There’s no such thing as the end of the season at the National Football Museum!
Join us in the heart of Manchester for more non-stop action this summer, featuring an array of exciting, hands-on activities that celebrate football through a mixture of art, play and performance. It’s a summer of football and creativity!
Each fortnight across the summer holidays, we’ll be exploring a new theme from Puzzle to Play and then Perform with drop in crafts, volunteer led activities, book clubs and creative workshops for all ages.
Come back to the museum all summer long with your season ticket and enjoy a rotating lineup of exciting activities, exhibits, and events for free!
Plan your summer by downloading our Creative Kickabout timetable below.
Monday 21st July – Sunday 3rd August
Trench Football Puzzle
Monday 21st & 28th July
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
In World War One, puzzles were created to have fun, bring together football and war, and be a piece of propaganda.
Trench football is a dexterity puzzle which gets the player to move a small metal ball around a playing course, avoiding holes and challenging structures.
In this drop in, you’ll be making your own trench football puzzle. Take a template, add obstacles and holes, and try your hand at getting the ball through the maze!
🧒 Recommended for ages 4+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15 minutes
Puzzle Badges: Design a Football Crest
Tuesday 22nd & 29th July
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
Design your own football crest and get creative with your drawing! Think about your own football team and what you think makes it special, using different colours, words and shapes!
🧒 Recommended for ages 4+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15 minutes
Wonderkid Wednesdays
Wednesday 23rd & 30th July
Book Club for 7+ : 11am – 12pm – L1 Balcony
Baby Book Club for U5’s : 2pm – 3pm – L2 Discovery Zone
Early Years Play Zone: 11am – 3pm – Pitch Gallery
Wednesday across the summer see the museum join forces with The National Literacy Trust for a day full of reading and play!
Come and play in our early years play zone in the pitch gallery, take a seat and hear all about the stories of football or make sure you pick up some free early years resources that will be dotted around the museum.
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 5-20 minutes
Build Like a Champion: Football Engineering Challenge
Thursday 24 July – Sunday 27 July
Thursday 31 July – Sunday 3 August
11:30am, 12:30pm & 2pm
Level 4 Learning Space
You’ll work as a team to crack football-themed riddles, then use spaghetti and marshmallows to build mystery structures inspired by the beautiful game. Your team will take on real-world engineering challenges, just like the experts who design football stadiums.
But beware! Your creations will face a series of surprise tests. Can they withstand wind, pressure, and the ultimate impact challenge? Designed for curious kids and creative grown-ups, this is your chance to think like an engineer, build like a champion, and have loads of fun along the way.
Perfect for curious kids and creative parents alike, no building experience needed, just a love of football and fun!
🧒 Recommended for ages 5+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 45 minutes (3 Sessions a day)
Monday 4th August – Sunday 17th August
Build A Ball
Monday 4th & 11th August
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
To play football, you’ve got to have a ball that does the job! In this workshop, you’ll be designing your own ball. What materials is it made out of? What shape is it? How heavy is it?
Use our crafting materials to make your own football. Decorate it to look nice, and then test it out in our pitch gallery. Does it roll? Does it bounce? Play and find out.
🧒 Recommended for ages 6+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15-30 minutes
Star Player Badges
Tuesday 5th & 12th August
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
Create your very own football team badge and add stars to show off your team’s amazing achievements!
In this fun and creative activity, you’ll design a special badge using colors, symbols, and shapes that represent your team. Then, add shiny stars to celebrate big wins—like scoring goals, showing great teamwork, or being a kind and helpful player. You can use stickers, crayons, or cut-out shapes to decorate your badge and make it one-of-a-kind.
🧒 Recommended for ages 4+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15 minutes
Wonderkid Wednesdays
Wednesday 6th & 13th August
Book Club for 7+ : 11am – 12pm – L1 Balcony
Baby Book Club for U5’s : 2pm – 3pm – L2 Discovery Zone
Early Years Play Zone: 11am – 3pm – Pitch Gallery
Wednesday across the summer see the museum join forces with The National Literacy Trust for a day full of reading and play!
Come and play in our early years play zone in the pitch gallery, take a seat and hear all about the stories of football or make sure you pick up some free early years resources that will be dotted around the museum.
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 5-20 minutes
Foosball Heroes & Dream Teams
Thursday 7th – Sunday 10th August
Thursday 14th – Sunday 17th August
Drop in sessions between 11-1pm & 1:30-3:30pm
Level 4 Learning Space
Create your own Dream Team Foosball Players inspired by your real-life heroes out of scrap materials with Upcyling Artist, Hattie Kongaunruan.
Have a chance to attach your players and play on a specially made Foosball table made by Hattie and learn how to make your own DIY foosball team at home.
🧒 Recommended for 5+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15-20 minutes
Monday 18th August – Sunday 31st August
Celebration Pin Doll
Monday 18th & 25th August
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
Create your own footballer and move their limbs into celebration poses
Chat with our friendly team about your favourite footballers and their celebrations and even come up with your own celebration once you’ve created your pin doll!
Practice your celebrations at our celebration station, choose shirts and props and pose in front of a crowd.
🧒 Recommended for ages 5+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 5-20 minutes
Perform Badges
Tuesday 19th & 26th August
11am – 4pm
Pitch Gallery
Visit our badgemaking station and challenge your creative skills to make a badge and wear it with pride to show support for your favourite teams, players or maybe even your own team or club!
This week’s theme is all about ‘perform’ – so bring your favourite football chant along and see what you can make!
🧒 Recommended for ages 4+
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 15 minutes
Wonderkid Wednesdays
Wednesday 20th & 27th August
Book Club for 7+ : 11am – 12pm – L1 Balcony
Baby Book Club for U5’s : 2pm – 3pm – L2 Discovery Zone
Early Years Play Zone: 11am – 3pm – Pitch Gallery
Wednesday across the summer see the museum join forces with The National Literacy Trust for a day full of reading and play!
Come and play in our early years play zone in the pitch gallery, take a seat and hear all about the stories of football or make sure you pick up some free early years resources that will be dotted around the museum.
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 5-20 minutes
Having a Ball
Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th August
Thursday 28th – Sunday 31st August
11:30am, 12:30pm & 2pm
Level 4 Learning Space
There’s no stopping you from becoming a STAR this summer.
Put your creativity and performance to the test this summer as we explore ways of bringing football items to life through song, dance & theatre!
🧒 Recommended for ages 7 – 12yrs
🎫 Free with museum entry
🕒 Duration: 5-20 minutes
Download our summer timetable here
Interactive games
Put your skills to the test this half term across our range of fun interactive experiences on our Play Gallery!
Call the shots in our Match of the Day Commentary Challenge, test your reflexes and technique across our football games, and take the perfect spot-kick in our Penalty Shootout (additional £3 per three attempts).
From Pitch to Page
Step into the story of the beautiful game and experience the magic of football annuals in our Score Gallery exhibition.
With four zones to explore, From Pitch to Page is a playful journey through decades of football history. Featuring over 100 football annuals, interactives, a special reading room, fun photo opportunities and more!
Premier League Player by Rezzil VR
Book your tickets
We are open every day, 10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm). Get your ticket directly from us and enjoy unlimited visits for a whole year!