Planning a weekend with the children in Leeds? It’s one of the North’s best cities for families — world-class free museums, huge parks and castles, animals and hands-on history, all easy to reach. And this September, a very special science show comes to the Carriageworks Theatre. Here’s our pick of the best things to do with the kids.
🌟 Top of the list: Fun Kids Science Quest – Live! at the Carriageworks Theatre
The perfect centrepiece for a family day in the city. Fun Kids Science Quest – Live! brings the hugely popular podcast to the stage, with Fun Kids presenter Dan Simpson serving up the weirdest and coolest stuff in science — and making it far more fun than it’s ever been in any classroom.
Expect hilarious experiments, exciting guests, games and a one-hour journey into how the world works. It’s a Bronze winner for Best Family Podcast and a finalist for Best Educational Podcast at the British Podcast Awards.
- 📍 Where: Main Auditorium, Carriageworks Theatre, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD
- 📅 When: Sunday 27 September 2026, 2:30pm
- 🎟️ Tickets: £16.50 standard • £11 under-16s (prices include booking fee)
- 👧 Age guide: 8+ (audience participation, live demonstrations and flashing lights)
👉 Book your tickets for the Carriageworks Theatre here
Touring the rest of the UK too? See all the Fun Kids Science Quest Live dates and venues.
10 more brilliant family days out in and around Leeds
Here are ten more ideas for keeping the kids entertained, from free city-centre museums to parks, farms and castles.
1. Royal Armouries
A free, jaw-dropping day out right by the waterfront: five floors of armour and weaponry, a real elephant in armour, and live jousting and combat demonstrations that bring history thrillingly to life.
📍 Armouries Drive, Leeds, LS10 1LT — free
2. Leeds City Museum
Four floors of free, interactive galleries in the heart of the city — meet the famous Leeds Tiger, come face-to-face with an Egyptian mummy, and explore everything from ancient history to natural history.
📍 Millennium Square, LS2 8BH — free (right by the theatre)
3. Tropical World
Step into the steamy rainforest at Roundhay Park to meet meerkats, butterflies, crocodiles, snakes and tropical birds, among the UK’s largest collection of exotic plants. Compact, indoor and great whatever the weather.
📍 Princes Avenue, Roundhay, LS8 1DF
4. Roundhay Park
One of Europe’s largest city parks — over 700 acres of lakes, woodland, gardens and playgrounds. Pack a picnic, hire a pedalo or simply let the kids run free.
📍 Roundhay, Leeds — free
5. Thackray Museum of Medicine
A surprisingly brilliant science day out — wander a recreated Victorian street, discover how the human body works through hands-on exhibits, and explore the weird and wonderful story of medicine. A great companion to the live show.
📍 Beckett Street, LS9 7LN
6. Kirkstall Abbey & Abbey House Museum
Explore the dramatic ruins of a medieval abbey in a riverside park, then step back into recreated Victorian streets at the family-friendly Abbey House Museum opposite.
📍 Abbey Road, LS5 3EH (about 15 minutes from the centre)
7. Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
Once the world’s largest woollen mill, now a hands-on museum of machines, engines and the science of how things are made — clattering, fascinating and full of moving parts.
📍 Canal Road, Armley, LS12 2QF
8. Harewood House
A grand estate with a brilliant adventure playground, a Himalayan garden, a bird garden and a farm experience, set in sweeping parkland. Easily a full family day.
📍 Harewood, LS17 9LG (about 20 minutes by car)
9. Temple Newsam
A magnificent Tudor-Jacobean house surrounded by 1,500 acres of parkland, with the hands-on Home Farm — one of Europe’s largest rare-breeds farms — and gardens and trails to roam.
📍 Temple Newsam Road, LS15 0AE (about 15 minutes by car)
10. Eureka! The National Children’s Museum
For a bigger day out, hop over to Halifax for the UK’s original hands-on museum built entirely for children — hundreds of interactive exhibits to touch, build and explore. A superb science-filled finale.
📍 Discovery Road, Halifax, HX1 2NE (about 40 minutes by car or train)
Also worth a look
Lotherton near Aberford has a wildlife world and bird garden with a great play area, while the free Leeds Art Gallery on The Headrow runs family activities and is an easy city-centre stop.
Make it a science-filled day
Wherever you explore, build the day around a bang at Fun Kids Science Quest – Live! — Sunday 27 September at the Carriageworks Theatre. Grab your tickets before they sell out!
Fun Kids is the UK’s children’s radio station — listen on DAB Digital Radio, online, on your smart speaker and via the free Fun Kids app.
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