Children’s Half-Term
Oct 9-18; various locations in Greater CPH

School’s out for week 42, which means there are nine full days of quality family time ahead.

Nine whole days … but before you start panicking, assistance is at hand from our handy collection of selections.

So before you charge up the iPad and let them vegetate the week away, remember there really is a wealth of opportunity out there: to learn, to create and to participate in with reckless abandon.

From super-cool parkour to sure-fire crowd-pleasers like Tivoli and the zoo, there’s something to please even the fussiest of perishers.

Open Clay, Plaster and Drawing Workshop
Oct 12-16, 10:00-16:00; Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads 2, Cph K; free adm with 40kr museum entry, no registration required; thorvaldsensmuseum.dk

Encourage your children to spend some quality time doing something creative and inspiring! Thorvaldsens Museum is opening its doors for a super-exciting clay workshop during which they will be encouraged to use their imagination to create something extraordinary with their own hands. Teachers are at hand to supervise, help out and give advice. (AL)

Emil from Lønnerberg
Oct 7-17; Tivoli; 170-315 kr; tivoli.dk

Kids of all ages are encouraged to come to the reopened Tivoli to enjoy the musical version of Astrid Lindgren’s book Emil from Lønnerberg. Your little ones will die laughing as Emil get his head stuck in a soup tureen and hoists his little sister up the flagpole, so come and marvel at the sight of a 60-strong cast bringing the tale to life through dancing and singing. (AL)

Riding Hood and Cinderella: New Adventures
Sep 15-Oct 25; Zangenbergs Teater, Pilestræde 55A, Cph K; zangenbergsteater.dk

Zangenbergs Teater is merging the universes of Brothers Grimm characters like Cinderella, Little Miss Red Hood and Hansel and Gretel to create a mysterious fairy tale world waiting for your children to discover. Follow the well-known characters in new stories in which they interact with one another. And don’t be surprised if the odd modern twist is thrown in! (AL)

Dragon Workshop
Oct 10-18; daily 11:00-15:00; National Museum, Ny Vestergade 10, Cph K; billet.natmus.dk; 4-10 years

Dragons are everywhere in popular fiction these days, from Harry Potter to The Hobbit to Game of Thrones. Are some of your kids are no doubt fascinated by the legendary, mysterious creatures? Well how about encouraging them to create one themselves? The National Museum is inviting them, under the watchful eye of professional instructors, to make their own dragon – terrifying like the Hungarian Horntail in ‘The Goblet of Fire’ or colourful and cuddly like the one in ‘Pete’s Dragon’. (AL)

The Sound of Music
ongoing until Dec 31; Ny Teater, Gammel Kongevej 29, Cph V; detnyteater.dk

The Sound of Music might be in Danish, but there’s still plenty to enjoy here for your children. Follow the adventures of Maria, who leaves a convent to become a governess for Captain von Trapp’s seven children. Little by little she will earn trust of the children and heart of the father. And while the words might not be familiar, the songs will be. (AL)

Trying out parkour
Oct 10-18, 11:00-16:30; Experimentarium City, Papirøen; streetmovement.dk

Experimentarium City is hosting ten-minute parkour workshop introductions every day during children’s half-term as part of its PULS exhibition. Run by Street Movement (Enghavevej 82D, Cph V), your kids will learn how to handle themselves in the urban landscape – jumping, balancing, landing with precision and having fun together. For more information, check out our latest Kids Corner column at cphpost.dk. (HD)

Renaissance Festival
Oct 11-17, 10:00-17:00; Kronborg Castle, Kronborg 2C, Helsingør; 125kr, family options available; kronborg.dk

Kronborg Castle is inviting everyone to the engagement party of the daughter of Christian IV and the German prince! The castle will be accordingly decked out like it’s the 1630s and filled with different activities for the family to enjoy. While the young ones can dress up as soldiers or nobles of the era, or try out some archery, their parents can enjoy the renaissance fair where they can buy exotic produce and delicacies. And then everyone is invited to the knights’ tournament and the witchcraft trial. (AL)

Tolkien’s Universe: My Precious
ends Oct 18, 12:00-16:00; Tøjhusmuseet, Tøjhusgade 3, Cph K; free adm; natmus.dk

