Keeping kids occupied and happy during the holidays can be a challenge for any family. This week, “CityNews” has enlisted some of the Canberra region’s most engaging businesses to ensure the whole family can enjoy the school break.

KEEPING kids occupied and happy during the holidays can be a challenge for any family.

This week, “CityNews” has enlisted some of the Canberra region’s most engaging businesses to ensure the whole family can enjoy the school break.

Whether it’s an historical aviation tour, a virtual reality escape room, or a farm stay, there’s plenty of activities to keep the kids engaged and entertained.

Ignite imaginations at the Snowy Hydro centre

“WHILE visiting Canberra and the Snowy Mountains region, visitors are encouraged to stop by the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre to experience the mighty Snowy Scheme like never before,” says a Snowy Hydro spokesperson.

“Visitors can discover the scheme’s past, present and future and hear some of the stories behind the engineering and our people from our experienced staff, including former teachers.

“Our learning program will ignite visitors’ imagination and expand their knowledge about a range of curriculum including geography, STEM, history and social science subjects.” 

With a state-of-art immersive theatre, the spokesperson says learning programs can be complemented with a range of experiences including a virtual fly-over of the scheme.

“Our huge, renewable energy project, Snowy 2.0, is powering ahead and visitors can learn about the project, view a scale-model tunnel boring machine, and discover Snowy Hydro’s leading role as Australia transitions to a renewable energy future,” says the spokesperson.

“The Snowy Hydro education program is now available online with the launch of our brand new education portal Next Generation Education Hub. It provides easy-to-access materials designed to inspire, provide critical thinking opportunities and increase science literacy with real-life, practical activities suitable for the classroom or at home.”Snowy Hydro, Monaro Highway, Cooma. Call 6453 2888 or visit snowyhydro.com.au

Sing along with bears at The Q

AS the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre enters its 15th year, marketing officer Joel Horwood says The Q prides itself on presenting a diverse range of entertainment, from shows for kids to tribute bands playing music their parents grew up with. 

Continuing to “share the joy of live entertainment”, The Q is opening the school-holiday season with an Echo Theatre production of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, December 15-18. 

“With gentle audience interaction and songs to sing along to, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ is the perfect introduction to the world of theatre” says Joel. 

He describes the show as “a beautiful story of friendship and forgiveness, apology and acceptance, singing bears and a girl with golden hair”. 

“The beloved children’s classic is a story we all grew up with,” says Joel. “It’s a story for the whole family.

“There is nothing better than watching children’s faces light up as the story unfolds!”

Children are invited to stay after the viewing to meet their favourite character in The Q’s foyer.

The Q, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6285 6290 or visit theq.net.au

Sweet treats that span the generations

LOLLY Swagman has been exploring new tastes for nearly three decades, says owner Ian Richardson.

Located in the heart of the Southern Highlands, the lolly shop stocks all-time favourite treats and the latest-trending tastes from around the world.

“We’ve got American Reese’s, Hershey’s and candy corn, English bon bons and chocolates, sours and super sours, Dutch liquorice, Scottish tablet and our own Mrs Swag’s Fudge,” says Ian.

“We lost count at 1300 different treats and we know it’s more than that.”

Ian says the store is a common stop on people’s trips to Berrima.

“It’s a happy place with kids excitedly exploring for new tastes, older people reminiscing and sharing in the thrill of finding a favourite and the great stories that go with them,” he says.

“We often see people who’d come as children now bringing in their own children and sharing their experiences, which is lovely to be allowed to join in on. It’s nice to have that history.”

Lolly Swagman, 11 Old Hume Highway, Berrima. Call 4877 1137, or visit lollyswagman.com.au

Canberra’s first virtual reality arcade

CANBERRA’s first virtual reality arcade, VR Canberra, will “bring your children’s imagination to life” during these school holidays, says host, Pranav Sood. 

Pranav became involved in the business this year, inspired by his son’s enjoyment of virtual reality during a family trip to Canada. 

He says VR Canberra is a “dedicated virtual reality gaming place for kids and adults to enjoy the indoors with friends and family.” 

“This is not just a gaming experience, it is also an educational tool that allows kids to connect to their inner self and make them imagine and see what is possible.” 

