Creative Family Activities
From where to park your buggy to what’s on for your mini artiste, here’s everything you need to know about visiting Lowry with your family.
Don't forget to check out Our Lowry schemes for access to free or discounted tickets for families.
Lowry Family Christmas 2024
Celebrate the festive season at Lowry with a variety of family-friendly activities starting December 2, 2024. Children can embark on the Festive Elf Trail, design their own Christmas cards, and contribute to the evolving Festive Forest display. The Lookout area will feature new festive decorations, including a redesigned tent castle and updated book selections celebrating diverse seasonal events. Additionally, young visitors can craft their own Stick Man figures and enjoy themed coloring sheets.
Creative fun for the whole family
We’ve created a weekly programme of activities for babies, under 5s, under 11s and other young audiences.
Weekly Term-Time Activities
Little Creatives
Bring your little ones along for a free, fun and engaging activity led by a professional early years practitioner. The session is for little ones aged 2-5 years but is designed so you leave with some pearls of parenting wisdom too.
Tickets are a must and we ask that there's 1 adult for every 3 children. If this is a problem, please do let us know. You can book tickets here.
We also ask that independent organisations leave these sessions for families only. We'd be happy to bring a session to your space instead.
For more info, email getcreative@thelowry.com.
Babies Playtime
Join our professional early years facilitator every week during term time for a free, 45-minute baby playtime class. There'll be lots of singing, lots of fun:
10am class - for under 1s
11am - for ages 1-2
Please book a ticket for all grown-ups and babies coming along.
Welcome to The Lookout
Explore our dedicated family space where little ones can create and play to their hearts’ content. You’ll find it on the right-hand side as you walk through the main entrance and up the escalators - lifts are also available.
Feel free to spend as long as you like here. No pre-booking required.
Feel free to drop in:
Tue-Fri, 11am-4.30pm
Sat&Sun, 10am-4.30pm
(Unless there's a pre-booked session going on. Check out our Activities schedule for more info)
The Lookout at The Lowry is sponsored by Carole Nash.
Facilities for Families
To make sure your Lowry visit really is fun for all the family, here are some things we do to make your life easier:
- Buggies are allowed in all of our Galleries.
- Buggies aren’t allowed in our theatres (except for access reasons) but we have buggy parks near all of our auditoriums.
- Breastfeed or bottle-feed anywhere you like.
- Baby changing facilities in all accessible toilets throughout the building.
Gallery Explorer Packs
Pick up a Lowry Explorer pack from the Gallery Welcome Desk, designed to make any of our exhibitions extra awesome.
The packs are free to borrow but we just ask that you leave a deposit item (e.g. bank card or keys) at the desk and return the pack (and its contents) to us before you go home.
Yellow Pack
(For under 11s)
Mill worker hat
Binoculars
Lanyard & pass
Magnifying glass
Perception cubes
Drawing board with pencil and paper
Jack the dog mascot
Green Pack
(For under 5s and children with additional or sensory needs)
Mill worker hat
Binoculars
Lanyard & pass
Magnifying glass
Perception cubes
Drawing board with pencil and paper
Jack the dog mascot
Fidget toy
Sensory fan
Ear defenders are also available from the gallery desk if you’d like some.
These packs have been kindly supported by Danny French.
Other resources
Jack the Dog & Friends Trail Map
Take a walk with Jack and his pals around the Galleries to spot animals in LS Lowry’s pictures.
Little Lowry Kitchen
Your budding cook can play chef in our role-play kitchen at Lowry Bar & Kitchen. A space for under 7s to create make-believe magic while you dine.
Not to mention our tasty Kids Menus and Lowry lunchboxes.
Creative Writing Challenge
A competition just for children (aged 7-11) to showcase fantastic creative talent across Greater Manchester.
More info for this year, coming soon...
The Copley Prize
Our annual art competition for keen creative minds in primary school Key Stages 1 & 2. Next stop: the Turner Prize.
More info coming soon...
Out & About
Creative Families is Lowry’s free family workshop offer for children under 5 and their grown-ups. Through a combination of sensory and creative themed activities, these sessions are fun and inclusive for all. Following the success of our sessions at Lowry, we are taking our sessions out into our community. Working with partners across the city we’re bringing family fun direct to families in Salford.
Join us at any of the following locations:
Tuesdays 10.30am at Little Hulton Family Hub
Suitable for toddlers to pre-school age children
Wednesdays 10.30am at The Tatton Café & Community Hub, Ordsall
Suitable for children under 5 years
Wednesdays 1.30pm at Lower Kersal Library
Suitable for toddlers to pre-school age children
If you are a Salford resident and would like to book onto one of these sessions please email melanie.noone@thelowry.com
Special Thanks to our partners The Tatton Café and Community Hub, Salford Community Libraries and Salford Family Hubs