London Mums Magazine » Great Indoors

Days out in London with children for 2013

capitaltots — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:33:04 +0000

Spring seems a long time coming at the moment, and with all these grey days, children’s activities for January and February need to be easy, relatively cheap and rain-free. Here are my top picks of things to do in London with kids in the last few days of winter.

First up is the Discover Story Centre in Stratford. If you can drag yourself away from Westfield, this is an absolutely magical place for children. It is the UK’s first hands-on creative literacy centre and is designed to fire young imaginations. Children can explore a secret cave, make a spoon puppet, have a tea party, find the giant’s legs, slide down a magic tower, dance on noisy polka dots and run across a trip-trap bridge. If the weather is kind the garden is superb too, with its own monster’s tongue, space craft, pirate ship and giant musical instruments and there are daily story-telling sessions which are top-notch.

If the sun is shining, now is a great time to visit one of the farms around London because you’ll practically have it to yourself. Bocketts Farm is my favourite out of town option, because it is small and perfectly formed so you haven’t got to trek miles to get from the duck show to the pig enclosure or the adventure playground. There is absolutely loads to do, much of which will appeal to younger children as well as older ones.

The adventure playground is excellent with lots of different areas for children to explore and there is an indoor play-barn with a safe area for tiny ones. I went in early December with a 6 month old, a 2 year old and 4 year old, they all had a brilliant day and saw some week old lambs which were absolutely gorgeous.

Next up is the National Army Museum. People are always surprised when I suggest this as a kiddie option, but it is a gem of a day out for energetic toddlers. Not only is the museum itself hugely interactive with loads of hands-on activities and games but its Kids’ Zone, a soft-play area for kids ages 0 – 8 is one of the best in London. It has a dedicated play space for babies as well as arts and crafts, dressing-up costumes, books, interactive toys and panels.

Just remember to book your tickets to the Kids Zone on their website – because it’s so popular they limit places which means it doesn’t get too crowded, even on a rainy Saturday.

Another museum which is rarely on people’s radar is the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich which is fantastic for children. I started taking my baby here at about 6 months, but because it’s so interactive, it’s great for all ages. There’s a dedicated children’s area, but it’s definitely worth checking out the rest of the museum as it is all fantastic. The two cafes areas are an added bonus – one looks over Greenwich Park and the other, on the first floor has a huge area for toddlers to run around. If the weather is OK, you should plan to take all day in Greenwich as there’s the Park, the Royal Observatory and the Cutty Sark to explore. If you can, it’s definitely worth getting the DLR or the Riverboat to or from Greenwich – much more fun than the train and part of the adventure.

Finally, January is a great time to visit the more well-known museums. Places like the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum which are packed during the rest of the year are practically empty now because no one really does anything in January. The Museum of London Docklands is particularly good – not only does it have a children’s gallery – Little Mudlarks, but they run interactive play sessions every Monday with crafts, music and getting messy as themes – they’re absolutely brilliant for an otherwise grey and dismal Monday morning.

For more info about adventures for children in London you can visit: www.capitaltots.com

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ARTPEGGIOS: A NEW MUSIC & ART SPACE ARRIVES IN WEST LONDON

Monica Costa — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:14:37 +0000

DISCOVER A NEW AND UNIQUE BILINGUAL FRENCH/ENGLISH ART & MUSIC SPACE & CULTURAL CENTRE. Artpeggios is a music and art school in west London for everyone from the age of eight and upwards.

Just pick up the Beat! Playing an arpeggio is simply playing a chord one note at a time. The philosophy at Artpeggios is to take care of each music- lover, each music-player at a time. At his own rhythm. 1,2,3,4 Can you feel it? Just pick up the beat. And play unlimited music in this new Music & Art space now!

Share, learn, enjoy, practice, make new friends, express your artistic and creative vibes and play unlimited music now 7 days a week till late in a 400 sqm2 fully equipped building ideally located on Earl’s court road!

