From kids art classes to steam train rides and exhibitions there’s plenty on offer these school holidays around the Ipswich region.
Animal Encounters are back for school holidays
Pre-booked sessions will be back these school holidays for a VIP walking tour of the Ipswich Nature Centre with a knowledgeable guide.
Tours will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9am and 11am during the school holidays.
Learn about the important work the Centre staff does to support the Bilbies; discover what goes into caring for local wildlife; meet lovable barnyard animals; see the keepers doing their rounds; and get to know all the local residents of the Ipswich Nature Centre by name.
The tour costs $12 for adults and $8 for children and runs for 1.5 hours. Bookings are essential.
Sip ‘n’ Dip kids art classes
Run by Sip ‘n’ Dip Ipswich these classes will keep the kids busy for a few hours and inspire them to be more creative.
The classes range for cupcake decorating to making dream catchers, painting skate decks, painting pets, making resin earrings, pom pom keychains, making cactus rock planters, Halloween styled soap, tape painting and much more.
Classes are being held at Ipswich Jets, The Soul Nook Collective, Coffee Club Springfield and the Sip ‘n’ Dip studio at 98 Brisbane Tce.
Steam train rides
The Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway is running trains these school holidays.
Step back in time to their Swanbank Station on September 19, 26 and 27 where trains will depart at 9am, 11am and 1pm.
Adults are $24, concessions are $13 and families (2 adults and 2 kids) are $55.
A food van will be in operation on the ride days. Tickets are limited due to social distancing requirements so book early to avoid disappointment.
Ipswich Cemetery Ghost Tour
The haunted history tour at the Ipswich Cemetery is back for school holidays. Book in for September 19, 26 and October 3 at 7.30pm.
Family fun day at Cooneana
Take the family out to the Ipswich Historical Society these school holidays for a day of fun learning about history!
The Cooneana Heritage Centre is opening up on September 27 for pre-booked sessions 10am-12pm and 12pm-2pm to stay in line with restrictions.
On the day the blacksmiths will be working, you’ll be able to see home life in a kitchen of yesteryear, see how they used to wash clothes with a washboard and soap and an old classroom set up.
There will be games like skipping, tug of war, hopscotch, knuckles, croquet and quoits. Also try craft like making a doll from a dolly peg and making a picture of a settlers hut with glue, bark and grass.
See how much coal you can shovel in the coal shoveling competition and check out a WWII Jeep and communication station. There will also be puzzles, colouring in and take home activities for smaller kids and you’ll be able to see the Cooneana Homestead and the Spinners and Weavers.
The cost to enter is $5 per person or $15 for a family of up to five, bookings essential.
Wind Tubes at the Children’s Gallery
The Ipswich Art Gallery presents Wind Tubes in the Children’s Gallery in time for these school holidays.
Design and build your very own flying creation to test in the Wind Tubes. See your creation take flight and soar to the ceiling, and defy gravity by hovering high overhead… or just fall to the floor. It’s all about air and invention, with a little bit of mid-air mayhem.
Wind Tubes is a hands-on exhibition that challenges you to make a flying creation out of everyday materials and launch it into large, clear vertical tubes of moving air. It’s a playful way to explore the effect that moving air has on objects. The challenge is to harness the power of the moving air and discover the design that will keep your creation air-born for the longest time. There’s ample opportunity to experiment and modify your design, and possibly set the record for the longest flight time. Can your design overcome turbulence, drag, air resistance and gravity?
A variety of materials from paper cups to polystyrene balls, streamers, and pipe cleaners provided. Wind Tubes is a fun, interactive exhibition for the whole family.
Bookings are essential, book through EventBrite from September 10. The exhibition will run until February 7 with four sessions daily.
Haigslea Ewe Nique holiday sessions
These school holidays Haigslea Ewe Nique Hobby Farm will be opening every day! Join them at 9am, 10.30 or a 1pm session.
Coffee, tea, snacks and baked treats are also available from their new coffee shop.
Relax on the deck or on hay bales under shade sails while the kids have fun feeding the animals!
Kids High Tea at The Cottage Restaurant
Enjoy a special children’s high tea at The Cottage Restaurant these school holidays.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the holidays the high teas are available to be booked for $29 per person.
Adults high tea is also available Tuesday to Friday for $49 per person or $55 with a glass of sparkling.
Bookings are essential.
The Workshops Rail Museum
The Workshops Rail Museum will be open all school holidays with two pre-booked sessions daily at 9.30am-11.30am and 12.30pm-2.30pm.
Open again is the Nippers Railway great for kids aged 2-10 with a kid-sized train, wooded railway sets and more!
You can also see the model railway which depicts iconic scenes from Queensland’s extensive rail network and have a turn at the diesel or tilt train simulators to see what it’s like to be a train driver.
There’s also a scavenger hunt that you can download and print before you go to help you find trinkets and treasures you might not have seen before at the museum. See here to find the download.
The new Might and Muscle exhibition is also on display now, telling the story of Queensland’s extensive infrastructure system and the powerful machines used on railways and roads.
And don’t miss the chance to unleash your inner scientist at the new Sciencentre with interactive displays that will spark curiosity and your imagination!
How cities work exhibition
Until October 5 you can explore the city inside and out, top to bottom in a whole new way! From sewers to skyscrapers, this interactive exhibition at The Workshops Rail Museum reveals the secret workings of the city.
