Your PACKED guide to September in London with kids

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If there’s one word to describe September, it’s packed! I’ve packed both kids back to school, London has packed its calendar with cultural and community fun, and this email is so packed you might need to click to see the end! From riverside festivals to harvest fairs, hidden heritage to brand new openings, September offers so much to explore you’ll (almost) be glad summer’s over! Read on for my top picks for kids, tots and grown-ups.

Our last few days of summer were just as packed, playing tourist with visiting family. London Zoo was the biggest hit with our mixed age groups, from a Lion King moment hearing the big cats roar, to spider monkeys causing chaos in their walk-through, and yes, we all went in with the spiders too!

We ticked off the landmarks the easy way with a charity Gett Little London Tour, wandered the graffiti tunnel on the Southbank, touched Mars at the Natural History Museum, braved the Tower Bridge glass walkway, cruised the Thames and cheered Covent Garden’s street performers. London, you did us proud.

Now, onto this month’s highlights!

London’s best family-friendly museum days, theatre shows, and cultural outings -curated for busy parents. If you love this newsletter, so will your friends.

September 2025: What’s on London with kids

Here’s what’s bright, bold and brilliant for families this month. All are drop-in, unless stated.

🌊 Totally Thames Festival family highlights include St Katharine Docks Classic Boat Festival 2025, A Very Victorian Outing by the River at Crossness Pumping Station (paid), Creekside Discovery Centre Open Day 2025, river dipping at TideFest, Lighting Up The Lea at Cody Docks and Mudlarking Weekend at London Museum Docklands (select dates 1-30 Sep; all free unless indicated).

🎶 Emerge East transforms Barking Riverside. Build dens with Woodland Tribe, dig into Sandscape, print your own artworks, try nail art, make pizzas, grab a Poetry Takeaway, wander through Atelier Sisu’s giant inflatable sculpture, then dance it out at the debut Block Party stage (6 Sep, free).

🌿 Play, dance and create at Serpentine Family Day in the stunning Pavilion by Marina Tabassum. Expect seed-saving workshops, interactive Bengali music and dance, bilingual poetry, playful storytelling, character-making art, and a giant collaborative weaving project (6 Sep, free).

🥔 Dig into Kensington Gardens Harvest Festival, where you can join guided walks to learn about food growing, plant a seed to take home, enjoy nature storytelling, play games and even harvest potatoes! (6 Sep; free)

🎨 Dulwich Picture Gallery unveils a brand-new ArtPlay Pavilion for under 8s, family café and Sculpture Garden of 130 trees. Celebrate at ArtPlay Festival with kids’ workshops, storytelling, printmaking, glitter face paint, a silent disco and live music from City of London Sinfonia (6-7 Sep, free). Please google as I keep getting an internal server error message with my links!

⚰️ Visit Brompton Cemetery, one of London’s Magnificent Seven, for FoBC Open Day with birds of prey, bees, storytelling, face painting, stalls, food and Chelsea Pensioners to meet (7 Sep; free).

🎉 London’s biggest neighbourhood party is back! The Mayor’s Community Weekend 2025 hosts more than 200 free events across the capital, from street festivals to workshops, games, food and family fun. My borough is hosting family bike rides, African drumming and piñata making workshops - use their event map to find more near you (12-14 Sep; free).

🏛️ Heritage Open Days unlock hidden spaces and hands-on fun across England. In London, families can build London’s skyline from recycled materials at the Golden Hinde (book), tour behind the scenes at The Prince Phillip Maritime Collection Centre (book), test their aim at The Guards Museum, or enjoy an after-hours visit to The Petrie Museum (events run select dates 12-21 Sep; free). Search the site to find more events near you.

🎂 Mark 25 years of Somerset House at Step Inside 25 Weekend with free family fun, from pop-up basketball and the return of the Hello Kitty disco space to Peanuts drawing workshops, behind-the-scenes studio visits and bold new art. (13-14 Sep, all ages, free).

🗝️ Open House London isn’t just for architecture buffs - families can get in on the fun too! Try on judges’ robes on at the Royal Courts of Justice Open Day, gelli printing at Lakeside Centre, crafting at Build, Play, Wear, Draw Croydon, food and drinks making at Company Drinks Pavilion and Garden, and even hard-hat tours of a recycling plant. Or book onto a kids’ rave at TACO!, construction play at Pollock’s Toy Museum, or crafts at the Royal College of Physicians (select dates 13-21 Sep; free).

