Things to do with kids in Manchester on Friday

The school holidays are almost over so there’s even more reason to grab some final family fun while you can today.

No doubt the long break has taken its toll on your bank balance so we’ve tried to find as many cheap and free events as possible to help you fill the summer.

We’re always on the hunt for events for kids of all ages to enjoy, so check out this lot and don’t forget to let us know if we’ve missed any events off the list via our Facebook and Twitter channels.

And if the weather isn’t on our side then take a look at our guide on what to do with the kids if it is raining for more inspiration.

The Whitworth

There is indoor and outdoor fun to be had at the award-winning Whitworth on Friday.

Summer Studio activities are running today from 11am to 2pm.

Explore, play and create together with your family, trying out new art forms.

This week’s activity is the ‘stop making sense’ draw, write and express workshop with Sarah Sanders.

All activities are free, drop-in and designed for all ages to take part.

The Whitworth also hosts Artist Sundays which are on each week and let you and your family explore The Whitworth.

The free drop-in event, for all ages, runs from 11am to 4pm.

Visitors can pick up an art hamper at any time during gallery opening hours. This is filled with art materials, ideas and a picnic blanket – which will no doubt be used indoors at this time of year.

These can be collected and returned from the welcome desks at either entrance.

The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER.

Gangsta Granny – Live On Stage

David Walliams’ hit book has been turned into a stage show and it’s running at The Lowry until Sunday.

There are daily performances at 2pm and 7pm, except for the final day when there is one show at 11am.

The play follows the tale of Ben who thinks he’s in for a boring night but then embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny.

Tickets cost from £19. To book visit www.thelowry.com/event/gangsta-granny .

The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ.

Legoland and Sealife

Sea Life has teamed up with Disney Pixar to enable its visitors to share in the antics of this summer’s blockbuster, Finding Dory.

Visitors can learn all about blue tangs and clownfish like Dory and Nemo. Join an interactive trail where you’ll discover facts about the real life versions of your favourite Disney Pixar characters.

Complete the trail to earn an exclusive Finding Dory reward.

If that’s not enough fun for one day then you can head to the nearby Legoland for more excitement.

From the City Builder play area to thrilling 4D showings of immersive films The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure and Lego Nexo Knights Legoland, not to mention the Merlin’s Apprentice Ride, there’s plenty to keep them entertained.

And its latest addition is the illuminations in Miniland’s very own Blackpool.

To mark the start of the 2016 illuminations in the seaside town, Legoland has brought the world famous light show to the Manchester attraction.

Legoland Discovery Centre and Sea Life Manchester are offering the ultimate fun day trip out for all – with online combi tickets from £17.50 for both venues.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk/manchester or www.visitsealife.com/manchester.

The Blackpool illuminations at Legoland Discovery Centre

Velocity

If you’re after a bit of action today then you could head along to one of Manchester’s newest trampoline parks.

An awesome vertical drop slide is part of the new Clip ‘n’ Climb experience at the Velocity trampoline park which opened in Wigan last month .

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Wearing a safety helmet and zip up suit, children hold on to a bar which pulls them to the top of the slide before falling down the 25ft drop at speed and bouncing off the bottom.

Other features include climbing walls, a ‘stairway to heaven’ to step across and a leap of faith.

Velocity has more than 90 interconnected trampolines, a foam pit and basketball and dodgeball courts.

The Clip ‘n’ Climb costs £10 per hour and includes the drop slide.

Trampoline sessions also cost £9 per hour, with a second hour costing £5.

Wheatlea Industrial Estate, Caxton Close, Wigan, WN3 6XU.

Seven of the best trampoline parks in Greater Manchester

Dinosaurs at Chester Zoo

If you’ve got a little dino fan in the family then you’ve only got until Sunday to catch Chester Zoo’s scary dinosaurs in action.

More than 23 life-like robotic dinosaurs have been frightening visitors since June when they stomped into the zoo for a new exhibition.

Dinosaurs! The Next Adventure – is the biggest exhibition ever staged there, and features one of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived.

It is free with the usual zoo admission and is running daily until Sunday.

Chester Zoo, Moston Road, Upton, Chester, CH2 1EU.

WATCH: Last chance to see the dinosaurs at Chester Zoo’s BIGGEST ever exhibition

Pop-Up Here sessions at New Bailey

There will be music, art, sports and more at these fun family sessions running at New Bailey over the summer.

Pop-Up Here, on the border of Salford and Manchester, will have midweek activities from 7am to 9am, 12pm to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm, as well as from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.

If you want to go along and bust-a-groove with your dance troupe, sing along with the pop-up piano, get some laughs at lunchtime comedy or show off your juggling skills, then head over to the platform between now and the end of August.

The idea is to offer ‘a fun and healthy way to keep the kids (and parents) entertained’ if you’re heading into the city centre for a spot of shopping or sightseeing.

Activities will also include circus acts, a caricaturist, and a pop-up spa.

