The watery, wintry post-Christmas stretch is over, and half term is on the horizon. If you’ve got kids in tow, there is plenty in store to keep them entertained, from frivolous frolics to some hardcore learning. Liz Nicholls finds out more

* Curious youngsters will love Crimes and Capture at Oxford Castle Unlocked from tomorrow until Sunday, February 23. Follow an interactive trail and discover the crimes that would have been worthy of imprisonment in centuries past. Then explore the measures taken to capture criminals – man hunts, bounty hunters and copious rewards and follow the life of a prisoner including trials, sentencing and escape in interactive experiences culminating in execution in October. Tours are daily 10am to 5.30pm (last tour 4.20pm), adults £9.95, child £6.95.

Call 01865 260666 or visit oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk

* Take a trip or two to Didcot where Cornerstone has laid on a range of workshops for children of all ages. Classes include print-making, felt-making and dance and there is also a free drop-in Lines and Patterns workshop (10am-4pm Tuesday to Friday) inspired by the Oxford Print-makers exhibition. Children aged five to 12 can get busy with the clay to make Polar Animals on Tuesday, 1.30-3.30pm, £14, with the penguins/ seals/polar bears being professionally fired up. Make felt on Wednesday (six-11 years, £11) 1.30-3pm, make prints on Thursday using techniques including plastic etching and lino carving (seven-12 years, 10.30am-4.30pm, £27) or hop to Hip Hop on Friday when seven to 11-year-olds can learn some new techniques in an energetic and fun workshop (10.30am-4pm, £25).

See cornerstone-arts.org or call the box office on 01235 515144.

* Or take flight to Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre’s Beautiful Birds, which takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Parents and their tots can drop in any time from 10am-4pm to enjoy arts and crafts and older children can make birdboxes for the site, in Milton Park, which is a haven for different bird species you can spot. On Wednesday Wheatley Birds of Prey will also be at the centre with their raptors and owls.

Visit bbwot.org.uk

* If you’re peckish for more bird fun, A Little Birdie at Millets Farm Centre in Frilford near Abingdon invites youngsters to decorate their own wooden birdboxes to take home. The activity runs from Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm, lasts 25 minutes and costs £4.99 per child.

Visit frostsgroup.digitickets.com or call 0800 954 9484.

* You can also enjoy National Nest Box Week at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden on Wed 11am-1pm. Get Nesting encourages busy hands to make homes for a variety of garden creatures for £4.50.

* If ponies are more your thing, head to Huntersfield Equestrian Centre in Little Coxwell near Faringdon for its Pony Camps for children aged four to 16. From 9.30am to 1pm Monday to Wednesday, boys and girls with no previous experience of horses can enjoy all the aspects of owning your own pony, without the long-term responsibility to you.

Call Nico on 0771 772 4692 or visit huntersfieldec.com

* If you’ve never taken your kids to see whimsical and supremely talented singer-songwriter Nick Cope, catch him for an Early Years musical session on Tuesday at 11am at Trinity Church, Abingdon. Nick, former lead singer of Oxford band Candyskins, also has a session booked for Wantage Civic Hall at 2.30pm next Friday or join the half-term Family Concert at Witney Methodist Church on Tuesday.

Tickets £3 or family £8. Visit wegottickets.com/nickcopefamilysongs

* The Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock has a half-term jam-packed with events including Figure it Out and songs, stories and crafts for under-fives, 10.30-11am on Tuesday, (£1 per family). Or join a family workshop to explore Roman and Anglo-Saxon treasures on Wednesday (£5 per family, 10.30am-12.30pm) or to learn about the early days of cycling in the Victorian Oxfordshire with Pedal Power on Thursday (£1.50).

Call 01993 811456 or see tomocc.org.uk

* Big Stars and Little Secrets will open up the Pitt Rivers Museum up to small explorers from Monday to Wednesday. Reunite with the Natural History’s biggest stars after its closure and discover some of the Pitt Rivers’ best-kept secrets with free drop-in sessions, 1-4pm, for children aged five and above. Call 01865 270927 or visit prm.ox.ac.uk

* Magical adventures are on offer at The Kenton Theatre in Henley on Thursday (2pm and 6.30pm). Wow! This Show Is Magic, Doctor Bondini and JezO bring a mix of traditional grand illusion, comedy and audience participation. Tickets £12 adults,£10 child, family £40.

Call 01491 575698 or visit kentontheatre.co.uk

* The Theatre in Chipping Norton has a fun-packed programme including comedy for kids aged six and up with Blast Off! (2pm, Saturday February 22, £7) and Play In Two Days practical workshops for those aged eight to 12 (Monday and Tuesday, 10am-4pm and Thursday and Friday), 10am-1pm (£50). Anne Fine’s Care of Henry sparks the imaginations of three to nine-year-olds on Tuesday, 11am and 2pm, £7, with a relaxed performance on Wednesday at 11.30am adapted for families with children with an autistic spectrum condition, sensory and communication disorders and those with learning disabilities. On Thursday, Explore Space at 11am, 2pm as the Science Oxford team takes youngsters on a whistle-stop tour of our solar system. Learn why we have day and night, and find out how old you are in Martian years. £6.

Visit chippingnortontheatre.co.uk