The Winter school holidays are a fantastic time to explore farms, take on an adventure and get creative!
In Ipswich you can fill the holidays by heading to Spark Ipswich, cuddling some adorable farmyard animals and taking an art class.
Here are a few of the top activities that need to be on your family’s holiday checklist from 27 June – 12 July.
What’s on in Ipswich Central
LightPlay exhibition and Paper Craft at Ipswich Art Gallery
These school holidays head to Ipswich Art Gallery for IAG Kids: LightPlay, an immersive, hands‑on experience where children explore light, colour and shadow through play, experimentation and discovery.
Using light boxes, overhead projectors and digital technologies, children test ideas, make predictions and see what happens, building curiosity, creativity and early science thinking along the way. Learning happens naturally as children explore together in a playful, welcoming environment.
Grounded in Reggio Emilia principles, LightPlay celebrates imagination and curiosity, recognising children as capable, confident learners.
Also at Ipswich Art Gallery these winter school holidays, create your own miniature home with paper furniture, or design a “Memory Postcard” – a keepsake to capture a special moment or share with others.
Inspired by the exhibition at IAG, The World Came Flooding In, let your imagination build a story of home.
Explore SPARK Creative Hub
SPARK Ipswich Arts Festival returns from 8 to 12 July 2026 with a program packed full of arts, music, theatre and vibrant experiences across the City of Ipswich.
Discover interactive installations, live music, street theatre, hands-on experiences and exhibitions that will SPARK your curiosity.
Nightly projections and animated artworks will run from 6pm-8.30pm nightly in Nicholas Street, a Creative Hub will run daily from 10am-2pm (9am-3pm on Saturday 11 July) and 5pm-8.30pm from Tulmur Place to d’Arcy Doyle with music, performance, markets and more.
Silent Disco Tours will run nightly from 8-12 July in d’Arcy Doyle Place, Musical Mind an immersive interactive installation will run daily from 10am-2pm and 5pm-8.30pm in Tulmur Place.
Level up your holidays with General Public
It’s time to level up your holidays with General Public’s School Holidays Fun Pack, loaded with double the fun for an unbeatable price!
For $29 per person enjoy a game of bowling, and get a $25 game card to keep the good times rolling (and your competitive spirit fired up).
That’s two awesome activities in one epic package! Whether you’re a pro at gaming or just looking for a new adventure, this pack is the perfect way to make the most of your school holidays.
Kids pizza classes
Vapiano’s popular kids’ pizza making classes will be held at their Nicholas Street Precinct venue during school holidays.
Kids can learn how to knead dough, how to top their pizzas and send them to the oven. The one-hour classes start at 10am, cost $25 and are suitable for children aged between 5 and 12.
Vapiano Springfield are also holding pizza classes, find out more here.
EnviroArt in the park
These school holidays EnviroArt in the Park: A creative celebration of Ipswich’s natural world will be held at the Queens Park Environmental Education Centre. All skill levels welcome!
EnviroArt in the Park is a celebration of the unique beauty of Ipswich’s natural world. This free event invites you to explore native plant and animal specimens through various art mediums at Queens Park Environmental Education Centre. Perfect for all skill levels, come and unleash your creative side this school holidays.
Admission is free. No need to book a ticket just drop by during opening hours (9am – 2pm Tuesday – Saturday) and jump in!
There will also be three art workshops held, learn watercolour and paint native flora and fauna with By Emily Kate Studio on Wednesday 1 July (ages 10 years plus), design your own bug with Amanda Laing on Saturday 4 July or Tuesday 7 July (ages 10 years plus) and capture the animals of the nature centre in a Wildlife Photography workshop with Michael Snedic on Saturday 11 July (ages 16 years plus).
Tin Can Radio by Everybody Now
On Wednesday 8 July kids can take part in a workshop where they learn to create a radio segment and be one of the key hosts during a pop-up live broadcast at Nicholas Street Precinct on Friday 10 July!
Young people who don’t attend the workshop can still be a part of the Friday broadcast by dropping in to submit top tips and interview questions, create segments or sound effects, guest host or simply enjoy the live radio experience.
This is a great intergenerational experience and it is encouraged kids join with one of their favourite adults.
Workshop: Wednesday 8 July 2026 (10.00 am – 12.00 pm)
Price: $5.00 per child. Booking information.
Ipswich City Council, Event Space One, 1 Nicholas Street Ipswich 4305
All children must be accompanied by an adult. Accompanying adults do not require a ticket.
