The schools are out and it’s officially half term in South Wales. There’s plenty going on for families with everything from a giant dinosaur and a light installation trail to bird box making, free craft sessions and even a science festival taking place over the coming week.

I’ve included everything I can find in these half term events listings but let me know anything I have missed in the comments below, on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page or you can tweet me on @cardiffmummy 

Events are categorised as follows: Theatre and performance / Arts and crafts / Museums / Fun for families / Science-based / Nature / Cinema. Some events may appear in more than one category.

All events are subject to change and cancellation – especially outdoor events with the current stormy weather – so please check with organisers to avoid disappointment.

As always, it helps me massively if you can give this post a like a share or a comment on my social media channels

Have a fantastic February half term!

This guide is kindly once again sponsored by The Red Dragon Centre as part of Cardiff Mummy Says’ role as family blogger ambassador for the Cardiff Bay entertainment complex. The Red Dragon Centre is home to Hollywood Bowl for 10-pin family fun; family-friendly restaurants and cafes, and a huge Odeon cinema, which is the only digital IMAX® screen in South Wales.

The centre has plenty going on over half term – see this link for full details.

Tickets at the Odeon are now £5 all day every day, for standard 2D films when bought at the cinema. You can read more here. Family-friendly films showing this half term include Dolittle, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Emma.

Plus the Odeon offers family films for just £2.50 per ticket as part of Odeon Kids. These early morning showings (usually around 10am) take place every weekend and every day during local school holidays. They are a great chance to catch slightly older films on the big screen and a perfect low-cost indoor option when the weather’s not great. Visit the Odeon Kids page for latest listings.

You can get 25% off bowling at Hollywood Bowl, if you bowl before 10am during half tern. Enter the code ‘FEB2025’ at the checkout when booking online here.

There’s also plenty of choice for meals or snacks with family-friendly restaurants and cafes including Bella Italia, Five Guys, Spice Route, Oriental Garden and Cadwaladers.

The Red Dragon Centre are celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Day on Monday 17 Feb, and resident radio presenters, Josh and Kally from Capital FM’s Drive show will be dishing out lots of exciting prizes! From free cinema and bowling tickets to great giveaways from our restaurants, you might just get more than you expect during your visit!

Between Thursday 20 and Saturday 22 February, The Red Dragon Centre will partner with Wales’ leading first aid charity, St John Cymru, to host a number of first aid demonstrations for the public during half term as part of the #Defibruary campaign.

St John Cymru will be at the Centre providing a range of demonstrations including how to use a defibrillator, how to perform CPR and general first aid techniques between 11am-4pm.

The awareness sessions follow The Red Dragon Centre’s recent purchase of a Heartstart HS1 defibrillator to enhance its commitment to customer wellbeing and safety and strengthen the first aid skills of the Centre team.

St John Cymru will also be holding in-depth awareness sessions at the Centre’s Grosvenor Casino. Members of the public, over the age of 18, will be able to book onto these sessions and learn how to use an Automatic External Defibrillator as well as learning how to administer CPR – advance bookings can be made here: https://training.stjohnwales.org.uk/course/CPRD

Parking is free for up to six hours for customers of The Red Dragon Centre (subject to minimum spend and entering your registration number into the terminals at one of the outlets).

Theatre and performance

Try Gamelan Workshop

St David’s Hall, Cardiff

Saturday 15 February, 1pm-3pm

Adults £8, children £5.50

Age guidance: 7+

Hands-on musical sessions where the whole family can enjoy playing beautiful bronze Javanese percussion instruments and learn to play a traditional piece.

