If you are having a staycation these Easter School Holidays, you might want to make a few day trips, and the good news is that during the Easter school holidays, the NSW Government has announced 12 days of free travel offered on all modes of public transport on the Opal network.
The Fare-Free 12 Days of Easter covers public transport in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, the Hunter, and the Illawarra and includes Metro, train, bus, light rail, and ferry services.
Transport Minister David Elliott said that after a challenging time for many following COVID-19 restrictions, adverse weather, and disruptions to the rail network, the free travel delivers some hip pocket relief and a boost to small businesses that have been doing it tough.
“To commuters affected by recent rail disruptions, I want to say a heartfelt thank you for your patience. I hope the Fare-Free 12 Days of Easter is a way for you to enjoy quality time with family and friends during the school holidays while at the same time helping to revitalise our city centres and local communities,” Mr Elliott said.
It allows Lane Cove locals to use free travel to the Royal Easter Show, NRL games, and some events in the CBD (like Jurassic World by Brickman or some of the fun activities at the Maritime Museum).
All modes of public transport will be free for commuters for 12 days from 4:00 am on Thursday 14 April 2022, until 3:59 am on Tuesday 26 April 2022. This does not apply to services owned and operated by private companies (such as the Lane Cove Ferry, which Captain Cook Cruises run).
Plan your trip through Transport NSW, and don’t forget to use those Parents NSW or Dine and Discover vouchers!
Fun Things to Do in the CBD
Jurassic World by Brickman
An immersive Brickman experience featuring over 50 epic creations made from 6 million LEGO® bricks is at the Australian Museum.
Created by Ryan ‘The Brickman’ McNaught, the popular exhibition has transformed the touring exhibition hall at the Australian Museum and brought to life Jurassic World – the blockbuster franchise from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment – turning it into the largest LEGO® exhibition in Australian history. The latest film in the epic franchise, Jurassic World Dominion, will debut in cinemas in June 2022.
With over 50 large-scale dinosaurs, props, scenes and activities made from over 6 million LEGO® bricks, the immersive must-do adventure provides inquisitive explorers with an interactive and thrilling journey through stories and characters from the Jurassic World franchise.
New for the Sydney experience, a never-before-seen Baryonyx model will be revealed. Weighing in at 400kg, this newest Jurassic World by Brickman dinosaur took 790 hours to design and was created using 102,317 LEGO® bricks! She is 4.8m long, over 1.5m wide and stands 2.5m high.
Visitors to Jurassic World by Brickman® begin by walking through the iconic 4-metre-tall Jurassic World gates to experience the island itself, then the inner workings of the Jurassic World lab, where dinosaurs are genetically engineered.
Explorers will then venture to the baby dinosaur enclosure, where a life-size LEGO® brick Brachiosaurus awaits that weighs well over 2 tonnes! Journey past a flock of Pteranodons, then learn how to track dinosaurs across the island before encountering escaped Velociraptors Blue and Delta and, of course, an enormous T. rex – a favourite of many Jurassic World fans.
In the Jurassic World by Brickman® experience, LEGO® fans will have an opportunity to channel their inner ‘Brickman’ with a myriad of activities, from island-building, LEGO® palaeontology and discovery through mystery mosaics, hybrid dinosaur creations, learning to track a dinosaur by creating species footprints, and even building escape vehicles to get away from a T. rex. Creativity will not be in short supply with 2.5 million bricks to play with!
Jurassic World by Brickman will be running through to 29 May 2022 and is open from 10 am – 5 pm daily (9 am – 5 pm on weekends and school holidays).
Tickets to the exhibition are priced at $35 for adults, $25 for children between three and 15 years old, and $27.50 for concession cardholders. Family discounts are also available.
The Sea Museum
The museum’s Autumn 2022 school holiday program is awash with fun
Unleash your creativity in a world where imagination meets the sea these school holidays. The Australian National Maritime Museum has a packed holiday program of exhibitions, vessels, hands-on workshops, immersive installations, themed creative activities, etc.
AQUATIC IMAGINARIUM – Step inside our interactive play and discovery space into a wonderland of giant inflatables, evocative sensory spaces, object storytelling and hands-on art-making activities.
Build giant ships, be immersed in an illuminated plankton forest, craft a boat sculpture or curate your mini-museum. Open daily, included in any paid museum entry ticket, free for members/pass holders.
OCEAN LAB – Meet the pint-sized planet protectors that save our seas at our ocean container laboratory. Explore what lies beneath the harbour’s surface and discover the secret life of plankton with fun experiments and underwater drone footage, revealing Sydney’s marine biodiversity. Free entry, open daily in school holidays and weekends in term time, suitable for all ages. Session times and activities vary each day.
SEA COUNTRY ACTIVITY TRAIL– Explore the museum in beautiful works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in our Sea Country Activity trail and discover what these artworks tell us about caring for the country. Complete the quest to receive your temporary tattoo prize. Free with museum entry, available every day.
Creative Workshops for Teens
Young Inventors – one day course
Kinetic art and design workshop, experimenting with engineering creations that move, float, fly and spin. Learn about submersible vehicles and invent your own creative underwater exploration device. Suitable 8 – 14 years. Tuesday 12 or Wednesday 13 April.
Underwater Explorers – Ocean Science and TV presenting workshop
Explore the world beneath the surface, capture underwater footage using our drones, and create your own imaginative TV segments. Learn clever techniques in green-screen, scripting, directing, acting and film-making to produce your own creative digital stories, screened at a special cinema event for family and friends. Suitable 8 – 14 years. Wednesday 20 – Thursday 21 April, bookings essential.
UNDERWATER DRONE WORKSHOPS – Got gaming skills? Try your hand at piloting an underwater ROV drone and explore below the harbour’s surface. Drone workshops are a private session that can cater for one person or a group of up to 4 players; sessions are suitable for wheelchair users. *Please note, drones cannot be operated in adverse weather conditions; cancelled sessions will be refunded. Ages 8 to adult, bookings essential, available Wednesdays 13, 20 and Sundays 10, 24 April 2022.
Mini Mariners – Creative and educational activities for 2-5-year-olds and their parents/carers.
Each month, you can sail around the world with a different theme as you explore the galleries, sing and dance in interactive tours with costumed guides. Enjoy creative free play, craft, games and storytime in our themed activity area.
Sensory Friendly Sundays
A comfortable environment for kids and adults on the autism spectrum and those with various sensory differences. During Autumn, our new exhibitions and activity areas will be open extra early for a quieter experience modified to suit people on the autism spectrum and visitors with differing abilities, with our trained staff and volunteers on hand to help out with creative activities.
Parents NSW $50 vouchers and Dine & Discover $25 vouchers can be used for school holidays.
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