There is SO much on these school holidays – why not treat those hard working school kiddos to something more than just the old-faithful video games, arcades or movies?

We’ve recently previewed a whole bunch of family-friendly fun for you these September School holidays, and much of it you can only see during the Victorian, Canberra and NSW September school holidays!

1. – Sydney – WICKED the Musical

WICKED Australia is the smash hit musical now playing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

The untold true story of the witches of Oz, this wonderful musical is such a treat to see. We absolutely loved it from start to finish, with its blockbuster musical hits, amazing effects and sets.

Before the show there are even special Wicked themed Green Elixer and purple Ozmopolitan cocktails ($22 each) for Mum or Dad to try!

Wicked makes a great Sydney school holidays outing for families with older kids and teenagers to enjoy together!

What ages is Wicked suitable for?

The official recommended age to watch Wicked the Music is eight and up. There are some scary scenes and loud noises that may frighten younger children. (All theatre-goers must hold a valid ticket.)

How much are tickets to Wicked?

Ticket prices for Wicked Sydney start from $69 each for seats in the Stalls.

When is Wicked on?

Wicked is playing throughout the September school holidays into the Christmas Holidays until 21st of January 2023

Where can I buy tickets to Sydney Wicked?

You can get tickets to Sydney Wicked and find out more information at the official website here

See our Instagram reel of our opening night at Sydney WICKED here

Where is Wicked playing?

Sydney Lyric Theatre is located inside the Star City casino complex, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont NSW – you’ll find it on Google Maps here.

2. – Melbourne – LEGO® exhibition – RELICS: A New World Rises

Melbourne Museum is one of Australia’s best. We always try to drop in whenever we’re in Melbourne – they have some amazing exhibits, including a full-size, real dinosaur skeleton!

Right now the Melbourne Museum have another reason to visit. The extra-special exhibit for LEGO® Lovers RELICS: A New World Rises is a LEGO® Minifig bonanza. These LEGO displays look simply amazing but really, we would expect nothing less because they are all created by LEGO Masters TV show 2020 Winners Jackson Harvey and Alex Towler.

This first of its kind exhibition is definitely one to check out these Melbourne school holidays. Be sure to give yourselves plenty of time to explore the Museum too, it’s brilliant for kids and truly world-class.

What ages is the Melbourne Museum suitable for?

The Melbourne Museum is suitable for all ages.

How much does the Melbourne Museum cost?

RELICS: A New World Rises LEGO exhibition price includes your Melbourne Museum entrance.

RELICS Lego entry tickets cost:

Adult $27.50
Senior $22.50
Child/Concession $17.50

When is RELICS: A New World Rises LEGO exhibition on?

9am – 5pm during the September School Holidays right through the Christmas – Summer School Holidays

Where is the Melbourne Museum?

Melbourne Museum is located at 11 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053 – you’ll find it on Google Maps here.

More info at the Melbourne Museum official website here

Melbourne attractions online pass

Alternatively, you can just visit the Melbourne Museum only without paying to see the special RELICS exhibition – buy standard $15 tickets online with standard entry tickets or you can buy a Klook Melbourne Pass starting from $68 which gives you the option to select from a range of Melbourne attractions including the Melbourne Museum at a discounted price. You can see the full list of Melbourne attractions here.

3. – Canberra – Floriade flower festival 2023

If you think a flower festival sounds boring for kids you couldn’t be more wrong! Floriade is an amazing annual festival for every member of the family with its acres of stunning blooms, exciting garden paths to explore, plus more gorgeous photo spots than you can poke a stick at! There’s plenty of retail therapy of the garden variety too.

The kids certainly aren’t left out, and there’s even more than ever this year. The gorgeously decorated children’s gardens are always a hit – this year’s theme is Alice in Wonderland. There’s a super fun comical circus-style performance of Circus Wonderland: A Neverland Adventure in the new Wonderland Spiegeltent plus the essential big Ferris wheel ride and more.

Is there food at Floriade?

You won’t go hungry or thirsty at Floriade! There’s lots of yummy food stalls plus the delicious pop up Agostini’s pavilion Italian restaurant. Bars include the Bentspoke Brewing Beer Garden, Underground Spirits Gin Garden and more.

Is Floriade Canberra suitable for children?

Yes, Floriade flower festival in Canberra is suitable for all ages.

Floriade is free! There is no entry fee for Canberra Floriade.

When is Canberra Floriade 2023?

Canberra Floriade runs from 16 September to 15th of October 2023

What is Floriade Nightfest?

Nightfest is an extra after-hours (tickets required) Floriade event offering running from 28 September to 1 October. There are evening entertainment, food and drink offerings.

