The Winter 2026 School Holiday Guide: Hobart
While every school holiday period has a habit of feeling interminably long by around day three, the Winter break (running from 11-26 July this year) can be especially testing. Fortunately, Hobart offers plenty to keep children entertained - and parents sane - from live performances and hands-on workshops to outdoor adventures, kid-centric movie sessions and family-friendly eats. Consider this your guide to making the most of the next fortnight.
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LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sometimes, the easiest way to create a holiday highlight is to sit back and enjoy the show. Enter Hobart’s mid-winter theatre calendar, seemingly curated specifically for a demographic of tiny dictators.
At Wrest Point, K-Pop Icons (22 July) brings together on-screen digital avatars with world-class dancers in a celebration of Korea’s biggest music stars, featuring songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters, BTS, and more. Meanwhile, younger audiences can join Ryder and the rest of the pups for the high-energy musical adventure that is PAW Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue (25 July) at MyState Bank Arena.
And, to kick the holidays off with the bang they deserve, get along to Festival of Voices’ swan song (literally) on 12 July: One Last Song is the family-friendly finale to the annual festival’s 10-day run, showcasing a line-up of outstanding choirs and solo artists in one goosebumps-guaranteed performance.
Festival of Voices (image: Kristina Vackova)
INTERACTIVE THEATRE
Why simply watch a story when you can step inside one (especially when you’re a kid)?
Local children’s performing arts school ExitLeft’s Film a Fairytale holiday workshops (14-16 and 21-23 July) invite young creatives to rehearse, stage and film a traditional fairytale, complete with the music and costumes that make little hearts happy. It’s a chance to develop new skills while building confidence.
Similarly, Imagination Jungle - A Performing Arts Adventure at the Theatre Royal (14 July) takes children behind the theatre curtain to explore the many roles that bring a stage show to life. Led by teaching artist Benjamin Segal, the experience encourages imaginative play through mask-decorating, impromptu performance, and plenty of teamwork.
EXHIBITIONS
Hobart’s museums and galleries are packed with year-round experiences that make learning feel like an adventure - and all the more so when school’s out.
Must-see exhibitions at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) include mapiya lumi and ningina tunapri, each exploring elements of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture, community and connection, through age-appropriate artefacts, artwork, multimedia and interactive displays. Make your TMAG visit even more engaging with a free Discovery Backpack (ages 7-12) or Museum Toolkit (ages 4-7), each packed with activities designed to help children investigate, observe with the collections in new ways.
A few blocks away at Salamanca Arts Centre, HE.Art From The Home at Studio Gallery (2-26 July) showcases artwork created by local home-educated students, and Footrot Flats: 50 Years On at Sidespace Gallery (17-26 July) revisits Murray Ball’s iconic comic strip through original sketches, and a very healthy dose of nostalgia for accompanying parents and grandparents.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (image: Tourism Australia)
ART, CRAFT & SCIENCE
For hands-on little learners (and aren’t they all?), Hobart’s holiday program calendar is full of opportunities to build and create.
Back at the Theatre Royal, make-your-own Thylacine paper bag puppet (14 July), paper plane (15 July) and origami fish (16 July) workshops make for crafty tie-ins to special movie screenings at the Studio Theatre later on each day.
Over at TMAG, acclaimed animator Tony Thorne will wrap up this year’s NAIDOC Week with a free cartooning workshop (12 July) for 8-14 year-olds, covering the basics of cartoon storytelling and technique.
And budding scientists should keep an eye out for the Questacon Byte Wise Exhibition at selected Libraries Tasmania locations around the south (various dates). Packed with interactive challenges and hands-on science learning, a couple of hours here are a perfect antidote to the no-school brain slump.
ACTIVE ADVENTURES
A couch day here or there isn’t the worst thing for winter holidays, but when cabin fever inevitably starts to set in, it’s time to burn off some energy.
School Holiday Splash! at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre (weekdays, 11:30am-3:30pm) delivers exactly what it says on the tin, with enough inflatables, slides and music to fill a whole afternoon. The on-site café also happens to do a surprisingly excellent espresso for those who prefer to stay dry on the sidelines.
For an outdoor shake-out, head to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. The 14 acres’ worth of room to roam and run will guarantee a good night’s sleep, while Bird in Hand’s beautiful new kiosk takes care of hot chippies and ice cream treats, as well as their adult counterparts (see: caffeine and wine).
AT THE MOVIES
The Theatre Royal’s holiday program of family screenings includes The Lost Tiger (14 July), Paper Planes (15 July) and Blueback (16 July), all Australian-made, and each just $5 a pop to watch.
And the children’s blockbusters have timed their releases nicely, with both Toy Story 5 and the new live-action adaptation of Moana scheduled to run throughout the school holidays at the State Cinema and Village Cinemas.
S’mores at The Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk (image: Ros Wharton)
EAT & DRINK
Every family adventure needs a snack stop, and Hobart more than delivers when it comes to the often discerning tastebuds of its smallest citizens.
Take the scenic drive out to New Norfolk to visit The Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk, where it’s very hard to resist gathering around the fire pits for make-your-own s’mores. Available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11am-2pm), each s’mores bundle includes house-made spiced biscuits, local marshmallows and Federation chocolate. The result is gooey and very good.
If you and your troops are willing to venture still further beyond the CBD, our top local-ish picks include hot choccies and cookies with a view at Cubed Espresso on the Tasman Peninsula, or a cheese toastie and Tasmanian apple cider at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed just outside of the Huon Valley.
Finally, Hobart’s waterfront is a go-to for classic holiday fish and chips straight off the punt, with bonus points for a family debate (featuring practical taste tests, of course) around whether or not ice cream really does taste better in Winter. Spoiler: it does.
