Families are being invited to the first ever Plug In and Play festival this October half term, a real life videogame adventure taking place across eight locations in Rotherham from 11.00am to 3.00pm, Thursday 31st October to Saturday 2nd November.
Designed by Sheffield’s National Videogame Museum in collaboration with Children’s Capital of Culture, Plug In and Play is a free action-packed trail of playable digital and analogue games inspired by nature that will pop up across Rotherham over three days of live action fun. Aimed at families, every activity will enable players to go beyond the screen to reimagine classic videogames in real life.
The event is a taster of the exciting activities planned for children and young people throughout 2025 when the borough becomes the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture.
Rotherham Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Neighbourhood Working, Councillor David Sheppard, said: “This is going to be a fantastic event for families in Rotherham to enjoy together, with videogames imagined in a whole new way. We’re excited to work with partners like the National Videogame Museum to bring amazing events like this to life.”
John O’Shea, Creative Director and co-CEO of the National Videogame Museum, said: “Videogames are for everyone. Through Plug In and Play, families and individuals visiting the different sites across Rotherham will be able to try out new things for free, experiment, and most importantly have fun with new technology without getting in a tangle!”
Players are invited to collect their trail map from the Plug In and Play hub at Rotherham town centre’s All Saints Square. They will collect stickers as they visit each location, taking part in family fun activities and creative videogame-inspired arts and crafts activities as they go.
Participants can follow the trail in any order, seeking out playable retro videogame favourites such as Snake and Chuckie Egg. They will also encounter videogames that come to life, hopping through obstacles based on classic character Frogger and taking down evil pigs in a physical recreation of Angry Birds.
Working in collaboration with Flux Rotherham and Rotherham’s Museums, Arts and Heritage service, there will be even more free family fun popping up in community venues during October half-term as part of the wider festival. There will be videogame-inspired adventures at Boston Castle from 11.00am to 3.00pm on Tuesday 29th October, and at Catcliffe Glass Cone from 11.00am to 3.00pm on Wednesday 30th October. There is also much more to be announced, so keep an eye on the Children’s Capital of Culture social media channels to stay up-to-date!
To find out more, visit www.childrenscapitalofculture.co.uk.