Ignite 2011 at Royal Opera House

Opera House?  With Kids?  Are you mad?  You asked that last year.

Oh; sorry.  So its really just a venue for another art show.  Well; it was last year.  This year was a bit different.

The kids amuse themselves while we drink coffee

In what way?  did they expect you to understand the inner workings of a paper crane?  No; but it was all about ballet and music; like you would have expected from a venue devoted to opera and music?  Err, yes.

Last year they seemed very welcoming to such a young audience?  Same this year? They were very helpful; on no less than four occasions in the one hour we were there for I was warned that some exhibits were not appropriate for children.

What did they make of it?  Most of them just played around while we (grown ups) drunk coffee.  Then? We went to the South Bank and played in the disappearing rooms.

Do say: Oh well, win some lose some.

Don't say: I don't know if you've been warned but some exhibits are not appropriate for children.

What: Deloitte Ignite 2011
Where: Royal Opera House
Getting there: The opera house is in Covent Garden and only a short walk from Covent Garden tube station
Cost: Free for most activities
Again: possibly; but for kids it wasn't even half as good as last year.

Human planet? What other planet were you expecting? haha; to be honest, with my beautiful kids any planet wouldn't surprise me. I thought it was my job to provide the cheap gags sorry!

So what was Human planet in the park? Big screen showing of the TV show? Not far off; it was music from the various cultures from the show performed by members of said cultures. This was more about the music than the cultures so more like a micro-Womad.

Three children at Womad; sounds like fun. they also had a number of children's activities to inspire the little wonders to be tomorrow cultural leaders:

Proms poetry - Michael Rosen did not lead us on a bear hunt but did guide us through making a poem of our own based on a rhythmic structure. I helped 7-year-old write a poem about going to the beach while 5-year-old drew pictures of trains and 3-year-old jumped on me.

Junk Samba - made a shaker out of an old water bottle and then made music by shaking and hitting a tea tray with a wooden spoon. cocophonous fun? worked surprisingly well and all three loved it.

Head dress making - sticking feathers and things to a headband; to be worn at the children's parade. Did they? no; conversation went a bit like:
Me: "do you want to join in with the parade"
Children look desparingly at the parade
All "No"
7-year-old: "it won't make me famous"

So did they walk away full of the wonders of the world around them? sadly not; there could have been more about the people making the music which I think would have engaged them a lot more but, that said, they did have a great time and I think they all got something out of it.

Was there more? there was a PROM concert in the Albert Hall tied in but we, sadly, didn't go.

What: Proms Plus Family: Human Planet in the Park
Where: Albert Memorial; Kensington Gardens
Getting there: Short walk from South Kensington tube station
Cost: Free
Again: The BBC run family events connected to the PROMS every summer; I'll definitely look out for others. This year there will be a family concert based around horrible histories (sadly we can't go)