Winter festivities return to Garema Place in the city for another year, filled with even more ways to warm up. The range of snow and ice related activities includes an open air ice skating rink, giant slide, toboggan rides and some European style pop up food stalls. So everyone can jump, slip and slide in the heart of Canberra and maybe even enjoy a delicious hot chocolate as well.

Every day from June 23-July 17, varying times. Festival is free to enter, but ice skating tickets start from $8, and other rides from $5. More information and tickets are available at www.winterfestival.com.au

The National Arboretum, Warm Trees display

It appears as though even the trees are feeling the Canberra chill at the Arboretum these holidays. The colourful display, entitled Warm Trees, is an annual installation each July, where hundreds of volunteers of all ages knit scarves to decorate the forests at the National Arboretum. The display is the largest of its kind in the world and the bright colours of the scarves contrasted against the winter landscape makes it an impressive sight.

While you're there you can drive around the property to see the different displays, walk the many paths and tracks, enjoy a coffee at the café and play with the kids on arguably the best playground in Canberra – the Pod Playground.

The installation will run daily in July, 7am-5.30pm. Free. For more information call 6207 8484 or visit www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au

afterDARK Winter Lantern Tour, Australian National Botanic Gardens

Make sure you layer up with a scarf and beanie before you embark on a fascinating night tour through the Botanic Gardens. You'll first get to make your own lantern in the lantern-making workshop, which will accompany you and your ranger guide as she or he takes you on journey through the gardens, pointing out the nocturnal wildlife and telling stories about the unique native plants that grow here.

And the best part? The evening finishes with supper and toasting marshmallows over an open-air fire. Bookings are essential. Not suitable for children under five years due to timing and length of tours.

Saturday July 2, July 9, and July 16, 6.30pm-9pm. $26 adult, $21 child/concession (inc online booking fee). www.parksaustralia.gov.au

AIS Sports Vacation Program

With plenty of different activities on offer at the Australian Institute of Sport, every kid will get the chance to be active and entertained these holidays. The program is great for primary school aged kids, aged between 5 and 13, with their focus on participation, teamwork, learning new skills and having a good time.

The multi-sport program includes swimming, football, volleyball, basketball, netball, hockey, athletics, teeball, cricket, oztag, dance and more. Not to mention some chill out time away from the field and courts spent in the interactive sports exhibit Sportex, and big screen movies.

Monday-Friday, July 4-8 and 11-15, 8am-5.30pm. Cost varies, bookings essential. For more information, call 02 6214 1281 or 02 6214 1050, or visit www.experienceais.com

Football

No matter which code you love, and which team you support, Canberra is giving you and the family the chance to see some great footy action these holidays. Make sure you dress warmly.

Raiders v Knights and Raiders v Cowboys at Canberra Stadium: Sunday July 3, 2pm and Monday July 11, 7pm. From $15.29

Brumbies v Reds and Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium: Friday July 1, and Saturday July 16, both at 7.40pm. From $10.20.

premier.ticketek.com.au

Portrait Play

Children from 4 to 8 years will get to explore portraits through drawing and creative activity at the National Portrait Gallery. All children must be accompanied by a participating adult. Bookings essential.

Daily, July 2-17, From 11am. $5. www.portrait.gov.au

ASI: Art Scene Investigation

This art mystery game for children aged 8-12 takes place at the National Gallery of Australia, and is a puzzle wrapped in a mystery and topped with top secret secrets. The Art Investigation Squad needs new members to help solve the mystery by discovering clues hidden in plain sight all over the gallery. Kids will solve mysteries and find out some cool stuff with the aid of Fiona Hall.

Tuesday, July 5, from 10.30am. $12. www.nga.gov.au

Budding Entrepreneurs

Introduce your kids to business thinking and skills in this fun holiday workshop hosted by edii and Club Kidpreneur. 8 to 12 year olds will learn how to build and launch their own complete micro-enterprise, with products to sell at a market day, with proceeds donated to their desired charity, school or community project.

Four, two-day workshops: July 4-5, 6-7, 11-12 and 13-14. $250 or $200 if you book before June 30 www.edii.com.au

Warehouse Circus

Run away with the circus. Juggle, tumble, unicycle, and trapeze your way through these school holidays at one of the Warehouse Circus five-day programs in Chifley and Kaleen.

Monday to Friday, July 4-8 and 11-15, times vary. From $175. www.warehousecircus.org.au

National Library of Australia

Drop by Wordplay where kids can write, read, draw and imagine, all under the watchful eye of an adult, at the pop-up kids' space. Different activities will be on throughout the holidays including a screening of Ice Age.

Daily from Saturday July 2 to Sunday July 17, 10am-4pm. Free. Ice Age: Wednesday, July 6, from 1pm. Free, bookings required. www.nla.gov.au

Superhero Masterclass

Do you like capes? Are you good at helping those in need? Discover your inner superhero at the hands-on workshop at Old Parliament House. Kids will help save the world with their super powers made out of recycled materials.

Monday-Friday, July 4-8 and 11-15, From 9am. $6, bookings essential. www.moadoph.gov.au

Torque: Spawn Point - How Video Games are Invented and Made

Older kids will get their chance to meet a small team making big video games, as Morgan Little and the people from the local Canberra game making company Cardboard Keep explain the rewards and challenges of independent game development.

