Always fancied rowing a slice of papaya through an interactive floating pineapple or entering a secret banana grotto? Of course you have, and this summer at Kew Gardens you can!

The gardens are opening their lake to the public for pleasure boating this year, for the first time ever. This comes as part of the IncrEdibles festival, which celebrates all the weird and wonderful food we eat that originates from plants. Not knowing an awful lot about plants myself, I went to Kew to find out more.

We were met by Sam Bompas of the famous food architects Bompas and Parr, who created the Tutti Frutti boating lake. He told us that the pineapple is “a symbol of welcome to the city.”  In the 18th and 19th century the pineapple was seen as a representation of hospitality, and therefore is now used by many buildings in London as decoration.

A definite highlight of the day was rowing the fruit inspired boats around the “Mediterranean” blue water, under the pineapple and through the banana grotto; wear 3D glasses for a psychedelic experience complete with the scent of banana! Don’t fancy rowing? Then take a stroll down the walkway out over the water to the island and watch the boats go by whilst communicating with the plants! Sounds mad, but touch them and see what happens…

Next take a tour of the Palm House, a tropical rainforest which is home to 60 edible plants. Then step outside and visit the tea party with a twist, a dining table on which edible plants grow out of plates, dishes, jugs and platters. Move from seat to seat and learn about where your favourite food products come from, for example Bakewell Tart and Earl Grey Tea. Kirsti Davies who designed the table tells us “not everything is as it seems” – the table is full of riddles and clues which encourage you to touch, smell and taste if you dare!

Go past the bouncy carrot tops to the Global Kitchen Garden – each bed geographically arranged in continents, from Europe to Asia, telling the story of the plants often surprising origins. For example, did you know that the carrot, which is grown all over the world today, originally came from Afghanistan? No, me neither!

The festival, which opens this weekend, will feed your imagination, inviting you to reconsider the way you look at plants, broadening your relationship with what you eat.

I had an incrEdibly good time and guarantee you will too!

IncrEdibles at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 25 May to 3 Nov. More information

Tourists often ask if they can go on a day trip to Stonehenge from London (the answer is yes). But now this English icon has come to the capital. Well, sort of…

Sacrilege is effectively a massive bouncy castle, the creation of Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller. Unlike the real Stonehenge, visitors are encouraged to interact with the structure and wow, is it fun! Adults and children alike jump and run with expressions of pure joy (and ultimately exhaustion) on their faces. My young family and I loved the experience so much, we went back to North Greenwich the next day for more. It’s free and no ticket is required.

Part of the London 2012 Festival, Sacrilege is touring the UK and is in London between now and the end of the Olympic Games on 12 August. The remaining London stops are:

• King Edward VII Park, Brent (25 Jul)
• Paddington Recreation Ground (28 Jul)
• Cheam Park (29 Jul)
• Ravenscourt Park (31 Jul)
• Hampstead Heath (1 Aug)
• Clapham Common (2 Aug)
• Burgess Park (4 Aug)
• Barra Hall Park (5 Aug)
• East Ham Central Park (7 Aug)
• Crystal Palace Park (9 Aug)
• Alexandra Palace (10 Aug)
• Christchurch Green (11 Aug)
• Waterworks Nature Reserve (12 Aug)

For full details see London 2012 Festival. So, will you be making a date to get in touch with your bouncy inner child? Now the school holidays are here, what’s your favourite London destination for family-friendly fun?

One thing to consider when booking tickets for the new West End production by the Birmingham Stage Company is the name. Horrible Histories is every bit as horrible as the title suggests.

There is blood and guts galore in Barmy Britain, now appearing at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road. Over the course of just one hour, actors Lauryn Redding and Benedict Martin race through the goriest events from Britain’s dark past.

The pair, who have both appeared in previous Horrible Histories’ productions, introduce the audience to the likes of ruthless Romans, vicious Vikings and that most terrible of Tudors, Henry VIII. They bring their subjects to life with quirky takes on hit TV shows like Manky Chef and Who Wants To Blow Up Parliament.

Terry Deary is one of Britain’s best-selling authors and last year was the tenth most borrowed author in British libraries. His Horrible Histories series has instilled a generation of children with a love of history, which their teachers might not have thought possible. He dusts down dreary episodes from the past and appeals to kids with his wicked sense of humour and attention to deathly detail.

The hit series has spawned several productions from the Birmingham Stage Company and an exceedingly popular BBC children’s programme, which is a regular favourite in our house.

My boys were thrilled when I told them I had tickets for Barmy Britain. They loved the actors’ high-energy performances and laughed their way through many of the skits. My eight-year-old considered himself a little too cool for the audience participation, but his six-year-old brother joined in the song about Henry VIII’s worried wives with gusto – happily performing the actions to divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

If I’m being honest, I had my doubts and exchanged a couple of knowing looks with other slightly uneasy parents. But I kept quiet while all around me were laughing and guffawing.

Then it all went a bit too far for my boys as the pair started describing the gruesome executions of tens of thousands of commoners at Tyburn (now Marble Arch). After a particularly grisly explanation of what it meant to be hung, drawn and quartered, the dancing duo moved on to the story of Victorian “baby farmer” Amelia Dyer. If it happened today, would I be happy to let my little ones watch a news story about a prolific murderer of babies?