Zog

St David’s Hall, Cardiff

Monday 17 February 4.30pm; Tuesday 18 February 11am and 2pm

Adults £15.50, children £13.50

The stage adaptation of the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book sees young dragon Zog eager to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school. But as he tries so very hard, perhaps too hard, he bumps, burns and roars his way through years one, two and three.  Luckily, the plucky Princess Pearl patches him up ready to face his biggest challenge yet…a duel with knight, Sir Gadabout the Great! Freckle Productions’ show features live music, original songs and puppetry

Yana and the Yeti

Blackwood Miners’ Institute

Tuesday 18 February, 2pm and 4pm

£6.75

The Riverfront, Newport

Thursday 20 February, 11.30am and 2.30pm

£8

Age guidance 5+

Featuring music, Arctic landscapes and a cast of extraordinary puppets, Yana and the Yeti is a dark, funny and poignant tale of a small child’s determination to be understood and her discovery that friends can come in the most unexpected shapes and sizes. Yana is far away from home, all alone in a remote snow-bound village and can’t understand a word anyone says. The other children tease her with tales of mythical mountain monsters. Then things start to get really hairy…

Muckers

Sherman Theatre, Cardiff

Wednesday 19 Feb, 11am and 2pm

£10; age guidance 7+

This hour-long family performance tells of two girls, Paloma and Pichón, who have always mucked around together. They dress up like tigers, flamenco dancers, queens, kings, rabbits and Lady Gaga. Life is fun and funny and a little bit loopy. Until one day a blinding white light lands on Paloma and her days of dressing up, running wild, and mucking about seem to be over. Muckers is a quest for self-acceptance; a magnetic, captivating and mucky journey, with original songs and a little bit of Spanish.

Highly-acclaimed Theatr Iolo are also touring Wales with the show. Full dates here.

Tom Brace: Brace of Spades

Memo Arts Centre, Barry

Thursday 20 February, 4pm

Adults £10, children under 16 £8.50, group of 4 £30

Age guidance: 8+; 60 minute running time

Following a sold-out run at last years Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Tom Brace returns with a brand-new magic show for the whole family, featuring a blend of comedy and magic.

Disney’s Aladdin JR

St Donat’s Arts Centre, Llantwit Major

Friday 21-Sunday 23 February

Friday 21 7pm, Saturday 2pm and 7pm, Sunday 2pm

£7-£9

Youth theatre group Stage Door One present Disney’s Aladdin JR. Based on the 1992 Academy-Award®-winning film and the 2014 hit Broadway and West End show, Aladdin sees the “diamond in the rough” street rat who learns that his true worth lies deep within. Aladdin discovers a magic lamp and the Genie who has the power to grant three wishes. Wanting to earn the respect of the princess, Jasmine, Aladdin embarks on an adventure that will test his will and his moral character.

Troupe: The Bad Mood

Richard Burton Theatre, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff

Saturday 22 February, 11.30am

£9

Age guidance: 5+

A playful musical adventure for all the family featuring movement, story-telling and music from across the ages. Sonic HQ does its best to keep the world ticking along, but when a Bad Mood arrives on the grid, HQ’s sound-makers haven’t a clue how to reach it.

Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever

New Theatre, Cardiff

Saturday 22-Sunday 23 February, 10am, 1pm and 4pm

£12.50-£19.50

The cartoon favourite takes to this stage ready for a ‘the best day ever’ – a special day out with George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. Get set for a road-trip of adventure, including castles and caves, dragons and dinosaurs, ice creams and muddy puddles, plus familiar friends along the way include Miss Rabbit, Mr Bull, Suzy Sheep and more.

Michael Morpurgo’s Mimi and the Mountain Dragon

Grand Pavilion Porthcawl

Sunday 23 February, 11am

£6.50

Age guidance 3+

A magical musical puppetry adventure

Michael Morpurgo’s heart-warming tale springs to life in an epic mountain adventure about friendship and courage that’s packed full of snow, dragons, lively songs and captivating puppetry. Each year high up in the snowy mountains of Switzerland the villagers of Dorta bang their drums, blow their horns and make a noisy ruckus to keep the fearsome Mountain Dragon away. But this year is different. One cold winter morning Mimi discovers something extraordinary – a baby dragon asleep in the woodshed! The little creature is lost and frightened. But how did he get there and what happens if his mother comes looking for him? Mimi must be extremely brave if she is going to reach the dragon’s castle at the very top of the mountain and return the baby dragon safely home.