New Bailey, New Bailey Street, Manchester, M3 5FS.

Clockwork Garden, Quarry Bank

The Clockwork Garden exhibition is an interactive installation filling the space with its strange metallic fronds.

Within it you will find a puppet theatre in a hedge, make cloud-gazing poems, add blooms of joy to the garden, marvel at mechanical artwork, investigate garden games and the growth of plants, and discover art from some brilliant contemporary artists.

The Clockwork Garden is open until September 11, from 10.30am to 4pm. Tickets cost £15.75 for adults, £7.85 for children and £39.95 for a family.

Quarry Bank, Styal, Wilmslow, SK9 4LA.

The Gruffalo’s Child, The Lowry

If you fancy a bit of indoor children’s theatre then you could head along to The Lowry where The Gruffalo’s Child is on until September 4.

Tall Stories Theatre Company returns, bringing Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s award-winning sequel to life in what promises to be a ‘magical, musical stage adaptation’.

The show lasts for 55 minutes with performances at 11am and 2pm.

The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ.

Mini Moose Land at Chill Factore

Mini Moose Land has had a makeover and the adventure playground is the perfect place for toddlers to chill out and experience fun in some ‘real snow’.

It’s a special play area specifically designed for tots four years and under and is packed full of a world of adventure to explore and toys to play on.

It includes a bespoke snow garden, complete with a giant snow maze and tunnels for your little ones to explore, with hidden toys and a slide and play area to keep them entertained.

Chill Factore has a number of ‘Snowlympics’ offers running throughout the summer including buy one get one free at Mini Moose Land, which costs £7 per person

Chill Factore, Trafford Quays Leisure Village, Trafford Way, Manchester, M41 7JA.

Seaside at intu Trafford Centre

There’s still time to take your little ones along for some beachside fun at the Trafford Centre.

Let the kids play in the sand with buckets and spades while you kick back and relax in the seaside deckchairs.

Visiting the beach and use of the deckchairs is free and there are charges for other activities including the carousel, water walkers, bungee trampoline, boats, pony rides and more.

intu Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8AA.

Red House Farm, Dunham Massey

Explore the new Scout-themed maize maze, enjoy a spot of afternoon tea, browse the farm shop, ride the barrel-train and have a run around in the outdoor playground.

The area around the farm shop and tea rooms is always free to access and free to use and there are charges for other activities including the maze.

The farm is open 9.30am to 5pm all week. Manchester Family followers can get a 15 per cent discount using the code summerfun16 when booking tickets online at www.redhousefarm.co.uk .

Red House Farm, Redhouse Lane, Dunham Massey, Altrincham, WA14 5RL.

Football skills sessions, National Football Museum

There are plenty of opportunities to get active at the National Football Museum over the summer.

FREE 30-minute football skills sessions are taking place at 11am and 2pm on week days through the school holidays.

Other activities include badge making, which costs £1 and also runs Monday to Friday from 12pm to 3pm.

National Football Museum, Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, City Centre, Manchester, M4 3BG.

Merseybay indoor beach, Stockport

Whatever the weather, Stockport families are guaranteed seaside fun as Merseyway Shopping Centre hosts its first ever Merseybay.

Families are invited to ‘come and play’ in a free six-metre by four-metre indoor beach filled with golden sand.

There are deckchairs to sit back and relax in, a beach hut and buckets and spades to build sandcastles.

Located outside Thorntons, the beach is open to children aged 10 and under from 11am to 4pm every day until Saturday, September 3.

Merseyway, SK1 1NE for the Great Underbank, multi-storey car park, and SK1 1HG for the St Petersgate/High Bank entrance to the top-level car park.

Sale Art Zoo

Families are being invited to join in a fun animal trail around Sale town centre.

Sale Art Zoo has had an absolutely roaring success following its packed out launch on Waterside Plaza.

It has introduced 38 life size fibre glass animals, including elephants and giraffes, to the streets, businesses and parks of Sale.

The display is a celebration of local man George Mottershead who was the founder of Chester Zoo and 19 of the animals have been decorated by each of the primary schools in Sale.

Two by Two created the exhibition and the trail offers families the opportunity to hunt for letters with the chimps that spell out a local area.

Alongside the highly decorated animal sculptures is an exhibition at Sale Library about George Mottershead who lived in Sale Moor until moving away to expand his animal business and ultimately open Chester Zoo.

Sale Art Zoo exhibition and animals will remain on display until September 12 and there will be some free workshops run by Two by Two during the summer.

Visitors can collect a trail map for free from Sale Library, Waterside Art Centre, Bean and Brush, Skipton Building Society, Traders Outlet, Jets Estate Agents, The Square Shopping Centre, Mr Simms Sweet Shop, Sale Moor Community Partnership, Cafe 56 and Serendipitea Cafe.

If you’ve got an event to add to the list email emma.gill@trinitymirror.com, post it on our Manchester Family Facebook page or tweet it to @familymanc.