Our most joyful PLAYTIME yet!

Each year throughout August families take over the galleries to visit our PLAYTIME summer holiday programme. It’s been going now for 6 years and it just gets bigger and better year on year. Each year the PLAYTIME theme changes to respond to whatever exhibition is on at the time. This year we took inspiration from the John Lyon’s Exhibition, Carnivalesque.

Loads of carnival themed activities filled the spaces around the gallery, inside and out, that brought the Carnivalesque paintings and poems to life for families.

In Gallery 3 you could dress up and become part of a painting. It was hilarious seeing families donning parrot heads and tutus. This one was most definitely not just for the kids!

On the Mezzanine Level we had a Carnival themed sensory-play space especially for babies. Lots of colourful fabric, baby tutus, feathers, musical instruments, ribbons and more enabled babies the freedom and a safe warm space to sit and play without risk of being trampled on by older children.

Also on the Mezzanine in our Everyday Art School space there was a crafting space where families could make their own Carnival hats and props to wear and use in the main Carnival play area in the Art Garden.

On the Promenade, over looking the Carnival play space, you could create your own John Lyon’s inspired poetry.

And then to finish up families could visit our Art Garden for some Carnival inspired loose-parts play. In this space you could also make lots of noise and create a Carnival inspired soundtrack with giant musical instruments donated to us by our friends and PLAYTIME partners Pentagon Play, the UK’s number one playground equipment specialist. This is the fifth year we have worked with Pentagon Playon PLAYTIME and we are so grateful to them for their support with equipment and resources.

Then we finished each day with a brilliant noisy Carnival Parade around the Art Garden and Park.