13 February to 21 February. Term dates are set council by council, so treat the edges as approximate. February half term is the year's most honest break: cold, short and badly served by outdoor attractions, which is exactly why the free museums, the soft play tier and the aquariums earn their keep now.
Collected from the councils, libraries, theatres and venues running them, and refreshed nightly. More arrive as organisations publish their programmes, so this list grows between now and the break.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Perfect for 0, 4’s explore songs, rhymes, stories and sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme sessions.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
At baby clinic, families can discuss any health issues and have their child weighed and measured.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Join our playful sessions and meet new friends, explore the library spaces, learn new rhymes and songs and enjoy some sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme Sessions.
Come and join the fun at Limehurst Library’s Lego Club.
Come and join the fun at Northmoor Library’s Lego Club.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Runs on 17 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Come and join the fun at Fitton Hill Library’s Lego Club.
Parents, carers and children under 5 are invited to join us for a free play session (term-time only) Oldham Libraries
Join our playful sessions and meet new friends, explore the library spaces, learn new rhymes and songs and enjoy some sensory play in our Bounce and Rhyme Sessions.
Join us at our weekly bounce and rhyme event.
Runs on 17 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Come and join the fun at Failsworth Library’s Lego Club.
This is a free, drop-in event with no booking required.
This is a free, drop-in event with no booking required.
Runs on 5 dates, with a relaxed or autism-friendly session. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 13 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 11 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 12 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Runs on 12 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Join like-minded friends in exploring the natural world!
Nature-based outdoor sessions for your little ones.
Join us as we explore the outdoors with nature spotting, foraging and bushcraft.
Runs on 2 dates. Times, prices and tickets are on the organiser's own page.
Assume indoors and let a dry day be the surprise. These are the reliable indoor days, ranked by the venues families rate most.
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
The big pirate-themed arcade on the Central Promenade: free to walk in, with the Pirate Flyer ride, a ghost train, the Camel Derby and a prize shop. Kids eat free with a paying adult, all day, every day.
The city's story with an overhead railway carriage to climb aboard and Little Liverpool, a dedicated hands-on gallery for under-6s. Free, on the waterfront, and the window views are half the fun.
Free, right in the city centre, and properly set up for children: the Lion's Den family gallery has its own play space and the family activity programme costs nothing. Closed Mondays.
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
Planning further ahead? The rolling school holidays page always shows the current or next break, and the what's on board has everything dated across the region.