04/02/2023

Family Fun for February Half-Term 2023

Looking for more up-to-date advice? Check out our 2024 guide to February Half-Term in Cambridge here.

This out-and-about guide from our concierge highlights the annual “Twilight with the Museums” initiative, when University of Cambridge museums host children’s activities as the days draw to a close.

1. Things that go: Cambridge Science Centre Pop-Up

The Cambridge Science Centre is a charity that aims to instill children with a life-long love of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Its popular pop-ups feature hands-on, bells-and-buzzers jiggery-pokery that entertain and inform children and adults alike – and they’re free!

Until 16th April 2023 at the Cambridge Science Centre, First Floor of the Grand Arcade, St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge CB2 3BJ. Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm; Sundays, 11am-5pm. For more details, visit grandarcade.co.uk.

2. Find your inner Attenborough: Twilight at the Museum of Zoology

Just a short walk from University Arms is one of the city’s major attractions: the Museum of Zoology, home to thousands of specimens from the entire animal kingdom, from the birds and bees to elephants and giant sloths. This half-term, you can experience a true-life “night at the museum” when the lights are turned off for shadows to work their magic on the displays. Bring a torch and explore the skeletons of extinct species such as the dodo, the famous skeleton of a 21-metre-long fin whale, and taxidermy of current species, with not a hair out of place.

15th February, 4:30-7:00pm, free – but please book your slot in advance and bring a torch. Museum of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ; 01223 336650. For more information, visit museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk

3. To infinity and beyond! The Whipple Museum of the History of Science

Explore the nice bits of kit for astronomy, botany, and the laboratory at The Whipple Museum of the History of Science, which is filled with intriguing antique apparatus, models, prints, photographs and books. Budding star-gazers and astronauts will enjoy the “Space Explorers” installation, with its space-related toys and opportunity to make your very own space puzzle or moving space toy.

Space Explorers, Mondays to Fridays, 2pm-3pm, free entry; the rest of the museum is open weekdays, 12.30pm-4.30pm. Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RH; 01223 330906. For more information, visit museums.cam.ac.uk

4. Hunt the Hesperosaurus: Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

Home to historic collections of stones, bones and minerals, this half-term the Sedgwick hosts a dinosaur hunt, where young sleuths are tasked with finding colourful dinosaur illustrations hidden throughout the museum and can learn a fun fact about each one.

Dinosaur Hunt, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11-18th February, 10am-4pm; free. Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EQ; 01223 333456. For more information, visit museums.cam.ac.uk

5. Growth spurt: The Botanic Garden

Just a moment’s walk from University Arms is the Cambridge University Botanic Garden – the perfect place to get some fresh air and observe nature, every season of the year. Special events during half-term include the Glasshouse Adventure trail, where children are invited to explore the Garden’s famous “Glasshouse Range”, featuring collections from every habitat, from tropical rainforests to arid deserts; camellias to cacti. Simply pick up a plant-spotter booklet on your way into the Garden and start your adventure!

Open 11th-19th February, 10am-5pm every day. Adults £8; children, Cambridge students and carers, free. Cambridge University Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside, Cambridge, CB2 1JE; 01223 336265; botanic.cam.ac.uk

For more family-friendly events and activities during February half-term, visit museums.cam.ac.uk