🦊 Lunar London

Morning, London! Happy Thursday. Hope half term has been kind. If you stayed in town, I hope you found a good spot or two and no one lost a mitten permanently.

Yes. I know. Valentine’s Day was Saturday. Not Sunday. My inbox made that very clear. Appreciate the vigilance. Hope I didn’t cause any domestic confusion.

Lunar New Year celebrations take over London this week. I’ve picked a few good ones below.

Full Scoop back next week.

Let’s dive in.

..LONDON SNIPPETS..

Bits that caught our eye

The intern is off skiing… back next week.

..TRIVIA..

Know your London?

🏙️ Last Week’s Height Quiz… only 25% of you got this one right.

Which means 75% of you are confidently misjudging London’s skyline. Respect.

It’s a sneaky one. Our brains are terrible at estimating height.
We assume older buildings must be taller.
We assume “that looks massive” equals actually massive.
We forget the London Eye is basically a giant 135-metre wheel.

✅ Correct order (shortest → tallest):

Tower Bridge – 65m
Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) – 96m
St Paul’s Cathedral – 111m
London Eye – 135m

Yes, the London Eye is taller than St Paul’s.
And Tower Bridge is much shorter than most people think.

London: beautiful. Historic. And slightly deceptive.

..BRAIN BITES..

Wow your kid, and outsmart the other parents

London Fact: Big Ben is adjusted with old pennies. 🔔🪙 To keep perfect time, technicians place or remove pre-decimal coins on the pendulum. Adding a penny makes the clock run slightly faster. Victorian engineering, powered by loose change.

Fun Fact: Some birds can sleep while flying. 🐦🌙 Alpine swifts can stay airborne for months at a time and take tiny micro-naps mid-flight, shutting down half their brain at once. Imagine snoozing on the school run and still arriving on time.

..EVENTS SCOOP..

What’s on this week?

🎸 The Strings Club @ Various locations
Date & Loc: Feb 19-20, across London
Five-star rated holiday camps that make half-term easy. Expect music-making, creativity and genuinely screen-free fun, all led by expert tutors.
Age: 4–11yrs | Info

🐞 The Great Big Bug Show @ Arts Depot
Date & Loc: Feb 19 (Thu), North Finchley N12
Poems, raps and songs all about beetles, spiders and minibeasts you’ve probably never noticed.
Age: 4–11 | Price: £13.75 | Info

🎖️ Raffia Embroidery Workshop @ Imperial War Museum
Date & Loc: Feb 19, Lambeth SE1
Creative, hands-on sessions exploring identity, storytelling and history. Drop in for tote-bag design, meet veterans and eyewitnesses, or try colourful raffia embroidery inspired by Caribbean craft.
Age: 8+ | Price: No cost | Info

🎪 Half Term Circus Club @ St Margaret's House
Date & Loc: Feb 19, Bethnal Green E2
Circus skills sessions with juggling, balancing and confidence-building fun. A great way for kids to try something new and build resilience.
Age: 5–8 (up to 11 welcome) | Price: no cost| Info

🎨 Spring Crafternoon 2026 @ Woolwich Works
Date & Loc: Feb 19, Woolwich SE18
Drop in for relaxed, nature-inspired crafts celebrating the start of spring. All materials provided, dress for mess.
Age: All ages | Price: donations | Info

🌿 Family Nature and Art Adventure @ Islington Ecology Centre
Date & Loc: Feb 19 (Thu), Islington N4
Head outdoors to explore local wildlife, then turn what you spot into drawings and nature-inspired art.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🛠️ Design Camp: Sustainable Prop Making @ Design Museum
Date & Loc: Feb 19 (Thu), Kensington W8
A full-day creative workshop where young designers learn prop-making using sustainable materials, inspired by film and storytelling (think Wes Anderson vibes). Hands-on, practical and very cool.
Age: 11–14 | Price: £75 | Info

