Kids Spoilt for Choice in Canberra During the Spring School Holidays

Whether your children are adventure seekers, crafty creatives or little scientists there's something on offer for them in Canberra during the spring school holidays.

Floriade - Australia's annual spring festival - is the perfect place to take the kids. Until 13 October, kids can enjoy face painting, fun gardening activities, scarecrow making and a stunning view from the ferris wheel. There are plenty of activities to keep all ages entertained, with live performances, cooking shows, gardening and DIY workshops set against a backdrop of more than one million blooms. Floriade entry is free. www.floriadeaustralia.com

Pod Playground

Until 13 October National Arboretum Canberra hosts an exciting array of attractions for visiting families. Arboretum director Vanessa Little said children will love taking part in creative sessions including kite decorating, paper making, terrarium making, crafts and bonsai workshops. And no visit to the Arboretum is complete without some time on the new Pod Playground.

"There will also be stories in the forest, Aboriginal guided cultural walks and crafts, camel rides, reptile shows, a giant slide and a jumping castle," Ms Little said. www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au

The school holiday program at the Australian War Memorial offers plenty of options for visiting families including Storytime for younger children from 10.30am every Friday. On 27 September and 4 October there will also be Drop-in Craft activities where kids can make their own animal puppet, bookmark or poppy to take home, while on 2 October there will be a model-making workshop for kids aged over 6 years. www.awm.gov.au

The Canberra Glassworks offers budding artists over the age of 8 years the opportunity to try their hand at creating a glass tile using flowers and plants as inspiration in a Spring has Sprung class (bookings essential). While you are there, why not take the family on a Great Glass Adventure behind-the-scenes tour of all things glass? www.canberraglassworks.com

The National Gallery of Australia is looking for new recruits aged between 8 and 12 years to join its Art Investigation Squad these school holidays. Detective Inspector Cleverpants and officer Angelpants need help to solve a mystery by discovering the clues hidden in plain sight in the Gallery while on the children's art tour. www.nga.gov.au

The National Museum of Australia is offering a free drop in activity (1 to 4 and 8 to 11 October) between 10am and 1pm associated with its Glorious Days: Australia 1913 exhibition. Children and their families can play a variety of board games together that reflects life in Australia in 2013 and participate in a giant group game of battleships in the Museum's Hall. www.nma.gov.au

For your little adventurers an afterDARK Bush Tucker Tour at the Australian National Botanic Gardens is ideal. The enthralling one-hour tours are lead by education rangers and a guest Indigenous presenter. Following a bush tucker tasting, your family will explore the varied biodiversity and habitat regions of the Gardens including the magical Rainforest Gully with a stunning lighting display. Bookings essential. www.anbg.gov.au

A 45-minute drive from the city centre will take you to Tidbinbilla on the northern edge of the Australian Alps. You can see native animals in their natural surrounds, enjoy bushwalks, talk to rangers on a ranger guided tour, wander the Sanctuary wetlands and explore the popular Discovery Playground. You can grab food from the cafe - including a kit complete with tools and food for your own barbecue. Park entry fee applies. www.tidbinbilla.com.au

Nearby is the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, where your family can learn about the role that Australia plays in the exploration of space, see a piece of the Moon that's more than 3.8 billion years old, check out the latest images from across the Solar System, and take a hands-on trip around the Solar System. www.cdscc.nasa.gov

For the family's animal enthusiasts a visit to the National Zoo & Aquarium is an absolute must. Be brave and take part in an animal encounter to get up close and personal with some of the world's most amazing creatures like cheetahs, giraffe, sharks, sun bears, white lions and red pandas. www.nationalzoo.com.au

For more animal experiences take a trip to Gold Creek and visit the Canberra Reptile Zoo or the Canberra Walk in Aviary. You can also visit the National Dinosaur Museum nearby, which is home to 23 complete skeletons, and more than 300 displays of individual fossils. The museum offers a wide variety of activities for kids including guided tours and school holiday events like the Dinosaur Hunt Activity Sheet. www.nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au

Mini Q Exhibition

And no family trip to Canberra is complete without experiencing the excitement of Questacon, home to a range of exciting and varied exhibitions like Awesome Earth, where children can discover the power and beauty of Earth's forces and live to tell the tale. Mini Q is custom-built for little scientists up to 6 years, while Q Lab looks at the world differently through microscopes and high-speed, high definition slow-motion footage and live scientific demonstrations. www.questacon.edu.au

For more great school holiday ideas and places to stay in the capital, visit www.visitcanberra.com.au