Visit Tøjhusmuseet, the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum, to find out more about the JRR Tolkien universe that inspired Peter’s Jackson’s adaptions of ‘The Lord of The Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’. This is once-in-a-lifetime chance to view a private collection that has come all the way over from New Zealand. Find out more about the lives of the knights of the era that inspired Tolkien, try writing with a feather or transform yourself into a character from Tolkien’s universe. And it’s great for the kids! Don’t leave them in the dark (of Mordor), stir their imagination! (AL)

Culture Night for Kids
Oct 9, 17:00-05:00; various venues in Copenhagen; night pass 90kr, under-12s free adm; kulturnatten.dk

Culture Night is completely free for under-12s, making it the perfect opportunity to immerse them into culture as well. While there are a few all-out kids events early in the evening (a dance workshop with a host of DR Ramasjang and a concert by Christine Skou and Ole Kibsgaard), they can have few complaints if you decide to mix in a few preferences of your own. In many cases, simply visiting some of these venues at night (castles, dungeons, secret rooms etc) is an unforgettable experience. (AL)

Construct with Lego
Oct 10-18, 10:00-11:45, 12:00-13:45 & 14:00 to 15:45; standard tickets 95kr, 125kr with lego chocolate man and cocoa/coffee; dac1.dk/LEGOarkitekt

Here’s their opportunity to give Bob the Builder a run for his money! Guided by engineering and architecture students, you and your child (5+) can learn how to construct a building. Plus you get to be part of the Lego City with your own construction site. Remember to take a picture of the finished work to participate in a competition to win some new Lego bricks. (EN)

‘WRITE’
Oct 12-18; 10:30-15:00; Museum of Science and Technology, Fabriksvej 25, Helsingør; 65kr, under-18s: free adm; tekniskmuseum.dk

Ink these details on your arm as you won’t want to miss this chance to dive into the world of text. Try writing like in the old days, read braille and play with codes. Visit the exhibition, which includes a digital version of the first Danish printing machine. And there’s an outdoor train on which to contemplate your next missive mission. (AL)

360˚ – The blackest white lie
Oct 19-23, 10:00 and 12:00; Dansekapellet, Bispebjerg Torv 1, Cph NV; tickets from 40kr; 12 years +

An ice-cold tale of what happens when a white lie turns black with modern breakdance by choreographer Stephanie Thomasen and music by Efterklang for the teens. (EN)

There was a Gorilla
Ongoing, ends Nov 1; Det Lille Theater, Lavendelstæde 5-7, Cph K; Fri 10:00 & 11:30, Sat & Sun 13:30 & 15:00

A gorilla and his identity crisis will make your children laugh and enjoy this 50-minute performance. Targeted at kids aged 4 to 10, they’ll be beating their chests with joy. (EN)

In your dreams
Oct 10-13, 10:00; Kulturhuset Indre By, Charlotte Ammundsen Plads 3, Cph K; 55kr; 3-10 years

Based on the 1948 Danish songbook ‘De Små Synger’, which contains 134 dittys and is one of Denmark’s cultural canons, this performance is adapted in a new and modern way for the little ones. (EN)

Virtual Airship Trip
Oct 24; Købmagergade 52A, Cph K; rundetaarn.dk

Mark your calendar and participate in a unique virtual 3D trip in an airship across a post-apocalyptic Copenhagen. The trip is part of a science fiction event, Copenhagen Dreaming, which demostrates new Danish and English-language literature and art through fantasy and steampunk. (AL)

The Fantasy Traveller
Oct 10-14; Gamle Scene, Kongens Nytorv 9, Cph K; 75-295kr, kglteater.dk

Let yourself fall into the wonderland of a child’s mind in this ballet of monsters, pirates and air balloons. Royal Danish Theatre Ballet School students perform in this enchanted journey. (JM)

Halloween at Tivoli
Oct 9-Nov 1, 10:00-23:00; Tivoli; adults 95kr, under-8s free adm, day-passes available; tivoli.dk

Halloween keeps on getting longer, and leading the charge is Tivoli, which is not only open for Children’s Half Term, but for three weeks of creepy-crawly fun. Rides are given a ghostly spin, the pumpkins are out in force and there are competitions galore, from carving the best Jack-o’-lantern to finding the fastest way through the straw bale maze.

Copenhagen Zoo
Open daily, 10:00-17:00; CPH Zoo, Roskildevej 32, Frederiksberg; tickets: 170kr, kids 95kr; zoo.dk

The zoo is always a safe option – even in the rain. Once again it is expecting to be busy and accordingly making sure it has plenty to offer on its half-term program