Arts and crafts

FREE Myths and Masterpieces

Glanfa Foyer, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay

Monday 17-Saturday 22 February, 11am-4pm

Be inspired by King Arthur and discover the Centre’s hidden treasures this half-term. Create your own coat of arms, weave a crown of flowers and conjure a magical elixir to take on you adventure in this family-friendly craft session.

Half term craft day

Create a Party at Lark Design Make, Lochaber Street, Roath

Monday 17 February, 10am-3.30pm

£18 half day or £35 full day

Ages 6-10, must be pre-booked

A day of crafts from Create a Party at Lark Design Make Studio. Children will make a dream catcher, design a canvas bag, and paint a rock among other crafty activities. They will need to bring a packed lunch.

Pus an after-school craft club will be starting on Thursdays after half term.

How to Draw a Dinosaur

The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant

Monday 17 and Friday 21 February

£8 per person or £4.00 when booked with a tour (adults £13, children 5-15 £10, family £38.50)

Age guidance 7+; duration 2 hours

Learn how to draw your own dinosaur, bringing one of these amazing creatures back to life on paper. The workshop is led by Robert Nicholls, an artist who works with museums all over the world to create scientifically accurate illustrations of dinosaurs by analysing the materials found in their fossils. During the workshop you will reconstruct a dinosaur from the inside out, from fossils to a skeleton, then soft tissue and integument, then colour and pose.

Plus Strike Your Own Megalosaurus 50p from Thursday 13 February to 15 March.

FREE Family activity sessions

St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff

Monday 17-Tuesday 18 February, 12pm-4pm

Science and Nature as part of Cardiff Science Festival (Gweithdy Gallery)

Tuesday 18 February, 1.30pm-3pm

Toddler Science (Studio 1)

Wednesday 19-Friday 21 February, 12pm-4pm

Craft and making (Gweithdy Gallery)

Craft and family film time

Museum of Cardiff (formerly The Cardiff Story), The Hayes, Cardiff

Wednesday 19 February, 10am-2.30pm

£1 per child

Get creative and recycle used containers and materials to design your own plant pot to take home. 1pm will also see a free screening of the family film The Last Rainforest, a magical animated adventure with an ecological message.

Museums and historical

Time Travelling Heroes

The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant

Saturday 15, Sunday 16, Tuesday 18, Thursday 20, Saturday 22 February

£5 per child or free with a tour (adults £13, children 5-15 £10, family £38.50)

Age guidance 5+; duration 45 minutes

Travel back in time with tour guide, Dinosaur Dean, and visit Dinosauria. Can your child evade the dangers, fend off the dinosaur and help save the precious dinosaur eggs?

Children will travel back in time to fend off the dinosaurs with the specially designed dinosaur javelins; learn map reading skills to locate the precious dinosaur eggs; rescue the dinosaur eggs from the grumpy dinosaur; find their way back to 2020 in the time machine; learn about today’s endangered species and how they can help.

Plus Strike Your Own Megalosaurus 50p from Thursday 13 February to 15 March.

How to Draw a Dinosaur

The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant

Monday 17 and Friday 21 February

£8 per person or £4.00 when booked with a tour (adults £13, children 5-15 £10, family £38.50)

Age guidance 7+; duration 2 hours

Learn how to draw your own dinosaur, bringing one of these amazing creatures back to life on paper. The workshop is led by Robert Nicholls, an artist who works with museums all over the world to create scientifically accurate illustrations of dinosaurs by analysing the materials found in their fossils. During the workshop you will reconstruct a dinosaur from the inside out, from fossils to a skeleton, then soft tissue and integument, then colour and pose.

Plus Strike Your Own Megalosaurus 50p from Thursday 13 February to 15 March.

FREE Celtic Warrior Grave

St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff

Tuesday 18 February, 11am and 3pm Welsh sessions, 1pm and 2pm English sessions

Age guidance 6+; must be advance booked

How do we know what we do about our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago? Unlock secrets from the past in this interactive, archaeology workshop exploring the grave of an Iron Age warrior.