At this point it became clear that the content wasn’t just washing over my sons’ heads, as I’d initially convinced myself. Separately, they both turned to me saying that the show was “really gross”, and my oldest did so with his bottom lip quivering.

I fully appreciate how clever and popular Horrible Histories is with both children and adults alike and I hate to be the prudish parent. But, based on my children’s reactions, I disagree with the published age recommendation of six years and over. That said, the show is likely to be a great hit and much-loved by older children and teenagers.

Horrible Histories at the Garrick Theatre until 1 September 2012. Book tickets

Aspiring young zoo keepers have the chance to go behind-the-scenes at ZSL London Zoo. Kids can get close to some of their favourite zoo animals and find out what’s it like to take care of them during the Junior Keeper for a Day experience. We sent 12-year-old Téo Grimshaw to report on his day as a zoo keeper:

“We were given numerous jobs during the day which included feeding, grooming and cleaning the animal enclosures. We started at the Rainforest Life zone and fed lion-headed tamarins, titi monkeys, emperor monkeys, anteaters and sloths with apples, grapes and meal worms.

“The next job was scooping up llama, alpaca and donkey dung. We really enjoyed petting them when cleaning was competed.

“One of my favourite tasks was feeding the cute meerkats. They nervously came out of their habitats under the ground, as they were frightened of a blue kite which they mistook for a bird of prey.

“The coatis were unusual animals – we had to make a game of hiding their food for them around their enclosure.  They were running around our feet looking for the food.

“The most favourite task for me was feeding three enormous giraffes with carrots. They used their long blue tongues to wrap around the carrot sticks and eat them.

“The whole experience lasted just over 3 hours. At the end we were given a goody bag which contained a cap, t-shirt and fabric bag all with Zoo Keeper for a Day logo and certificate. It was a great day and everyone really enjoyed themselves.”

Junior Keeper for a Day is available for 11-15 year olds and costs £170 per person, including zoo entry for the participant and one accompanying adult. The experience lasts from 9:15am to 1pm and includes morning refreshments. Find out more

Too old? There’s a Keeper for a Day experience for adults too, or spend a night at the zoo in a luxury tent.

School was out and fun was in, especially along London’s South Bank.

The Southbank Centre has been playing host to the ever popular Imagine Children’s Festival, which returns this year with even more attractions than usual. The good news is that although half-term may be over for most, the action-packed festival continues to run until Sunday 26 February.

I have never braved the Tube on my own with all three of my young men. Yet I felt compelled to conquer my fear of excitable little ones on busy platforms and venture up to Waterloo. I packed a bag with activity books, sharpened pencils and a delectable array of goodies. There was no moaning, no crying and the journey went remarkably smoothly.  

But when we arrived at the Royal Festival Hall, my heart sank. For there in the foyer was a lengthy queue of fed up parents, all surrounded by kids and similarly stuffed backpacks. They were all there for the free Become a Superhero workshop. Staff were on hand to help aspiring Supermen and Wonder Women create their very own super hero persona, complete with superpower and dazzling costume. The problem was that you needed to be super patient to stick out the lengthy wait of one hour or more! As patience has never been my super strength, my boys sadly missed out.

Another free attraction, the Imagine craft pavillion, was inundated too. So we went in search of a bespectacled man in a stripy red top called Wally. Yes, that’s right, he of Where’s Wally fame. The kids loved racing around the Royal Festival Hall in search of the popular book character, though they only found two “injured” cardboard cutouts behind the ticket desk. Probably not quite the idea, but they enjoyed themselves all the same.

After a quick pitstop for some ice cream sundaes at nearby Giraffe, we headed over to the Queen Elizabeth Hall for James Campbell’s Comedy 4 Kids. If you’re wondering what Comedy 4 Kids is, it’s exactly as it sounds. Comedian James Campbell performed an hour-long stand up set especially for those aged six and up. James, a father himself, clearly knows what makes kids tick and he really gets down to their level. He made jokes about scooters, school and the double entendre that is the Nintendo Wii! Of course, this led to a good 10 minutes of toilet-related humour, which obviously had the kids tickled pink (there were a many adults chortling away to themselves too).

The packed-out comedy performance was unfortunately a one-off at Imagine, but there is much, much more in store for families this week. Highlights include a chance to meet bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson and the London Book Swap.

Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank Centre until 26 February 2012. Read more

Twinkle Twonkle is the latest production from Tall Stories, they of  The Gruffalo fame. During the two-person show at the Roundhouse in Camden they take on the challenging concept of the Big Bang – or Big Sneeze – Theory and do their best to explain it to kids as young as five.

Stella’s bedroom is her own makeshift version of the universe. Paper lanterns, inflatable globes and a colander all substitutes for the planets she is so fascinated by.

Meanwhile her younger brother Ryan is more interested in the cow that jumped over the moon. Desperate for a playmate, he badgers Stella to take part in his endless renditions of his favourite nursery rhymes.