🎩 Uniform Thinking @ Bank of England Museum
Date & Loc: Feb 19–20, City EC2R
Design and colour your own Bank of England uniform in this free drop-in crafting session. Along the way, explore historic outfits, accessories and the Bank’s fashion past.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost | Info

👶 Design Baby Drop-in @ V&A
Date & Loc: Feb 19–20, South Ken SW7
A relaxed sensory play session for little ones to explore sculpture through shape, texture and movement. Think soft pom-poms, twisty tubes and hands-on discovery, all child-led and free to drop in.
Age: 0–3 | Price: no cost | Info

🎨 Giant Chalkboard @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: Feb 19–21, Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer SE1
Grab some chalk and let them loose. Scribble, doodle, masterpiece or mayhem – it’s a giant board and it’s back.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🎪 Neon Sun: Roller Circus @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Feb 19–21, Highgate N6
High-energy roller skating meets circus and street culture in a neon-lit spectacle. Expect acrobatics, slick choreography and a 90s-inspired soundtrack that feels more skate jam than traditional big top.
Age: Everyone | Price: £16 | Info

🎭 The Boy at the Back of the Class @ Rose Theatre
Date & Loc: Feb 19–22, Kingston KT1
A funny and moving stage adaptation of Onjali Q. Raúf’s bestselling novel. Follow Ahmet, a young refugee, and his classmates’ wild plan to reunite him with his family.
Age: 7+ | Price: From £16.50 | Info

🎨 Imagine Festival @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: Feb 19–21, Southbank SE1
Southbank Centre’s much-loved half-term festival returns, turning the whole site into a giant playground of creativity. Expect hands-on workshops, performances, installations and plenty of chances for kids to make, move and imagine.
Age: All ages | Price: Various (many free events) | Info

🌧️ Mudfest 2026 @ London Wetland Centre
Date & Loc: Feb 19–22, Barnes SW13
Stomp, splash and squelch your way through half-term with muddy, hands-on activities celebrating all things gloriously messy. Wellies very much encouraged.
Age: All ages | Price: Incl. with entry | Info

🚀 Zoom! @ Lyric Theatre
Date & Loc: Feb 19–21, Hammersmith W6
Space-mad Molly is determined to be an astronaut, until a surprise visitor from outer space helps her see Earth in a new light. A lively, music-filled adventure with heart.
Age: 3–8 | Price: £14 | Info

🎭 Jack & the Beanstalk (Sort Of) @ Half Moon Theatre
Date & Loc: Feb 21 (Sat), Limehouse E14
Expect musical mayhem, a mysterious beanstalk and plenty of silly twists in this playful, offbeat take on the classic tale.
Age: 3–10 | Price: £9 | Info

🐉 Dragon Dances and All-Day DJs @ Greenwich Peninsula
Date & Loc: Feb 21 (Sat), Greenwich SE10
Big, bold dragon dances plus DJs spinning throughout the day. Expect colour, music and a buzzing festival feel.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🥢 Parade, Face-Painting @ Duke of York Square
Date & Loc: Feb 21 (Sat), Chelsea SW3
A festive Lunar New Year parade with colourful performances, face-painting for kids and plenty of Asian street food stalls to explore.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🧧 Lunar New Year @ National Maritime Museum
Date & Loc: Feb 21 (Sat), Greenwich SE10
A full-day celebration with performances, crafts and activities to welcome the Year of the Horse. Expect colour, music and plenty to get stuck into.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🥋 Kung Fu, Beijing Opera and Family Workshops @ Camden Market
Date & Loc: Feb 21 (Sat), Camden Town
A high-energy Lunar New Year takeover with live kung fu demos, Beijing Opera performances and hands-on family workshops.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🥟 Tasty Tangyuan and Martial Arts @ London Docklands
Date & Loc: Feb 21-22, Canary Wharf E14
Celebrate with martial arts displays, family activities and sweet tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) to mark the New Year.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🧧 Lunar New Year at Europe’s Biggest Chinatown
Date & Loc: Feb 21-22, Trafalgar Square & Chinatown
London’s biggest Lunar New Year celebration returns with the iconic parade from Trafalgar Square into Chinatown. Expect lion and dragon dances, colourful floats, street food and live performances across multiple stages.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🎻 Chineke! Junior Orchestra @ Woolwich Works
Date & Loc: Feb 22 (Sun), Woolwich SE18
A lively spring performance from Chineke!’s young musicians, sharing the results of their weekend together, including Márquez and Coleridge-Taylor.
Age: All ages | Price: No cost | Info

