Are you looking to plan some fun days out with the kids these summer school holidays? There are plenty of live shows, events and attractions to visit around Sydney’s North Shore! Here’s your round-up of the best things to do these school holidays to enjoy quality time with your kids while keeping them nice and busy. Get planning!
Scroll down the list of things to do during the summer school holidays around Sydney’s North Shore. Simply click the Quicklink to go directly to the listing with all the event details!
If you’re looking for things to do in the school holidays in Sydney, you’ll find plenty of inspiration below:
- Australian Reptile Park – Jurassic Zoo (Somersby)
- Captain Cook Cruises (Circular Quay)
- iFLY (Penrith)
- Jeral Puppets (Castle Cove) – puppet shows for kids
- Norths Cammeray – Lenny Pearce ‘Reef Rave Tour
- Swan Lake on Ice – Sydney Coliseum Theatre
- Sydney Opera House – kids shows (Circular Quay)
- Taronga Zoo (Mosman)
- URBNSURF Sydney – a family day out (Sydney Olympic Park)
- St Ives Shopping Village
HOLIDAY CAMPS, VACATION CARE & WORKSHOPS
Fun attractions in Sydney these School Holidays
Hop On Hop Off Harbour Explorer – Captain Cook Cruises
North Shore Mums Offer: One child 4-15 years cruises free with every full-paying adult. Enter code FAMILY at checkout.

Captain Cook Cruises
Travel on the Harbour Highway!
A fun day of adventure onboard the official Sydney Harbour Explorer. Visit up to 6 destinations, including Circular Quay, Taronga Zoo, Shark Island, Watsons Bay, Manly and Darling Harbour. Includes approx 90-minute round-trip circuit of the Harbour, smartphone commentary and the flexibility to hop on and hop off as you like.
- When: Sunday 1 December 2024 to Thursday 30 January 2025
- Time: Departures from 9am
- Suited for: 4-15 years
- Cost: Adult $42-$59
- Book: Online
The Australian Reptile Park – Jurassic Zoo (Somersby)

The Australian Reptile Park
Get ready for a dino-mite adventure as the Jurassic Zoo comes to life at the Australian Reptile Park! Step into a prehistoric world that’s totally roar-some, where dinosaurs roam, discoveries await, and every moment is packed with Triassic-level excitement.
Your entry ticket includes a t-rific lineup of FREE activities like zookeeper talks, hands-on animal encounters, a dino fossil dig, the dino dance party and entry to our brand new Venom Centre.
- When: 21 December 2024 – 2 February 2025, 9am-5pm
- Suited for: All ages
- Cost: $31.99 Child & $49.99 Adult online. Kids under 3 are free.
- Book: Online, use code “NSMUMS24” to save an additional 5% on day tickets!
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Summer at URBNSURF Sydney
Visit the brand new URBNSURF these summer school holidays, and have a fun, affordable day out in the sun with your crew for $149. The Family Fun Pass is a day out to Play in the Bays with the fam with four Boog In The Bays or Surf In The Bays sessions.
Enjoy gentle rolling white-water waves in the shallows in The Bays.
The Family Fun pass includes soft board and boogie board hire and a one-hour session in the water for four people.
- When: URBNSURF is open 363 days a year. From 6 am in Summer and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Suited for: Over 6 years
- Cost: $149 Family Fun Pass
- Book: Online
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iFLY Indoor Skydiving (Penrith)
iFLY Indoor Skydiving is the perfect family adventure this summer and by family, they mean, not just for the kids! After your training session, you’ll lean into a column of air and be lifted into flight, guided by your expert instructor.
Feel the air rushing past as you learn to control your movements and learn to FLY! They totally recommend adding the High Fly where your instructor will whizz you up towards the top of the tunnel and back down again for the ultimate adrenaline rush!
- When: Open 7 days a week until late. Closed on Christmas Day.
- Where: iFLY Downunder, 123 Mulgoa Road, Penrith
- Suited for: Ages 3+ can fly
- Cost: From $90pp
- Book: Online
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Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo Sydney
There’s so much to see and do at Taronga Zoo these summer holidays.
They’ve got loads of new babies, from pygmy hippos to koala joeys to their first-ever Fiordland Penguin chicks. So bring your family to meet theirs!
