Sydney's leading cultural institutions are presenting an impressive lineup of creative activities, workshops, and exhibitions for children and families during the autumn school holidays in 2025. From opera for babies to engineering workshops, sustainable fashion, and interactive art installations, these programs cater to diverse interests and age groups.
Sydney Opera House Kids' Program
The Sydney Opera House has a packed autumn program featuring the Australian premiere of You are the Sun, an enchanting opera for babies from UK's Hurly Burly (March 15-22). This sensory experience for 0-2 year olds combines gentle classical singing and play.
For toddlers aged 2+, Denmark's Madam Bach presents You Are Here (April 19-24), a sensory-rich production using vivid imagery, live music, and poetic storytelling to help young children discover their place in the world.
Families with children 8+ can enjoy DOG MAN: The Musical (April 12-27), returning after a sell-out season in 2024. This musical adventure features beloved characters from Dav Pilkey's bestselling book about a crime-fighting hero with a dog's head and a policeman's body.
Mimi's Symphony with Justine Clarke (April 12-13) introduces children 3+ to orchestra sections through a joyous sing-along about a little magpie blown from her nest.
Creative workshops include the Comic Book Illustration Workshop (April 15 and 23) for ages 8-14 and Make-Believe Masters: Putting on a Show (April 24), a full-day theatre design workshop for ages 12-16.
Sydney Opera House, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a visit to the Sydney Opera House, Sydney.
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Sydney Opera House, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a visit to the Sydney Opera House, Sydney.
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Autumn School Holidays program (April 12-27) offers in-depth workshops in engineering, sustainable fashion, and documentary making, plus drop-in creative sessions.
The three-day Creative Studio: Engineering workshops (April 15-17 and 22-24) teach students to build electronic devices using soldering irons and electrical components to create circuits, LED traffic lights, and more.
In Creative Studio: Sustainable Fashion (April 22-24), internationally acclaimed designer Hupfeld Hoerder guides students through fashion design processes inspired by patterns from the Powerhouse Collection.
Multimedia artist Miah-Tya Nungheena Gowland leads Capsule Documentary workshops in Parramatta (April 14-16) and Queanbeyan (April 22-24), where students create video collages inspired by Powerhouse Collection objects.
Families can participate in free drop-in Family Collage workshops with Eddie Abd (April 12-27), creating artistic family portraits inspired by the artist's work and the museum's collection.
See the full program here.
Museums of History NSW
Museums of History NSW presents Hope, a new digital projection artwork by multidisciplinary artist Hiromi Tango at the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks from April 11. This installation uses the building's facade as its canvas, connecting historical stories with contemporary audiences.
All Museums of History NSW sites, including Hyde Park Barracks, Museums of Sydney, Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Farm, and Rouse Hill Estate, offer free entry throughout the school holidays.
Special events include Sonic Spaces at Hyde Park Barracks featuring Eric Avery (April 4), and History Kids programs at Elizabeth Farm (April 23) and Vaucluse House (April 24).
The Museum of Sydney will unveil the Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country exhibition from April 17, exploring the evolution of Sydney's landscapes through materials from the Museums of History NSW and Beat Knoblauch collections.
Museums of History NSW Credit: Joshua Morris for Museums of History NSW
Student in hammock room with Learning Producer
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Museums of History NSW Credit: Joshua Morris for Museums of History NSW
Student in hammock room with Learning Producer
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia showcases 34 Australian artists across several new exhibitions, including Warraba Weatherall: Shadow and Substance, the first solo museum exhibition by the Kamilaroi artist, and The Intelligence of Painting, featuring work by 14 women artists. The 2025 Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission presents The Civilisation of the Abstract by Diena Georgetti, alongside new displays from the MCA Collection highlighting 18 Australian artists.
Families with young children can enjoy MCA Art Play (various dates, 10-11am and 11am-12pm), unstructured creative play sessions for ages 0-5 based on the Reggio Emilia early learning philosophy. These free sessions invite adults and children to lead their own creative journey with materials and prompts inspired by current exhibitions.