🏺 Half Term @ London Museum Docklands
Date & Loc: Feb 19–20, Canary Wharf E14
Hands-on history for families. Make a clay Roman pot, craft Viking brooches and uncover muddy secrets from London’s past.
Age: Families | Price: no cost | Info

🧺 Little Red Riding Hood @ Discover Children’s Story Centre
Date & Loc: Until Feb 22, Stratford E15
An immersive, interactive play space inspired by the classic fairytale, where little ones explore Grandma’s cottage, dress up and follow the trail of the Big Bad Wolf.
Age: 0–8yrs | Price: from £5 | Info

🐿️ Squirrel @ Unicorn Theatre
Date & Loc: Until Feb 22, London Bridge SE1
A thoughtful, visually rich theatre show about friendship, change and finding your place.
Age: 6mo–4yrs | Price: from £10 | Info

🎭 Lost Atoms @ Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Date & Loc: until Feb 28, Hammersmith W6
A bold, emotional love story from Frantic Assembly, following two people across memory, loss and the moments that shape a relationship. Funny, intense and heart-breaking in turns.
Age: 14+ | Price: £10 | Info

🎼 Family Sundays @ Royal Opera House
Date & Loc: Various dates, Covent Garden WC2E
These go fast but still some dates available. A relaxed family day with creative activities, short performances and chances to explore music, dance and storytelling inside the Royal Opera House.
Age: Families | Price: £20 | Info

🦖🕺 Dino Disco for Kids @ Natural History Museum
Date & Loc: Various, South Kensington SW7
Jan dates sold out but availability for other dates. A family-friendly silent disco inside the museum, complete with headphones, dancing dinosaurs and multiple DJs to choose from. Big energy, big smiles.
Age: 6–12yrs | Price: £20 | Info

🎨 Mundo Pixar @ Wembley Park
Date & Loc: Ongoing, Wembley
Step inside the worlds of Toy Story, Coco, Cars and more in this large-scale immersive Pixar experience, packed with life-size sets.
Age: All ages | Price: from £22 | Info

🐙 Octonauts @ Horniman Museum and Gardens
Date & Loc: Ongoing, Horniman SE23
Pick up a free trail and join the Octonauts crew on mini-missions around the museum. Hunt for shells, discover Octofacts and head to the Sound Garden for a bonus outdoor adventure.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost | Info

🦸 Superhero City Adventure @ Kensington Gardens
Date & Loc: Ongoing, Kensington Gardens SW7
A self-guided outdoor adventure where kids follow clues around the park, solving puzzles and completing missions to become city superheroes. Easy to start anytime.
Age: 4–8yrs | Price: £6 | Info

📸 Water Pantanal: Fire @ Science Museum
Date & Loc: until May 31, The Studio, Level 2
A powerful photography exhibition exploring the beauty of the Pantanal wetlands and the devastating impact of wildfires and climate change.
Age: 12+ | Price: No cost | Info

🖼️ Art On Your Doorstep (National Gallery) @ Croydon
Date & Loc: Ongoing, Croydon
The National Gallery takes art outdoors, with full-scale reproductions of famous masterpieces popping up across public spaces. Croydon becomes the first London borough to host this free, walk-up exhibition.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost | Info

..PARTNER UP..

..SPREAD THE LOVE..

Thank you for reading ❤️

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