Professional teachers come from diverse background and are well versed in music and art education.

Facilities

400 sq m2 dedicated to music and arts. Ideally located on Earl’s court road.

10 soundproofed, fully equipped tuition/rehearsal rooms of various sizes, providing an ideal environment for developing your musical skills and knowledge

1 state of the art band practise room

1 electronic and DJing room with 15 computers loaded with great music software, keyboards and DJ tables.

1 soundproofed room for lecture, small performance, theatre and singing groups

1 recording studio

1 music composition suite

1 art studio

Many instruments (piano, drums, acoustic and electric guitars, others) are available on site

These facilities are unique in West London.

Facilities can be rented, depending on Artpeggios regular scheduling, whether for rehearsals or for small parties (recording studio, graffiti atelier.)

Just pick up the Beat! Music Classes for 8+:

INDIVIDUAL & GROUP MUSIC and art LESSONS in all instruments (guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboards, saxophone…)

DJING, Electronic Music, music and image technology classes (Garage band, Logic, Final Cut…). Create your group, register your song!

BAND SESSIONS

MUSIC & ART LESSONS FOR ADULTS

RECORDING STUDIOS SESSION (produce your own track & birthday parties)

SINGING CLASSES (all style, choirs)

Drama workshop

LECTURES & MASTER CLASSES

HOLIDAY CAMPS

MUSIC PHILOSOPHY:

Pitch perfect

At Artpeggios, we offer a unique, individual approach to music tuition. From the outset everyone’s specific needs are paramount.

For example, the first conversation our creative director, Jacques Nazaire, has with you is about your own musical tastes, your musical experience and ultimately your ambitions for tuition and learning.

Supporting musical ambition

Jacques will assess how to support your ambitions, how to improve your instrumental skills while developing your overall musicianship and musical culture. This assessment will in turn lead to the choice of the right teacher and considered selection of suitable, flexible and enjoyable reading material.

Home is where the Art is:

Home is where the art is. At Artpeggios we believe that the primary role of the art teacher is to help you to develop your natural creativity by building the skills to express yourself visually. Draw or paint the way you want to So whether you see yourself as an abstract painter, or feel attracted to the Renaissance style, or you want to create comic books or cartoons, our art teachers are here to help you learn how to bring your aspirations to life; in paint, in pencil or in print. The first skill you will learn is how to draw; we have a firm belief that drawing is the foundation of all visual arts. The rest will be guided by you, your tastes and your interests.

Shaping your artistic view of the world. Skills, however essential, are only one side of what makes an artist.

At Artpeggios, you will learn about the people, the culture and the history behind the painting styles that inspire you. Discussion and dialogue are key parts of our teaching; a way of evolving your tastes and building your confidence as you journey on your way to picture the world as you see it.

Children and teens lessons last 90 minutes.

Adults lessons last 3 hours.

One on one lessons are also available.

Also:

Music workshops: Meet the professionals!

HOLIDAY AUTUMN CAMPS to book now! Making music, making new friends: Artpeggios’ holiday camps offer a fun and productive way for children to spend their holiday time.

Get started in October!

• La chanson francaise

• Jazz course

• Rock band

• DJing for autumn parties

• Mastering Garage Band

For its launching in Autumn, Artpeggios offers to each readers & music lovers a free 15 minutes introductory Lesson in our new Music & Art Academy!

Play, try a new instrument, get started! Just Pick up the beat and contact email artpeggiosacademy@gmail.com

Website www.artpeggios.com

Blog http://artpeggios.wordpress.com

You Tube www.youtube.com/user/artpeggios

Twitter @Artpeggios

Facebook www.facebook.com/Artpeggios

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Playing With Colour at the Museum of Childhood

Monica Costa — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 08:00:25 +0000

Messy playing with colour is amazing whether you are a child or an adult. Personally I cannot resist colouring and messing around with paints …. Maybe it’s a bit childish but summer holidays are a great time for us parents to play more with kids. And colours are just perfect tools to start with!

