Free open-ended play sessions inside the Whitworth Art Gallery, where the gallery is packed with tubes, pipes, boxes, crates, tyres and more for under-fives and their families to explore together. 

PLAY Days | The Whitworth Art Gallery

• Upcoming Dates:
  • Friday 12th June 2026, 10.30am–2.30pm
  • Friday 10th July 2026, 10.30am–2.30pm
• Location: The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER
• Suitable for: Under-fives and their families
• Booking: No booking required — free drop-in
• Cost: Free to attend
• Website: https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/getinvolved/families/playdays

PLAY Days are free, drop-in sessions run by the Whitworth Art Gallery, transforming the gallery into a giant open-ended play space for under-fives and their grown-ups. The gallery is filled with loose parts — tubes, pipes, boxes, crates, tyres and more — inviting children to explore, build, investigate and imagine in their own way and at their own pace.

The sessions are designed to encourage curiosity and creativity, giving young children the freedom to lead their own play while spending quality time with the people they love. There is no set activity or structure — just space, materials and the opportunity to discover what happens when little hands and big imaginations come together.

Photo credit: https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/getinvolved/families/playdays/