The Family Space: Drawn Together (until April 27, 10am-4pm) invites families of all ages to draw inspiration from Julie Mehretu: A Transcore of the Radical Imaginatory at a free drop-in activity space. After visiting the major exhibition (free for those 17 and under), participants can experiment with drawing materials and explore Mehretu's practice of large-scale layering and works on paper, with all materials provided including canvas, crayons, and collage.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Credit: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Intelligence of Painting
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Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Credit: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Intelligence of Painting
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum (AM) offers free general entry every day during the school holidays, with convenient access from Museum, St James, and the new Gadigal Metro stations.
On April 14, the Peruvian Metal Masters workshop invites children to learn metal embossing techniques inspired by ancient Peruvian artifacts from the "Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru" exhibition. Participants will craft their own wearable art pieces to take home.
Scientist for a Day: Geologist (April 15-16) is a full-day program where kids can conduct experiments, tour the collection lab, and meet experts Ross Pogson and Dayna McGeeney while exploring the science of rocks.
STEM Together: Sky High (April 17) is a family-friendly event where children and adults work as teams on challenges related to flight mechanics, problem-solving, and creativity.
The popular Scientist for a Day: Ornithologist (April 23-24) returns with behind-the-scenes access to the museum's specimen collection guided by Ornithology Technical Officer Emily Cave. Children will learn about bird anatomy, conduct experiments, tour the Birds of Australia exhibition, and survey local birdlife in Hyde Park.
For more school holiday inspiration visit Sydney.com.
Australian Museum, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Family visiting the Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru exhibit at the Australian Museum in Sydney.
#feelnewsydney
Australian Museum, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Family visiting the Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru exhibit at the Australian Museum in Sydney.
More Inspirational Stories
Every year Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s leading multi-artform festival, transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection.
Over 23 nights, light installations, music, ideas and food inspire global audiences and encourage cultural exchange across the Harbour City. This year the festival theme of ‘Dream’ will spark connection, wonder and reflection.
If you haven’t visited Vivid Sydney before (or need a refresher), read on. Discover the best vantage points to see the Light Walk, how to score the best tickets and where to savour the most delicious food and drinks. Find everything you need to know below.
Sydney lights up at 6pm every night
From Friday, 23 May to Saturday, 14 June the lights turn on each night at 6pm. This is when the festival’s light installations and projections spring to life across the Vivid Sydney Light Walk from Circular Quay, across the CBD to the Goods Line.
This year the entire Vivid Light Walk is free for everyone to enjoy. New buildings and landmarks that feature as part of the festival this year include Museum of Sydney, The Bond in Barangaroo and Challis House in Martin Place. Also making a welcome return is the Argyle Cut in The Rocks and the CTA Building in Martin Place.
The Vivid Sydney Light Walk
The Vivid Sydney Light Walk is an 8km stretch dotted with all the festival’s Light installations and projections. For its 15th year, the festival footprint has been redesigned to present five zones: Circular Quay and The Rocks; Barangaroo; Martin Place and CBD (for the first time since 2018); Darling Harbour; and The Goods Line and Inner City. Each connected zone will feature events from each of the festival pillars; Light, Music, Ideas and Food.
Be sure to wear some comfortable shoes and make sure you pack your camera – or make space on your phone to capture some stunning shots. Read our photography tips from Australia’s leading landscape photographer Daniel Tran so you can take some pictures that really stand out.
Top tip: take your time to explore the Light Walk over multiple nights!
Vivid Sydney Light 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Drawn in Light
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Vivid Sydney Light 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Drawn in Light
Vivid Sydney Light 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
House of Romance
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Vivid Sydney Light 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
House of Romance
Vivid Sydney is so much more than a light festival
Let music move you
The Vivid Music program offers a diverse range of exclusive concerts, free gigs and a late-night Supper Club. There’s something to get everyone moving.
Tumbalong Nights will return to Darling Harbour with a focus on music in diaspora communities and First Nations artists singing in their own languages. Featuring local pop darlings Winston Surfshirt and Ayesha Madon, the free concert series will also include V-Pop sensations Mỹ Anh and Chi Xê, Grammy-winning African artist Dobet Gnahoré, Stella Jang from Korea, India’s Zaeden and former bass player for Prince, MonoNeon.
Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House and Vivid Sydney at Carriageworks are a great place to start if you’re looking for global and local music icons. With multiple venues, there is always someone incredible to see, plus you when taking in a Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House show you can also enjoy the stunning projections on the Sydney Opera House sails.