Since Pranav’s involvement, he has expanded their game collection to ensure everyone is “visually, physically and emotionally astonished by new virtual worlds filled with awe-inspiring rides, characters, sights and sounds.”

The gaming library includes “multiple virtual reality games, roller coasters, driving simulators as well as VR escape rooms.”

“VR Canberra is the perfect place for birthday parties, school holidays, family and friend gatherings, corporate social parties and school excursions,” says Pranav. 

During the weekdays of the ACT school holidays, Pranav says VR Canberra is offering three hours of unlimited games and rides for at least four players at $70 a person.

He says adults too can join the school holiday fun with VR Canberra’s corporate and work party space with virtual reality escape rooms for more than 35 people.

VR Canberra, Shop 5/83-101 Lysaght Street, Mitchell. Call 6262 1260, or visit VRcanberra.com.au

Aviation museum where the sky’s the limit

DOUG Philpott, senior tour guide at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum, says it has many notable pieces.

“We’ve got probably one of the largest collections of aircraft that reflect Australia’s aviation history. We’ve got about 50 aircraft here,” he says.

“We’ve got the only flying Constellation in the world. It’s a 1940s-1950s airliner.

“We only do escorted tours because it’s a working museum, and it helps people to understand the history of what they’re seeing.

“It’s also a touch-and-feel museum. It’s not one where you stand behind a rope and look, and there’s a number of aircraft you can actually get into as well. We’re very proud of it.

“It is undercover, so it’s good for wet weather, and it’s good for kids because there’s lots of little things they can play with.”

Guided tours usually run for an hour and a half, but Doug says they can be tailored.

“Kids only last 20 minutes sometimes, and if it’s a quiet day and the people who come in are enthusiasts, then we’ll spend more time with them.

He says the museum also recently opened the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame.

“There’s a significant display of people and organisations who have been significant to Australia’s aviation history,” Doug says.

HARS Aviation Museum, Shellharbour Airport, 54 Airport Road, Albion Park Rail, NSW. Call 4257 4333, or visit hars.org.au

A weekend escape to open spaces

MICHELAGO Farm Camping is surrounded by lovely bushland, says owner Belinda Sierzchula, and all the money that comes from campers goes back into restoring the natural environment there.

“We’ve got four defined camping spots for tents or caravans, but often people just camp wherever they feel like it and we’re pretty flexible,” Belinda says.

“We’re nice and close to Canberra, so it’s really accessible for a quick weekend away or a longer stay without too much driving.”

Belinda says there’s plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained.

“There’s a kids’ play area with a ninja line and large trampoline plus some ‘hidden bases’ in our gullies to keep them busy while the adults relax.

“We’ve got a small dam here, too, and some kayaks for kids to paddle around in, and we’ve got some very cute, cheeky miniature donkeys, alpacas and goats that kids can feed. At the moment we have a few ducklings that recently hatched.”

Belinda says all campsites have a firepit, and there’s a little general store that makes “the best burgers and chips” to go with the “amazing views of the mountains here”.

“It’s a nice way to share a little bit of our lifestyle with people who don’t get that experience in town, with the animals, open spaces, bushland and the sensational view,” she says.

Michelago Farm Camping & Yoga, 6141 Monaro Highway, Michelago, NSW. Call 0411 043027, or visit hipcamp.com

Get kids creative and screen-free these school holidays

BRICKS 4 Kidz is a Canberra institution that has entertained thousands of children since it was established in 2017, says owner Mark Jefferies.

“Our holiday workshops are unique: we run full-day programs where children work at a number of different Lego stations to give them variety, which includes motorised Lego Technic and traditional Lego bricks with instructions and bags of free play where they are encouraged to use their own imagination.”

What sets Bricks 4 Kidz apart, says Mark, is its amazing instructors who love teaching kids.

“We have a passion for providing a fun and nurturing environment for all of our little builders,” he says, “and it’s screen-free fun.”

And, the workshops are customised to the age of the children and are educational.

“Children will learn basic STEM concepts through the use of motors and gears with our LEGO Technic.”

Bricks 4 Kidz. Call 0481 240311, or visit bricks4kidz.com.au/act-northside