe distance - and visit some of their favourite Newcastle destinations including Blackbutt Reserve, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle Museum and our Libraries.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the creativity of City of Newcastle’s dedicated staff would ensure families had plenty of options to keep themselves entertained.

“It’s been wonderful to welcome the public back into many of our much-loved facilities in recent weeks, with our art gallery, museum, and a number of library branches now open across the local government area,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Fort Scratchley has reopened for visitors, while Novocastrians can once again enjoy getting back to nature with our ever-popular walking trails, open spaces and animal attractions at Blackbutt Reserve.

“The reopened spaces have all adapted their operations in line with COVID-19 restrictions to protect the health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff, and we look forward to families making the most of these venues during the school holidays.

“We’re also offering a range of interactive online experiences which will provide children with plenty of options for home-based fun.

“From live-streamed science experiments and webinar-facilitated art workshops, to digital art classes and an exciting online youth music concert featuring rising local stars, the variety of free events and activities includes something for all interests.”

While entry to the art gallery and museum is free, online bookings for the scheduled daily sessions at each venue are essential to assist in managing numbers in line with our COVID Safe plans.

Families can find their perfect balance of school holidays inspiration at www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/School-Holidays, with information about all our face-to-face and digital activities now available.