Hello! It's the last weekend before half term, with an ocean adventure in St Thomas, rockets and robots in Sidmouth, and CBeebies live in Torquay.
This Weekend's Pick
The Deep Sea Seekers at Theatre Alibi
Theatre Alibi has The Deep Sea Seekers in for one day only on Saturday. It's an interactive show from The Wardrobe Ensemble where the audience steers a submarine across the seven seas.
Along the way there are dolphins to swim with, an octopus to arm-wrestle and one big question to answer (what is a humpback whale's favourite song?), with songs, silliness and plenty of joining in. It's aimed at 3 to 8 year olds and runs for an hour with no interval.
There's no parking at the venue, but the Okehampton Street car park is a short walk away (£2 for 2 hours), and the nearest bus stop is at Exe Bridges.
| When | Saturday 17 October, 11:00 or 14:00 |
| Where | Theatre Alibi, Emmanuel Hall, St Thomas, Exeter (~5 min from the city centre) |
| Cost | Tickets £8, £10 or £12, plus a booking fee. |
More Good Stuff
Family Fun Day at the Norman Lockyer Observatory
Sidmouth Science Festival wraps up on Sunday with a family day at the observatory on Salcombe Hill, and children go free.
Kids can build and launch a rocket, race jet cars, take a VR trip through space and catch a planetarium show, with telescope demonstrations and Space Detectives on top. The planetarium shows are free but ticketed on arrival, so it's worth grabbing a time as soon as you get there.
Food and drink are on sale all day, there are benches if you bring a picnic, and a quiet space is set aside for anyone who needs a break.
| When | Sunday 18 October, 11:00-16:00 (doors 10:30) |
| Where | Norman Lockyer Observatory, Salcombe Hill Road, Sidmouth (~35 min from Exeter) |
| Cost | Adults £15, under-18s free, with everything included apart from the jet car kits. Online booking closes at 8am on Sunday, and tickets are also sold on the door. |
Worth the drive: CBeebies House Party Live in Torquay
CBeebies is throwing a party at the Princess Theatre on Saturday, with Mr Tumble as special guest alongside Evie Pickerill, Nigel Clarke and Duggee.
It's a stage show full of songs, surprises, jelly and bubbles, with no interval, and it's pitched at the younger end, so it's a good one if you've got a pre-schooler or an infant-school child in tow. Both shows still had good availability on Tuesday night.
| When | Saturday 17 October, 11:00 or 14:00 |
| Where | Princess Theatre, Torbay Road, Torquay (~40 min from Exeter) |
| Cost | From £27.04 per ticket. |
Arrietty at Exeter Phoenix
Exeter Phoenix is showing Arrietty on Saturday, Studio Ghibli's take on The Borrowers, about a tiny girl living under the floorboards and the human boy who finds her.
It's the English dub, with Saoirse Ronan and Tom Holland among the voices, and it's rated U and 94 minutes long.
| When | Saturday 17 October, 13:00 or 15:30 (also Monday 19 October, 17:00) |
| Where | Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter (city centre) |
| Cost | £9, or £5 for under-25s, plus a £1.50 ticketing charge. |
One free thing
Robot Workshop in Sidmouth
On Saturday the science festival's Robot Workshop fills All Saints Church Hall with around a dozen things to try, and it's free with nothing to book.
Younger ones can herd robot sheep by remote control, older kids can take on duelling drones, and there's a professional motion-control rig that films your own stop-motion animation. Most of the robots were built from scratch by the people demonstrating them, so expect good answers to any questions.
| When | Saturday 17 October, 11:00-16:00 |
| Where | All Saints Church Hall, All Saints Road, Sidmouth (~35 min from Exeter) |
| Cost | Free, donations welcome, with light refreshments on sale. |
That's everything worth knowing about for this weekend. If you go to anything and it's either brilliant or a disaster, hit reply and say so. It comes straight to the inbox. Have a good one.
Details change. Check each venue's website before setting off, especially for timed entry or one-off events.
