By Kate Hodges
13th October 2017
LEARN, RECIPE, MAKE Light Night
Diwali falls this week – expect to hear the crashing and banging of fireworks. The Festival of Light is celebrated by those from the Hindu and Sikh religion. It’s all about the lights; candles are placed in homes, there are firework displays (we love the always-spectacular one at the BAPS temple in north London that’s being held this year on Thursday 19). Celebrate at home by making your own lanterns like these or those found here, create a rangoli using coloured rice grains, or make these delicious pumpkin halwa sweets – there are stacks of the orange vegetables in the shops at the moment!
EVENTS Square Parties
Celebrate Black History month in full-on party style at Africa on the Square in London this Saturday. Held in Trafalgar Square, and totally free, expect live music, dancing, a talent show and loads of fun stuff for kids to do. Plus browse African stalls watch a fashion show. Come hungry - there will be lots of warming, spicy food to try. 12pm–6pm Head back the following day for the Square’s spectacular Diwali celebrations. The grey piazza will be transformed into a whirl of colour, with Indian music and dance on the main stage, the scent of spices and heat from the food stalls will fill the air, and there will be chances to have your hands painted with henna, to learn Bollywood dancing, and to learn how to tie a sari.
MAKE Autumn Art
Every autumn, our streets and parks are covered with some of the best free art materials you can find; leaves. Combine Halloween horrors with natural materials and make these spooksome zombies, or try making these terrifying leaf ghosts. These orange and green fellas are a little more friendly. Older kids and teenagers might be inspired by these stunning leaf carvings, here and here or by the coffee-on-leaf paintings of Gaidaq al-Nizar.
LEARN Leaf It Out
Alternatively, use leaves as a springboard for some great STEM activities. Use chromatography to find out what hidden pigments go to make up each leaf’s colour. Find out how to grow salt crystals on leaves in this experiment that explores solutions, saturation and the effect of heat on crystallisation. Or find out how water travels through the veins of leaves in this experiment.
EVENT Tay and Play
October Tayfest is packed with family-friendly events that embrace Perthshires’s spectacular natural playgrounds. Try something you’ve never done before; spot red deer, go on a beaver safari, embrace fruit and fungi and sample seasonal fare, press apples, go tree climbing, or make your own pizza. Prices vary, on over the Scottish half-term holidays until October 22.