Broadcast: Friday 10 July 2026 (10.00 am – 2.00 pm)
Jewellery workshops for teens
Teenagers (14-18 accompanied by an adult) and adults can take part in two jewellery workshops these school holidays.
Hosted by It*s Material in the Ipswich Art Workshop the events are great for beginners and intermediate makers and no experience is required.
The first is Scrap to Sparkle: Jewellery Workshop on Saturday 11 July from 10am-1pm, where you can learn, play and create using recycled, reclaimed and repurposed materials.
Ranging from ceramic pieces to beads and aluminum you will be guided through the construction of your own wearable to take home. Bookings are essential.
Then on Sunday 12 July Whacky Wearables: Enamelling Workshop will be held from 10am-1pm.
This session will introduce you to the basics of enamelling through hands on experience. You’ll take home on colourful ready to wear decorative item. Book here.
Play Agents of Discover and meet some of Ipswich’s cutest residents
These school holidays play, explore and connect with the free educational mobile gaming app Agents of Discovery! Download the app and visit the Ipswich Nature Centre to play a special mission and explore the environment. Everyone who completes the mission during the holidays will enter a random draw for great Aussie Explorer prizes including prize packs and a VIP tour of the Ipswich Nature Centre with lunch included.
The Ipswich Nature Centre in Queens Park is an unmissable experience for any visitor, as it is home to many animals including bilbies, dingoes, wallabies, a wombat, and also features a walk-through bird aviary.
It is the only free zoo in south east Queensland (gold coin donations accepted), so you and your family can come back as many times as you like to see those cute little faces again. They are open seven days a week during the school holidays.
What’s on further afield
Little Day Out
With a focus on sustainability, Little Day Out, is bursting with live music, hands‑on creative experiences, tasty food trucks and delightful roving entertainment. Gather your festival crew on Saturday 11 July and get ready to sing, dance, create and play as Ripley Town Centre fills with energy and imagination.
Kids school holiday extravaganza
The Kids School Holiday Extravaganza at Brothers Ipswich will be held on Friday 3 July from 1.30pm-5pm. The family-friendly event features all-day dining, free ice cream, face painting, balloon twisting, a special visit from Kip the Kangaroo, an exciting reptile show presented by True Blue Reptiles, and a live magic show with Magic Pete.
Pizza class at Orion Hotel
These holidays Orion Hotel is offering a pizza making class on Thursday 2 July and Thursday 9 July at 11am. Kids learn to roll dough, spread sauce and sprinkle their favorite toppings in this interactive and tasty experience. Perfect for young food lovers and future chefs! Bookings are essential.
Horses to Horsepower family fun day
With examples of transport through the ages, Horses to Horsepower on Sunday 28 June will be a great day for families.
What to expect:
- See a live Clydesdale – the breed that once powered transport across the world.
- Children can touch the small animals at Old MacDonald’s Travelling Farm and enjoy Mr Magic’s mysterious show.
- Local author, Toni Risson, will talk about research for her latest book: “Whatever it Takes – the Beaumont Transport Story”.
- Lunch will be available from Darra Carvery and drinks from the Hobbit Hole Coffee Van.
- Sit in a buggy behind the metal horse, Banjo, to take a photo.
- Ride a heritage bus.
- See Ipswich Historical Society Blacksmiths working their forges and some of the terrific items they have made.
- Check out the stalls – Bootstraps, Imbibis, Spinners and Weavers, Genealogical Society and the Historical Society.
- Talk to the owners of the Veteran and Vintage Vehicles, Old Ford cars, Historical Motorcycles and the Renovated Historical Engines.
- All funds raised will help continue the development of Cooneana Heritage Centre.
Horses to Horsepower will be on from 9am-2pm at the Cooneana Heritage Centre.
Kids eat free, wildlife encounters and magic at Club Parkview
All school holidays kids eat free at Club Parkview! All you need to do is purchase a main meal to get your child one for free, and they are now serving a chicken nugget burger! This will be available from Friday 26 June to Sunday 12 July.
There’s also free entertainment during the holidays, see Mondello The Magician on Wednesday 1 July from 10.30am.
On Monday 6 July from 10.30am, join in a free wildlife experience where you can pat and play with crocodiles, snakes, turtles, frogs and so much more!
Play Agents of Discovery at White Rock – Spring Mountain
Play, explore and connect with nature using the free educational mobile gaming app Agents of Discovery these school holidays for the chance to win awesome prizes.
