Children Nursery

Did you know that something as simple as planting a sunflower can provide food for insects and birds? CBeebies’ Hamza Yassin explains how everyday nature heroes play a crucial part in our ecosystem, and how you have a role to play too! From the smallest seed to the tallest tree, everything in nature has a purpose. Come on your own Eco Quest and find out how to make your nature walks an interactive journey of discovery. Can you find some lichen on a wall or tree, earthworms in the ground or a dandelion growing through a crack in the pavement?

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Sue Hendra, co-creator of the bestselling Supertato picture books, will be in Hay to celebrate the 10th birthday of our favourite supermarket superhero.

If you’re looking for fun and giggles galore, this veggie adventure-fest is the family show for you. There will be stories, silliness and everyone will get a chance to make their own veggie super-hero to take home.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

What’s your favourite long word? Peter the Cat, a favourite character from Zeb Soanes’ Gaspard the Fox picture book series, always has the right one for any particular situation. Bring your thinking cap to join the author and Classic FM broadcaster as he introduces his feline friend and explains some of Peter’s favourite ‘big words’.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of everyone’s favourite dinosaur-who-cried-wolf story, Gigantosaurus – as seen on TV! Listen to bestselling author and illustrator Jonny Duddle read the story and join in with his draw-along, creating your own dinosaurs to take home.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Island boy Aaron loves the sea. But he's a bit scared of going under the water. Then one day Aaron finds an octopus stranded on the beach. And as he helps Dad return it to the water, something amazing happens… Can Aaron lose his fear and go underwater? Maybe now he can help look after the sea creatures and be… Aqua Boy!

Award-winning author and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max (Astro Girl and Eco Girl) reads from Aqua Boy, an empowering story about looking after the ocean and its wildlife. Next he shows you how to draw an octopus yourself, and then – hold your breath! – while you complete your drawing, Ken creates a stunning live painting.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

Which dinosaur had teeth as big as a banana? Which dinosaur weighed the same as 10,000 cats? And what could a chicken possibly be doing in the Great Big Dinosaur Show?! Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for their family show full of poems, raps and songs about all your favourite prehistoric protagonists – and some you haven’t heard of yet! Come and get your groove on to some Jurassic classics.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Craft your own original Rabbit artwork in this creative workshop for all the family. Enter the joyful world of Jo Ham’s Rabbit – select your favourite HAM print featuring the iconic character and then let your imagination soar to create your own Yippee!, Uh-Oh! or Oops! moment. You can add landscapes, new characters, colourful props and more using paint, pens, stickers and craft materials, with help on hand from Jo and the HAM team.

Drop in and watch aspiring performers from Hereford College of Arts come together to create a joyous short outdoor performance celebrating Shakespeare’s popular comedy. A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR Four Weddings and a Fairy is a mini-version of Shakespeare’s classic – complete with puppets, aerial dance, song, and knock-about comedy, it’s the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for those encountering his work for the first time.

BA Acting students from Hereford College of Arts bring this fantastical 400-year-old tale to life. Gasp at the magical exploits of the fairies, chuckle at the antics of the four young lovers as they get lost in an enchanted forest, and laugh at the calamitous acting of Bottom and his theatre company as they desperately try to entertain the Duke on his wedding day.

Craft your own original Rabbit artwork in this creative workshop for all the family. Enter the joyful world of Jo Ham’s Rabbit – select your favourite HAM print featuring the iconic character and then let your imagination soar to create your own Yippee!, Uh-Oh! or Oops! moment. You can add landscapes, new characters, colourful props and more using paint, pens, stickers and craft materials, with help on hand from Jo and the HAM team.

Enjoy the touchy-feely delights of Dog, T-Rex, Mermaid, Penguin and lots of That’s not my… friends in this sensory storytelling adventure for little ones. Led by incredible professional storyteller George Hoyle, with fun songs, bubbles and more...

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Meet the little dinosaur who is the greatest secret agent in the world! Spyceratops has all the skills: sneaking, peeking, blending in, daredevil manoeuvres. She has all the kit: groovy gadgets, loyal sidekick, awesome spy-mobile. And now the perfect opportunity has arisen for her to share her espionage expertise with you as she uncovers Grandad’s secret plotting. Join Alex Willmore, bestselling illustrator of I Did See a Mammoth! and The Runaway Pea, in this dino-tastic event.

