Kids Passport
| Detail: | Every Market day from 9am |
|---|
Cost: Free
Ages: 4 to 12. Younger children can take part with a grown-up reading the prompts.
How long: 45 to 60 minutes
Stalls to visit: 13 traders across the Market
When: Every Market day: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Pick up from : Information Hub, corner of F Shed and Queen Street
Booking: Not required
Access : Step-free throughout, pram and wheelchair friendly
Undercover: Yes. The full route is under roof cover.
The Kids Passport is a free, self-guided trail around Queen Victoria Market for children aged 4 to 12. Pick up a passport from the Information Hub (located on the corner of F Shed and Queen Street), follow it to 13 traders across the sheds and food halls, collect a stamp at each one, then bring the completed passport back to claim a prize.
It’s a free activity that runs every Market day and takes 45 to 60 minutes; you don’t need to book. The whole route is undercover and step-free, so it works in the rain and with a pram.
Kids will learn about seasonality, fresh produce and plenty more about how the Market works.
How it works
- Collect your passport: Come to the Information Hub on the corner of F Shed and Queen Street and ask at the service counter. One passport per child, per visit.
- Find your first trader: Every one of the 13 stops is named inside the passport, with its business name, stall number and location. Use the Market map to find it: the sheds run from A to L, and the map works on a grid, so you match a letter to a number to land on the right stall.
- Ask for your stamp: Walk up to the trader, say hello, and ask for your stamp. Traders on the trail are expecting you.
- Solve the puzzle: There is a puzzle to complete along the way, so bring a pen or pencil. If you forget stationery, ask at the Information Hub counter; we usually have spares.
- Claim your prize: Bring the finished passport back to the Information Hub before it closes and collect your prize.
You do not have to do it all in one go. If little legs give out at stall eight, keep the passport and finish it on your next visit.
Planning your visit
The best time to come
Mid-morning on a Market day, when the aisles are less crowded. The Market trades Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the passport runs on all of them.
What to bring
A pen or pencil for the puzzle, standard pens/pencils are usually available at the counter if forgotten. Bring a bag if you plan to shop while you are here, and coins if your children want to buy something themselves, which is worth encouraging once they have got the hang of talking to traders.
Getting here and parking
The Information Hub is on the corner of F Shed and Queen Street. Park in either the multi-level undercover car park or the open-air car park. The trail itself has step-free lanes throughout.
Prams, wheelchairs and access
The whole trail is pram and wheelchair friendly, with step-free lanes throughout. Toilet facilities are located across the Market.
Stopping for a break
The trail passes through Queen’s Food Hall about halfway, which is the natural place to stop, sit down and eat something before finishing the second half. Take your time, and if the day runs out you can finish the passport on another Market day. Public drinking fountains sit next to the major toilet facilities if you need to refill a bottle.
Explore at your own pace
The passport is self-paced, so there is no group to keep up with and no set time to finish, and you can stop or leave at any point and come back another day.
Doing it with different ages
There is one Kids Passport, and it is designed to stretch across the whole 4 to 12 range rather than split into tiers. At the younger end, a grown-up reads the prompts and points at the map, and the stamp and the conversation are the point rather than the navigation. Older children can work through the map themselves and will usually want to lead. An adult goes along either way.
That makes it workable for siblings at different ages on the same visit. Each child gets their own passport.
The rules
- Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
- One passport per child, per Market visit.
- Passports do not expire. Yours stays valid while the listed traders are trading, so you can finish it on a later visit.
- Prizes are claimed at the Information Hub during opening hours: 9am to 3pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. If you finish after the Hub has closed, hold on to your passport and collect the prize next time you are at the Market.
- The Kids Passport is not available for school groups. School and education visits are welcome on our Educational Tours instead.
School and group visits
The Kids Passport is designed for families visiting the Market together, so it is not available for school groups. If you are planning a school excursion, our education program runs dedicated tours for school groups. See Educational Tours for details.