Create a day or a year’s worth of memories at Taronga.
- When: Open from 9.30am – 5.00pm every day, including public holidays.
- Where: Taronga Zoo Sydney, Bradleys Head Road Mosman NSW 2088
- Suited for: All ages
- Plan your visit: What’s On
- Cost: Buy online and save 10%. Family tickets start from $92.
- Book: Online
Book tickets to a live kids show
Sydney Opera House

Josephine Wants to Dance
Book a show at the Sydney Opera House during the Summer school holidays! Located at Circular Quay, you can make a day of it by walking around the harbour, stopping for ice cream, enjoying a relaxing waterside lunch, and watching the ferries. Take a look at the kids shows playing at the Sydney Opera House these holidays:
What the Ocean Said
What the Ocean Said is a live experience for children aged 4+ and their grown-ups. It is a specially commissioned new storytelling and meditation experience with digital projections. This is a sensory world of vivid storytelling, dreamy electronic music, animation, and the wonder of Sydney Harbour.
Shows: Saturday 9 – Sunday 10 November | Suited for: 4+ years | Tickets: From $25 + $8.95 booking fee. Book now.
Grug and the Rainbow
Follow the adventures of Grug as he explores the world around him – setting out to catch all the elusive colours of the rainbow so he can create his own. This production has been created by a group of artists that shared the director’s childhood love of Grug – from the lovingly crafted set and puppets designed by Jonathon Oxlade, the idiosyncratic soundscapes created by DJ TR!P to the inventive, genuine performances of the actors that bring Grug and his friends to life.
Shows: Wednesday 11 – Sunday 22 December | Suited for: 2+ years | Tickets: From $25 + $8.95 booking fee. Book now.
Operation Ouch
For Ages 5+, TV’s favourite doctors return to Australia this January with a gigantic brand-new show. Join the twins on a dino-mite adventure to unearth the most dangerous, most powerful, most important fart in history—the Jurassic Fart!
Shows: Monday 20 & Tuesday 21 January | Suited for: 5+ years | Tickets: From $45 + $8.95 booking fee. Book now.
Josephine Wants to Dance
For ages 3+, Josephine is a kangaroo who loves to dance. Despite the protests of her little brother Joey, Josephine ventures into town where the city ballet is performing Swan Lake. With the prima ballerina out injured, will all her dancing dreams come true?
Shows: Friday 3 – Wednesday 15 January | Suited for: 3+ years | Tickets: From $25 + $8.95 booking fee. Book now
London International Animation Festival
These January school holidays, the London International Animation Festival is returning to Sydney with a showcase of the best children’s animations full of visually dazzling joy worldwide. Aged for children between 2 and 14.
Shows: Friday 17 – Sunday 19 January | Suited for: 2-14 years | Tickets: From $18 + $8.95 booking fee. Book now
Lenny Pearce ‘Reef Rave Tour’ at Norths Cammeray
The trailblazing architect behind the world’s first ‘Toddler Techno’ and ‘Baby Raves’, LENNY PEARCE, returns this summer for the global debut of his brand new dynamic live show ‘REEF RAVE’ touring nationally from Dec 2024 – March 2025.
The underwater-inspired, fun-filled family day out, includes an array of roving performers, face painting, singing, dancing, and of course, Lenny’s famous Toddler Techno Show, with special appearances by Lenny’s favourite friend, Kuma The Monkey LIVE + some surprise guests.
- When: Friday 17 January, Doors: 11.30am | Show: 12.00pm
- Where: Cammeray
- Suited for: The whole family
- Cost: Adult (18+) $36 + BF | Child (under 18) $21 + BF
- Website: norths.com.au
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Puppeteria Theatre presents Jeral Puppets (Castle Cove)
Take the kids to a puppet show these school holidays! Join the Jeral Puppets for a program filled with familiar stories, songs, and rhymes to engage and entertain preschool and primary-aged children! With easy parking, air-conditioning and a playground next door, a trip to the puppet show is a fun, easy and comfortable activity for kids and their parents, grandparents and carers.