Being based in SW London and spoilt for choice with activities for kids, we may often stay in SW London without exploring much else around the Capital. Encouraged by an amazing sunny day, a group London Mums and mummy bloggers recently attended a wonderful event hosted by HP at the Museum of Childhood in East London . All the activities were designed to show how incredible the printing process is and how the hours of research and development undertaken by HP into their paper and inks pays off.

We found out that each ink takes between three to five years and more than 1,000 prototype formulations to perfect. With more than 100 new inks developed by HP’s engineers and scientists over the past 20 years, millions of dollars of investment ensure the very best technology is available to fit inside the printers.

We took funny photos with a seaside backdrop and we got our images printed onto HP’s Premium plus photo paper designed with a porous coating technology that delivers instant dry photos but also water resistance to your prints.

Knowing what different shades and colours you can create with four standard colours is a fun and educational activity. There are in fact 72 million colour combinations possible from four standard colours that are used in HP inks, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. We wanted to bring this to life in a fun way that anyone could take part with and the type of challenge that could be replicated at home.

Welcoming over 400,000 visitors through its doors every year, the V&A Museum of Childhood in London’s Bethnal Green houses the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection of childhood-related objects and artefacts, spanning the 1600s to the present day.

The Museum has an extraordinary and varied collection of over 4,000 dolls, the earliest being a wooden paddle doll dating from 1,300BC. The dolls represent men, women, and boys and girls from all around the world, as well as many fantasy and fairytale characters. They are also made from a wide range of materials – from traditional materials such as wood, cloth, ceramic, wax and plastic to more unusual ones like dried fruit, mutton bones and hair.

There is also an amazing collection of Barbie and Sindy dolls which I personally loved. We had the honour to have a special visit in the vaults where there are lots of new collections and toys which will be catalogued and shown in due course. The V&A Museum of Childhood is definitely one of the best museums in the Capital and worth a visit.

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The ultimate teddy bear experience

Monica Costa — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:32:59 +0000

If you thought for a moment that teddy bears are boring, well think twice after checking this post about London Mums experiencing a Build-a-Bear workshop. I must admit I often passed by the shops across London and never dared entering as I found the idea of making a teddy bear not quite exciting …. I was SO wrong.

Check our videos here and see for yourself what the experience is all about. I wish there was a build-a-bear workshop in the Seventies when I was a little girl. Actually while we were in the shop at the Westfield London, a young couple came in to choose her Valentine present. So cute and romantic. She chose a gorgeous fluffy Hello Kitty teddy, they stuffed it together, cuddled while putting its heart inside and even recorded a loving message.

My son loved personalising his Kermit the Frog teddy now that he is into The Muppets and also picked the most amazing outfit, a Harley Davidson leather jacket, that turned the teddy into the coolest Kermit ever seen.

It’s a great place where to have a birthday party or a special treat to a well-behaved child.

Here are the kids in action.

Build-a-bear Workshop: a bear with a heart

Build-a-bear workshop: the bear is stuffed!

Build-a-Bear Workshop: the bear is getting personalised

Build-a-bear workshop: the bear is getting dressed up!

Build-a-bear workshop: the promise!

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Chilean Rescue Capsule goes on display at the Science Museum (FREE LONDON)

Monica Costa — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:36:31 +0000

From Saturday 11th February 2012, the Science Museum is to display the Chilean rescue capsule – Fénix 2. So exciting, thinking at the incredible story we all watched on TV only a couple of years ago.

The capsule was specially built to rescue 33 miners who were trapped underground at the San José mine, Chile in October 2010. The 3.9m capsule is made of steel and measures 54cm wide. All of the men were rescued from the mine 700m below after being trapped for 69 days – surviving longer underground than anyone on record.

