HERE'S a breakdown of just some of the things families and kids can do in and around Manchester. These are favourites with the Confidential team, but if you have any suggestions please let us know in the comment box below the article and we’ll go along for a look.

All Star Lanes | The Great Northern, Manchester City Centre

All Star Lanes has enough old style glamour to keep parents happy and kids will have a whale of a time burning up energy on the lanes. Bring your brood along before 5pm and  for just £10, kids can enjoy a game of bowling, a main course, a dessert and a soft drink.

http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/event/kids-deal/

Legoland | Barton Square, Trafford Centre

Legoland has plenty to keep the child in all of us entertained, but until Sunday 22 May, it's the children who could be the real winners. Legoland are on the hunt for twelve budding architects to become part of their Creative Crew and assist the master builders as well as receiving plenty of other perks too. All participants in the competition will also have the chance to win a family holiday to Florida. Younger kids can explore the new Duplo farm with a farmer's dog, a slide and big bricks suitable for little hands.

https://www.legolanddiscoverycentre.co.uk/manchester 

 

Haunted Underworld Tour | St. Ann's Square, Manchester City Centre

Strictly for the over 12s but great fun. Manchester's premier ghost tour takes a trip into the dark under St Ann’s Square where the dank air comes alive with spooks and sprites. Great fun with added shivers, beware of shocks.

http://www.jonathanschofieldtours.com/haunted-underworld-ghost-tours---the-only-underground-experience-in-manchester.html

 

Play Factore | Trafford Quays Leisure Village, by Chill Factore

For some serious adventure come rain or shine, head to Play Factore. It's a fun-packed play centre with the tallest standing indoor slide in the world. Play Factore also serves up delicious, freshly-prepared food in their coffee shop and pizzeria, making it the perfect place for a spot of family-friendly lunch.

http://www.playfactore.com/

 

Sea Life | Barton Square, Trafford Centre

Whether you're a shark lover or a seahorse fanatic, a trip to Sea Life opens up an aquatic wonderland. It's educational too, but kids won't mind that; they'll be too busy getting up close and personal with a variety of rockpool creatures. What's more, if you go along between May 16 and May 22, you can join in with Sea Life's Turtle Fest – a celebration of all things turtley.

https://www.visitsealife.com/manchester/

 

Steam Train Ride | MOSI, Manchester City Centre

There are countless things to do at the Museum of Science and Industry not least a ride on a real steam train around the site. But there’s also Experiment with lots of hands-on activities and a 4D cinema with moving seats, water spray and air jets.

http://www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/steam-train-rides.aspx

 

Football Skills And Penalties | National Football Musuem, Manchester City Centre

The National Football Museum has superb displays but also lots of activities. Great fun can be had in the Football Plus section with twelve challenges to test visitor’s footballing skills. There’s the inevitable penalty taking opportunity but there’s all sorts of accuracy, dribbling and passing tests too. There is a charge to attempt the Football Plus challenges but the rest is free. You can log-on to the museum’s website after your visit and check your scores.

http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/families/plan-your-family-visit/

 

The Vivarium | Manchester Museum, University of Manchester

There's a lot of life in Manchester Museum despite all the mummies, fossils, stuffed animals, whale bones and dinosaurs, including Stan the huge T-Rex dinosaur. Upstairs, above the Natural History section, is an attractive gallery with a fabulous collection of snakes, lizards and frogs.

http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/collection/vivarium/

 

The Playground, Pitch & Putt and Farm | Heaton Park

Despite the Hall being mothballed at present this park has some excellent features for kids. The pitch & putt is an uphill and down dale affair that is the best in the North West. The playground has excellent apparatus and distracts kids for yonks – nice ice cream too. The farm gets kids up and close with a range of animals, while families can work off energy with a walk up to the Temple, the highest point in the City of Manchester with glorious views.

http://www.heatonpark.org.uk/HeatonPark/What_To_See__Do/Default.aspx

 

Manchester Climbing Centre | Ardwick

This is a superb facility with 76 climbing lines in a large and spectacular former church. There are loads of courses to get kids interested such as Little Monkeys for 5 and 6 year olds, Rock Its for 7 to 11 year olds, Hang Time for 12 to 17 year olds and Family Taster Sessions.

http://www.manchesterclimbingcentre.com/

 

BMX Centre | Sportscity

This impressive facility, the biggest and best in the country, is for riders new to the sport and world class BMX athletes. The amateur BMX track is international standard, with a five metre start hill that runs into a range of jump configurations. Whether it’s just for fun or for budding Olympic athletes this is the perfect place to get pedalling.

http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/bmx

 

Dog Bowl | Whitworth Street West, Manchester City Centre

For all its grown-up cool, Dog Bowl is a surprisingly family friendly place with a really tasty children's menu. Kids love bowling and at Dog Bowl they can bowl for free every Monday. There's all sorts of stuff to make the youngsters feel like a pro with lane bumpers, ramps, lightweight bowling balls and even wacky ball dispensers in the shape of Dog Bowl mascot, Bruce the Patterdale Terrier.

http://blackdogballroom.co.uk/dog-bowl/