During the June-July school holidays download the free app and visit White Rock – Spring Mountain Conservation Estate (Paperbark Flats entry) to play a special Mission that explores this Enviroplan conservation area.
Complete the Mission between 27 June to 12 July to enter the random draw competition for some great Aussie Explorer prizes including Aussie Explorer prize packs and a VIP tour of Ipswich Nature Centre with lunch.
No tickets are required – simply visit the mission location during the school holidays to play using the Agents of Discovery app.
Saboteurs: Crewmates and Imposters
Enter the world of Saboteurs, a live AmongUs-style game where crew members complete tasks and impostors secretly eliminate them. Compete with up to 14 players in a fast-paced live action environment. Games go for 40 minutes and can be joined at 1 Main Street Springfield Central, outside Timezone.
See the dinos, pet and feed the animals
The Ewe Nique Hobby Farm will be open every day during the school holidays (except for Tuesdays) for you to feed and pet the farm animals and have a coffee in the Baa Baa Cafe. Their new dinosaur experience is also open full of replica dinosaurs, birds and fish!
Enjoy two sessions each day, either 9am or 10.30am and meet the gorgeous baby lambs and goats!
Visit The Llama Farm
You can visit Queensland’s largest herd of llamas these holidays.
The Llama Farm is not only home to llamas, but also giant rabbits, donkeys, goats, chickens, peacocks, ponies and camels.
Meet the animals on a Faces of the Farm tour at 9am on tour days or book in for a llama walk at 3pm on tour days.
See the camels
During the school holidays, Summer Land Camels will be open 9am to 3pm daily. There is no entry fee (except on Little Farmer Humpty Day) and visitors can pat and feed the camels for just a few dollars per bag of feed.
If you’re visiting during the holidays book in for a Tour, Taste and Camel Encounter, a camel ride and enjoy a delicious lunch, brunch, camelcino or award-winning camel milk Gelato at the cafe.
A little farmer day will be held on 30 June where entry will be $10.
Take to the skies in a big balloon
If you’re looking to take your school holiday fun to new heights, why not take a hot air balloon flight over the city of Ipswich with Floating Images Hot Air Balloon Flights? Granted, you do have to get up super early, but once you are in that basket and watching the sunrise, it will be a holiday memory you will treasure always.
Hit the bike trails over the holidays
If you like to stay active, grab your bike and explore more than 110km of world class trails at Hidden Vale Adventure Park. Operating out of the luxurious Spicers Hidden Vale getaway, the various tracks are suitable for beginners right up to experienced riders. The property is open from 7am-3pm daily and can be accessed for $20 a day for adults and $10 for kids.
Let the kids run wild at one of Ipswich’s great parks
Sometimes all you need for a great family day out is the sun shining and a good playground to entertain the little ones.
Lucky for you, Ipswich has lots of great parks, playgrounds and open spaces where you can easily spend a full day! Why not check out or revisit Queens Park in the middle of Ipswich, Lobley Park in Churchill, Robelle Domain in Springfield, Joseph Brady Park at Barallen Point, Sutton Park in Brassall, Rotary Bicentennial Park in Redbank Plains, Discovery Park in Springfield Lakes and Spring Lake Park, also in Springfield Lakes.
There’s lots of fun climbing apparatuses, swings, slides and space to throw out a picnic rug or kick a ball around – the choice is yours!
Ride the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Take a leisurely bike ride with the whole family from Ipswich to Fernvale along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. The trail traces the old Brisbane Valley rail line that commenced at Wulkuraka and continued to Yarraman, west of Kilcoy.
The 20km trail from bustling Ipswich out to the rural township of Fernvale is suitable for all riders, taking you on a fun family adventure through farmland, forest and picturesque settings away from the busy traffic.
The trail features various surfaces, including sand, grass, gravel and rough stretches of rocky ballast.
By using the Brassall Bikeway, riders can easily connect to Queensland Museum Rail Workshops in North Ipswich, and then travel via the road network to the historic Ipswich Central precinct, which is full of eateries, quirky shops and attractions like Queens Park and the Ipswich Art Gallery.
Where to stay
Stay in the heart of town with Urban Getaway, or book a family-friendly farm stay at Pocket Retreats, or Tallavalley Farm B&B. Stay in Ipswich Central with Quest Ipswich and Oaks Ipswich Aspire Suites. Stay in Springfield at Quest Springfield and the Springfield Lakes Hotel. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay near Summerland Camels or Queensland Raceways then Willowbank Caravan Park and Motel or Ivorys Rock are your closest places.
For more options see our Accommodation Page.