Museum ExplorAR: A living guide to the galleries

National Museum Cardiff

£10 per hour plus refundable deposit

A new way of looking at some of the museum’s most famous exhibits – thought augmented reality (AR) which brings the exhibits to life. Pick up a handset at the museum’s shop and use the handset for Monet’s Waterlilly Garden Experience; Underwater Life Experience; and Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures Experience in either Welsh or English. Read our full review of the AR experience here.

Mission: Planet Earth

National Museum Cardiff

From 4 November

£10; purchase tickets on the day at the museum’s reception desk

Age guidance: 10+

A new permanent virtual reality experience where you’ll discover what Wales was like millions of years ago – from the warm depths of the seas of what will become Pembrokeshire to the bitterly cold climate of Powys. You might come across some giant bugs, dinosaurs and even woolly mammoths. Available in Welsh and English and wheelchair accessible.

Photography Fun for Families

National Museum Cardiff

Tuesday 18-Friday 21 February, 11am, 1pm, 3pm

£2; places limited, book on arrival at the Museum

Age guidance 3+

Be inspired by the ‘Martin Parr in Wales’ exhibition and have fun with photography making props and then get creative. Cameras not provided, please bring your own devices.

FREE Virtual Reality Experience

Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon

Tuesday 2 April 2019-Thursday 2 April 2020, 9.30am-5pm

Featuring real characters from Blaenavon’s industrial past, the Time Travel in the Blaenavon World Heritage experience uses audio storytelling and three-dimensional technology to display the town’s rich industrial history through three virtual reality films ― showcasing life at Big Pit, the town primary school and the home of a local family in Blaenavon Heritage Town. Using smart devices, the immersive content can be viewed at three iconic locations across the internationally celebrated region, including Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon World Heritage Centre and Blaenavon Heritage Town, which all feature in the immersive films.

The films can be viewed with or without an accompanying VR headset, which are available to borrow from Big Pit National Coal Museum (deposit of £5 required) or Blaenavon World Heritage Centre or can be simply viewed using a mobile phone.  Plus, visitors can revisit the on-site experience and view the digital package at home using a desktop browser. Read our review here (paid collaboration with Big Pit National Coal Museum).

FREE Family of Miners Exhibition

Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon

Until 30 June, 9.30am-5pm

A photographic exhibition by Walter Waygood documenting mining and miners of Blaenaon from the 1970s onwards.

FREE Sensory Play Workshops

Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon

Saturdays 15 and 22 February, 11am-4pm

Messy sensory play suitable for children aged six months to six years, helping them to discover, learn and work on their language, creative and motor skills.

FREE Soft Play

Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon

Sunday 16-Friday 21 February, 11am-4pm

The Play Lab soft play is open for under 5s, children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Celebrating the Roman Festival of Sementivae: Create your own clay pot

National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon

Saturday 15-Sunday 22 February; various sessions available. See website for details.

£2.50

During Sementivae offerings were made to the Roman Goddesses of Agriculture to protect the Spring Sowing. Create yout own clay plant pot and plant some seeds to take home.

FREE Meet a Roman Soldier

National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon

Monday 17-Tuesday 18, Thursday 20-Saturday 22 February, 2pm-4pm

Chat to a Roman soldier in the Barrack Room and find out more about the life of a Roman soldier in Isca.

Fun for families

FREE Quay-Rex the T-Rex

Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay

Saturday 8-Sunday 23 February, 10am-5pm

The UK’s largest animatronic T-Rex is in Cardiff. Standing at 18 metres long and 5 metres tall, his head, tail, eyes and arms all move, and he roars. Quay-Rex is visible 24/7. Its arms, tail etc move between 9am and 8pm, and it will also roar every half an hour. There’s also a ride suitable for children aged up to 14/weight 70kg, costing £3. The Dino Store, selling themed mechandise, is open Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 February and then Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February, 10am –5pm. Read our review here.

CoedLan – High Ropes 

St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff

Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February, 10.15am-4.30pm

£12 per person;

Tackle CoedLan’s 18 obstacles, including a balance beam, zig zag bridge, cargo net and a zip wire. No need to book in advance – buy your tickets on the day from the CoedLan desk. However if you’d like to guarantee a spot, you can book in advance by calling 029 2057 3322.

