10 Things to do Good for Kids in Colchester That You Shouldn't Miss

A converted 19th Century Chapel, The Headgate Theatre has a full and varied programme of professional and amateur events including drama, musical theatre, live music, dance and many other varieties of performance. The building boasts a fantastic 87 seat theatre, a rehearsal and dance studio, a rehearsal room with a capacity for 60 people, a meeting room for up to 24 people and a lounge/bar area.

Splatkidz offers low impact Paintball and LaserTag games and Birthday parties. We offer Paintball for kids of 8+ and Lasertag for kids of 6+ in the Colchester and Brentwood areas. We use special equipment, designed specifically for children. This enables us to provide a fun, safe, low impact version of the popular sport of Paintball, and a new exciting and immersive version of Lasertag especially for kids that lets them experience all their favourite video games but for real! Parents, older friends and siblings also love it too, and are also welcome to join in!

We are a paint your own ceramics studio, and gift shop. We also serve freshly ground coffee, teas, and cakes/snacks.

Here at Mersea Island Watersports we are Mersea Islands's first and only dedicated windsurfing and paddleboard centre. We are based right next to the water with a launch ramp a stones throw from our door. This gives us access to the water at all times. Being based around the side of the island we are fairly sheltered making it the perfect place to learn windsurfing or paddleboarding.

Escape Colchester is a new, fun, challenging activity in Colchester. We will lock you up in a mysterious escape room, and give you exactly 60 minutes to get out. In order to beat the live escape game you and your team must solve many puzzles, riddles, brain teasers and identify clues.

Reflective Adventures Private, guided experiences including kayaking, paddle boarding, wild swimming, nature spotting and more. Fully bespoke, awe inspiring adventures among nature. Operating Monday and Tuesday, throughout the year. Pricing - 2hr experience - £50 per person 4hr experience - £80 per person (Child rate available depending upon activity)

Welcome to the end of the world. Doomsday Games is an immersive interactive puzzle experience. Think you have what it takes to survive and save the world?

Colchester Zoo is constantly developing and has won many awards for its work. With over 270 species to see, set in 60 acres of beautiful parkland and lakes, Colchester Zoo is well worth a visit. As you walk around the zoo there's plenty of play areas to try out including the indoor soft play area Jungle Tumble with a section for under 3s and all new play equipment where the kids can release their wild side! New enclosures include a walk through enclosure with butterflies and another with Rainbow Lorikeets offering visitors a chance to feed them a treat of nectar. Plus there's 'Bears of the Rising Sun', a state of the art enclosure which houses two beautiful sun bears , Jo Jo and Srey Ya. You can also come face to face with Komodo Dragons, see white rhino, giraffes, ostrich and kudu roaming together at Kingdom of the Wild and walk underwater through the 24m tunnel at the Playa Patagonia sealion pool. Learn more about the animals and see them up close by watching one of the 50 daily displays. You even get the fantastic opportunity to feed the elephants and giraffes yourself and take a ride on the 'Lost Madagascar Express' road train! Don't forget to pop into the discovery centre and have a go at handling some unusual bugs or get your face painted and transform yourself into your favourite animal!

Free the fun in you! The Mercury exists to put theatre at the heart of the cultural life of the community it serves and to make work in Colchester that reaches audiences and generates critical attention regionally and nationally.