Make it a big weekend

This weekend's a big Bank Holiday so it's time to pull out all the stops: Go ballistic on the bumper cars, squeeze London into 24 hours, visit a grand opening party at a brand new museum in London or rev things up a bit and get yourself on TV with the Full Metal Challenge fun day.

Go Wild

Celebrate Britain's biodiversity in this new exhibition at Kew. Walk through a canopy of oaks, 30 feet above the ground, learn how to encourage the birds, bees and butterflies to your garden, and explore a human-sized badger set.

Museum in Docklands

A new London museum is always cause for celebration, so make for West India Docks this Saturday. You'll find a free day of outdoor family events at the Museum In Docklands Grand Opening Party. Boats of all shapes and sizes will be on the water, and there's a prize for the best-dressed pirate - so get creative with your child's costume. Expect a musical extravaganza, including a dragon dance winding its way along the waterfront, a brass band, a jazz set, African drums and a gospel choir finale. The Museum itself is dedicated to the Thames and the river's role in the rise of the capital.

Full Metal Challenge

Ninety minutes' drive away from London, there's a very different way to spend your bank holiday this Monday. The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the New Forest is hosting a Full Metal Challenge family fun day - teams and machines in total mayhem. Full Metal Challenge is the Channel 4 show where teams build and battle monster machines. Stars of the show Octopush, Impact Weapon and Marabunta will all be on display. Kids can join in on their own mini course, specially designed for them, and there will be competitions and mini challenges galore.

Dig This

If you've ever wondered what goes on at an archaeological dig, all will be revealed by the Building Exploratory. Share the secrets of a dig, find out how to follow the clues, and then take part in a mock-excavation.

24-Hour Junk Time Machine

There are so many places to see in London - but you only have 24 hours to get to them all! That's the premise behind this drop-in fantasy workshop that encourages kids to create their own form of transport out of all kinds of amazing bits of junk. Using anything and everything from lolly sticks and bottle tops to cardboard boxes and bottles, it'll be a recycling frenzy on a grand scale. All materials will be supplied.