Family Friendly Activities in Melbourne

Ever been on holiday with the kids only to find that there are no family friendly activities? This will not happen in Melbourne! Melbourne offers an assortment of activities for the whole family including interactive art sessions, exciting amusement parks, educational demonstrations and hands-on animal experiences. Melbourne understands that with kids, they want to do things, not just see things. As such, there are an array of activities in which the whole family can take partake in.

There are some things you must do whilst visiting Melbourne, such as seeing a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), taking a Great Ocean Road tours or browsing the thousands of trendy shops. But when holidaying with the family in Melbourne, children can be entertained in a variety of ways. When organising your Melbourne tours, ensure that it caters to the needs of your young ones. Your tour could include visiting fun parks, encountering animals, as well as educational, art and cultural experiences:

Fun Parks

· Funfields, an outdoor family fun park at Whittlesea, is just 40kms north of Melbourne. This amusement park caters for guests of all ages, including attractions such as a mini golf course, water slides, go-karts and toboggan rides.
· Melbourne’s Luna Park at St. Kilda offers a range of amusements and attractions. These include roller coasters and ghost trains, as well as less scary rides such as a ferris wheel, mirror maze and dodgem cars. It is open most weekends and school holidays, and is accessible by public transport (tram and trains).

Animal Encounters

· Melbourne’s Aquarium along the Yarra River houses thousands of water creatures such as penguins, seahorses, stingrays, turtles, and of course sharks! There are various interactive events you can sign up for if you or the kids want to get a more hands-on experience, such as fish feeding and shark dives.
· Meet farm animals at Animal Land Children’s Farm, located in Digger’s Rest. This environment supports the learning and education of children in regards to how to care for and look after farm animals. You can get up close with cows, ponies, chickens and ducks. Similarly, Collingwood’s Children Farm offers children the chance to feed the animals and have a picnic under a tree along the Yarra River.
· Melbourne Zoo, otherwise known as the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, is located in Parkville, just four kilometres north of Melbourne’s CBD. The zoo is home to over 5000 animals from over 320 species, including elephants, lions, butterflies, giraffes, zebras, leopards, gorillas and seals.

Educational, Art & Cultural Experiences

· Scienceworks Museum in Spotswood is just seven kilometres south west of Melbourne’s CBD. The museum promotes science and technology education in a fun, interactive nature. Scienceworks offers displays, tours and activities that demonstrate various science principles.
· See a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) at Melbourne Park. Whether its cricket, soccer, AFL or rugby league, experience the atmosphere as thousands of fans get together to cheer on their team. This is the tenth largest stadium in the world and can cater for over 100,000 people.
· Artplay, near Federation Square, is an interactive art and cultural exploration. It enables creativity of children up to the 13 years of age. The supportive environment encourages curiosity and run workshops and performances. Children can work with professional artists to learn creative skills and how to apply them.
· Take part in the Aboriginal Heritage Walk in South Yarra. Experience Australia’s history by seeing traditional smoking ceremonies and demonstrations of the use of various local plants.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Melbourne provides a plethora of other activities to suit the whole family, such as ice-skating, cinemas, river cruises and snow trips. This list should act as a springboard, prompting thought about what you and your family wants to get out of your trip to one of Australia’s most beautiful cities.