Is there a Floriade Tour?

There is a Floriade Tour available. Tickets can be purchased from Klook attractions here.

What time does Floriade open?

Floriade is open from 9.30am – 5.30pm every day (last entry is at 5:15pm)

Where is Canberra Floriade located?

Floriade is located inside Commonwealth Park, off Commonwealth Avenue, Canberra – you’ll find it on Google Maps here.

More Canberra Floriade info at the official website here
See our Instagram reel of our Floriade sneak peek here

4. – Sydney – Waru – journey of the small turtle – Bangarra Dance Theatre

Waru – journey of the small turtle is Bangarra’s first performance especially for young children. A story of discovery and survival inspired by the lives of green turtles. This charming immersive and interactive Torres Strait Islander culture dance performance is designed for small children ages 3-7 years to enjoy.

The show will also travel to several other Australian cities after the September school holidays, including Geelong, Goulburn, Shoalhaven, Cairns and Darwin.

How much do tickets to Waru cost?

Tickets to Waru – journey of the small turtle are $35 each or $30 each if you are buying four tickets.

When is Waru Journey of the Small Turtle on?

Waru Journey of the Small Turtle is on from 28 September to 14 October 2023

Where is the Bangara Dance Theatre?

Bangara Dance Theatre is located on Wharf 4/5, 15 Hickson Rd, Dawes Point NSW 2000 – you’ll find it on Google Maps here.

More info and tickets for Waru can be found on the official website here

5. – Sydney – Jurassic World – The Exhibition

Take a stroll around some of the biggest, most life-like dinosaur robots ever at Jurassic World – The Exhibition.
We got a sneak peek of the new Jurassic World: The Exhibition at Sydney Olympic Park and it’s…huge!

What ages are suitable for Jurassic World – The Exhibition?

Adults and families with school aged children and teenagers – not suitable for kids who may be frightened of big moving robots and loud noises.

What dates are Jurassic World – The Exhibition on?

From September 22nd
More info and tickets at the official website here

See our Watch our Jurassic World Exhibition Instagram reel here

Where is Jurassic World: The Exhibition Sydney located?

 Jurassic World: The Exhibition is located in the SuperLuna Pavilion, Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park – you can find it on Google Maps here.

Special Mention – coming in October….

Sydney (& Gold Coast, Melbourne) – Monster Jam

Rev-heads alert! Monster Jam monster trucks return to Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast in October 2023 – mark it in your calendar for a brilliant night of motorsport awesome stunts and family fun!

Monster Jam® is perfect for the whole family – we absolutely love it, and this year there will be exciting new Marvel monster trucks, including The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther and Thor! Plus the old favourites Grave Digger®, Max-D™ and Megalodon®.

What ages is Monster Jam suitable for?

All ages but consider bringing noise blocking headphones for little ones to help mute those noisy, revving engines!

How much does Monster Jam cost?

Monster Jam ticket prices cost from $27.50 (Child) $42.50 (Adult).

What are the Monster Jam Australia dates?

Monster Jam dates are Melbourne, October 7 2023, Sydney October 14 2023 and Gold Coast, October 21 2023

Where can I buy Monster Jam tickets?

More info and tickets at the official website here
See our Instagram Monster Jam 2022 reel here

Where is Monster Jam?

In Sydney, Monster Jam is held in the Accor Stadium Australia, Edwin Flack Ave. Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney – you can find it on Google Maps here.

Have you attended any of these events or shows, or do you plan to go? Tell me, or ask your questions in the comments below…

All information is correct as at September 2023 – theatre, exhibition, show and event prices may vary accordingly – always check the official websites as linked above for relevant, up to date information and prices.

The Let’s Go Mum Family were invited guests to all of the above shows and events and personally have (or will) attend many of them. As always, all opinions remain firmly my own.

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Hold onto your hats dinosaur-lovers – there’s a new BIG kid in town! Triceratops Horridus is Melbourne Museum’s brand new – yet prehistoric – exhibition, and he’s unlike anything your or your kids have ever seen before!

A REAL dinosaur skeleton in Australia

Did you know there’s a real dinosaur skeleton in Australia? This month we were really excited to be invited to attend the official opening of the Triceratops Dawn of the Dinosaurs at Melbourne Museum

Watch our video tour of the opening event & new dinosaur exhibition

No time to read? Watch our video tour of the Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs launch VIP Melbourne event and Triceratops exhibition.

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here 

The Melbourne VIP celebrity event of the year!

You could cut the excitement with a flint at the VIP opening event of Triceratops at the Melbourne Museum.

