Families are invited to make the most of the school summer holidays at Mermaid Quay, as the waterfront destination launches six weeks of free, nature-inspired family activities designed to entertain, inspire and spark children’s curiosity about the world around them.
Running every Thursday from 23 July to 27 August, Tacoma Square will be transformed into an interactive outdoor adventure, where families can enjoy storytelling, creative crafts and hands-on activities inspired by wildlife, biodiversity and the environment. Each week brings a brand-new theme, giving families a reason to return throughout the summer holidays.
The programme begins on Thursday 23 July with A Bug’s Life, where children can create their own miniature bug hotels while learning why creepy crawlies play such an important role in our gardens. Flower Power follows on 30 July, celebrating bees, butterflies and pollinators as children make colourful flower crowns, before Water Cycle & Worm Wonders arrives on 6 August, bringing the science of the water cycle to life through interactive storytelling and introducing youngsters to the fascinating world of worms.
The fun continues on 13 August with Easy Bee-zy, where children can craft their own bee finger puppets before learning the famous waggle dance used by bees to communicate. On 20 August, Under the Green Leaf encourages families to explore the textures and patterns of nature by creating beautiful leaf rubbings inspired by the world beneath the trees. The summer programme concludes on 27 August with Butterfly Flutterfly, where children will discover the incredible lifecycle of butterflies before making their own butterfly feeder to take home and help support these important pollinators.
Visitors can also enjoy Mermaid Quay’s brand-new 679-space multi-storey car park, which has opened in time for the busy summer holidays, making it easier than ever for families to visit Cardiff Bay.
Once the activities are finished, families can make a day of it by exploring Mermaid Quay’s wide selection of waterfront restaurants, cafés, bars, shops and attractions, making it the perfect destination for a fun-filled summer day out.
The six-week programme has been inspired by Mermaid Quay’s commitment to sustainability, following its recent success at the Cardiff Life Awards 2026, where the waterfront destination was recognised with the Sustainability Award for its long-term environmental initiatives. These include working with Cardiff’s trade waste team to recycle food waste into renewable energy, installing Wales’ first GreenSeas Trust BinForGreenSeas and free public water refill stations to help reduce single-use plastics,
and carefully managing the waterfront and wetland areas to support biodiversity and local wildlife.
Mark Lemon, Centre Manager at Mermaid Quay, said:
“The summer holidays are all about spending quality time together, so we’re delighted to be welcoming families back with another programme of free activities for everyone to enjoy. Every Thursday offers something different, giving children the chance to get creative, learn about nature and have lots of fun along the way.
“Following our recent Sustainability Award, we wanted this year’s activities to celebrate the amazing wildlife and natural environment around us while showing that learning about sustainability can be fun and engaging. We hope families will come back week after week to experience each new adventure.”
