Activity Quest: Days out and crafts for kids

Adam visits Oxford Castle and Prison to step back in time and explore the city's past.
There has been something standing on this spot for a thousand years, and a costumed guide walks you through the lot, from Viking raids and the Norman conquest to the beginnings of education in Oxford and the city's long history of crime and punishment. The buildings were still a working prison until 1996, so the cells are the real thing rather than a reconstruction... There is a climb up St George's Tower for a view out across the rooftops, and the castle mound next door is free to walk up whenever you like.
It is open every day from 10am to 5pm, with tours setting off every fifteen to thirty minutes. Under fives go free, although they are not allowed up the tower.
Find out more by searching for Oxford Castle and Prison.
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Adam is off to Forest Hill in south London for the Horniman Museum and Gardens, and the curious tale of a very overstuffed walrus...
The walrus arrived in London in Victorian times, and the story goes that the taxidermist who prepared it had never seen a live one, so he filled out every last wrinkle until it ended up smooth, round and enormous. It has been a south London favourite ever since. There is far more to the Horniman than the walrus though. The World Gallery is packed with objects from across the globe, there is a famous collection of musical instruments, an aquarium and a butterfly house, an Animal Walk that opens in the afternoons, and sixteen acres of gardens with a view right across London.
One thing to know before you go: the Natural History Gallery is closed while it is redeveloped, and the walrus is off display until it reopens, currently expected in early 2027. The museum and gardens are free to visit, and the aquarium and butterfly house are ticketed.
Find out more by searching for the Horniman Museum and Gardens.
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This week Adam is wandering around the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, finding out what is on offer for visitors of every age.
The Ashmolean opened its doors in 1683, which makes it the first public museum in Britain, and what is inside now covers half a million years of art and archaeology. Egyptian mummies, Greek and Roman sculpture, treasures from Asia and paintings from the last hundred years all sit under one roof, arranged so you can wander from the ancient world right up to the present day...
Entry is free and it is open every day from 10am, with last entry at 4.45pm. Families can pick up a trail or an explorer pack from the Welcome Desk on the way in, there is a Gallery Adventure to follow around the galleries, and on Saturdays volunteers in the Money Gallery bring out coins from all over the world for visitors to handle.
Find out more by searching for the Ashmolean Museum.
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Adam heads into the City of London and then goes down, well below the modern pavements, to investigate the capital's Roman past at the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE.
Underneath the building is the temple of Mithras, put up by Roman Londoners around 1,800 years ago and dug up again in the 1950s. It has been rebuilt on the spot where it was found, and it is brought to life with light, haze and sound so you get a sense of what it might have felt like to step inside all those centuries ago... Upstairs there is a wall of objects pulled out of the ground when the site was excavated, and a changing contemporary art commission that responds to the history underneath.
Best of all, it is completely free to visit, although it is worth booking a slot before you go. It is open Tuesday to Saturday and on Sunday afternoons, and closed on Mondays.
Find out more by searching for London Mithraeum.
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Adam is off to Bedfordshire for a day at Woburn Safari Park, and he has landed one of the park's very special VIP experiences. That means getting far closer to the animals than most visitors ever manage, including the moment he gets to feed the giraffes...
Woburn comes in two halves. On the Road Safari you stay in the car and drive slowly through the reserves, with rhino, bears, tigers, lions, zebra, monkeys and elephants on the other side of the window, and you can go round as many times as you like. Then you park up for the Foot Safari, where there are walk-through enclosures, keeper talks and feeding demonstrations through the day, and animals including lemurs, meerkats, sea lions and penguins. There is plenty besides the animals too, from the Great Woburn Railway to the Mammoth Play Ark indoor play area and the Go Ape treetop course.
The park is open every day, with last entry at 5pm and the gates closing at 6pm.
Find out more by searching for Woburn Safari Park.
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