Held after-hours in an empty Melbourne Museum prior to the Members preview event, Melbourne’s VIPs, celebrities and influencers – many with excited children in-hand – arrived to find an official grand opening event full of dino fun!

Dinosaur themed launch party fun

Upon arrival to the Museum, guests were directed to the event room fitted-out to Jurassic Park proportions.

Dinosaur themed treats

Dinosaur fans young and old were served with dino-themed drinks, appetisers and snacks. Dinosaur treats such as dinosaur gingerbread cookies and even gold-covered chocolate dinosaur droppings made a really fun novelty, and set the dinosaur theme perfectly.

Dinosaur themed crafts

There were lots of dinosaur themed crafts for the kids at the event too, including a Triceratops hat and mask-building station, and a special photo wall provided the perfect place for some unique dinosaur event Instagram photos.

An expert-manned ancient fossil table

A table crowded with a huge dinosaur skull and dinosaur bone casts offered genuine fossil examples for guests to take part in some hands-on learning thanks to the help of a friendly and highly knowledgeable paleontologist.

A circulating baby Triceratops puppet man kept everyone completely enchanted, particularly the toddlers and babies who were completely convinced they were patting a baby Triceratops!

Official Melbourne Museum exhibition opening

Official ceremonies included speeches and further historic, statistical fun facts and background on just how amazing the new Museum acquisition is. Then it was time for the main event – actually visiting the much-anticipated Triceratops Horridus exhibition – Triceratops: The Fate Of The Dinosaurs.

Triceratops: The Fate Of The Dinosaurs

Located in the dinosaur section of the Melbourne Museum where there is already a large collection of impressive dinosaur skeleton cast models, the new exhibition provided a wonderfully interactive experience.

The opening night Melbourne Museum after-hours tour

Opening night visitors found themselves transported to a lost world – immersed into an audio-visual prehistoric jungle and river dating back 67 million years ago.

Dinosaurs roamed and thumped along the exhibition walls thanks to the clever soundtrack and projections that covered not only the walls, but also the carpet below museum visitors very feet.

Whilst it would be easy to spend a lot of time just enjoying the introductory walk-through experience, with the promise of a genuine dinosaur up ahead, people were spurred onward to emerge into the large space that hosted what has to be one of the most spectacular Australian Museum coups of all time – the world’s most complete Triceratops skeleton – Horridus!

Triceratops Horridus display area

Fully re-assembled and atmospherically and dramatically lit with an eerie jungle background audio, this real dinosaur skeleton stands a terrifying 2 metres high, this is the world’s most complete Triceratops Horridus skeleton. It’s mesmerisingly glittering – a product of the type of rock that fossilised the bones.

Triceratops Horridus dinosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous period, and went extinct half a million years before a mass extinction-level asteroid hit earth. An impressive asteroid representation is installed on one wall of the large display space surrounding the dinosaur skeleton.

Neither a girl or a boy due to the eons of time erasing such details, this Triceratops dinosaur is regarded as a “they”- and what an jaw-dropping sight they are!

Multi-level dinosaur viewing platforms

Multi-level platforms offer different perspectives of the huge dinosaur skeleton. A mid-way viewing platform offers a close-up overhead view, whilst the second floor gives plenty of room to spread out and appreciate this most impressive of dinosaur relics.

Also to be found on the second floor are further fascinating insights into dinosaurs thanks to a detailed bird feature display to accompany the various prehistoric displays spread over the two main floors of the exhibition.

A Melbourne April school holidays must-see

You can visit Triceratops Horridus now at the Melbourne Museum.

With its imposing stature and trademark horns, Horribillis is a spectacular world-class permanent addition to the Melbourne Museum, and truly needs to be experienced in person to be appreciated.

Melbournians and all dinosaur enthusiasts big and small – don’t miss this incredible new exhibit!

Essential info

How much does the Melbourne Museum cost?

Melbourne Museum ticket prices: $15 per person – pensioners and concessions (including single parent concession) and children are free.

Admission to Triceratops: The Fate Of The Dinosaurs is included in general admission – BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL

Where is the Melbourne Museum located?

Melbourne Museum address: 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053

How to get to the Melbourne Museum

Public transport: Trams, trains and buses all service the Melbourne Museum.

Parking: There is a Melbourne Museum carpark located underneath the Museum.

What dates is Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs on?

Exhibition dates: Triceratops: Fate Of The Dinosaurs with the world’s biggest Triceratops dinosaur skeleton is a permanent exhibit at the Melbourne Museum from March 2022

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Sydney mums, dads and LEGO enthusiasts big and small – did you know that Jurassic Park has arrived in Sydney?

