Lambeth - What's on for the family - November 3rd-4th 2012

Wow! Hasn't the year gone fast! November is here and Christmas just around the corner. Let see what the weekend has to offer.

SATURDAY (3rd November)

For those with kids under five, there's a fantastic day of art (called Tiny Tate) at the Tate Britain between 10am to 3pm. Hop on the buses 2, 185, 36, 436 and 88 or catch the tube to Pimlico.

Want a bit more art and happy to travel further? Then head to the Barbican to see Random International's Rain Room - an art installation where you control the rain! It is open between 11am - 8pm  and queues are big. So maybe one for a weekday visit!

Also visit the Lumacoustics' YrWall in the foyer  - a digital canvas which allows you to keep painting - fun for young and old!

And if you're up that way, check out the Museum of London for an event called Stories Retold which looks at how a story can go from a story to a book and back again. This is aimed at the over fives and is on at the following times: 1-1.30pm, 2-2.30pm & 3-3.30pm. The event is repeated on Sunday.

To get to the Barbican and the Museum of London, catch the 133 to Liverpool Street and catch the 153 or 100. Or take the tube to Barbican Station (which has lifts!)

If you want to keep it local, pop to the Imperial War Museum and make a poppy to put in their poppy field. This activity is on from 11am to 5pm in the Atrium til the 11th November. The 3, 344, 59 and 159 buses pass the museum.


And a quick reminder that this weekend is the last chance to take a tour around Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. More information here.

SUNDAY (4th November)

Head up to West Norwood for this month's Feast. Shop at the different markets and let the kids run off some steam at the front of St Luke's Church. The event runs from 10am to 4pm.

West Norwood Feast seen from St Luke's steps.

To get to West Norwood, you can catch buses 2, 68, 315 432 and 322.  The area is also served by the overground at West Norwood Station.

For those with babies in buggies, first Sundays of the month are the West Norwood Cemetary tours. Learn about the famous people buried here. Meet at 11am at the Cemetary gates. Donations welcome.

Learning about the history of West Norwood Cemetery.

Alternatively head out on the P4 bus to Forest Hill and take a visit to the Horniman Museum for a World of Stories at the Hands On Base. This starts at 11am and lasts for 45 minutes.

So lots of possibilities! Enjoy them! Happy weekend!

Lambeth - What's on for the family - October 13th-14th 2012

We've been lucky with the weather as the sun is still striking out and blessing us with it's rays! So what mini adventures can be had this weekend then?

SATURDAY (13th October)

As mentioned last week, this month is the Big Draw event - a celebration of drawing with lots of  happenings across the country (and in a space near you!). Last weekend the Brixton Windmill and Brixton Library hosted  a selection of art activities.

The library event is repeated this weekend on Saturday between 2pm and 4pm. There will be drawing and reading based upon the theme of children in Victorian Times. Open to all of the family and easy to get to; buses running through Brixton including the 3, 2, 195, 415, 133, 59, 159, 37 and 345.

The Big Draw is also on at Myatts Field Park this Saturday. Between 1pm to 5pm, there is an opportunity to have a go at drawing in workshops located around the bandstand. There is also a chance to hear the  London City Reggae Choir perform.

Bandstand and Little Cat Cafe at Myatts Fields Park

Myatts Fields is located on Cormont Road( SE5 9RA). Buses 36, 185 and 436 to Camberwell New Road, Buses 3, 59, 159  and 133 along the Brixton road. It's a ten minute walk from there.

And from drawing by hand to a bit of computer fun and photoshop technology, we can head to the British Museum (using the wonderful 59 bus) to play with the Green screen time machine, a family activity where you can place an image of yourself with museum objects. Fun for kids who know what's going on and parents who want to do comedy pics with unaware little ones!

The screen is located in the Samsung Centre and is open from 11:30am to 3:30pm. It's free but limited spaces. Otherwise the rest of the museum is always amazing to have a look around!

SUNDAY (14th October)

From a big museum to a little museum, pop into the Cuming Museum on Walworth Road. It contains the collections of the Cuming family and a room of local history information, very much designed with children in mind. There is also an exhibition about Charles Dickens on until Saturday 24th November. To get to the museum, you can catch a 35 or 45 along the Walworth Road or go to Elephant and Castle on the 133, 155 or 415 and it's a short walk from there.

The FREE button pressing exhibition in East Dulwich is back again with a second round of  Cabaret Mechanical Theatre automata! Hop on the 37 bus from Brixton to East Dulwich (catch this bus on Acre Lane opposite the Town hall) to visit the exhibition at Space Station 65, located off Lordship Lane at 65 Northcross Street. Exhibition is on til 6th Jan 2013 and opens Thursday to Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm.

Boo-boo wondered whether it was in a plastic case to stop her from chewing it.

 
And if this automata has whetted your appetite for robots, then head to the Southbank to see Six Robots named Paul, a Merge Festival exhibit in which six robots draw a portrait of a sitter. As I understand it, you can book to be drawn by the robots and these pictures become part of an exhibition. How cool is that! Well, not sure how much small children will like the piece but it would certainly be curious to them for a while (five? ten? fifteen minutes? And then use bribery for a longer session.)

This exhibit is located at NEO Bankside, Pavillon A, 50 Holland Street, SE1 9FU (behind the Tate Modern) and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 7pm. Last day of the exhibition is October 21st. To get to Bankside on bus, the 45 which passes through Brixton stops at Blackfriars Bridge Road. Alternatively, there is always the tube to Southwark.

Not interested in robots but want to see something real, then head down to the Battersea Dogs and Cats home to go on a tour of the building! Yay for persuading mummy and daddy you need a pussy cat! Tours are on Saturday and Sunday at 11am or 3:20pm (Sunday) 4:20pm(Saturday). Donation entry price of £2. The home is located at 4 Battersea Park Road, SW8 4AA and can be reached by taking the P5 to Ascalon Street. Get off here and walk up Savona Street to get onto Battersea Park Road- you should come out opposite the Power Station.

Well, there's a weekend of robots, drawing, dogs and cats and in the immortal words of Looney tunes, "That's all folks!"