Edition rounds up the best things to see and do with your family in Cambridgeshire this month
Tortoise and the Hare
Northern Ballet, who’ve previously charmed audiences with productions including Ugly Duckling and Three Little Pigs, bring their latest show, Tortoise and the Hare, to the Corn Exchange this month.
Join them on 22 March for their adaptation of this much-loved Aesop’s fable, which incorporates ballet, music and theatre, and follows the tale of a speedy, boastful hare and a slow and steady tortoise.
Performances take place at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm and tickets are £7.50 for under 17s and £9.50 for adults. Suitable for ages 3+.
The Gruffalo’s Child
Created by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the story of the Gruffalo has become a modern classic, adored by kids and grown-ups the world over. In this, a stage adaptation of the sequel to the book, Tall Stories Theatre Company tell the story of the night the Gruffalo’s child ignores his dad’s warnings and ventures out into the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist… does he?
There’s singing, funny bits and scary fun aplenty in this family-friendly show, which runs from 29 March to 3 April at Cambridge Arts Theatre. It’s suitable for children aged three and upwards. Tickets are £15.50.
Kids Stuff at Cambridge Science Festival
From 7 to 20 March, Cambridge Science Festival returns, bringing with it a host of activities for families.
On 12 March, 11-11.45am at Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, Phillip and Rachel Garsed will present How to Train Your Robot. Their talk will include an interactive demonstration as they try to program their robot to carry out a simple task. Head to the Union at 2pm for Sci Cam: The Science Magazine Show, in which the magazine team will present beginner’s guides and up-to-date research.
Also on 12 March are two drop-in events. Between 10.30am and 3.30pm at the Department of Earth Sciences, you can investigate minerals, dinosaurs and earthquakes with Time Truck, while at the Polar Museum, 11am-3.30pm, it’s Polar Science family day, with a range of activities from the museum and the British Antarctic Survey.
On 14 March from 5pm, Steve Mould is at Lady Mitchell Hall, where he’ll be presenting More Science Pranks. The show is full of tricks and practical jokes designed to make you question how you see the world. Finally, on 19 March head to the Centre for Mathematical Science between 11.30am and 4pm for its Hands on Maths Fair. There’ll be games for all ages, from an anti-Rubik’s Cube to origami – it’s maths, but not as you know it! For those with stars in their eyes, also on 19 March is an open afternoon, 2-6pm, at the Institute of Astronomy. You can meet scientists, telescopes, Cybermen, a Dalek and K9, find out what happens when galaxies collide, and investigate out of this world holiday destinations at the Exoplanet Travel Bureau.
Image Credit: Rob Bridge
Megson Family Folk Show
On 13 March at 11.30am and 2.30pm, award-winning folk duo Debs and Stu Hanna, better known as Megson, will be performing a family-friendly show at Cambridge Junction. Billed as “an organic, authentic and fun folk concert for big and little music connoisseurs”, Megson will be performing a selection of children’s folk songs. The tunes will be both old and new and taken from their When I was a Lad album. Three-time nominees in BBC Radio 2’s Folk Awards and twice winners of the Spiral Earth Awards, Megson chose to record the album in 2011 on the birth of their daughter, Lola Wren.
Tickets start at £6. Arrive early to get stuck in with one of Cambridge Junction’s Hands on Happenings, a themed arts and craft session that’s free to attend and will take place just before the show itself.
Night Run at Wimpole
Starting at 6.15pm on 12 March, guests of all ages are invited to go on a night-time run and adventure through the grounds of Wimpole Estate. Runners can choose to take on either the Adventurer, a long course of 7km which starts at 6.15pm, or the Explorer, a short course which is just 2km and starts five minutes later at 6.20pm.
In conjunction with the runs themselves will be a programme of entertainment throughout the evening collectively dubbed Wimpole After Dark. There’ll be live music from jazz and blues band The Accidentalists, a night walk through the gardens with storyteller Polly Howatt, after-hours tours of the house and an explore through the parkland with visitor experience ranger Rosie Lawrence.
Tickets to the run start at £6.50, whilst Wimpole After Dark will be £10 for adults and £5 for children.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wimpole-estate
Shh…Bang!
On 20 March, Peut-être Theatr will be bringing a very special dance-theatre performance to Cambridge Junction for children and adults. The show was created in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Acoustics and Vibrations at Southampton University.
Funny, surreal and gently beautiful, the story follows two characters who go on a journey filled with sound and learn how to listen to silence. Pay an extra £3 to attend an interactive workshop from the University of Southampton on the science of sound and vibration, which will be complete with acoustic kits and instruments, and look at how sound affects real-world science problems.
Tickets to Shh…Bang! are £10 for adults and £6 for children. It takes place at 11.30am and 2.30pm.
Image Credit: The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Mummy Activities at the Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitz is getting mummy crazy this month for its latest exhibition, Death on the Nile. There’s plenty to see and do for the budding Egyptologist, starting with the latest instalment of Family First Saturdays, which are free to attend. This time it’ll be on 5 March, at 2pm. Meet at the Family Welcome Point in Gallery 33, collect drawing materials, try some activities and follow trails throughout the museum on the theme of Ancient Egypt.
Next up there’s Exploring Egypt on 26 March for kids aged between five and seven years old. Starting at 10.30am, children can travel back in time to ancient Egypt on a family tour of the exhibition. Then they’ll have the opportunity to get creative with clay in the museum’s studio. This event is £8 to attend, and anyone under eight must be accompanied by an adult. Finally, there’s The Extraordinary Egyptians. Aimed at eight to ten-year olds, it’s part of an Explore Arts Award at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. It costs £25, and takes place over three days, from 29 to 31 March, starting at 10.30am each day.
Easter Egg Hunt
Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmunds, was built as a place for the 4th Earl of Bristol to store all the treasures he’d accumulated when travelling the world – so what better place to join in with a treasure hunt? The grand stately home has partnered with Cadbury’s to once again host an Easter egg hunt in its beautiful grounds, where little ones can follow the trail and answer the questions set by Augustus (the house cat!), which will lead them to plenty of chocolatey deliciousness.
Easter activities, including crafts and games as well as the egg hunt, start on 25 March. The egg hunt costs £2.50 per child.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ickworth
Easter Fun Day
The Easter fun is starting over at Wandlebury Country Park in the Gog Magog Hills with a fun day on 26 March. Kids aged five and up are invited to join in with indoor craft activities using natural materials, before heading into the park to find clues and chocolate prizes. Sessions run at 10.30am and 1pm, and cost £8 per child; adults go free. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
My Pet Monster and Me!
Grab your brood and get down to Cambridge Junction on 6 March to join acclaimed children’s theatre company Blunderbus for their production of My Pet Monster and Me! This magical story follows Sophie Bucket, who lives on a farm with her dad and spends all her time daydreaming, wishing she had a friend to share her adventures with. One day, she finds an egg – which she keeps warm and takes care of until out pops a cuddly, burpy baby monster. Then the fun really begins, but when the monster keeps on growing, there’s trouble ahead!
Featuring colourful puppets, catchy songs and lots of laughs, this new show will delight the whole family – pop by before the show and your little monsters can join in with a free arts and crafts session.
Performances take place at 11.30am and 2.30pm and tickets are £10 per adult and £6 per child.
