During the rainy Cape Town days and cooler winter months, entertaining the kids can become a bit more tricky and challenging as most of the outdoor activities fall away or can only be done in dry weather. But luckily, we have plenty of great things to do even in winter so that it never gets boring! Cape Town has a lot on offer – so we have compiled at list of fun things to do with kids in winter or on rainy days.
1. Have Fun and Become Creative at a Clay Painting Session
Relax and unwind in a creative clay painting session. We can highly recommend the Clay Cafe in Hout Bay or Moigoeters at Spice Route Destination. These are the places where we usually paint our ceramics and we already have an entire collection from them in our house! You simply pick your favourite clay item, choose your preferred colours and then get lost in the painting process. It is very relaxing and calming and so rewarding for the kids to take home their very own piece of art.
2. Climb Into Real Aircrafts at the South African Airforce Museum
In Cape Town, you and the kids get a chance to visit the South African Airforce Museum at the Air Force Base Ysterplaat, which becomes a top secret mission. The museum collects, preserves, and exhibits articles and records that tell the incredible story of the South African air force and its contributions to the nation. You can expect a day filled with excitement, aerial displays, and a chance to get up close with some amazing aircraft in the hangar. They even have a flight simulator on an old operational computer and a joy stick. So you can pick your preferred airplane and steer and take off yourself. Entrance is 100% free and they purely rely on donations of the general public.
3. Get To Do Some Fun Experiments At The Cape Town Science Center
Show your kids a whole new level of educational learning by taking them to an inspiring and inter-active learning place in Cape Town that goes beyond the normal school curriculum. The Cape Town Science Center in Observatory uses effective methods to teach science, technology, mathematics and engineering through the use of interactive displays, events and activities. The Science Center presents the most amazing shows and you can easily spend an entire day there. Attend workshops, a science show & have fun with experiments.
4. Visit the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town
The Iziko South African Museum is home to over one-and-a-half million specimens of scientific importance. Children who like dinosaurs and fossils will be quite impressed by the Iziko Museum and the variety of things it has on display. The most interesting part for our kids are the skeletons, the dinosaurs and other stuffed animals.
5. Learn about our universe, planets and stars at the Planetarium
The Cape Town Planetarium and Digital Dome is housed in the South African Iziko Museum building in the heart of the city centre. It is the most advanced digital planetarium on the African continent. The fun happens from Tuesday to Sunday when the Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome is open to the public and makes virtual voyages of the universe possible. In various shows kids of all ages can get an unparalleled experience of animation and 360◦ cinema.
6. Visit One Of Cape Town’s Many Indoor Play Parks
Cape Town has so many indoor play parks, that you can easily spend an entire month indoors. There is something for children of all ages and whether they like to jump, climb or slide – the Mother City has it all. Check out ALL Indoor Play Parks and find the one that sounds most fun for your children.
7. Search For Some Treasures In A Scratch Patch
Take your kids back to the roots at one of the two Scratch Patch Venues in and around Cape Town. The one is conveniently located at the V&A Waterfront while the other one (and slightly bigger one) is out in Simon’s Town. Let your children enter a world full of minerals with thousands and thousands of colourful stones to collect and dig for. It’s really fun for young and old while sitting down in the scratch patch and searching for the prettiest stones all over the place. Depending on the stamina of your child, this can be a time consuming activity and lots of fun at the same time.
8. Take Your Kiddos To Some Roller Skating Fun
Experience some retro vibes and introduce your kids to the fun of roller skating at Cape Town’s first indoor roller-skating park! Rollercade is a place for the entire family where you can roller-skate in a safe environment, play some pool and arcade machines or simply enjoy the good music.
9. Spark Some Competition At A Game Of Bowling
Let’s Go Bowling in Claremont is the perfect spot for a little family game of bowling. Kids and adults can practice their skills while having lots of fun and counting pins. For the little ones, they have set up a dedicted play area with soft toys and a jungle gym while the older kids can also play some other computer games while there. So they really cater for any age group and it surely doesn’t get boring!
10. Make new Furr Friends at the Cat Heaven Rescue Cafe in Somerset West
At the Cat Heaven Rescue Cafe in Somerset West, adults and children over the age of 10 are welcome to take a seat in their cute Cafe at the back of the gift shop and meet and greet the resident shelter cats. For R30 per hour, you can play and cuddle with the cats, feed them their favourite treats and relax with a purring friend on your lap. In case you cannot have your own cat at home, they also offer inhouse adoption for their 22 cats.