Jurassic World by Brickman has moved from Melbourne, and is now installed and open at the Australian Museum! It’s the new Sydney exhibition for all ages.

The exciting new Sydney family LEGO exhibition

We were very excited to be invited to the VIP Preview and Opening Night of the brand new Sydney attraction. Located inside the Australian Museum, this LEGO display is the biggest of it’s kind in Australia!

Watch our video of the LEGO Jurassic World by Brickman opening night

No time to read? Watch our video tour of the Brickman Jurassic World LEGO Sydney event & tour

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here 

Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught was there!

Ryan ‘The Brickman” McNaught is Australia’s official LEGO certified master builder, and everyone was so excited to see that he was attending the opening night in person! As friendly as ever, Ryan chatted to the guests and even conducted a personal tour of the exhibition for the VIP Preview guests! Afterwards at the official event opening, Ryan conducted a question and answer session with the Australian Museum’s hosts. The LEGO fans (including us of course!) just couldn’t get enough of him!

A new LEGO Jurassic dinosaur!

A new LEGO dinosaur has joined the 50 dinosaur exhibition features too! The life-size Baryonyx dinosaur meets guests in the main entrance hall of the Australian Museum. Weighing in at 400kg, this new dinosaur was created using 102,317 LEGO® bricks, is 4.8 metres long, and is 2.5 metres high!

Wheelchair Access is available

In this new Sydney layout, the Jurassic World exhibit is spread over two floors, interconnected with escalators. But don’t worry – wheelchair and disabled access is available via the Australian Museum’s lifts.

A Sydney family exhibition must-see

This exciting LEGO show transforms Jurassic World — the blockbuster franchise from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment — into an immersive adventure that is the largest LEGO® brick experience in Australian history!

Entering through the huge and iconic Jurassic World LEGO brick gates is impressive enough, but inside you’ll find numerous themed dinosaur displays, DUPLO and LEGO brick building opportunities and challenges and 50 huge LEGO dinosaur installations made of over 6 million LEGO bricks!

Sydney LEGO fans of all sizes – don’t miss this special LEGO display at the Australian Museum – it’s must-see event, and only on for a limited time.

Sydney Jurassic World by Brickman dates

Jurassic World LEGO Sydney is running from the 5th of March until the 29th of May 2022

Located at the Australian Museum, William Street, Sydney CBD

The exhibition will be moving on to Brisbane, Australia following Sydney

How to book tickets to Jurassic World LEGO

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Melbourne mums and dads – did you know that Jurassic Park exists right under your very nose in the Melbourne CBD?!
Jurassic World by Brickman is the Summer school holidays exhibition for all ages!

The exciting new Melbourne family LEGO exhibition

After some Melbourne lockdown false starts, we were so excited to be invited to visit Melbourne’s exciting new Brickman attraction.

Located in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on the first floor, this LEGO display is absolutely huge!

Watch our video tour of the LEGO Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition

No time to read? Watch our video tour of the Brickman Jurassic World LEGO exhibition.

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here 

Ryan The Brickman has done it again!

You’ll find Ryan ‘The Brickman” McNaught’s epic, world-first exhibition at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Ryan McNaught is of course Australia’s official LEGO certified master builder. He is always coming up with fun new ways for LEGO fans to interact with everyone’s favourite building bricks.

A Melbourne summer holidays must-see

This exciting LEGO show transforms Jurassic World — the blockbuster franchise from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment — into an immersive must-do adventure that will be the largest LEGO® brick experience in Australian history!

We couldn’t believe our eyes right from the very start when we were met with the iconic 4-metre-tall Jurassic World gates (made of no less than 180,000 LEGO bricks!) as we entered the Isla Nublar! We knew from that very moment that we were in for a real treat. After all, this exhibit was made up of two of our favourite things – LEGO and Jurassic Park – what a combination! It definitely didn’t disappoint.

Take a Melbourne Instagram photo with life-sized velociraptors!

You really need to visit this exhibition in person to understand its sheer scale. Inside you encounter over 50 large-scale dinosaurs, props and scenes from the blockbuster Jurassic World movie franchise, including life-size dinosaurs in the petting zoo, a simply enormous Brachiosaurus you can walk underneath, minifig dioramas everywhere, and what has to be some of the best Instagram photo opportunities in Melbourne! Recreating some of the most iconic moments from the Jurassic Park films is so much fun (which of course my girls got right into – drama queens!). These included getting up close and personal with 2 life-size velociraptors! Rawrr!

