Wackadoo, what a week!

Fast 5

Your top weekday events guide + the best posts for under 5s

Event Picks

🌟 Featured Event

Studley Park Boathouse Mini Explorers Program (Sundays + various school holiday dates) Creative activities and outdoor play for young kids beside the Yarra River. No booking needed. 📍Kew

Electric Wonderland (Daily Friday 26 Jun – Monday 12 Jul) Light installations, projection portals, a giant snow globe and a radiant reef light up Rosalind Park after dark. 📍Bendigo

🗓️ Melbourne CBD ➝ More CBD picks

Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness (Daily until Monday 31 Aug) A fascinating exhibition exploring the human body and emotions – older kids and curious grown-ups will find plenty to talk about. 📍Docklands

Children’s Play: Ragnar Kjartansson (Daily Friday 26 Jun – Sunday 4 Oct) Free world-premiere exhibition at NGV where kids can perform, create and build stories on a real stage. 📍CBD

Jams for Juniors: Rhapsody in Blue (Saturday 27 Jun) A 30-minute musical workshop for babies and toddlers exploring the jazzy world of Gershwin with the MSO Jams Ensemble. 📍Southbank

🗓️ Melbourne NORTH ➝ More north-side picks

Navigating Newborn Weeks (Thursday 25 Jun) A relaxed info session with a GP and paediatric specialist for parents of 6-12 week olds – questions very welcome. 📍Brunswick

Wishing Away Worries (Thursday 25 Jun) A practical session for parents and carers on helping kids manage fear and anxiety, held at Thomastown Library. 📍Thomastown

🗓️ Melbourne SOUTH ➝ More south-side picks

Greek Storytime (Monday 22 Jun) Stories, songs and language for little ones aged 1-5 – great for families maintaining Greek at home or learning a new language. 📍Oakleigh

Toddler Times (Tuesday 23 Jun) Stories, songs and rhymes at Bayside Libraries designed to build early literacy and language skills for toddlers. 📍Brighton

🗓️ Melbourne EAST ➝ More east-side picks

Pop-Up Outdoor Playgroup (Thursday 25 Jun) Free outdoor play session in the Dandenong Ranges with nature crafts, stories, songs and a bush walk. Ages 0-4, no booking needed. 📍Tremont

Saltbush (Friday 26 – Sunday 28 Jun) An immersive, sensor-driven show where little ones interact with First Nations stories through movement and play. Early years and up. 📍Narre Warren

Light to Night (Various dates until Sunday 12 Jul) Art, light sculptures, music and a school holiday family program at Chadstone this winter – centred on a major RONE exhibition. 📍Malvern East

🗓️ Melbourne WEST ➝ More west-side picks

Chat and Play (Tuesday 23 Jun) A relaxed drop-in session for kids 0-4 and their grown-ups to play, socialise and connect with other local families. 📍Williams Landing

Scribble Club (Friday 26 Jun) Hands-on art play for under 5s with free coffee for grown-ups – and someone else cleans up the mess. 📍Sunbury

VU Play Playwork Pop-Up (Thursdays until 6 Aug) Free drop-in open-ended play on the Footscray Community Arts lawns, facilitated by early childhood students. No booking needed. 📍Footscray

New + Noteworthy

FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BENDIGO TOURISM

Positively Electrifying

Step into a glowing dreamscape this winter at Electric Wonderland. Running daily from 26 June – 12 July.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PLAYGROUP VICTORIA

For the Love of Play

Great guests, honest conversations. This one’s earned a spot on the kinder run rotation.

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This Is Not a Drill

The Heelers are back on stage in Melbourne this July. Bluey’s Big Play returns for a brand-new Aussie tour.

Kids, It’s On The House

The list every Melbourne family needs. Our pick of the spots where kids eat free, updated for 2026.

Paw-fect Pub Picks

Melbourne pubs where the dog is as welcome as you are – and the food’s pretty good too!

Enter to Win

About Joyce Watts

Joyce Watts is a former intellectual property, IT and media lawyer turned serial entrepreneur.

As well as being the founder of TOT: HOT OR NOT she helps businesses with their SEO, email marketing & social media as BrightSmart.com.au; she owns an online bike store CycleStyle.com.au and develops and produces creative experiences for families via WheelieGoodFun.com. She used to publish another popular lifestyle and food blog called MEL: HOT OR NOT The decisive guide to Melbourne.

She lives in inner-city Melbourne with her husband, two children and seven bikes.

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