Peek inside buildings, duck underground, and explore the streets to find out what’s going on above your head and beneath your feet.
This spectacular exhibition has been developed in collaboration with illustrator and city fanatic James Gulliver Hancock, and is adapted from the bestselling book How Cities Work from Lonely Planet Kids.
See and hear the city come to life with interactive animations, bustling sounds and something new to uncover on every street corner.
Pop on a hard hat and step onto a lively construction site, design your ultimate building of the future or make the city move from day to night at your fingertips. What will you create? It’s the city as you’ve never experienced it before!
Kids eat free
Kids eat free at Memories of India Monday to Wednesday. Choose from the kids menu which includes kids butter chicken and rice, butter paneer and rice, kids fish and chips, kids nuggets and chips and a naan platter with dips. Kids meals come with a mango lassi too.
Kids can also eat for free at The Retro Diner with a paying adult (conditions apply), this will run for the entire school holiday break, including weekends!
Cheap children’s meals
Kids eat for $5 these school holidays at Club Services Ipswich with the purchase of a main meal. Choose from chicken nuggets and chips, a junior cheese burger and chips, fish and chips, spaghetti bolognese, ham and pineapple pizza or steak and chips.
At Brothers Leagues Club the “wee leprechauns of our beloved members” can tuck into an $11 meal, choose from battered fish and chips, nuggets, ham and pine pizza, mini rump with chips and salad, spaghetti bolognese or grilled chicken with chips and salad. The special is for kids aged 12 and under, comes with ice cream and activity pack!
Elderflower Cafe have added a $9.90 special for kids aged 12 or younger to their menu especially for the school holidays. It includes chicken nuggets with curly fries, small vanilla or chocolate milkshake and a lollipop!
Creature mini-shows
Slither, creep or crawl into Riverlink Shopping Centre these school holidays to get up close and personal with snakes and insects.
See the animals from Tuesday September 22 to Saturday September 26 during rolling mini-shows from 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm at the creature Mini Shows and Creepy Crawly display outside iPlay.
There will also be a nature display outside Sportsco.
Feed the llamas
The Llama Farm will be open during the first week of school holidays for farm tours and afternoon Llama walks. And they’ll be holding a Little Llama Farmers session on Thursday September 24.
Bookings are essential.
Barn family time
The Barn Restaurant is now open for lunch and dinner bookings at the Ipswich Turf Club on Saturdays and Sundays.
It’s a family friendly destination with a playground outside and a bird aviary. A new Spring menu is out now, with meals for kids under 12 just $10.
Staycation at The Country Motel Ipswich
Book a school holiday weekend away in the comfort of the Country Motel Ipswich. Swim in the pool, sip cocktails at the outdoor bar and enjoy great Italian food at their in-house restaurant which is also the new home for Casamia Italian Restaurant.
The new restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and there is a daily $15 special for lunch and dinner. Tuesday is lasagna chips and salad, Wednesday is chicken parmigiana chips and salad, Thursday is a 200g rib fillet, chips and salad, Friday is spaghetti and meatballs with chips and salad, and Sunday’s special is any small pizza and salad. All specials include a house wine, beer or soft drink.
There are a few room types to choose from including the deluxe family room with a separate queen bed and three singles in the other room. The international king room includes a king bed and sofa which can accommodate another person and the newly refurbished deluxe queen room with a Queen and a single bed. All rooms come with fee Wifi!
Together Again Sale
Oaks resorts are encouraging people to reconnect and support local business with their Together Again Sale these school holidays.
Book in for a staycation at the Oaks Ipswich Aspire Suites with some great deals found here.
White Rock Trail Festival
There is something truly special about the White Rock Spring Mountain Conservation area and White Rock Warriors Inc. are dedicated to providing trail runners and walkers an experience that won’t be forgotten. Open to participants of multiple ability levels, White Rock Trail Festival on October 4 is a unique event featuring a stunning landscape, well-marked courses and of course, plenty of enjoyment for all.
There are a number of different courses from 21km champion run, a 12km challenger run, a 7km warrior run and 6km wallaby run for kids aged 11-14 with an adult. Entry is $50 for the Wallaby course for a child and an adult and includes a medal. There’s also a 1km kids fun run at 9am with no entry fee.
The courses can be run or walked. A drink bottle is recommended. The 21km and 12km and 7km courses have a minimum age of 14. There will be a BBQ after for participants and volunteers as well as a coffee van.
Naughty Little Kids holiday sessions
Naughty Little Kids goat farm is running extra farm tours during the holidays. Every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday tours will run from 1.05pm, 2.15pm and 3.25pm.
Bookings are essential through their website due to covid regulations.
Marvellous magic workshops
These school holidays be mesmerised as the amazing Nickelby performs free magic workshops at Riverlink Shopping Centre.
Plus each child will receive a free take home magic kit.
Workshops will run from Tuesday September 29 – October 3 at 10am, 11am and 12pm outside iPlay.
Reserve a ticket online on the Riverlink website ahead of the event.
Curious minds
During these school holidays a Curious Minds program focused on mindfulness and creating resilience in kids will be running at Orion Springfield Central.
Activity sheets can be downloaded to help start exploring the 5 senses.
A Make a Mantra Messenger Hunt is running until October 5 and there’s teen art workshops – bookings are essential.
Also Kids aerial yoga classes can be booked and there is a teen art competition.
Checkout the foodie combo deals running until October 5 and Library Grab and Go kits, available until October 2.
