Bendigo’s Top 4 Winter School Holiday Activities for Kids!
Bendigo is a stones throw away from Melbourne and the school holiday activities available are authentic, educational, engaging and best of all, FUN – for adults as well as kids!
Rain, hail or shine, a trip to Bendigo is guaranteed to brighten up your Winter school holidays. Interestingly, Bendigo was the first city in Australia to be recognised as a Child Friendly City by UNICEF.
Top 4 Winter school holiday activities for kids
- Vintage Talking Tram Tour, of course! Throughout Winter the yarn bombed tram will be gracing the streets of Bendigo. Decorated both inside and out with hand-made crochet bunting, seat covers, blankets and cushions, the yarn bombed tram is a feast for the eyes. Wrap your kids up in one of the hand-made blankets, sit back, relax and hear entertaining stories about our golden city! Check out our blog article Bendigo, home of the first Yarn Bombed Tram.
- Strike gold as a miner at Central Deborah Gold Mine. Don a hard hat and a miner’s lamp to descend underground and explore a real gold mine that operated during the gold rush. The passion of the tour guides is inspiring and they really make the experience come alive for kids. For younger families the Mine Experience Tour is great, but for families with kids over 8, the Underground Adventure Tour will create lasting memories (it even includes as traditional miner’s lunch underground!). Kids of all ages love trying their hand at gold panning, who knows, they might even strike it rich!
- Inspire your child’s scientific curiosity at the Discovery Science & Technology Centre. Discovery has something for everyone: a host of fascinating hands-on exhibits, live minibeasts, a seven metre Vertical Slide, the Bendigo Planetarium and Kaleidoscope - a space for aspiring scientists and engineers under five. During Victorian School Holidays, there are additional one-of-a-kind science shows and themed planetarium shows.
- Get your hands dirty at Bendigo Pottery. Pull up your sleeves and see what masterpieces you and your kids can create during a wheel throwing lesson with a skilled potter! Bendigo Pottery has been creating ceramics for over 150 years and has the most significant collection of ceramic wood fired kilns left in the world.
If you’re coming to Bendigo from Melbourne via train or car, you can easily fill a day in Bendigo with fascinating school holiday activities.
Catching the train from Melbourne:
8:35am = Catch the train from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. (Double check timetables here)
10:40am = Arrive in Bendigo and walk across the road to the Discovery Science & Technology Centre
10:45am = Explore the exhibits at Discovery
11:00am = Plummet down the Vertical Slide
11:30am = Pull up a beanbag and check out the Planetarium Show
12:00pm = Walk down Mitchell Street to Alexandra Fountain
12:10pm = Enjoy lunch along Pall Mall, if it’s a nice day grab some take away Schnitz and enjoy it in Rosalind Park
1:07pm = Hop aboard a Vintage Talking Tram from Charing Cross
2:00pm = Hop off the tram at Central Deborah Gold Mine
2:15pm = Descend underground on a fascinating Mine Experience Tour
3:30pm = Catch the tram back to Charing Cross
3:37pm = Hop off the tram at Charing Cross and walk back up Mitchell Street to the Train Station
4:30pm = Catch the train to Southern Cross Station
6:22pm = Arrive at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne
Travelling by car:
10:00am = Explore the surface of Central Deborah Gold Mine and try your hand at gold panning
10:30am = Descend underground on a Mine Experience Tour
12:00pm = Step aboard a Vintage Talking Tram
12:07pm = Hop off the tram at Charing Cross and enjoy lunch in town
1:07pm = Catch a Vintage Talking Tram from Charing Cross
2:00pm = Hop off the tram at Central Deborah Gold Mine
2:30pm = Create a masterpiece with a wheel throwing lesson at Bendigo Pottery
3:00pm = Find a treasure to take home for every family member at the Bendigo Pottery’s huge Antiques and Collectable Centre.
3:30pm = Time to head home
Want to do it all, at a slower pace?
Come and spend the night, your kids will have a ball staying at the BIG4 Park Lane Holiday Park. Park Lane is the proud home of Bendigo’s favourite Indoor Play Centre, Parky’s Wonderland! With free entry for all park guests, stay and play whilst the kids have the time of their lives exploring the exciting 4 level indoor play structure.
The family friendly activities don’t stop there, they also have a jumping cushion, pedal go-karts, undercover BBQ area, swimming pool with spa, games room and more!
Bendigo is a great place for a visit, no matter what time of year.
You might also like to read: