A nature trail, creative activities and outdoor cinema: what’s on these September school holidays at Fed Square

Suitable for: all ages

Dates: 30 September – 2 October

Activities included:

• Nature Trail
• Design x Nature: Peckable Architecture
• Outdoor cinema: Feathers, Fins + Friendship
• Plant Life: The Nature of Design, at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
• Test Garden Open Day – Birds in the Big City

Morning: Pick up an activity sheet in the Atrium to get started on the Nature Trail – a treasure hunt around Fed Square, where you and the kids can discover some of the animals and insects that make Fed Square home.

Test Garden: While on the Nature Trail, you’ll go through the Test Garden, where you can see the Peckable Architecture installation – you might find some birds there gathering material for their nests!

Breaktime: It’s a relaxed activity that can be done at your own pace, so feel free to stop half-way through at Riverland Bar by the Princes Vaults for a pizza and a pit-stop if you need some refuelling.

Afternoon: Time to relax with the kids as you enjoy a film on the Big Screen! The Nature Trail finishes in the Main Square, so if you time it well, you can catch some outdoor cinema on the Big Screen from 3pm, as part of our Feathers, Fins and Friendship outdoor cinema program.

Optional activities:

• If the weather isn’t great, we’d recommend heading inside to an exhibition, such as the Plant Life: The Nature of Design exhibition on at NGV Australia, or the Margaret Preston exhibition. You and the kids can explore some of the artworks that are inspired by plants, flowers and nature.
• If you’re planning a trip to the Square on Saturday 3 October, the Test Garden Open Day is on. Urban ecologist Dr Jactina Humphrey will be leading a family-friendly workshop in the Test Garden, all about birds. Places are limited, so register online to attend.

Where: Main Square, NGV Australia, Test Garden

Cost: Free – just the price of your lunch and snacks (or BYO)

Recommended for: all ages

Date: 23 September

Activities included:

• Bupa Healthy Cities Step Challenge
• The Big Toy Swap
• Outdoor cinema: celebrating World Batman Day

Morning: If you have some kids who have energy to burn, we’d strongly recommend bringing them along to the Bupa Healthy Cities Step Challenge on 23 and 24 September. There’ll be games and step machines, and they can challenge themselves to reach 1,000 steps – which means one native plant will be planted!

Lunchtime: Head to Good Nature Hotel for a bite to eat in the beer garden in the Upper Square – there’s a playground there for the kids to explore if they’re not too pooped from their morning’s efforts!

After lunch: If you’ve got littlies (kids under 8), The Big Toy Swap is on in the afternoon, with toy drop off from 12.30pm. You’ll need to register to participate and then bring along up to six lightly-used toys to swap. Before the Toy Swap is an interactive session in The Edge where kids can learn about how they can become nature guardians – helping to look after the planet!

If you’ve got bigger kids, the Toy Swap is on in the morning, so we’d recommend heading straight to the Toy Swap, then joining the Bupa Healthy Cities Step Challenge after that.

Afternoon: If the kids aren’t totally done with the day, you can relax and catch a Batman film on the Big Screen in the arvo as part of our World Batman Day outdoor cinema program – screening at 3pm each day from 21–23 September.

Optional activities:

• The Birrarung Marr Walk playground has reopened – so you can head down there to check that out before the film, or if you’ve packed your lunch, it’s a great spot to relax, eat while the kids play.

Where: Atrium, The Edge, Good Nature Hotel beer garden, Main Square

Cost: Free – just the price of your lunch and snacks (or BYO)

Recommended for: pre-school and primary-aged kids

Date/s: 29 September–2 October

Activities included:

• Paper Planet by Polyglot Theatre
• The Cat Returns at ACMI (note: no screening on 2 October, tix $9–14)
• + optional workshops at Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) and Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS)

Morning: Pop into The Edge to explore Paper Planet by award-winning theatre company Polyglot Theatre. Kids can add to the expanding world of cardboard trees and paper creatures, as they explore, create and conjure stories through play and imagination.

Lunchtime: Time for some sushi from the sushi train at Chocolate Buddha! Yum yum.

Afternoon: Studio Ghibli’s classic animated film The Cat Returns is screening as part of ACMI’s Kids’ Flicks with Feelings program.

As ACMI’s film curator says, the film is “one of Studio Ghibli’s most delightfully offbeat films,” featuring “talking cats, enchanted kingdoms and one very dapper Baron,” but “beneath the film’s playful humour and imaginative world-building lies a thoughtful story about self-belief and choosing one’s own future.”

A great pick to end a day of imagination and adventure at the Square!

Optional activities:

• On Friday 2 October, there’s a free Bush Toys with Aunty Bronwyn Razam workshop from 11am–2pm at Koorie Heritage Trust. These free creative workshops usually book out as there are limited places, but they’re a top tip for spending a relaxed morning with the kids.
• On 29 September and 1 October at Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS), they’re running a low-cost workshop Recycled Rhythms – kids can tinker with DIY electronics and make simple musical circuits from discarded tech!

Where: The Edge, Chocolate Buddha, ACMI, MESS, KHT

Cost: Tix for The Cat Returns are $9–14. Tix for Recycles Rhythms at MESS are $7. All other activities are free – just with the addition of the price of your lunch and snacks (or BYO)