Cape Town - With another few days of school holidays looming, the V&A Waterfront is always a good “go-to” place for activities to keep the young ones occupied.
Being winter and all, Jubilee Hall at the Watershed has been commissioned as an indoor play area for children and teenagers until next Friday.
Open from 10am till 5pm, it costs R40 for the day (no charge for parents), which includes most of the activities. The popular petting zoo is an additional R20 for the chance to touch and cuddle guinea pigs, puppies, piglets, goats and more.
Dubbed the Play Pad, there is a tractor and push-bike park, a soft-play and ball pond aimed at children aged up to three, and crafts and sand art activities (craft kits are available to buy), slides, a jumping castle, and a toddlers’ mini roller-coaster. There are daily shows ranging from magic and juggling to drumming, as well as face painters, balloon sculptors and carnival games.
If your older offspring aren’t too cool for this, and you can get them off their phones, the Teen Pad has a hoop ball machine, table tennis, pool and foosball tables, and a giant Connect 4 and Twister game.
Then there’s a pop-up of the Cape Town Museum of Childhood, which will open in permanent premises in Rondebosch early next year. Verna Jooste has been collecting toys since 1987 and has more than 1 000 items in the collection, ranging from 1910 to the present day.
“This exhibition is the perfect opportunity to get involved in this exciting project, giving children the opportunity to see these toys for the very first time,” says Jooste.
“I am so excited that children will finally have a dedicated space in Cape Town that will represent them, something which I feel is lacking in Cape Town. The Cape Town Museum of Childhood is exactly what Cape Town needs.
“When the museum opens we will have more interactive displays so children can experience the toys first-hand.”
Weekend Argus