Creative Adventures for Curious Kids: Summer Holiday 2025 Highlights Across Sussex

This summer, Sussex’s cultural spaces offer a vibrant mix of opportunities for children and families to explore, make and play.

Whether you’re visiting for the day, on holiday, or local to the area, there’s something to spark every curious mind. From hands-on workshops to immersive exhibitions, discover six inspiring destinations where creativity and imagination have space to roam.

Towner Eastbourne

Make Space – Drop-in Creative Studio 

New for summer 2025! Towner’s Make Space is a fun and welcoming drop-in studio designed for all ages. Open every Tuesday to Sunday from 29 July to 31 August (including bank holiday Mondays), it’s the perfect spot for relaxed, creative making with others. Whether you bring a project from home or start something new, you’ll find simple materials, images, prompts and audio to spark your imagination. No need to book—just drop in and make.

HAF: Tide Tables

Towner is also delivering creative, artist-led activities around nature, food and collaboration, supported by the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. These sessions are designed for SEND young people eligible for Free School Meals and run throughout August.

Families with one or more children with additional support needs are invited to take part in artist-led sessions in a safe, supported and creative environment, led by artist Daisy Stewart-Darling.

For dates and booking information, visit Towner Eastbourne’s What’s On.

De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill

Art Sundays

Every first and third Sunday of the month, De La Warr Pavilion hosts Art Sundays – free, drop-in workshops for all ages led by local artists. Inspired by the gallery’s exhibitions, these sessions encourage playful experimentation and open-ended creativity.

Follow Your Nose

Families can also explore Follow Your Nose, a multilingual web app that invites children to respond to artworks using instinct and imagination. With the beach just beyond the gallery, it’s a perfect day out. Find out more about the web app here.

De La Warr Pavilion also hosts children’s theatre throughout the year. For more information, visit De La Warr Pavilion –  What’s On for Families.

Hastings Contemporary

Family Days

Hastings Contemporary offers a welcoming space for families to explore contemporary art together. This summer, Family Days provide opportunities for creative play and making, inspired by the gallery’s exhibitions and seaside setting. Sessions take place every Thursday from 24 July to 28 August.

Activities are designed to be accessible and engaging for all ages, with materials and prompts available to help children respond to artworks in their own way.

Check Hastings Contemporary’s What’s On for dates and details.

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft

This summer, It Takes a Village reimagines Ditchling’s rich artistic legacy through over 20,000 objects from the museum’s collection. Alongside the exhibition, families can enjoy a range of workshops including:

• Wyvern Day (9 August): A day of mythical creativity celebrating the curious creature once at the heart of the museum’s identity—the wyvern.
• Little Museum Visitors (22 August): A creative, hands-on morning for little ones aged 2–5.

Visit Workshops and Events at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft for full listings.

Weald & Downland Living Museum, Chichester

Set in the heart of the South Downs, this open-air museum brings history to life with a summer programme full of hands-on fun:

• Toys Through Time (22 July–2 September): Follow the interactive play trail and discover games from the past.
• Green Man of the Woods (2 August): Create forest-inspired clay sculptures with artist Gill Nudds.
• Roots & Rhythm (9 August): A celebration of folk music, folklore and folk art.
• Victorian Life – Living on the Edge (30–31 August): Step into the past with The Ragged Victorians for two days of immersive family activities.

Visit Weald & Downland Living Museum – What’s On for full programme and booking info.

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

Summer Art Club

Pallant House Gallery’s Summer Art Club offers a series of themed workshops for children aged 7+, including:

• Life-Sized Cutouts (31 July): Make playful, large-scale self-portraits with artist Louise Dennis.
• Prints and Pieces: Collagraph (28 August): Create a series of beautiful images using a printmaking technique called collagraph, with artist Helen Friend.

Art and Craft Saturdays

Art and Craft Saturdays are relaxed, drop-in sessions held on selected Saturdays until 25 October. Designed to nurture creativity and confidence in young makers, the sessions are best suited to children aged 5+, though drawing materials are also available for younger children.

These family workshops are free for children and accompanying adults, but they are extremely popular—so booking in advance is recommended.

School in Residence 2024-25

Families can also explore an exhibition of artwork produced by children in the gallery’s School in Residence programme, inspired by Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists, Rana Begum, and Ideas for Sculpture.

Visit Pallant House Gallery – What’s On for more information and how to book.

From galleries to gardens, studios to story trails, Sussex is full of creative adventures for curious kids this summer. With its sweeping coastline, rolling South Downs, and ancient woodlands, the region offers endless inspiration in nature. Whether indoors or out, there are plenty of opportunities for young explorers to see, make and imagine.

Ready to explore more of Sussex? Discover the best art galleries and museums and breathtaking Sussex landscapes.