Holidays with kids don’t have to be all ice creams and playgrounds. Creative kids who find themselves on the Gold Coast are spoilt for choice when it comes to hands-on, natural heritage and cultural adventure. Here’s our top picks for cultural kids who like to get up close and personal with local culture…
ECO DISCOVERER’S KIDS CLUB
HANDS-ON AT HOTA, HOME OF THE ARTS
BOOGIE NIGHTS AT MIAMI MARKETTA
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH LARGER-THAN-LIFE ART AT SWELL


Making art accessible to kids was actually one of the reasons why SWELL Sculpture Festival founders launched the festival nearly twenty years ago and over that time it’s grown to be one of the most popular outdoor art events in Australia with a quarter of a million people visiting the exhibition every year. Taking place in September, right on the foreshore and Currumbin Beach, SWELL invites kids to get up close and intimate with its exhibiting sculptures, with a heap of opportunities for twilight sculpture walks and other hands-on activities.
GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY IN THE DUNES
Is there any better way for a small human to get to know the natural heritage of a place than getting their hands dirty? I don’t think so. And neither do the folks at Griffith University’s BeachCare program (who also run CoastEd and DuneWatch – a citizen science initiative). Every year they run hundreds of events up and down the length of the city’s coastline, targeted at local and visiting families. Kids and their adults can get down and dirty in the dunes, by collecting litter, removing weeds and re-establishing dune vegetation. There’s even marine biologist days and photography workshops for kids on offer through the year. For beach-loving families, it’s a unique twist on a day at the beach. Sessions generally run on Saturdays from 8.00am – 10.00am and there is no cost to be involved.
DANCING ON THE GREEN
When HOTA opened its enormous amphitheatre stage and surrounding landscaped gardens and lawns (with stunning views of the Surfers skyline, might I add), they also launched some eclectic and diverse programming – much of which put families front and centre. And Dancing On The Green is a classic example. On the first Sunday of every month, at exactly the same time the Farmers Markets are on in the precinct, kids and their grownups are invited onto the green to learn new dance moves before trying them out with live music. And if you really want to limber up for those new moves, there’s even yoga onsite from 8.00am. It’s a fabulous way to get the whole family moving with past themes including Polynesian, Afro beats and Bollywood styles.