Katrina Nilsson, Contemporary Science Manager, Science Museum, said; “We’re honored to display the Chilean rescue capsule at the Science Museum – it’s an icon of the unprecedented rescue mission of the 33 miners. I’m sure we can all remember the moment when the first miner was pulled to the surface after being trapped for almost ten weeks. By showing the capsule at the museum, we hope to draw attention to the technical and engineering challenges that the rescue team tackled during this extraordinary operation.”

The capsule was fitted with enough oxygen-enriched air to last the 20 minute journey to the surface, as well as communication equipment and retractable wheels to help it run smoothly up and down the mine shaft. It weighs 460kg, is painted red, white and blue (Chilean flag colours) and is fitted with an emergency release mechanism so if the capsule got stuck, the miners could winch back down into the mine. It was designed by the Chilean Navy and built by Chilean Navy engineers.

The capsule will be on show at the Science Museum until 13th May 2012. The display highlights the extraordinary technical challenge of the rescue, which involved hundreds of engineers, technicians and scientists.

During February half term (14-16th February), the Science Museum will also have a rescue robot on display, as part of a Search & Rescue event.

Designed by Warwick Mobile Robotics, the robot can overcome challenging terrains, look for victims and produce a map of the environment. Nicknamed ‘Pinky’, the robot is remote controlled and has two pairs of flippers enabling it to climb over stairs, ramps and uneven terrain. Equipped with a gripper and a head on a robotic arm, Pinky has a multitude of sensors for search and navigation.

The Warwick Mobile Robotics team will be on-hand to demonstrate the robot’s skills, answer questions and lead discussion on the future of rescue robotics.

For further details visit: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/chileanrescue or #chileancapsule

Visitor Information:

Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD. Open daily 10.00 to 18.00, except 24-26 December.

www.sciencemuseum.org.uk 0870 870 4868

Twitter: @sciencemuseum

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sciencemuseumlondon

Science Museum’s inventor in residence, Mark Champkins, explains his ‘Black Hole Light’: “I rather liked the idea of uniting the technology that led to the discovery of sub-atomic particles, and in turn, to the birth of quantum physics (in the form of a Geissler-inspired neon tube) with a form that is representative of the path light would take spiralling into a black hole. Mixing Cosmology with Quantum Physics, I’ve tried to reconcile them in one artefact. It’s something of a metaphor for his work, especially his identification of Hawking Radiation and I hope it can also serve a practical purpose in his home or office.”

Science Museum

The Science Museum’s collections form an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical change from the past. Aiming to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, the Science Museum makes sense of the science that shapes our lives, sparking curiosity, releasing creativity and changing the future by engaging people of all generations and backgrounds in science, engineering, medicine, technology, design and enterprise.

Images’ Credit – Gobierno de Chile

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One08 (on Marylebone Lane) Pancake day FREEBIES

Monica Costa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:13:20 +0000

On 21 February 2012, ONE08, situated on Marylebone Lane, will celebrate Shrove Tuesday by giving diners complimentary pancakes.

Between 9-11am guests enjoying a coffee or tea will receive FREE pancakes served with the traditional accompaniments of sugar and lemon. ONE08 will also treat lunch and dinner guests to a pancake dessert.

ONE08 is one of Marylebone Village’s best-loved venues. The restaurant delivers excellent food that has been sourced from local artisan suppliers and award-winning shops including the Ginger Pig, La Fromagerie, Biggles Sausages and Rococo Chocolates.

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The Living Room family friendly restaurant (off Regents’ Street): when you want to feel at home in Central London

Monica Costa — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:10:25 +0000

Heddon street is the MUST-BE area for dining out with kids. This is where London Mums favourite restaurants are. The Living Room is really an elegant restaurant with Piano bar while you eat with all comforts of your own home and flexible arrangements for families.

The Kids’ menu is very varied and of good quality: Garlic bread and the home made ciabatta bread have high quality olives (not the cheap supermarket ones). They have a selection of quality fish fingers with chips and peas and Puddings.