But Stella just wants her brother to go to sleep so she can stare at the starry night through her telescope.

When Ryan refuses, she does the next best thing and teaches him about the worlds around him.

There are plenty of laughs and songs in the 50 minute performance and we all came out a lot wiser and more informed about the likes of constellations, galaxies and the basics of astrophysics! Even so, I’m still left wondering – what exactly are stars made of…?

Twinkle Twonkle at the Roundhouse until 31 December 2011

Neither myself nor my kids had any idea of what this might mean, and so we took ourselves down to the lovely Unicorn Theatre by Tower Bridge in the hope of finding out.

Walking in to this intriguing performance for pre-schoolers, we were each handed a weird and wonderful hat. My boys were too shy (or too cool) to wear theirs, but how could I refuse the offer?! Once inside the studio theatre, the children got to meander their way through a walkway of hoops and bells. Then as the doors closed we were asked to take our seats by the… Er… Strange table-type stage.

Specially designed, it is essentially an outsized ring-shaped wooden table. There are actually two concentric rings which move in opposite directions. The actors are inside the ring, while the little ones sit with their elbows on the table – their curious parents right behind them. And so the show began. It is a simple tale of a little girl who goes in search of her beloved lost dog. What makes this production by interactive theatre company Oily Cart so special is that the characters are played both by actors and puppet versions of themselves. The original music is catchy and the set and props are all crafted from a host of recyclables.

As the human girl sings her way through the story, her tiny alter-ego brings the action to life on the moving set. Her journey takes her from home to sea, then out to a desert island and eventually to space. Meanwhile the kids get very involved in the action, helping the puppets to travel faster and faster, heaving on a rope that sends them out to sea, searching for choccy biccies and even teaching the doleful man in the moon how to dance.

Audience participation is always a winner with kids, but Ring A Ding Ding takes this to new heights as the little ones really feel as if they are an integral part of the performance.

Ring A Ding Ding at the Unicorn Theatre until 30 December 2011. Book tickets

In the run-up to Half Term, Dea Birkett, writer and founder of the Family Friendly Museum Award, reveals her family’s favourite London museums

What’s the most family friendly museum in Britain? The 2012 Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award has been launched – the biggest museum award in Britain and the only one judged by families. Whether you have toddlers or teenagers, museums are great places for families. They might still have a few stuffed animals, but they’re far from stuffy.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is free – and the biggest museum ever to be shortlisted for the Family Friendly Award. It’s a treasure trove of 3000 years of beautiful artefacts, with backpacks for kids full of quizzes and jigsaws.

My 10-year-old twins love Tipu’s Tiger – an automaton showing the ferocious beast killing a man. My teenager prefers Kylie’s dressing room, transplanted with her stage costumes and even half-used lip gloss to the Theatre and Performance gallery.

The Horniman Museum in South London has been shortlisted for the Award twice. Set in wonderful gardens to play and picnic in, this museum is quite literally alive and buzzing.

In the Nature Base gallery for under eights, you can watch bees make honey in a glass-sided hive, spot beetles and harvest mice, listen to bats and learn about fox droppings. There’s a world-renowned music collection and a room where you can bang, strum and pluck unusual instruments. There’s even an aquarium in the basement.

The Geffrye Museum in East London is an 18th-century almshouse. You take a 400-year walk through a series of middle class living rooms, each decorated and furnished in a different era from 17th-century oak panelling to a late 20th-century converted warehouse living space. We always argue about which one we’d prefer to live in.

These are some of my family’s favourites. But what’s yours?

How to make a nomination for the Family Friendly Award:

Just say why your favourite museum should win.

Email: award@kidsinmuseums.org.uk
Post: Family Friendly Museum Award, Kids in Museums, 49-51 East Road, London N1 6AH
Deadline for nominations: 2 December 2011

Find out more about Kids in Museums at www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk

Our group of two adults and four kids (aged one to three years) went along to Eltham Palace recently for a fun and informative day out with a Knights and Princesses theme. Fantastic costumed guides entertained the little ones in the beautiful grounds of the palace. Many of the kids had come prepared in their dressing-up outfits but there were plenty of props available so everyone could get involved.

First, a storytelling session was brought to life as children, picked from the small crowd, acted out a tale of chivalry. Next, we learned how youngsters served their lords and ladies in medieval times and then had a quick dance lesson.  Finally, it was over to a knight for (super safe) sword fighting and jousting -using a trusty hobby horse! 

While the under fives there were fascinated, activities are primarily aimed at older children. This is reflected in a £1 surcharge for over fives on Time Travellers Go event days.  A good thing about Eltham Palace is that you can opt to pay only for entry to the grounds rather than both palace and grounds.

The next Time Traveller Go activities at Eltham Palace take place on 21 -23 Aug (Medieval) and 28-30 Aug (Gruesome!).

Here’s a fantastic film from Tate, showing one family’s adventure as they start the day at Tate Britain, then take a trip down the Thames to enjoy all there is to see and do at Tate Modern.

Tate even have a website dedicated to kids: kids.tate.org.uk

To find out more fabulous family-friendly things to do in London this summer, check out our family section