Participants must be 110cm tall and aged 6 or over in order to take part. Children between 110cm and 130cm must be accompanied by an individual over 130cm and aged 12 years old or over. The maximum weight is 18 stone. Read our review of the experience here (paid collaboration as part of our role as family blogger ambassadors with National Museum Wales).

Alexandra’s Enchanted Garden

Alexandra Park, Penarth

Friday 14-Friday 22 February

Pre-bookable sessions from 5.20pm-7.40pm

From £8.50 per person, family ticket £30

Alexandra Park will be transformed into an interactive, sensory experience allowing visitors young and old to discover a world of fun and imagination. Follow the winding paths through the Giant’s Garden and the Fairy Kingdom, make a wish in the well and listen to the pixies work away in the wishing factory as audiences enter a world filled with immersive soundscapes, lighting displays and design installations. Starting at the iconic Turner House Gallery expect surprises around every corner, endless photo opportunities, local food vendors and plenty to interact with.

Treetop Adventure Golf

St David’s Shopping Centre, Cardiff

Monday 17-Sunday 23 February

£9 per person, under 5s £4, family of four 18 holes £29.50, 36 holes £43.50

Free face painting and glitter tattoos for golfers every day from 11am-4pm. Tee off before midday and play two courses for the price of one. Pizza Cabana serving food from 10am.

Tee-Rex Adventure Golf

Old St Mellons, Cardiff

Adults £7, children £7, family (2+2) £20

An outdoor 18 hole crazy golf where you can play among the huge dinosaurs, volcano waterfall, cave and raft.

Plus dino-themed soft play for under 6s, £6.40 weekends and school holidays

Half term events

Hamleys, St David’s Shopping Centre, Cardiff

Meet Peppa Pig at Hamleys

Saturday 15 February, 11:30-12:10pm, 1pm-2.40pm, 2pm-2.40pm, 3pm-3.40pm, 4pm-4.30pm

Meet Hamley Bear 

Saturday 15 February-Sunday 1 March, 12.30pm-1pm

Lego City Needs You

Saturday 15 February-Sunday 1 March, 3.30pm-3pm

Build the best vehicle you can create to help the cops catch the crooks. Display your amazing build and receive a cool LEGO® city sticker to take home.

Get Beanboozled at Hamleys

Saturday 15 February-Sunday 1 March, 3.30pm-4pm

Spin the giant Jelly Belly Beanboozled wheel to find out which flavour bean you will have to eat. They both look the same, but will it be yum or yuck? Tutti Frutti or Stinky Beans, Choccie Pudd or… Canned Dog Food!

Time Travelling Heroes

The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant

Saturday 15, Sunday 16, Tuesday 18, Thursday 20, Saturday 22 February

£5 per child or free with a tour (adults £13, children 5-15 £10, family £38.50)

Age guidance 5+; duration 45 minutes

Travel back in time with tour guide, Dinosaur Dean, and visit Dinosauria. Can your child evade the dangers, fend off the dinosaur and help save the precious dinosaur eggs?

Children will travel back in time to fend off the dinosaurs with the specially designed dinosaur javelins; learn map reading skills to locate the precious dinosaur eggs; rescue the dinosaur eggs from the grumpy dinosaur; find their way back to 2020 in the time machine; learn about today’s endangered species and how they can help.

Half term events

Bedwellty House, Tredegar

Goldilock Storytelling Trail

Tuesday 18 February, 11am-12pm

£6.50 per child, must be pre-booked

Age guidance 3+

Splatters of porridge have been found all over Bedwellty House & Park, but who could have made them? Could it be someone with long blonde hair and blue eyes? Join the Louby Lou team for an exciting storytelling trail as you try to track down that naughty Goldilocks once and for all.
£6.50 per child

Nerf Wars

Thursday, February 20, 10am-11.30am, 12pm-1.30pm

£12.50 per child

Age guidance 5+; must be pre-booked

Nerf Wars fun as participants enjoy battling the dinosaur and have lots of general nerf themed outdoor fun.

