Looking for ways to keep the kids entertained during October half term? Luckily, Greater Manchester and North West attractions are offering an action-packed lineup of family entertainment, blending spooky thrills with hands-on adventure. From giant rooftop monsters across Manchester city centre and Tim Burton’s moonlit light trail at Arley Hall to heritage ghost trains, indoor pumpkin patches, and deep-space museum takeovers, there is plenty to keep kids of all ages entertained this October half term, rain or shine.
The Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre has set up an outdoor fairground packed with rides alongside the Big Wheel and Gandeys Spooktacular circus for Halloween, staging acrobatic routines and live stage acts inside a heated Big Top. Inside the complex, family programming takes over the indoor spaces with the Tiny Terrors Trail running through the Main Dome. Orient Way hosts daily hands-on craft stations rotating between trick-or-treat bag making, monster figure crafting, and cookie decorating.
Step into Halloween Town this October half term as you explore a moonlit trail of dazzling lights and iconic characters. Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail will soon transform Arley Hall & Gardens into a 1.2-mile, multi-sensory walkthrough featuring over 1,700 light installations, 3D sculptures and scenes from the film. Coming to the UK for the very first time this autumn, the bewitching experience opens on October 22 and is suitable for all ages.
Giant inflatable monsters take over the Manchester skyline this October for the 10th anniversary of the MCR Monsters trail. Created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas, the massive sculptures peer over rooftops and historic landmarks across the city centre, forming their most expansive route to date.
The headline weekend brings the Monsters Party Procession—a carnival of dancing puppets, stilt walkers, and a live six-piece brass band—marching through Market Street and Manchester Arndale. You can also tackle interactive challenges at The Monster Bake-Off on New Cathedral Street, hit the open-air Rave-Yard dance zone at St Ann’s Square, or grab a party bag at the Swizzels’ Spooky Sweet Stop.
After a massive run in London, Sir David Attenborough’s immersive environmental show is heading north to Chester Zoo this autumn. Taking over the former Ape House, the 50-minute experience surrounds you with 360-degree projections, original animation, and natural world footage narrated by Attenborough himself.
The story traces the four-billion-year history of Earth and humanity’s impact on it, backed by an original score and run through 50 speakers. It’s the first time the full-scale production has been staged outside the Natural History Museum. Relaxed sessions are available for visitors with younger kids..
The family-run Summerseat Garden Centre brings back its indoor pumpkin patch with a fresh woodland theme for autumn. You can wander through displays filled with scarecrows and woodland animals, snap some photos, follow the Autumn Pumpkin Trail, and pick out a pumpkin without having to brave the Lancashire weather.
Alongside the patch, a new pop-up food hut serves sourdough toasties, hot mini doughnuts, and loaded hot chocolates. A handful of specific events run throughout the month too, including appearances from The Lancashire Hawks and Owls, a Magic School, and an adults-only Faulty Towers dining experience.
National Football Museum
Manchester’s National Football Museum rebrands into the “National Frightball Museum” with themed challenges spread across four floors. You can craft your own miniature monster mascots, have a resident witch read your club’s fortunes for the season ahead, and brew invisible-ink potions to scribble down secret match predictions. Interactive stations also include designing a curse-breaking captain’s armband to test on the Yard Ball street football pitch, alongside assembling your own patchwork player inside the Head, Shoulders, Knees & Goals anatomy exhibition.
Step inside the cosmos in this free-roam virtual reality journey, created in collaboration with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The experience transforms raw astronomical data from NASA, the ESA, and the Smithsonian into immersive 3D worlds, allowing you to walk through the birth of stars and the surfaces of alien planets. Guided by “Astro,” you begin on the summit of Mount Hopkins in Arizona before embarking on a tour of the galaxy. Highlights include witnessing solar flares from the Sun, exploring the lava-covered landscape of the “diamond planet” Janssen, observing the death of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, and standing at the edge of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way.
Weird Wonders at Museum of Illusions
The Museum of Illusions has given five of its core exhibits an eerie overhaul for spooky season. You can take a seat on the Bone Throne, test your nerves at the Spider Clone Table, wander into the Echo Cave, and inspect 3D-printed morphs of Albert Einstein, Frankenstein, and Count Dracula.
Alongside the updated exhibits, you can crack clues on the interactive Illusion Quest trail running through the galleries. Every child ticket includes a complimentary brain teaser puzzle from the gift shop plus a sweet treat, with adult ticket bundles also unlocking free Halloween giveaways.