Lots of LEGO building opportunities

You get to build your own mini Jurassic World and even dinosaur footprints in regular LEGO, but there’s also the opportunity for the preschoolers to join in too, with the more toddler-friendly DUPLO LEGO. Create hybrid dinosaurs, help assemble enormous LEGO® brick mystery mosaics, and even build your own escape vehicles to get away from a one ton T Rex model! (Truly the best LEGO Instagram shot in Melbourne right now!)

Melbournians big and small – don’t miss this special LEGO display!

With huge thanks to Brickman Exhibitions for inviting us to visit, Jetstar Australia for flying us out on our Melbourne adventure and the Melbourne Marriott hotel for giving us the most beautiful stay.

What dates is Brickman’s Jurassic World display running?

Jurassic World LEGO Melbourne is running until 30 January 2022

Book your tickets at Ticketek here

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The latest travelling family show to come to Canberra

We were so excited to be invited to visit Canberra’s fun new attraction Jurassic Creatures – but then the Pandemic hit and Canberra went into Lockdown, cancelling opening night. Several months later as Canberra emerged from Lockdown we heard that Jurassic Creatures was moving on without even opening due to government number limitations, but happily all that changed and Jurassic Creatures is back on and playing now!

Jurassic Creatures is officially known as an animatronics exhibition – and it’s a fantastic spectacle to see. This great interactive walk-through display will have kids of all ages enchanted by its massive dinosaur models, and the adults staring in wonder!

Watch our video tour of the new Jurassic Creatures Canberra exhibition!

No time to read? Watch our video tour of the Canberra dinosaur exhibition, Jurassic Creatures

The exhibit is made up of two large pavilions connected via an outdoor corridor, all filled with over thirty high-tech animated dinosaur models.

The prehistoric scene is a chaotic and delightful noisy one. You walk through and past lots of roaring and chittering dinosaurs “contained” within metal yards – it’s like you’re visiting a scaled down version of Jurassic Park – or a dinosaur zoo! Jurassic Park movie-style music plays through the speakers in the background.

All kinds of kid-friendly dinosaurs!

The T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Velociraptor and many other dinosaurs roar convincingly, waving their tails, lowering and raising their necks and opening their mouths as mysterious mists swirl around them. You can even “pet” some of them! The Ice Age is well represented with “Snow” falling down upon a massive Mammoth and even a Sabre Tooth Tiger!

From the smallest to the absolutely huge, every little dinosaur fan’s favourite is represented in this round up of epic prehistoric proportions! It’s learning by fun as each exhibit is labelled with it’s name, interesting facts and history – for example, did you know there was a Qantasaurus dinosaur, named after the airline who funded its excavation?!.

Much more than dinosaur animatronics

A “real” dinosaur character roams about to pose for photos, and there’s also some official photo set ups too – have your photo taken in a dinosaur egg or Jurassic Park style Jeep!

Scattered arts and craft stations can be found along the walk, and there’s a fun excavation area especially for kids to become a Paleontologist and dig out their own fossil dinosaur model from a powder egg using a mini hammer and chisel.

There are several Jurassic World and dinosaur themed jumping castles of different sizes to suit kids of all ages, including toddlers – and there are some fun game stalls to try your luck on, including a dinosaur dig and fair ground clowns.

Food and drinks stalls

A hot food caravan sells kid-friendly nuggets, hot dogs and chips, and next door to that is a snack bar offering popcorn, fairy floss and slushy bottles – even a dinosaur themed one!

Dinosaur themed showbags and souvenirs

At the entrance gates a show bag stand sells fun dinosaur themed souvenirs and a dinosaur show bag amongst others.

The fun Canberra families needed after Lockdown!

Jurrasic Creatures is a complete Canberra family outing that offers a lot of fun for everyone – it’s a very welcome attraction after a long and challenging lockdown for Canberra parents, carers and kids. Go have some fun, Canberra!

Jurassic Creatures important info

Where is Jurassic Creatures?

Jurassic Creatures is located at Majura Park Shopping Centre, Spitfire Avenue, Majura Park Canberra, ACT Australia – next door to the Canberra airport.

There is free parking just across the road near Costco.

How much does Jurassic Creatures tickets cost?

Can prams go inside Jurassic Creatures?

What dates is Jurrasic Creatures running?

Jurassic Creatures Canberra is running from the 3rd to the 28th of November 2021. (It then moves on to Queensland)

Times of sessions:

Wednesdays to Fridays sessions at 6:30pm each evening
Saturday 10:30am and 2:30pm and 6:30pm sessions
Sundays 10:30am and 2:30pm sessions

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