Build a Nest Box

Friday 21 February 21, 10:30am-12:30pm

Must be pre-booked

Make a bird nest box as part of National Nest Box Week, just in time for the upcoming nesting season. Learn how to build your own box from scratch and find out where to put it up at home. Discover more about the different birds that may visit your garden and what you can do to further encourage our feathered friends.

Science-based

Cardiff Science Festival

Across Cardiff

Saturday 15-Tuesday 18 February

Discover how science, technology, engineering and maths affect our everyday lives with events taking place across the city. See website for full details. A few highlights for families include:

Show Me The Science at Capitol Shopping Centre on Saturday 15 February rfom 9am-5pm which includes activities to explore how we can fight off harmful bugs, such as building your own biofilm to seeing how dirty your hands really are.

Lush Science at the Lush Store on Queen Street, daily 9.30am-7pm. Drop in to discover more about the science of cosmetics, and about the impact of plastic on our oceans. Drop in after 11am on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 February to make your very own Turtle Jelly Bomb and learn more about reducing plastic consumption, priced £4.95 per person.

Paint Your Face on a Plate – Health and Wellbeing for Kids, Monday February 17, 9am-5pm, Capitol Shopping Centre.

The Microplastic Detectives, Sunday 16 February, 12pm-1pm, Bute Park Education Centre. Must be pre-booked. 99% of all estimated microplastic in the ocean is still unaccounted for. Join Nia Jones, marine microplastic Scientist at Bangor University, who will explain how and why scientists are needing to become detectives to look for the missing plastic.

Lego Robot Workshop

Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

Saturday 15 February-Sunday 23 February

£3.30 per person in addition to usual Techniquest entry (

Age 7+; book on arrival at Techniquest, places limited

Learn coding the easy way in Techniquest’s Lab, with the fantastically fun LEGO Robot workshops! Techniquest’s science communicators will help you to construct your robot, and program it using an iPad to move, make sounds, change direction, detect distance and more.

Bubbles and Blasts, Starman and his Dog, The Search For Life

Techniquest, Cardiff Bay

Saturday 15 February-Sunday 23 February

Bubbles and Blasts is a 35-minute live science show exploring the world of bubbles and blasts, from bubbles as big as you to those that burn and explode. It’s included in usual entry fee, although must be booked upon arrival.

Starman and his Dog is a 25-minute show for under 7s in the Planetarium, costing £1.50 per person in addition to usual entry. Discover who the Starman is as he helps you find pictures in the night sky by joining the stars together using imaginary lines.

The Search for Life is a 25-minute show for over 7s in the Planetarium, costing £1.50 per person in addition to usual entry. Find out how life is thought to have started on this planet, where life has been found in some of the most extreme places on the Earth, and how we can use this new-found knowledge to search for life on other planets and moons in the Solar System.

Plus all the usual hands-on exhibitions which make exploring science fun and accessible.

FREE STEM on Stage

Margam Country Park, Port Talbot

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 February

Limited spaces, must be advance-booked

Family fun science and technology event

A free family friendly event with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) ambassadors on show. Techniquest Starlab will present an out out of this world experience of the night sky; TV presenter Dan Rouse will give talk on brilliant and bizarre birds and wildlife conservation. Plus Magicians of Maths, Astronomy, time travelling doctors, energy experiments and much more!

Nature and the great outdoors

(In light of the recent stormy weather, it’s advisable to check ahead to confirm if events are still taking place.)

Sleepy Trail

Dyffryn Gardens, St Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan

Wednesday 12 February-Sunday 1 March, 10am-4pm

Adult £13.20, children £6.60, family £33 or free for National Trust members

A nature-themed trail around the National Trust grounds to see what’s hibernating and what plants are waking up for spring. Each trail location has a letter which spells a name… but whose?

Alexandra’s Enchanted Garden

Alexandra Park, Penarth

Friday 14-Friday 22 February

Pre-bookable sessions from 5.20pm-7.40pm

From £8.50 per person, family ticket £30

Alexandra Park will be transformed into an interactive, sensory experience allowing visitors young and old to discover a world of fun and imagination. Follow the winding paths through the Giant’s Garden and the Fairy Kingdom, make a wish in the well and listen to the pixies work away in the wishing factory as audiences enter a world filled with immersive soundscapes, lighting displays and design installations. Starting at the iconic Turner House Gallery expect surprises around every corner, endless photo opportunities, local food vendors and plenty to interact with.