This year, Oxford Art Factory will host UK rapping sensations Pete & Bas and Newcastle’s Steel City Dance Discs, Metro Theatre will see local labels Bad Apples and NLV Records celebrate their 10th anniversaries in separate events, and City Recital Hall will host German electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream as well as Soccer Mommy.
Plus, every Thursday and Friday of the festival, Mary’s Underground is transformed into Vivid Sydney Supper Club. A hub of late-night cabaret, curators Rhys Nicholson and Georgia Mooney have a jam-packed program of comedy, music and left-of-field variety nights up their sleeve.
Vivid Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Vivid Sydney Supper Club at Mary's Underground, Circular Quay for Vivid Music during Vivid Sydney
#feelnewsydney #vividsydney
Vivid Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Vivid Sydney Supper Club at Mary's Underground, Circular Quay for Vivid Music during Vivid Sydney
Vivid Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Crowds at Tumbalong Nights at Darling Harbour, Vivid Sydney.
#feelnewsydney #vividsydney
Vivid Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Crowds at Tumbalong Nights at Darling Harbour, Vivid Sydney.
Leave with a fresh perspective
Vivid Sydney’s Ideas program is a forum for inspiration. An opportunity to challenge and reshape how we think about the world and our place in it.
Beyond just talks, we explore this year’s theme of dream through live performances, walking tours, panel discussions, immersive dance pieces and other thought-provoking experiences.
D.W. Pine, Creative Director of TIME Magazine, will deliver the keynote ‘Where Do Ideas Come From?’ and internationally renowned scientist Professor Matthew Walker will present ‘Why We Sleep’ to delve into one of the most important but least understood aspects of our lives.
Free Vivid Ideas events include the weekly Firetalk series at Barangaroo Reserve, bringing together First Nations storytellers, and Endling, a major new physical theatre work performed nightly by Sydney’s Legs On The Wall.
Hungry for more
Vivid Food offers a smorgasbord of dining options and has never been more enticing. In a festival exclusive, internationally renowned food writer and TV cook, Nigella Lawson will curate three Vivid Sydney Dinners in the recently opened pedestrian tunnel Muru Giligu in Martin Place. Or enjoy the best of the world’s flame-cooked street food at Fire Kitchen, there’s something for all tastes and budgets.
Adjacent to the Fire Kitchen, Maryanne Street will transform into the Spice Lounge for Vivid Sydney – a place to spend time around the fire and take it all in. Carriageworks' legendary Night Market is also back for 2025, with young guns from Sydney’s top bars and restaurants stepping into the spotlight.
In addition to the culinary delights the Vivid Food program has to offer, Sydney is packed with incredible bars and restaurants for quick bites or a full degustation. The city gets very busy during Vivid Sydney, so we recommend making a reservation of you’re planning a sit-down dinner.
Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Fire Kitchen
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Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Fire Kitchen
Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Carriageworks Night Market
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Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Carriageworks Night Market
Getting here and home again
Our advice is: leave the car at home. There is limited parking and several road closures in the CBD, so opt for public transport instead. You can take the newly opened Metro, a train or bus to Wynyard, Town Hall, or Martin Place to be close to the action, or catch a ferry into Circular Quay. It’s a great way to see the lights from the water!
There are also accessibility facilities and services available to Vivid Sydney visitors who need them, such as accessible drop-off and pick-up points, and bookable accessible mini-buses.
Vivid Sydney is for the whole family
Vivid Sydney is for everyone – including the little ones! If you’re visiting with children, we recommend getting here early to beat the crowds, and consider visiting earlier in the week as the Light Walk can get very busy on the weekends.
There are also free ID wristbands available at Vivid Sydney Information Booths, which are helpful should your child get lost. You can also download a printable map of Vivid Sydney to keep to hand so you can find your closest information point or plan a meetings point should your group get split up.
Stay up to date
Make sure you’re the first to know about events, tickets and all things Vivid Sydney by signing up to MyVivid Newsletter. You can even let us know your preferences, so you hear about the events we think you’ll love.
Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Dance of Dreams with Danielle Alvarez
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Vivid Sydney Food 2025 Credit: Destination NSW
Dance of Dreams with Danielle Alvarez