IWM North
IWM North is hosting hands-on workshops, trails, and first-person talks throughout October half term. You can track down artefacts on the self-guided Story Seekers trail, add your design to a giant collaborative canvas in the Family Activity Hub, and speak directly with military veterans and evacuees about wartime life.
Across the galleries, the museum’s 360-degree screen runs The Roads We Walked, an immersive spoken-word piece by Manchester youth poetry collective Young Identity marking the 80th anniversary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress. You can also explore Outrageous Women, a textile exhibition by local group The Desi Grannies, or scan QR codes through the displays to follow the Refracted Histories LGBTQ+ trail.
Science and Industry Museum
Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum has launched a space-themed takeover for the October half term, running alongside its Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos exhibition. Settle into bean bags for morning sci-fi screenings of Pixar’s Lifted and BBC’s The Smeds and the Smoos, design extra-terrestrial creatures, and direct stop-motion shorts in the animation studio. You can also build giant rockets, compete in multiplayer retro space games on the gallery’s big screen, and track down the Albert Slime-stein monster lurking in the Upper Yard.
Scare City returns to the abandoned Camelot Theme Park, bringing psychological terror to the ruins. The award-winning live-action experience takes you through a continuous outdoor trail filled with live actors, immersive sets, and twisted pathways across newly unlocked, never-before-seen sections of the site. This year features nine new zones, including Cutthroat & Co, inspired by Sweeney Todd, and the Thornveil Coven, where intruders are trapped in an ancient forest. You’ll also encounter a demonic orphanage and an asylum, while CarniValley returns with a grotesque ringmaster forcing outcasts into a survival game. A new retro diner, Rest Bite, offers a break—but even the food stop is overrun by vampires and freaks.
Manchester transforms into your personal adventure playground with Race Across the World: The Experience. Step into the hit TV show’s official live adventure, where your team navigates the city streets, solves mind-bending puzzles, and manages a virtual budget over 2-3 exhilarating hours. Discover iconic landmarks and hidden treasures across three checkpoints, with optional breaks and exclusive discounts. Your strategy, speed, and teamwork will determine your place on the live leaderboard. Perfect for friends, families, and colleagues, this accessible and dog-friendly challenge promises an unforgettable weekend adventure.
East Lancashire Railway
See the nearby countryside in style by hopping on board an East Lancashire Railway steam train, which runs from Bury to Rawtenstall. Over the October half term holidays, the railway will be hosting several fun events and experiences to keep all of the family entertained. East Lancashire Railway will be hosting a Halloween ghost train, a day out with some wacky wizards and a traditional luncheon.
Victoria Park Guardians: The Lost Key, Stretford
Stretford’s Victoria Park transforms into an interactive family trail this Halloween, where teams solve clues to uncover the mystery of the Keeper’s missing key. Participants collect an adventure booklet from the Tea Room and use a mobile app to track down 13 “Guardians” hidden across the park’s paths, gardens, and historic spots.
Designed for children aged 3 to 12 and their families, the self-led adventure takes up to 90 minutes and focuses on autumn exploration rather than traditional Halloween scares. Teams can complete the trail during the day or at dusk, with a reward waiting at the end for completed mystery booklets.
Match Day Mix-Up!
Former England captain and Lioness Jill Scott heads to Manchester Central Library for Match Day Mix-Up!, an afternoon of football-themed storytelling and creative sessions hosted with British Gas and the Barclays Women’s Super League. You can meet Jill Scott in person as she reads from the new Match Day Mix-Up! book, and pick up a free copy alongside activity packs and stickers.
The drop-in event also features Footy Fairy Tales, a live stage show combining classic tales with original songs and stadium chants. Throughout the afternoon, the National Football Museum runs hands-on workshops where kids can craft their own medals and get stuck into themed creative stations.
The Wagon Train Finale
Outdoor arts collective Walk the Plank wraps up its travelling Wagon Train stage with an open-air spectacle marking Salford’s centenary. The celebration stages live drummers, DJ sets, aerial acrobatics, and dancers tracing the city’s nightlife eras from classic ballroom to Northern Soul, alongside a glowing Time Capsule, a roving invention display, and a giant birthday cake.
The night finishes with a community procession featuring torchbearers and illuminated willow lanterns. The parade heads into the park to set alight a massive, youth-designed fire drawing right before a rooftop-level fireworks display closes out the show.
Trafford Palazzo
Trafford Palazzo is hosting several Halloween and half-term activities, including a space-themed Kids Club, a planetary scavenger trail, and all-ages mochi workshops. The schedule also includes themed candlelight concerts, free weekend live music at the Fountain Stage, and Sunday morning yoga backed by live jazz.
