The Super Duper Family Festival Manchester
The ultimate free family festival is coming to Manchester as the city centre will transform into a play zone for half term with The Super Duper Family Festival.
The four-day celebration will be back for 2026 and will be filled with imagination, creation and free family-friendly activities. The city will be transformed into a giant, interactive playground.
Families will be able to explore unique play zones scattered across Manchester’s most iconic spaces, each bursting with everything from carousels to retro video games and family raves.
Best of all, all the zones are completely free to experience.
This year’s details have not yet been released, but you can discover what last year’s event involved below.
The family festival features the following key zones across the city:
The Story Den with BBC CBeebies Bedtime Stories
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Manchester Central Library and Manchester Central.
A celebration of creativity, culture and storytelling, The Story Den transforms Manchester Central Library into a warm and welcoming world of imagination.
Throughout the week, families can drop in for Lego workshops and take on the Library Hunt. Plus, there will be the following daily events:
- Wednesday – Little Reads interactive storytelling session with Manchester Literature Festival, alongside hands-on crafting at the Crochet Club for older children.
- Thursday – Enjoy music and movement, with rhythm-filled crafts and a high-energy Little Movers and Shakers session.
- Friday – One for film fans with the Family Film Club
- Saturday – The spotlight turns to International Mother Language Day, with activities celebrating languages from around the world, including Ukrainian Storytime.
All activities are drop-in, apart from the Crochet Club, which requires a free ticket via The Super Duper Family Festival website.
Plus, you can also take part in a Story Book Walk on Lower Mosley Street, where families can spot iconic characters from classic children’s books before arriving at Manchester Central for magical moments with BBC CBeebies in The Story Den.
Here, children and their families and carers can get cosy and snuggle up for special CBeebies Bedtime Stories. CBeebies stars, storytellers, dates and times will be announced soon, with free tickets available very shortly.
The Soapbox
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
People’s History Museum.
Step into a rebellious world of creativity and activism this Half Term at People’s History Museum.
Families can
- Make their own protest badges
- Explore a pop-up creativity corner,
- Play Banner Bingo in the galleries,
- Dress up as historical changemakers
- Strike a pose in the photobooth
- Let their voices be heard in a range of engaging, playful activities.
There are also ticketed sessions of My Protest Song with singer-songwriter Matt Hill on Wednesday, 18th and Thursday 19th February.
Plus drop-in African Drums for Protest sessions on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st February.
The Studios at St John’s Manchester
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
St John’s.
It’s lights, camera and action at St John’s, as venues including Aviva Studios and the Science and Industry Museum host The Studios – a buzzing play zone where families can get hands-on with film, TV, music, dance and technology on the historic grounds of Old Granada Studios.
At Aviva Studios, imagination meets innovation with The Digital Playground, an expansive space filled with motion-triggered content, interactive canvases and soundscapes.
Families can
- Dive into Make & Create, a collaborative zone for building and designing together
- Relax at Game Stations, lace up at The Roller Studio
- Dance like nobody’s watching at the Silent Disco
- Step into the director’s chair and help create The Super Duper Movie as families can shoot their own 30-second scene on a smartphone and submit it directly to the producer. Selected scenes will feature in a brand-new film premiering at The Super Duper Family Festival 2026. When it’s time to refuel
- Play at Manchester Music Mooch can explore sound, experiment with beat-making and build their own track using specially created music loops from local artists.
Crew Catering by street food favourites GRUB offers a pop-up mini market for hungry filmmakers.
The Science and Industry Museum joins the action with free activities inspired by its new world-premiere exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos.
Families can enjoy Cosmic Dance drop-ins, an immersive Journey Through the Universe and discover how to become experts of the night sky. A must for fans of the CBBC show and budding astronauts alike.
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. St John’s.
The Nursery Rhyme Trail
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Manchester Arndale.
Manchester Arndale is taking storytime to a whole new level as Humpty Dumpty takes centre stage in an energetic, imaginative trail packed with music, movement and mission-solving.
Begin at the Dippy Training School, a colourful bootcamp led by the Queen and her wonderfully wacky egg soldiers, Private Yolk and Private Scramble.
Families can join in silly warm-up drills, singalongs and games before heading off on the Humpty Dumpty Parade – a playful trail of riddles, tasks, pop-up performers and creative challenges.
Back at base, families work together to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, graduate from Dippy Training School and receive a chocolate reward.
Perfect for ages 3 to 11.
The Arcade
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Printworks, Withy Grove.
Press start on a retro-meets-future gaming adventure beneath Europe’s largest digital ceiling at Printworks.
Families can race head-to-head on a giant interactive racing game using phones as controllers, or test their reflexes on real-world table games including Digital Whack-a-Mole, Chase the Light, Air Hockey and Catchy It Reaction Ring.
The Sports Hall
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Great Northern Warehouse, Deansgate.
Back again for 2026 is the mega-mix of high-energy fun in The Sports Hall.
Kicking off with the exciting arrival of The Skate Park, new for this year, this major addition brings an adrenaline-charged edge. Join Graystone Action Sports for free introductory skateboarding sessions for ages 7 and up, every hour on a first-come, first-served basis.
Across the site, families can also:
- Race Scalextric cars in The Grand Prix,
- Strike a pose on the Winner’s Podium
- Go head-to-head on The Pitch with table football and Subsoccer,
- Grab a paddle in The Ping Hub.
- Sports fans can also unwind in The Fan Zone with the National Football Museum, a perfect half-time breather for all ages.
For the first time, the iconic AO Arena will host both the Men’s and Women’s Super League Basketball Cup Finals on Sunday 22nd March 2026, so don’t forget to join SLB at The Sports Hall and get closer to the game.
The Carnival
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
St Ann’s Square.
2026 will also see another favourite return with The Carnival.
Roll up for a whirl of old-school amusement and carnival magic as St Ann’s Square becomes a world of nostalgia and wonder.
You can expect:
- The Victorian Carousel
- Hook a Duck
- Spin the Wheel
- Coconut Shy
- Ferris Wheel Hoopla.
Families can also test their strength at the Test of Strength, stretch their reflections in the Carnival of Mirrors and take on brain-bending challenges from the Museum of Illusions and Urban Playground.
The Playground with Waterloo Road
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
Exchange Square.
School’s in for Half Term as families step into a playful, supersized school day inspired by BBC’s Waterloo Road. Explore a cluster of activity-packed shipping containers created by Playful Anywhere, bursting with free schoolyard fun.
You can:
- Dance it out at The School Disco
- Get crafty in The Art Class
- Strike a pose in The Drama Class,
- Embrace sports day silliness in The PE Class with table tennis, swing ball and Spin the Wheel challenges
The Sixth Form Common Room offers chill-out vibes, while The Yard delivers big-energy free play with hula-hooping, skipping and giant Jenga.
Open daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. Exchange Square.
When Is The Super Duper Family Festival in Manchester
The festival will be running over the February half-term from Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21st February 2026
More >>> The Super Duper Family Festival Manchester
Read >>> Things To In Manchester Centre For Kids
Discover >>> What’s On February Half Term In Manchester
Read More >>> Cheap and Free Things To Do In Manchester City Centre
Browse >>> Monthly Events For Families In Manchester
