Summer Holiday Activities in Newcastle

The summer holidays in Newcastle usually run from the second half of July to the first days of September, and the city centre changes gear for them. Museums put on daily family programmes, the libraries launch their reading scheme, theatres and dance studios open week-long holiday camps, and the Quayside and the parks fill up with free events. This guide sets out what reliably happens each summer and where to look for that year's dates, so you can plan ahead rather than scramble in July. For the attractions themselves (what is inside, what is free and what suits toddlers), see our year-round guide to family activities in Newcastle city centre.

Museum summer programmes

Newcastle's council and university museums are run by North East Museums (the organisation formerly known as Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums), and every school holiday it publishes a family programme across its venues. Entry stays free, most activities are free or low cost, and many are drop-in, which makes them easy to slot into a day. The full listing for each holiday appears on the North East Museums website, usually a few weeks before term ends.

Discovery Museum

The Discovery Museum in Blandford Square tends to be the busiest of the summer venues, with science and making sessions, storytelling for younger children and themed activity days built around its engineering and shipbuilding collections. It is a short walk from Central Station, which makes it an easy first stop.

Best for: Best for: a free, drop-in morning of hands-on making for primary-age children.

Great North Museum: Hancock

The Great North Museum: Hancock runs a busy summer schedule of its own. Recent summers have brought free drop-in crafts linked to the current exhibition, Lego builds, family trails and quests through the galleries, storytime sessions for under-sevens and quieter early-access mornings. It also often marks the national Festival of Archaeology in July. Planetarium shows are ticketed separately.

Best for: Best for: dinosaur fans and families who want a mix of free trails and a ticketed planetarium show.

Laing Art Gallery

The Laing Art Gallery on New Bridge Street joins in with the holiday programme through art-making sessions and family activities, and it is a calmer choice when the bigger museums are packed.

Best for: Best for: creative children and a quieter hour in the middle of a busy city day.

Life Science Centre's big summer show

The Life Science Centre at Times Square treats the summer holidays as its main season. Each year it builds a headline summer experience around the permanent galleries (recent summers have featured giant animatronic dinosaurs) alongside live science shows, making activities and planetarium screenings, and opening hours are usually extended during school holidays. It is a ticketed attraction, and booking online ahead is sensible for August weekdays.

Best for: Best for: a full, all-weather day out with a single ticket.

Books, stories and the city farm

Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books on Lime Street in the Ouseburn Valley is free to enter and runs storytelling and creative events through the holidays, some of them ticketed. The building has been undergoing an upgrade, so check its What's On page before you set off.

Just down the road, Ouseburn Farm is a free city farm run by a charity, with animals, a café and holiday sessions such as farmers' clubs and pond dipping, booked through its website. The two together make a gentle, low-cost day.

Best for: Best for: under-eights who love stories and animals.

The library summer reading scheme

Every summer Newcastle Libraries run a free reading scheme for primary-age children, with a new theme each year. Children sign up at any branch, borrow books and earn stickers and certificates as they go, with prize draws for those who finish. Newcastle City Library on New Bridge Street West usually hosts a launch day and a run of free holiday events such as author visits, workshops and weekly drop-in sessions; some need booking through Eventbrite. Dates and the theme appear on the council's libraries pages in early July.

Best for: Best for: keeping reading going over the break, at no cost. Our guide to holiday learning has more ideas.

Holiday camps in the city centre

If you need full days covered, the city's arts venues run week-long holiday camps that end with a show for families.

Dance City on Temple Street runs summer dance camps for children, mixing styles from street dance to musical theatre, with beginners welcome. Children bring a packed lunch, and each year's dates appear on its Classes & Workshops pages.

Northern Stage at Barras Bridge has run two summer courses in recent years: Little Creators, a week of drama, games and crafts for 7 to 11-year-olds, and a Summer Theatre School for 12 to 17-year-olds. Both are paid, with sibling discounts and a limited number of bursaries.

Best for: Best for: working parents who need a structured week, and children who love performing.

Free holiday clubs with food

Newcastle's Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, branded Newcastle's Best Holiday Ever, offers free holiday clubs with a meal for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals, plus some other children in need, such as those with SEND. Sessions run across the city in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays and cover sport, cookery, arts and crafts, dance and nature activities. Listings, searchable by postcode and age, are on the Children and Families Newcastle website before each holiday.

Free outdoor fun

Newcastle's business improvement district, NE1, runs a Summer in the City programme each year. Its open-air Screen on the Green at Old Eldon Square shows free films daily once the schools break up, and past summers have added free family events on the Quayside.

On the August bank holiday weekend, the free Newcastle Mela fills Exhibition Park with music, dance and food; see our Newcastle Mela guide. For the rest of the summer, Exhibition Park's play area and skatepark and the lake at Leazes Park are the easiest free green spaces from the centre.

Best for: Best for: free days out when the sun shines.

Planning tips

Book camps and ticketed sessions early, as the first and last weeks of the holidays fill fastest. Keep an eye on our events calendar for confirmed dates, and check our school term dates guide for when the break falls.

Know a summer activity we have missed? Let us know.