Behind the Scenes at YSP column: Summer at Yorkshire Sculpture Park: a family-friendly adventure

Summer at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is full of creative, playful outdoor activities, perfect for families and art lovers alike. Set across 500 acres of beautiful Yorkshire landscape, YSP blends world-class sculpture with natural play spaces, making it an ideal destination for a day out that sparks imagination and creativity. Adults need a ticket to visit YSP and everyone aged 18 or under visits for free. Once you are here, all our family activities are also free to attend.

One of the stars of the family summer programme is the Hidden Forest, a magical woodland area where children can create and play under a canopy of trees. The Hidden Forest is open every Thursday and Friday during the summer holiday. Pop in anytime between 11am and 2:30pm. Every week there is something new to discover with artists, where families can connect with nature and get inventive through hands-on play. These sessions are especially welcoming for younger children but are open to all ages, bringing everyone together to create outdoor family memories.

You can also test your design skills with a YSP family favourite, Outdoor Sculpture Building: Come Rain, Come Shine, held every Tuesday during the summer holidays. Families work together to make, stack, balance and assemble supersized materials to create their own sculptures. It’s perfect for families who love to build and make together. We advise booking in advance, with two sessions available every Tuesday 11am-12noon and 2-3pm.

YSP has three different indoor galleries, each showing artworks to spark imagination and explore together. The Weston gallery and Chapel have activities to keep hands and minds busy, with creative kits, drawing ideas and books to read. In the Underground gallery, there's more to enjoy. Pick up a playful activity bag, a looking kit, or cards to prompt drawing and talking together, all designed to encourage conversation, play and creativity, inspired by our new exhibition Hold to This Earth: Works by Contemporary Indigenous North American Artists from Tia Collection. In the Underground gallery, you can also visit The Studio, our dedicated space to relax, share a story, make a sculpture, draw together. And once a month, the galleries come alive in a different way for Artful Saturdays (25 July and 22 August). This is our family art event where each session brings a new artistic adventure to make, discover and play together.

Always available near the Visitor Centre, the Little Wild Wood provides a natural creative play space designed to inspire imagination. Made from windfall trees, stumps and willow, it's a place where children can climb, hide and connect with nature at their own level, while surrounded by outdoor sculpture.

After all that creativity, you can enjoy locally sourced food at YSP's Kitchen Café, The Weston restaurant, or grab a quick drink or ice-cream at the Learning Centre café. www.ysp.org.uk