Theme days / Time Travellers Day

Time Travellers Day ideas for OSHC

21 DIY activities for a time travellers day at before and after school care or vacation care, usually run around 25 April or 11 November. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.

Build a Time Travellers Day

ANZAC Day · Remembrance Day · Time Travellers Day

ANZAC Day History Talk

Children look at pictures and hear the story of ANZAC Day in simple, age-appropriate terms, then share questions and ideas.

IndoorCalmSome prepYears 4 to 6 ANZAC Day · Cooking Day · Remembrance Day +2

Bake ANZAC Biscuits

Children mix, roll and bake oat and golden syrup biscuits while learning why these biscuits are linked to ANZAC Day.

IndoorCalmSome prepPrep to Year 6 Time Travellers Day · New Year's Party · Children's Week +1

Centre Time Capsule

Children fill a box with drawings, letters and snapshots of life today, then seal it to open at a later date.

IndoorCalmGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Dance-Off Day · Disco Day · Time Travellers Day +2

Dance Through the Decades

Children learn simple dance moves from different decades, discovering how music and dance have changed over time.

IndoorHighSome prepYears 4 to 6 Medieval Times · Knights and Fairies · Time Travellers Day +1

Design a Coat of Arms

Children learn how shields showed who people were in medieval times, then design their own coat of arms with symbols that represent them.

IndoorCalmGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Gross and Messy Day · Time Travellers Day · Medieval Times +1

Gross History Facts

Children explore surprising facts about how people kept clean in the past and rank which ones they find the most gross.

IndoorCalmSome prepYears 4 to 6 Remembrance Day · ANZAC Day · Time Travellers Day

Letters From the Past

Older children imagine life during wartime and write a letter as if from a person of that time, building empathy and historical understanding.

IndoorCalmSome prepYears 4 to 6 Ancient Egypt · Halloween · Time Travellers Day +2

Mummy Wrapping Race

Teams race to wrap one teammate from shoulders to feet in toilet paper like an ancient mummy, creating lots of laughter and teamwork.

IndoorModerateGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Art Through the Ages · Time Travellers Day · Dinosaur Day +2

Ochre-Style Cave Painting

Children paint animals and patterns on scrunched brown paper with earthy colours, exploring how early people around the world recorded life in pictures.

IndoorCalmGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Pioneer Day · Time Travellers Day · Grandparents Day +1

Old-Fashioned Games

Children try games from the past like hoop rolling, marbles and hopscotch. A playful look at how children played long ago.

OutdoorModerateGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Reconciliation Week · NAIDOC Week · Time Travellers Day

Reconciliation History Timeline

Older children build a simple illustrated timeline of key moments on the road to reconciliation, such as the 1967 Referendum, and talk about why they matter.

IndoorCalmSome prepYears 4 to 6 Time Travellers Day · Dramatic Play Day · Musical Theatre Day +1

Roaring Twenties Skits

Children create and perform short skits set in the 1920s or another era, using props and costumes to bring the past to life.

IndoorModerateSome prepYears 4 to 6 Medieval Times · Knights and Fairies · Vikings Day +2

Royal Feast Without Cutlery

Children set up a royal banquet hall and enjoy a shared feast of finger food, eating the medieval way without cutlery.

IndoorModerateSome prepPrep to Year 6 Pioneer Day · Time Travellers Day · Medieval Times +2

Safe Candle Dipping

Older children dip wicks into warm wax repeatedly to build up old-fashioned candles. An educator-run heritage activity with strict safety steps.

IndoorCalmBig set-upYears 4 to 6 Ancient Egypt · Science Week · Science Day +2

Salt Mummy Apple Experiment

Children preserve apple slices in salt and compare them with uncovered slices over several days, discovering how drying helped ancient mummification.

IndoorCalmSome prepYears 4 to 6 Ancient Egypt · At the Building Site · Time Travellers Day +2

Sugar Cube Pyramids

Children build mini pyramids from sugar cubes held together with icing, learning about square bases and how layers shrink as they rise.

IndoorCalmSome prepPrep to Year 6 Pirate Day · Treasure Hunters Day · Art Attack Day +1

Tea-Stained Treasure Maps

Children age paper with cold tea, crumple and tear the edges, then draw an island with an X. Art and storytelling combined.

IndoorCalmSome prepPrep to Year 6 Grandparents Day · Time Travellers Day · Games Day +2

Then and Now Games

Children learn and play games from older generations, such as marbles and elastics, and compare them with games they play today.

OutdoorModerateSome prepPrep to Year 6 Time Travellers Day · Games Day · Medieval Times +1

Time Zone Capture the Flag

Teams represent different eras, such as dinosaurs, knights or the future, and play capture the flag across the yard.

OutdoorHighGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Ancient Egypt · Time Travellers Day · Spy School +2

Write Your Name in Hieroglyphs

Children use a picture-symbol alphabet chart to write their names the ancient Egyptian way, exploring how early writing systems worked.

IndoorCalmGrab-and-goPrep to Year 6 Vikings Day · Spy School · Time Travellers Day +1

Write Your Name in Runes

Children use a rune alphabet chart to write their names and secret messages, exploring how people wrote long ago.

IndoorCalmGrab-and-goYears 4 to 6