An arboretum is a living library of trees from around the world. This week, we're off to Harcourt Arboretum, looking at its wildflower meadow and its significance for local wildlife. Plus, we're getting hands-on with impressive giant redwoods!

An arboretum is a living library of trees from around the world. This week, we're off to Harcourt Arboretum, looking at its wildflower meadow and its significance for local wildlife. Plus, we're getting hands-on with impressive giant redwoods!

Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. It's the weekly kids entertainment show from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.

Plus, when you become a Fun Kids Podcasts Plus subscriber, you get this show – and 30 others! – ad-free and support the work Fun Kids does in bringing you high-quality, entertaining, and safe content for your family. Find out more at FunKidsLive.com/plus

Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. It's the weekly kids entertainment show from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.
Plus, when you become a Fun Kids Podcasts Plus subscriber, you get this show – and 30 others! – ad-free and support the work Fun Kids does in bringing you high-quality, entertaining, and safe content for your family. Find out more at <a href="https://FunKidsLive.com/plus">FunKidsLive.com/plus</a>

Things for kids and adults to do from Fun Kids

Activity Quest: Days out and crafts for kids

Activity Quest is a weekly podcast from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.

Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. There’s celebrity interviews and more.

Activity Quest is a weekly podcast from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.
Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. There’s celebrity interviews and more.

Activity Quest

We're the UK's children's radio station. Listen across the UK on DAB Digital Radio, on mobile and online at funkidslive.com.

We're the UK's children's radio station. Listen across the UK on DAB Digital Radio, on mobile and online at funkidslive.com.

Latest Fun Kids Podcast Episodes

Harcourt Arboretum

Adam heads to Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford.

Joined by Catherine and Roger from the Arboretum’s education team, discover what an arboretum really is and why it’s sometimes called a living library of trees.

Explore wildflower meadows bursting with colour, spot butterflies like the red admiral and marbled white, and gaze up at an enormous California redwood.

Learn why connecting with nature is great for your wellbeing, try some bark-hugging, and find out about willow weaving activities and special family days at Harcourt.

Then, get creative at home with Georgia's craft: a DIY pressed flower bookmark, inspired by the Arboretum’s blooms. Packed with outdoor inspiration and crafty fun!

Adam heads to Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford.
Joined by Catherine and Roger from the Arboretum&rsquo;s education team, discover what an arboretum really is and why it&rsquo;s sometimes called a living library of trees.
Explore wildflower meadows bursting with colour, spot butterflies like the red admiral and marbled white, and gaze up at an enormous California redwood.
Learn why connecting with nature is great for your wellbeing, try some bark-hugging, and find out about willow weaving activities and special family days at Harcourt.
Then, get creative at home with Georgia's craft: a DIY pressed flower bookmark, inspired by the Arboretum&rsquo;s blooms. Packed with outdoor inspiration and crafty fun!

Hugging a giant redwood tree

Adam heads to the stunning landscapes of Wales to ride the legendary Snowdon Mountain Railway – the highest railway ascent in England and Wales!

Discover fascinating facts about this Victorian marvel, from its challenging construction in the 1890s to how it still chugs adventurers nearly five miles up Mount Snowdon. Experience a ride through Snowdonia’s breathtaking scenery, find out how the railway makes the summit accessible for all, and learn about the mountain’s mythical ties to King Arthur.

Back at home, Bex introduces a fun and creative craft activity—a make-your-own mountain railway model! With simple materials like cardboard, paints, toy trains, and pebbles, you can bring the magic of the Snowdon railway to your living room. Step-by-step, Bex walks you through designing the scenery, laying out the tracks, and adding all the finishing touches so your train can “climb” the peak just like Adam’s.

Adam heads to the stunning landscapes of Wales to ride the legendary Snowdon Mountain Railway &ndash; the highest railway ascent in England and Wales!
Discover fascinating facts about this Victorian marvel, from its challenging construction in the 1890s to how it still chugs adventurers nearly five miles up Mount Snowdon. Experience a ride through Snowdonia&rsquo;s breathtaking scenery, find out how the railway makes the summit accessible for all, and learn about the mountain&rsquo;s mythical ties to King Arthur.
Back at home, Bex introduces a fun and creative craft activity&mdash;a make-your-own mountain railway model! With simple materials like cardboard, paints, toy trains, and pebbles, you can bring the magic of the Snowdon railway to your living room. Step-by-step, Bex walks you through designing the scenery, laying out the tracks, and adding all the finishing touches so your train can &ldquo;climb&rdquo; the peak just like Adam&rsquo;s.

Taking a train up a mountain 

Adam visits the Walthamstow Pump House Museum in East London, a hidden gem bursting with engines, model trains, and family fun!

Volunteer Victoria gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's impressive Marshall steam engine, which once helped pump sewage uphill and kept Victorian London running. We also pop into the model train room, where volunteers are recreating the historic Weaver Line, complete with old-fashioned trains, a WWII bunker, and bustling high streets.

The museum even has real 1967 Victoria Line tube carriages repurposed as a unique Supper Club, where diners enjoy a mashup of history and delicious Latin American cuisine inside a genuine train carriage.

Families are welcome to explore, with Sunday craft sessions in the iconic pump room, DIY workshops in the Tool House for budding engineers, and a friendly tuck shop-style café offering treats and local hospitality. Whether you want to dive into engineering, try your hand at crafts, or just marvel at the machinery, there’s something for everyone, including ways to get stuck in as a volunteer!

Adam visits the Walthamstow Pump House Museum in East London, a hidden gem bursting with engines, model trains, and family fun!
Volunteer Victoria gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's impressive Marshall steam engine, which once helped pump sewage uphill and kept Victorian London running. We also pop into the model train room, where volunteers are recreating the historic Weaver Line, complete with old-fashioned trains, a WWII bunker, and bustling high streets.
The museum even has real 1967 Victoria Line tube carriages repurposed as a unique Supper Club, where diners enjoy a mashup of history and delicious Latin American cuisine inside a genuine train carriage.
Families are welcome to explore, with Sunday craft sessions in the iconic pump room, DIY workshops in the Tool House for budding engineers, and a friendly tuck shop-style caf&eacute; offering treats and local hospitality. Whether you want to dive into engineering, try your hand at crafts, or just marvel at the machinery, there&rsquo;s something for everyone, including ways to get stuck in as a volunteer!

Harcourt Arboretum

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