Dragon’s Trail

Tredegar House, Newport

Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February, 11am-3pm

Adults £12.50, children £6.25, family £31.50 or free for National Trust member

A dragon-themed family trail through the grounds of the National Trust property. A dragon has come to visit and he has a challenge for you! Do you have what it takes? Come along to see what you might find as you follow his trail through our grounds.

Animal Encounters

Cardiff Castle

Tuesday 18-Wednesday 19 February, 10.15am, 11.30am, 12.45pm, 2.30pm

£5 per person; must be advance booked

A hands-on encounter with some exotic members of the animal kingdom. As entertaining as it is educational, get up-close with some amazing species while learning all about their habitats and behaviours.

Half term events

Greenmeadow Community Farm, Cwmbran

Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February, 10am-5pm

Adults £6.50, children £5.40, family (2+3) £23.50

As well as the usual farm attractions, half term activities include cuddle corner where you can hold some of the farm’s smaller animals; screenings of the Stick Man animation; milking demonstrations; tractor and trailer rides; make and take a bird feeder; greet and groom the ponies; and animal teatime. See website for full listings and event timings.

FREE ENTRY Half term events

Margam Country Park, Port Talbot

Charges apply for some events

Monday 17 February – Bird feeder and mask making

Tuesday 18 February – Have a go archery, Funky foam flowers craft, wildlife walks

Wednesday 19 February – Have a go archery, mud monsters, family well-being taster session

Thursday 20 February – Grandma’s Gingerbread Tales pop-up shows, family well-being taster session

Friday 21 February – St David’s Day activities

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 February – STEM on stage, family fun science and technology event

Nest Box Day and Vale Owls Show

Cosmeston Country Park, Penarth

Sunday 16 February, 10am-1pm

Porthkerry Country Park, Barry

Sunday 23 February, 1pm-3pm

£5 per box

The Countryside Service will be holding a bird box making session to celebrate National Nest Box Week.

Vale Owls will be attending to display and talk about their rescued owls. There is no charge for the owl display, however Vale Owls would welcome donations on the day.

Suitable for all the family.

Sunday 16th February 10am to 1pm at Cosmeston.

Sunday 23rd February 1pm to 3pm at Porthkerry.

Half term at the Farm

Amelia Trust Farm, Barry

Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February

£2 per adult, £1.50 per child, £6 family ticket (2+3), under 2s free

Visit the animals , play in the playground, and follow the Gnome and Fairy trail.

Plus Bugs and Butterflies Pottery Painting

Monday 17-Friday 21 February, 10.30am-11.30pm and 2.30pm-3.30pm

Ages 4+

£7.50 per child, plus usual farm entry

Pre-booking advisable.

Paint or decorate a butterfly or ladybird and take home after the session. Or paint a bug-themed mug, which will be fired in the kiln and will need to be picked up another day.

Half term fun day

Wednesday 19 February, 10.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4pm

Not suitable for under 2s. Children must be supervised by an adult.

Bouncy castle, soft play, ball pit, explore the farm with the Billie’s Bugs, Beasts & Birds Trail and learn about the great outdoors. Includes Child’s entrance to the Farm but adults will need to pay.

Lambing Festival

Cantref Adventure Farm, Brecon

Saturday 15-Sunday 23 February

From £6 per person; off-peak prices as some attractions are closed due to the weather

Join Farmer Ken in the Lambing Barn and you may be lucky enough to see cute baby lambs being born. Plus bottle feed some young lambs in the theatre twice a day. Other activities include pony riding, pet handling, Mr Ev’s Show, plus indoor and outdoor adventure.

PLUS Let It Snow

]Thursday 20 February

Interactive sing alongs and meet and greet photo opportunities with character impersonators from Frozen between 2pm and 4pm

RSPB Cardiff Wildlife Detectives – Winter Bird Spotting Session

Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve

Sunday 16 February, 10am-12pm

£1.50 per child, book in advance

A family-friendly winter bird spotting session.