🎡 London Design Festival (13-21 Sep; free) turns the city into a playground of creativity. Make music with swings at Hornscape Playground, meet the Playmakers at Young V&A, paint replica Delftware onboard the Golden Hinde (book), and get your favourite Benji Davis books signed.

🚤 Royal Docks Originals returns with three weeks of free art, performance and play (15 Sep-4 Oct). Family highlights include glowing flower making for Bioluminescent Garden, a big afternoon of shows and workshops at Get Moving!, fiery spectacle Rekindling, and sky-high art in Blue Sky Making on the IFS Cloud Cable Car. Free/included with paid cable car ticket.

👀 Go sculpture spotting in The Regent’s Park as Frieze Sculpture 2025 brings 14 artworks to their English Gardens. This year’s In the Shadows theme brings birdcalls cast in bronze, ghostly clothes and booming sound pieces to life, with tributes to Indigenous memory and more along the way (17 Sep-2 Nov; free).

🎨 Screen print your own black and white copy of Angry Dan’s William Morris mural design at William Morris Gallery to take home and colour in (20 Sep; free; ages 5+). Part of William Morris Design Line. Also check out Telephone Box Greenhouse and Permanent (both 19-21 Sep; free) and hobby horse making with Family Make Stuff Club (20 Sep; free; book).

🎭 Bartholomew Fayre revives the historic Smithfield fayre into a grassroots community festival of art, talks, tours and live performance. Families can dive into drop-in graffiti and zine-making, create puppets with Little Angel Theatre, and soak up the playful spirit of London’s most raucous historic fair (20 Sep; free). Part of Open House London.

🚀 Blast off into Space at the Science Museum’s brand-new gallery. See Apollo 10 and Soyuz spacecraft side by side in a world first, Neil Armstrong’s headset, Helen Sharman’s spacesuit, a 3-billion-year-old moon rock and the rocket engine that’s reached every planet in the solar system (from 20 Sep; free; book museum entry).

🎺 Head to south-west London for family fun at Chelsea History Festival. Highlights include Totally Chaotic History with Greg Jenner (book), a free open weekend with pond dipping, crafts and storytelling at Chelsea Physic Garden, plus hands-on activities at National Army Museum and Royal Hospital Chelsea (27-28 Sep; free/paid; drop in/book). Walk-ups welcome at Chelsea Physic Garden.

🌟 The V&A unveils the new family Wish, Make, Celebrate! sessions at V&A South Kensington. Play, craft and share wishes with ceramic artist Ciara Neufeldt in this joyful drop-in (27 Sep, 11 Oct & 1 Nov; free; ages 5+).

🌾 Celebrate Harvest at Brixton Windmill with live music, Morris dancing, craft stalls, and beer from Brixton Brewery. Kids can bake hedgehog buns (£4; ages 7-12), make corn dollies and hop crowns, and get hands-on with milling demos inside the windmill. Plus fresh bread, pastries and cakes to taste and take home (28 Sep; free; book workshops).

And for those ready to look ahead:

🎅 Christmas is coming… If you want to be first in the queue to meet the man in red, check out my updated Santa’s Grotto guide with all the latest London events, some released just today! The coveted Fortnum & Mason’s Storytelling with Santa drops on 4 Sep (although at an eye-watering £45 a child for a group meet, we’ll be trying cheaper options). Last year F&M went on sale at 9.00am.

Heading to any of these? I’d love to hear what you thought afterwards - reply with your experience or tag me on Instagram to help me share the most family-friendly places!

Culture without the kids

If you’re hoping to enjoy the arts without the ankle biters, here’s my picks for culturally curious grown-ups this month:

🎤 Step inside the creative universe of a visionary performer at the brand-new David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse. Explore his costumes, lyrics, sounds and sketches up close in the world’s largest Bowie collection (opens Sep; £5 suggested donation; book). Tickets were due to be released 2 Sep, sign up to their site for updates.

🎭 Theatre Picasso turns Tate Modern into a stage, reimagining Picasso’s obsession with dancers, bullfighters and performers. Wu Tsang and Enrique Fuenteblanca present over 45 works in a theatrical setting that explores Picasso’s art as performance (17 Sep-12 Apr; paid, book). £5 entry for Universal Credit claimants, check my guide for more info.

