London's West End theatres will teem with children during Kids' Week, from Friday until 1 September. The annual scheme, during the last week of the summer holidays, allows children free theatre tickets, free meals in some restaurants and free entrance to theatre workshops.
During Kids' Week a paying adult is entitled to an extra free child theatre ticket. Participating shows include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cats, Chicago, The Pirates of Penzance and Starlight Express.
However, parents and children can take part in a range of workshops free of charge. For example: take dance lessons from The King and I dancers (29 August), or the cast of Chicago (30 August); join the Cats' Kids' Club (26 August); or run away with the circus (Hard Times, 26 August). For an extra treat restaurants, including Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Cafe, are offering discounts if you present the Kids' Week leaflet.
The offers are subject to availability and you should book in advance on the Ticketmaster Kids' Week hotline: 020 7413 1431. For full details call the Kids' Week Information Line on 08700 732 000 or visit www.kidsweek.co.uk
How to go in at the deep end
If you have always thought that scuba-diving looked like a lot of fun, especially on holiday, but have never got around to trying it out, help is at hand. The British Sub-Aqua Club are offering free trial dives at up to 500 BSAC branches around the country from 11 to 17 September as part of Learn to Dive Week.
During the Try-Dive BSAC instructors will run through basic scuba theory and show you how to operate the aqualung and buoyancy equipment. Divers have to be over 14 years old, but children over eight can try snorkelling.
To find your nearest participating BSAC branch just call 0500 947 202. You don't have to be a BSAC member, but if you are bitten by the diving bug annual basic membership is £37 for adults or £12 for 14 to 18-year- olds and students - contact your local BSAC branch.
An Ocean Diver course costs from £200, after which you will be ready to explore reefs and wrecks around the world.
No nodding off with Noddy
Perfect for young children and long journeys is Noddy and the Birthday Party, a game produced by the BBC's multi-media department for the Game Boy Colour. The idea is to guide Noddy through 10 different adventures, collecting things from balloons to shells.
There is a gentle educational element: kids can play in French, German and Spanish as well as in English, and the game involves a little counting, as Noddy saves money to buy Big Ears a cake. More importantly, it should be absorbing for even the most fidgety four-year-old. Available from the usual stockists.
South Lakes Wild Animals Park
Curators at this unique zoo in Cumbria have striven to create environments that are as close to natural habitats as possible. The animals are gathered together by the continents they live on, and there are no cages, so the monkeys can climb and the lemurs can run free. The Australasian section boasts the country's largest collection of kangaroo species and the park is home to the Sumatran Tiger Trust, set up to protect the last few individuals of this species. Open 10am-6pm. Adults £6.50, children/OAPs £3.25, family £17. Call 01229 466806 or visit www.wildanimalpark.co.uk