While you are having your meal a piano bar music creates a magic atmosphere, the same you experience when you dine in Mediterranean countries.

The parents can choose between fish and meat menus. We loved the Fresh Sea bass and the good quality burgers in particular.

The Living Room is very spacious and has modern interior. It is a very large and comfortable restaurant for families, also spacious for parking buggies. Website: http://www.thelivingroom.co.uk/location/london-w1

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Beaufort House Chelsea

Monica Costa — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:55:10 +0000

Beaufort House Chelsea is located on the Kings Road, on the corner of Beaufort Street. The public ground floor is an award-winning brasserie open throughout the day, and the fabulous ground-floor cocktail bar mixes some of the best cocktails in town in the evening – both are open to all. A perfect stopping off point after shopping on the Kings Road, and ideal for watching the world go by!

If you’re a busy mum, we want you to enjoy Beaufort House as much as anyone else. So bring your children during the day and the staff will keep them entertained with a specially designed activities and children’s menu while you relax with your friends over a light breakfast, a fabulous 2-course lunch deal for £9.90 or simply enjoy a coffee and use of FREE Wi-Fi after a bit of shopping on the Kings Road. There are plenty of high chairs too for the little ones too, and plenty of space for lots of pushchairs!

What’s more, Beaufort House Chelsea is also the ideal place to hold children’s parties.

Children’s Party’s at Beaufort House Chelsea

Does the idea of planning a pretty party for your little lady, a big bash for your tiny tot, or even a small soirée for some cheeky children, makes you break out in a cold sweat? From castles, to character appearances, entertainers of every type, sandwiches, sweets and cupcakes, the staff can work with you to design and plan the perfect children’s party. The team can cater for parties of children up to 50, and happily take away all the toil and turmoil away from you!

And while they are running riot, you can just sit back and enjoy a chilled glass of Champagne in the members lounge with friends! Who could ask for more?

Beaufort House Chelsea specialises in:

Birthday parties

Baby Showers & Christenings

Seasonal parties; Easter, Summer, Halloween & Christmas

You can book the private “Club Room” or the penthouse champagne bar and the staff will provide the perfect children’s menu while the adults are free to enjoy the rest of the House.

To book please email the dedicated events team events@beauforthousechelsea.comor call 020 7352 2828 and Simon, Louis, Heidi, Hakim and John are all happy to help plan your special event.

For more information visit the website www.beauforthousechelsea.com

Follow us on Twitter @beauforthouse and Facebook www.facebook.com/beauforthouselondon

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Tibits, a parents’ paradise in Central London

Monica Costa — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:55:29 +0000

In the heart of Central London, in Heddon Street (off Regents Street) London Mums have found a top child-friendly restaurant, cafe’, self-service, with a ‘customer is king’ approach. Tibits is where I met Gail Porter for an interview to appear in the London Mums magazine issue 5 (winter 2011/spring 2012).

Photo of Monica Costa and Gail Porter at Tibits courtesy of MemoryGate www.memorygate.co.uk

Excellent quality vegetarian food – no fuss self service with a very relaxing kids’ lounge where both parents and mums can spend an afternoon eating and playing. Among our favourite delikatessen there are Caramelised chestnuts, Cannelloni with ricotta and spinach, Aubergines in the Mediterranean style, Moroccan Carrot and plum tagine, very healthy and light Tofu variety, a paradise of vegetables cooked in low fat but very savory.

It is certainly my top choice in Central London where I often sat with my fellow London Mums relaxing over a lovely Passion Fruit juice (see recipe) while kids can play.

The furniture and colours of the interior retro is amazing and makes you feel like in an episode of Mad Men.

No need to drink water at tibits as the juices are fab my favourite is passion fruit – beetroot juice – try the recipe http://londonmumsmagazine.com/2011/passionfruit.

For more information, visit the website www.tibits.co.uk

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