- When: Jeral Puppets present a range of shows at 10.30 am:
- Santa’s Xmas Holiday + Xmas at the North Pole – 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Dec
- Pinocchio + Puss-in-boots – 27, 30, 31 Dec, 9, 10, 21, 27 Jan, 2 Feb
- Cinderella + The Dinosaur Show – 2, 3, 6, 7, 15, 20, 29, 31 Jan, 4 Feb
- Wizard of Oz + Dr. Dolittle’s African Safari – 13, 14, 16, 22, 23, 28 Jan, 3 Feb
- The Three Pigs – 17 & 30 Jan
- The Gingerbread Man – 8 & 24 Jan
- Where: 12H Denawen Ave, Castle Cove
- Suited for: 2-5 years and 4-9 years
- Tickets: Adults: $16 | Children: $13. Book online at trybook.com
- Website: puppeteria.com
Swan Lake on Ice
The world’s premier theatrical ice skating company, The Imperial Ice Stars, returns to Australia with its award-winning masterpiece Swan Lake on Ice. It’s showing at Sydney Coliseum Theatre from 8-19 January.
With Tchaikovsky’s glorious music, exhilarating new choreography from leading ice director Tony Mercer, and dazzling costumes, this innovative portrayal of the classic love story will take your breath away.
The 23 Olympic, World, European, and National Championship-level skaters, who together hold more than 250 competition medals, take contemporary ice dance to a new level with their daring and graceful feats—some of which are so complex they haven’t yet been named—performed in the intimate setting of a frozen theatre stage.
- When: Thursday 9 – Saturday 18 January 2025
- Where: Sydney Coliseum Theatre, Railway Street, Rooty Hill
- Tickets: From $69.90
- Website: swanlakeonice.com.au
Shopping centre fun
St Ives Shopping Village

St Ives Shopping Village
With so much happening these school holidays, St Ives Shopping Village is the place to be. Whether your family is after energetic games, hands-on food workshops, or creative crafts, there’s something for everyone.
Live Christmas music: Enjoy the sounds of the season with these wonderful performances:
- Vov Dylan: Saturday 7 Dec (12pm–3pm) & Thursday 12 Dec (12pm–3pm)
- The Landing Choir: Thursday 5 Dec (11am)
- Aurora Australia Chorus: Saturday 14 Dec (11am–1pm)
- Carter Barnes & Valentina Polistina: Sunday 8 Dec (11am–1:30pm) | Thursday 12 Dec (4:30pm–7pm) | Sunday 15 Dec (11am–1:30pm) | Friday 20 Dec (11am–1:30pm)
Fun activities
- Face Painting: Friday 20 Dec (11am–1pm)
- Tree of Joy: Behind the Santa Set on Level 1 (near Bed Bath N Table), 25 Nov–20 Dec
- Gift Wrapping Service: Smiles2U will wrap your presents with love! Next to Concierge Desk from 14 -24 De
Nick Fury’s Carnival of Games: 2-5 January, 11am-2pm, Village Green
Join the Carnival of Games, where fun knows no limits! Nick Fury and his team will set up an incredible play space with ropes, balls, hula hoops, and more. Think tug o’ war, team games, and line activities that’ll get kids and parents laughing and playing together.
Roll’d Vietnamese Rice Paper Roll Workshops: 14-17 January, 10am & 10.30am, Level 1, Shop 67
Calling all foodies! Discover the delicious art of making Vietnamese rice paper rolls at our daily Roll’d workshops. These hands-on classes are perfect for all ages, so bring the family along and learn something new together. Spots are limited to 10 per class, so be sure to book at Concierge to secure your spot!
Plaster Fun House: 6 January – 4 February, Level 1, opposite Nextra Newsagency
- When: 25 Nov – 4 February
- Where: St Ives Shopping Village
- Suited for: All ages
- Website: stivesvillage.com.au
HOLIDAY CAMPS, VACATION CARE & WORKSHOPS
More things to do with kids these Spring school holidays
- Things to do with kids on a rainy day in Sydney
- A family trip to Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park
- Ninja Warriors! The Best Ninja Courses around Sydney
- Things to do in Sydney this Weekend
- The best places for fruit picking near Sydney
Want your school holiday event or attraction featured in this guide? Get in touch, and we’ll share the details!