Join them and learn about the kind of expertise you need to make a game, how long it takes, how to make it happen with limited time and resources, and what to do if you want to get started.

Cardboard Keep has just released its first major title Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth, a project started in 2013, and you'll get the chance to play it on the night at The Ian Potter Foundation Technology Learning Centre.

Wednesday, July 6, 6pm. Free, bookings essential.

National dinosaur museum

Take a stroll through time, as the museum's exhibits take you on a journey from the Earth's very beginnings to some of the most recent animals. The museum features 23 complete skeletons, and more than 300 displays of individual fossils. Kids can follow the evolution of life, and see just how successful the dinosaurs were.

Every day, 10am-5pm. From $9.50. www.nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au

Deep Space at Tidbinbilla

Give kids a chance to learn about Australia's role in space exploration at the Canberra Space Centre. Take in the amazing views of the largest antenna complex in the southern hemisphere, see a piece of the moon that is more than 3.8 billion years old and see some of the latest images of the solar system. You can also discover what astronauts do on the space shuttle and space station, as well as the foods they eat. But don't worry; you won't have to experience it, because there is the Moon Rock Café on site to keep you satisfied.

Every day, 9am-5pm. Free. www.cdscc.nasa.gov

Questacon

There is always plenty to see and do at Canberra's premier facility for science fun especially these school holidays. The permanent earthquake house, and sideshow exhibits are always a winner. And not for the faint-hearted, the new Spiders! exhibit will be open, letting you explore the mysterious world of our eight-legged friends and discover what makes these arachnids unique.

Every day, 9am-5pm. From $17.50. www.questacon.edu.au

Celebrate 50 years of Play School

Everyone has a story of sitting down and watching the ABC's Play School television program, and now it is time to celebrate its milestone birthday. Bring the kids along to visit Big Ted, Little Ted, Humpty, Jemima and the Rocket Clock, as well as a chance to look through the Round, Square and Arched windows. Also, just for the school holidays, kids will get the chance to discover What's behind the windows? Kids get the chance to be a Play School scriptwriter and presenter behind the Museum's windows.

Kids can tour the exhibition, and create their own episode on a scrolling TV to take home, play in the cubby and story space, and star in the Play School studio.

Exhibit every day until July 24, 9am-5pm. From $4.

Discovery Space, Monday-Friday, July 4-8, 11-15, 10-11.30am and 11.30-1pm. From $5. www.nma.gov.au

Kids Cooking Classes

Are you feeling the cold and in need of some warming winter recipes? Have you got a budding little chef at home? Why not send them along to the Kids Pantry, and let them try their hand at whipping up a dish worthy of MasterChef kids! Kids Pantry is a fun and interactive cooking school designed to give kids the skills in the kitchen while getting their mitts dirty. Classes ranges in three age groups: 13-18 years, 9-12 years and 5-8 years, and there are three daily sessions.

Monday-Friday, July 4-8, 11-15, 9am-4pm, Single sessions from $45, all day sessions $145. www.kidspantry.com.au

School holidays at The Australian War Memorial

Get hands-on with history and hear brave stories about Australia's servicemen and women with kids' activities at the AWM. Fridays have Story Time, and the Discovery Zone lets kids get interactive with uniforms, real items, simulators, and explorations.

Every day, 10am-5pm. Free. www.awm.gov.au

Gazillion bubble show

What could be more wonderful than an entire theatre filled with bubbles? Don't miss out on seeing it as the Gazillion Bubble Show comes to Canberra, after its mainstay on Broadway for the past 10 years.

Imagine millions of tiny bubbles floating through the audience; bubbles so big you can stand inside of them; bubble sculptures that defy belief; bubbles filled with smoke shooting across the stage. All this and more is brought to you by the seventeen-time Guinness World Record holders, the Yang family.

Kids (and adults too) will love the chance to step into an interactive bubble world, with spellbinding lasers, spectacular lighting effects and jaw-dropping masterpieces of bubble artistry.

July 1-4, see website for show times. From $39. www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au

The Little Prince

The much loved children's book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry comes to life on stage at Canberra's The Street, through the acclaimed production by the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.

Let your children's imagination take flight with The Little Prince's tale of a curious prince who leaves his tiny home planet and journeys across the universe, discovering that adults have very strange ideas about the things that really matter. It is a timeless message about the importance of friendship, and the richness of human feeling. It is suitable for kids aged 4 and above.

July 13-16, see website for show times. $18. www.thestreet.org.au

Scooby doo! Live! Level Up

The Mystery inc. gang is back in this exciting new production featuring big musical numbers, stunning multi-media content and kooky characters that pay homage to classic video games. Old and new Scooby fans will be entertained by perplexing puzzles, an abundance of Scooby Snacks, and the iconic Mystery Machine.

Go along and watch the show from the edge of your seat as the gang solve the mystery at Crystal Cove - "The Most Hauntedest Place on Earth".

Wednesday, July 13, from 10.30am or 1.30pm. From $29.90. www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au