Kids' stuff: top 5 things to do

Fancy doing something a bit different this weekend?

ELIZABETHAN BANQUET

The 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Bess provides the starting point for this year's Greenwich & Docklands International Festival which runs throughout the weekends of July. It kicks off on Fri 4 Jul with Encounters, a theatrical outdoor banquet that will give the kids a taste of Tudor dining on a grand scale. Bridging the gap between two Elizabethan Englands 400 years apart, you can expect carnival costumes, giant projections, massed choirs, and an aerial circus. Worth keeping the kids up for. Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10 (020-8305 1818). www.festival.org. Fri 4, Sat 5, Sun 6 Jul, 9pm, free.

ADVENTURES UNDERGROUND

Get the children to think about safety on the Tube and have a bit of fun along the way with this clever interactive exhibition. Jourdan, Dominique and their parents magically transform in to cartoon characters (nice touch!) and set off on a Tube adventure from Waterloo to London Zoo. Along the way, you have to plan the route and buy tickets (always a challenge). The kids can also dress up as a station assistant and discover what the journey looks like from the driver's point of view. London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2 (020-7379 6344). Ends Sun 28 Sep, £5.95, under-16s free.

KIDS' NIGHT IN

It's not often a children's writing event in London can boast panels of this calibre, but the big name authors on this bill are impressive. From 11am-noon on Saturday, the new children's laureate Michael Morpurgo, Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfer and Philip Ardagh will be talking about their work. In the afternoon children's publishing phenomena Jacqueline Wilson and Annie Dalton take the hot seats. It's all in aid of the charity War Child, which receives £1 for every copy sold of its short story collection, Kids' Night In, out this week. Waterstones, Piccadilly, W1 (020-7851 2400). Sat 5 Jul, phone for tickets, free.

THE HULK

There's something big and green at Madame Tussaud's this summer. To coincide with Ang Lee's film Hulk( on general release Fri 18 Jul),this interactive exhibit invites visitors to come 'face-to-knee' with a 15ft version of the green meanie. High-tech wizardry and exposure to green gamma rays will make your own image morph into a Hulk-inspired creation. Anger management - who needs it? Madame Tussaud's, Marylebone Road, NW1 (0870 400 3000). Phone for prices.

ROCKETS AND REDCOATS

While Americans celebrate Independence Day on Friday, the Tower Of London is showing the events of the War Of Independence in 1812 from a very British perspective. Redcoats from the Royal Horse Artillery will recruit, drill and fire their muskets while learning about the newest weapon - the rocket. Soldiers are on parade four times daily. Tower Of London, Tower Hill, EC3 (0870 756 6060). £12, under-16s £7.80, under-fives free, family ticket £36.00.