PLAYTIME at The Whitworth

This summer, carnival fun comes to PLAYTIME at The Whitworth, with a packed programme of free family activities from 1-30 August. PLAYTIME runs every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 1pm to 4pm, and this year includes a special weekend event on Saturday 17 August.

Inspired by the current exhibition at The Whitworth, ‘John Lyons: Carnivalesques’, the carnival will transform The Whitworth into a world of music and colour. Activities include dressing up and art integration, poetry play, pop creation, arcade games, musical madness, and a special daily carnival parade led by the PLAYTIME team.

Throughout the month, gamers young and old will be hooked on two specially designed Whitworth Minecraft arcade machines, while for the littlest visitors, there’s Carnival Baby, a sensory play space for babies and their grown-ups to spend quality time together.

As well as this, you can also expect an extra special, gallery-wide carnival themed play day with a parade on National Play Day (7 August), and on Wednesday 7 and 28 August sees the Quiet Mornings, multi-sensory, open play for families with additional needs.

PLAYTIME at The Whitworth is designed for all ages, from babies to toddlers to teens to grandparents, so it’s a great space for the whole family to make some memories.

Kindly supported by Pentagon Play, there’s plenty of free things to do inside and out, whatever the Manchester weather throws at us. 

Follow @whitworthfamilies on Instagram to keep up to date with the PLAYTIME programme of events, and check out drop-in session times on their website. You can also get a sneaky peek of what last year’s PLAYTIME looked like on this short video.