👑 Powdered wigs, pink silk slippers and Manolo Blahniks collide in Marie Antoinette Style opens at V&A South Kensington. This exhibition explores 250 years of fashion, art, design and film shaped by the queen who turned excess into an aesthetic (from 20 Sep; paid, book). Free for Universal Credit claimants, more info here.

🎶 Blitz: The Club that Shaped the 80s at the Design Museum relives the legendary Covent Garden club night where style, music and art collided. See 250+ items charting the rise of Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Stephen Jones and the flamboyant Blitz Kids who rewrote fashion and pop culture (20 Sep-29 Mar; paid, book).

🧵 Mud-splashed gowns, faux-stained jeans and distressed couture. Dirty Looks at the Barbican Art Gallery explores fashion’s fascination with decay, from McQueen and Westwood to today’s rising stars, showing how dirt challenges beauty standards and points toward more sustainable futures (25 Sep-25 Jan; paid; book). Pay What You Can every Thursday from 17:00-20:00.

🤖 Lawrence Lek: Life Before Automation transforms Goldsmiths CCA into a dark yet playful universe of films, games and immersive art. Explore AIs that dream, sing and rebel in his largest UK show to date (26 Sep-14 Dec; free).

And here’s one to book ahead:

🌅 Turner and Constable face off at Tate Britain in the 250th year of their births. Rivals in life and art, Turner’s blazing skies meet Constable’s brooding landscapes in this landmark show of Britain’s greatest painters, with masterpieces, sketchbooks and personal items side by side (27 Nov-12 Apr; paid, book).

September 2025: What’s On for Under 5s

Tiny trailblazers, this one’s for you! Here’s this month’s best picks for under fives:

🏡 Keats House opens its doors to the tiniest visitors for a special Under 5s day. Explore the poet’s home with toys, crafts, space to relax and child-friendly extras to make history fun (6 Sep; paid; drop in/book).

🏡 Using colour, line and pattern, explore how we build our own sense of belonging in Uniqlo Tate Play: Make Studio - Home at Tate Modern. Wednesdays (for under-5s) and weekends (for all ages), 6 Sep-22 Oct; free.

🌊 Tots & the Thames takes over London Museum Docklands with a day of river-inspired fun. Expect Hartbeeps sensory sessions, puppets and play, a light installation, musical adventures, crafts, storytelling and even a toddler-friendly river rave (9 Sep; free, book/drop in. Under 5s).

🎵 Join storyteller Paul Rubinstein at the Museum of the Order of St John for a lively session of musical tales, movement and singing inspired by the Museum’s treasures (10 Sep; free; book. Under 3s and Under 5s).

👶 Time Travel Tots at The National Archives offers plenty of fun for little ones. Dive into messy play (12 Sep, ages 2-5) with colourful, sensory materials, join sensory storytelling inspired by the archive with props, toys and music (18 Sep; ages 0-2), or sing, dance and shake through time in musical storytelling (24 Sep; ages 2-5). All paid, book.

🌳 New Parent’s Walk at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is a baby-friendly woodland stroll led by fellow mums and dads, with heritage and nature highlights, plus hot drinks and biscuits at the end (15 Sep, free, book). Part of Heritage Open Days.

🧸 It’s the last ever Little Feet at the British Museum and the teddies are throwing a farewell party! Decorate a feasting plate for a Persian king, race toys like Greek champions, dress Athena in a birthday robe, make party bags, then end with a disco full of lights, instruments and dancing (18 Sep; free; book museum entry).

🎶 New early years strand WordPlay at the Royal Festival Hall turns the Clore Ballroom into a soft, squishy play space for babies and toddlers. Join songwriter Emma-Lee Moss for original songs, singalongs and storytelling, all designed to spark creativity and connection (every other Friday 19 Sep-19 Dec; free. Ages 0-2 and ages 3-5)

🎪 The Adventures of Joey the Clown: Telling Tales for Minis at Charles Dickens Museum brings the writer’s favourite clown to life with playful storyteller Olivia Armstrong. Expect interactive, sensory storytelling filled with fun, movement and laughter (21 Sep, free, book. Under 6s).

🌱 StoryPlay - The Power of Food Festival at the Rich Mix invites little ones to enjoy stories, games and garden fun while exploring the summer harvest and autumn planting (28 Sep; free; book. Ages 2-5)Travel Tots at National Archives:

Enjoy your month, I’ll be back with October antics soon.

Until then,

Please check listings before heading out. Events can change or be cancelled at short notice, and, despite my best efforts, sometimes I make mistakes.