Vacation Care
Bring your Vacation Care group to the Garden for creative and active outdoor fun!
Our 2025 programs are now open to book.
Choose from a range of activities including, art and craft, cooking, gardening, First Nations cultural experiences, theatre shows and sensory tours.
See the full programs below.
Summer Programs
13 - 30 January 2025
Book your group in now!
Beautiful Bugs
Join Gardens' educators on a bug-tastic exploration this summer!
Children will dip-net for water-dwelling invertebrates and go on a good old-fashioned bug hunt in the Garden. Plus, they’ll create a clay creature to take home with them and play some games in the shade of the trees. It’ll be a great day out!
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group)
Season: Summer program
Price: $18 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
Wild Water Dreaming
Join our First Nations guides for a summer splash in the Botanic Garden!
In this two-hour program, kids will learn all about the importance of water to First Nations peoples through storytelling and games. So, bring your best water play clothes (to change into), and let the games begin!
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group) at Sydney. Maximum 40 children per timeslot (2 groups of 20 children per group) at Mount Annan.
Season: Summer program
Price: $18 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
Autumn Programs
14 - 24 April 2025
Book your group in now!
Dangerous Plants!
WATCH OUT: Dangerous plants about!
This autumn, we're delving into the world of dangerous plants. It's incredible to learn about the extreme measures plants take to survive – they can strangle, push, and even bite! Join our educators for a garden exploration to uncover the dangerous plants hiding in the Garden. You'll also have the opportunity to witness a Venus flytrap being fed live on the big screen and participate in predator-prey games on the lawns. It's going to be insanely fun!
Location: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group)
Season: Autumn program
Price: $18 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hour
Tea Time with your Elders
Led by First Nations educators, children and their elders will explore the Botanic Garden to find plants used by local First Nations peoples.
On this tour, you will discover how Indigenous plants are used to make tea and other delicious drinks, all while learning about their nutritional and medicinal values AND you will make your very own tea bags to take home!
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group) at Sydney. Maximum 40 children per timeslot (2 groups of 20 children per group) at Mount Annan.
Season: Autumn program
Price: $18 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
Plant Hunger Games - Outdoor Theatre
Arnie is feeling very tired.
His regular meals just aren't enough. So, he decides it's time to change his diet. But there is a problem - Arnie is a plant and can't get to the shops. With help from the audience, Arnie learns new skills on how to catch fresh food and survive. Come join in the shenanigans and learn about different ways plants get their nutrients from their surroundings... some might even be a bit of a surprise!
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 100 children per timeslot
Season: Autumn program
Price: $18 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 1 hour
| Date | Time |
| Tuesday 15 April | 11am, 1pm |
Winter programs
7 - 18 July 2025
Book your group in now!
Wild Detectives
Bring your best detective skills to the Gardens these holidays!
Join us to discover clues and ask “whose poo?”, investigate animal tracks and make your own! Plus follow a treasure map to find secret symbols and learn how plants and animals rely on each other to survive. This fun-filled day is great for working in teams and making friends – all in the great outdoors!
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group)
Season: Winter program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
NAIDOC – First Nations Program
Celebrate NAIDOC Week with our First Nations educators in the Botanic Gardens and celebrate our rich histories and cultures over time.
In this 2-hour program, kids will enjoy the vibrant beauty of our garden while learning the importance of this years’ NAIDOC theme.
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group) at Sydney. Maximum 40 children per timeslot (2 groups of 20 children per group) at Mount Annan.
Season: Winter program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
Treasures of the Rainforest - Outdoor Theatre
A mysterious treasure map has been discovered and promises great wealth at the end of the hunt.
Join our treasure hunters on a journey to another world in this fun outdoor theatre. Learn about how a rainforest works along the way, meet the strange animals that live there, and find out how we can all work together to save this precious and magical environment.
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 100 children per timeslot
Season: Winter program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 1 hour
| Date | Time |
| Tuesday 8 July | 11am, 1pm |
Spring programs
29 September - 10 October 2025
Book your group in now!
Bee Happy
Bees really are the ‘bee’s knees’ of the pollination world!
Join us this spring to explore the colourful world of flowers and pollinators. Discover the secret language of bees and how they see the world, how flowers use colour, shape, and perfume to attract pollinators and more! You will also play some fun pollinator-themed games and plant some bee-friendly seeds to take home.
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group)
Season: Spring program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
Eco-Dyeing – First Nations Program
Join a First Nations educator to explore the native Australian gardens and discover traditional dyeing materials and methods.
As you wander through the beautiful Botanic Garden children will collect their very own pigments, which will be used to decorate a unique take-home gift and finishing off with some fun traditional games.
Location/s: Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 81 children per timeslot (3 groups of 27 children per group) at Sydney. Maximum 40 children per timeslot (2 groups of 20 children per group) at Mount Annan.
Season: Spring program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 2 hours
The Bee's Knees - Outdoor Theatre
Join Bluey the Blue Banded Bee and a very busy Honey Bee in this hilariously buzzy production!
Learn how different one bee is to the next and get ready to participate in the show as you join in a wiggly waggle-dance. It’ll be the bee's knees!
Location: Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Capacity: Maximum 100 children per timeslot
Season: Spring program
Price: $19 per child (minimum charges may apply)
Duration: 1 hour
| Date | Time |
| Tuesday 30 September | 11am, 1pm |