Build Your Own Nest Box

Bryngarw Country Park, Bridgend

Monday 17 and Wednesday 19 February, 11am-3pm

£6.50 per child

Must be pre-booked

Build your own bird box for your garden. All materials are provided. Adult supervision is required.

The Big Bird Box Build

RSPB Newport Wetlands

Monday 17, Wednesday 19 and Friday 21 February, 11am-12pm and 2pm-3pm

RSPB members £10 and non-members £12, booking essential

It’s National Nest Box Week so come and make your own nest box for your garden. Discover which birds might use it and how to look after it.

Build a Bird Box

Parc Slip Nature Reserve, Bridgend

Tuesday 18 February, 10am-12pm

£5 per person

Age 7+

Celebrate National Nest Box week by making a nest box for your garden, as well as learning how to encourage birds into your garden.

Little Green Fingers Big Garden Birdwatch Workshop

Pugh’s Garden Centre, Wenvoe

Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February, 10am, 11am, 1pm

£7

Age guidance 3+

Help your children get closer to nature by learning to look after birds in the winter months. Make your own bird feeders packed full of nutritious fruit and seeds to take home and hang in your garden. Plus take part in the Bird Box Hunt to help find all the birds keeping cosy around the garden centre in their bird boxes.

Cinema

Dinosaur Film Screenings

Everyman Cinema, Mermaid Quay

The new Everyman Cinema is celebrating the arrival of the T-Rex in Mermaid Quay with special screenings of dinosaur-related films, with The Good Dinosaur, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World showing over half term.

Little Women Activity Day

Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff

Tuesday 18 February, 10am

£22.50 per person, including ticket to film

Age guidance, 8-14

Artist Beth Morris hosts a Little Women-themed embroidery session, where participants will create a textile family sampler to take home, and then watch the film. In the days of Louisa May Alcott, it was traditional to sew together. A ‘sampler’ is a hand stitched cloth to show off beginner needlework skills. In this workshop you are encouraged to bring a parent/grandparent/friend so you can work together to create a memorable piece.

Includes a ticket for the Little Women film screening at 10:30am. Packed lunch required.

FREE FernGully

Museum of Cardiff (formerly The Cardiff Story), The Hayes, Cardiff

Wednesday 19 February, 1pm-2.30pm

A free screening of the family film The Last Rainforest, a magical animated adventure with an ecological message. Also see the Arts and Craft section above for information on a family craft session, also on 19 February from 10am-2.30pm, where children can use recycled materials to create their own plant pot to take home.

Frozen 2 Sing-Along (PG)

Memo Arts Centre, Barry

Monday 17 February 11am; Friday 21 February 2pm

£4 in advance, £4.50 on the door

Release your inner Anna and Elsa for a sing along version of Frozen II. Idina Menzel returns as ice-shifting princess Elsa, Kristen Bell as her sister Anna, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff the iceman and Josh Gad as snowman Olaf. The past is not what it seems and Elsa must explore her powers in preparation for an unknown challenge.

Cinema Club: Spies In Disguise

The Riverfront, Newport

Tuesday 18 February, 9.30am-3pm

£18

Ages 6-12

Children will watch the film and then try an activity in the afternoon.

Odeon Kids

Odeon Cinema, The Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay

The 10am weekend and school holiday showings are £2.50 per person. Films to be announced; films are usually a few months old rather than new releases.

Movies for Juniors

Cineworld, Mary Ann Street, Cardiff

The 10am weekend and school holiday Movies for Juniors showings are just £2 per person. Check online for schedule; films are usually a few months old rather than new releases.

Mini Mornings

Vue Cinema, Millennium Plaza, Cardiff

The 10am weekend and school holiday Movies for Juniors showings are just £2.49 per person. Check online for schedule; films are usually a few months old rather than new releases.

Chapter Arts Centre, Canton, Cardiff

A different family film every week

£4/£3 booked in advance; see website for full listings.