One for the kids: Easter in Manchester

It’s raining, the kids are off and there’s nowt to do – ah yes, it must be Easter. Save yourself from boredom with our special schools-out guide to things to do in Manchester (and if you don’t have a family, read our grown-up spring guide instead).

1. Cow dung and pink jeeps at the War Museum

Here’s something the kids can happily lose themselves in for a few hours: a camouflage exhibition and trail at Imperial War Museum North. Naturally, it’s a fairly well hidden show but if you can find it amidst the vast corridors of the Daniel Libeskind-designed museum it’ll be worth the effort: you’ll discover how to hide a fleet of battleships, why pink is a great colour for jeeps and how WW2 soldiers were exhorted to smear their faces in cow dung. (We’re presuming that last idea was quietly dropped when the enemy worked out the exact location of their counterparts by following the dreadful smell.) The exhibition is timed to mark the 95^th anniversary of camouflage and is an entertaining mix of hands-on activities, a trail that leads to a First World War trench mortar and the chance to try out some camouflage for real. We particularly like the ‘top ten camouflage facts’ the museum produced, which reckons that when camouflage was first introduced (during WW1), British soldiers claimed its use was ‘unchivalrous’. Plus there is a special ‘camo-cake’ on sale in the café – we have yet to confirm reports that it’s so well disguised it doesn’t count as part of your calorific intake. Camouflage, The WaterWay, Imperial War Museum North, until 12 Sept. Free, all ages.

2. Put them to work at the People’s History Museum

If you’ve not yet made it down to the People’s History Museum, now’s the time to go. The museum, recently re-opened after a £12.5m redevelopment, tells the story of British democracy. While politics may sound unsuitable fodder for families, the museum’s displays handle political reform lightly, with historical fact brought to life via a range of unusual exhibits (our favourites are a cupboard that opens into a socialist café, a do-it-yourself stained glass window and a kitchen table where you make up flat pack cardboard boxes – and then work out how little you’d be paid if you were a home worker eking out a living this way). The museum is laying on a range of events for kids over the holidays – if you’re around on Wednesday (31 Mar), you can make your own clay fields as the museum attempts to make its own mini Gormley-esque ‘Field‘. Create a Crowd! The People’s History Museum, 31 Mar, 1.30-3.30pm. Free, all ages.

3. Planes, trains and automobiles at MOSI

What’s not to love about MOSI? From the miniature steam train that still runs along part of the original Manchester to Liverpool tracks (opened in 1830 – MOSI is built on the site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station) to the ongoing Da Vinci exhibition, and with enough rockets, planes, trains and automobiles to keep any pre-teen happy, it’s little wonder that MOSI is Manchester’s most popular visitor attraction. Over Easter, MOSI is running some extra special events for young ‘uns, all based on the theme of the Heroes of Energy – those men, women and children who pioneered energy creation and consumption in Manchester. We particularly like the sound of Going Underground, a chance for kids to experience what life was like for the children forced to work in the coal mines; Little Diggers, a session for the under 5s to uncover coal, fossils and precious stones; and In A Spin, a chance for children to make their own wind or water turbine. Going Underground, MOSI, until 11 Apr, 12noon – 12.30pm. Free but limited places so booking required, all ages but not suitable for very young children as there are periods of darkness. Little Diggers, until 11 Apr, 10.30-11am. Free, under 5s. In A Spin, until 11 Apr, 2-4pm. Free, all ages. Click here for more information on all Heroes of Energy events, including booking.

4. Magic mushrooms at Manchester Art Gallery

If you’ve not yet taken the kids to see Ron Mueck’s outsize sculpture or the life-size elephant and boy-balancing-polar-bear-on-nose sculpture in Facing East, go this Easter. Both are ‘serious’ art shows but, thanks to the bright, shiny colours of the artwork (not to mention their size), have immediate appeal for children. The Gallery is also running a Mushroom Magic workshop over Easter, which takes as its inspiration another work displayed in Facing East – Takashi Murakami’s Army of Mushrooms. Families will be able to create giant mushrooms and then shrink them into cute key rings and badges to take home. Most. Excellent. Facing East and Artist Rooms: Ron Mueck, Manchester Art Gallery, both until 11 April. Free, all ages. Mushroom Magic workshops 30 Mar-1 Apr & 6-9 Apr, 1-3pm. Free, all ages.

5. New life for old comics at Castlefield Gallery

If the sun does make an appearance this Easter, make the most of Castlefield’s open spaces and largely traffic-free streets by exploring the roman ruins, chasing and/or feeding the ducks by the canal (whichever is more fun – this may be dependent on whether your offspring is male or female), stopping off for lunch at Dukes 92 and then rounding off your walk with a visit to Castlefield Gallery. True, the gallery is more edgy than most – but its current exhibition, featuring recent work by Leo Fitzmaurice and Kim Rugg, should appeal thanks to the artists’ use of comics, film posters, newspapers, stamps and even MacDonald’s packaging to create new and intriguing artworks. Note that the final day of the exhibition is this Saturday (and the gallery is closed on Good Friday). Leo Fitzmaurice and Kim Rugg at Castlefield Gallery, until 3 April.  Free, all ages.

Images (top to bottom): Bounce (2008), Kim Rugg; Child in camouflage at Imperial War Museum North; Interior Peope’s History Museum, Susie Stubbs; Exterior MOSI, courtesy the museum; Between Men And Animal (2005), YueMinjun, courtesy Manchester Art Gallery; Feel Free to Join Us (2008), Kim Rugg.

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