Come and meet Muffin the Mule and his friends, and enter the enchanting world of puppets brought to you by Will McNally, grandson of Jan Bussell and Ann Hogarth. Muffin and other characters from the BBC television programme will be appearing to celebrate Muffin’s new book, Muffin and the Passage of Time, written by Benjamin James Huxley. During the show Will McNally will talk about how Muffin the Mule became famous, while entertaining the children and taking the parents and grandparents on a trip down memory lane.

Come and meet Muffin the Mule and his friends, and enter the enchanting world of puppets brought to you by Will McNally, grandson of Jan Bussell and Ann Hogarth. Muffin and other characters from the BBC television programme will be appearing to celebrate Muffin’s new book, Muffin and the Passage of Time, written by Benjamin James Huxley. During the show Will McNally will talk about how Muffin the Mule became famous, while entertaining the children and taking the parents and grandparents on a trip down memory lane.

Come and meet Muffin the Mule and his friends, and enter the enchanting world of puppets brought to you by Will McNally, grandson of Jan Bussell and Ann Hogarth. Muffin and other characters from the BBC television programme will be appearing to celebrate Muffin’s new book, Muffin and the Passage of Time, written by Benjamin James Huxley. During the show Will McNally will talk about how Muffin the Mule became famous, while entertaining the children and taking the parents and grandparents on a trip down memory lane.

One growing elephant. One smallish lifeboat. One big dream… Join award-winning author/illustrator Ed Vere for a salty story-time session celebrating his new picture book The Elephant and the Sea – a lyrical tale about big elephants in small boats, large waves… and big pinches of bravery and determination. Ed will bring his crayons to show you how to draw his character Gabriel. You can join in with him and see how easy it is to draw a seafaring elephant! Ed’s award-winning picture books include How to be a Lion and Max the Brave.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Come to Hay Castle for this drop-in session for families, where you’ll be inspired to design and build your own dream house out of recycled materials.

Children must be accompanied by an adult. Activities are aimed at children aged 4+ years, but younger siblings are very welcome.

Cuddle up with the Teddy Bear Ladies, Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch, best known as stars of the BBC’s The Repair Shop. They’ve created the magical world of Bartie Bristle and friends in their stunning treasury Bartie Bristle and Other Stories: Tales from the Teddy Bear Ladies, and they can’t wait to share it with you!

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

In a world filled with vibrant colours, a young child feels a different shade – grey. Despite the joyous orange balloon, the huge yellow sun and the bright green trees, the child still feels grey. But when a reassuring hand reaches out and shares words of kindness, the child begins to see the warmth of colour again, and knows that they will always be loved, whether they feel grey or sunshine yellow. Delve into a heart-warming and powerful story of emotions with these two cherished creators.

Get your Hay day off to a brilliant start with our daily Ready, Steady, Music workshops! With different activities each day, these interactive, fun-filled sessions for mini musicians will have you tapping sticks, roaring like dinosaurs, flying with unicorns, dancing with scarves, playing with parachutes and much more. Come and meet our puppets, explore our instruments and be accompanied by the beautiful sound of the cello.

Join bestselling and award winning author and illustrator Steve Antony in a high energy, interactive, story time and drawing event. Meet Steve's mischievous character, Cat, and hunt down a vibrant dinosaur in his brand new picture books Rainbowsaurus and Cat Nap. These perfect family reads introduce naptime, colours and animals to little ones.

Join Sarah Coyle for a highly interactive event, specially created for Hay Festival, where you’ll embark on two adventures and decide what happens every step of the way. First, you’ll work together to find out why Tylwyth Teg the fairy is cross and causing all sorts of mischief at the Festival. Then you’ll help Zara, the star of Sarah’s latest book (Pick a Story: A Monster Princess Shark Adventure), to find her beloved Old Ted. But was he taken by a monster, pinched by a princess or snapped by a shark? You decide!