What to do with kids during the holiday

LAURICE TAITZ

City Sightseeing Bus Green Route 

Ride the open-top double-decker City Sightseeing Bus Green Route from Rosebank to Constitution Hill. Hop off at the Military History Museum where there are loads of tanks, planes and trucks for kids to clamber over, pay a visit to Johannesburg Zoo, always a winner with little kids and join the City Sightseeing Red Route at Constitution Hill.

Take advantage of the winter 3-for-1 special ticket valid during school holidays and weekends until October 8 – buy one adult bus ticket (R170) and take two kids with you for free (tickets are valid for the red and green routes). citysightseeing.co.za/johannesburg 

City Sightseeing Bus Red Route 

The hop-on hop-off City Sightseeing Bus Red Route, starts at Constitution Hill. Popular stops for young families include the Gold Reef City theme park, the Sci Bono Discovery Centre and the Origins Centre. Between stops, kids can listen to their own specially-designed radio commentary and keep busy with the puzzles provided in the kids pack. 

Soweto minibus 

Linking up to the City Sightseeing Bus at the Apartheid Museum the Red Soweto minibus makes a whistle-stop tour of South Africa’s most famous township, stopping in at all the major sights. An easy way to give your kids a brief introduction to the unique history and culture of Soweto.

Combination tickets for the open-top City Sightseeing bus and the Soweto tour, cost R420 for adults and R220 for kids. 

Children’s Theatre 

This July you are spoiled for choice when it comes to children’s theatre productions. Catch Cinderella Kids at the People’s Theatre in Braamfontein (until July 30), the Adventures of Mr Toad at National Children’s Theatre in Parktown (until July 23) and look out for shows for young kids and teens at this year’s 969 Festival at Wits Theatre (July 14-30, wits.ac.za/witstheatre/whats-on/969-festival/).

Young kids will also no doubt love the energetic Smurfs Live show at Emperor’s Palace (July 13-30) and Puss in Boots at Gold Reef City (July 1-23). 

See Homo Naledi at Maropeng 

The remains of the recently discovered new species Homo Naledi, are on display at Maropeng visitor’s centre in the Cradle of Humankind.

The extensive exhibitions have been designed with kids in mind and include numerous fun, interactive and educational displays.

Storytime at the bookshop 

Take the little ones down to Love Books (lovebooks.co.za) at the Bamboo Lifestyle Centre in Melville for a kids story-time session every Saturday at 10:00. Also look out for Saturday story-time at Bridge Books in downtown Johannesburg (in the City Central building opposite the Rand Club, bridgebooks.co.za) where story-time sessions include a reading of the new picture book Ballerina Dreams.

Challenge the family at an ‘escape room’ 

A cross between a game show and a Sherlock Holmes novel, “escape rooms” are a fun way to challenge the whole family to work together to solve clues and puzzles in a race against the clock. Ideal for kids aged 12 and up; challenges vary in difficulty. Try Lostland in Rivonia (lostland.co.za), or Escape Room in Dunkeld (escaperoom.co.za).  

Family walkabouts at Wits Art Museum 

Join the Wits Art Museum family walkabout on the third Saturday of each month at 12:00. The kids get to learn about historic and contemporary African art and get creative at the sketching table. It is essential to RSVP by e-mail to info.wam@wits.ac.za beforehand. wits.ac.za/wam/ 

Turbine Art Fair 

Now in its fifth year, this contemporary African art fair has become a city fixture, attracting thousands to the Turbine Hall in Newtown. On Saturday July 15 and Sunday July 16, the fair hosts a special kids art corner.

There’s also a special programme of art walkabouts of the fair for kids aged 6 to 11 and for those 12 years and up. turbineartfair.co.za 

Disney On Ice 

Classic and contemporary Disney characters take to the ice in The Wonderful World of Disney On Ice show. Join Disney favourites from Finding Nemo, Toy Story, The Lion King, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, and of course everyone’s frozen favourites, Anna, Elsa and the hilarious snowman Olaf. June 30-July 9 at TicketPro Dome. disneyonice.com/za/en-za/ 

Laurice Taitz is the publisher and editor of Johannesburg in Your Pocket.