The forthcoming February half-term break is not always an easy one when it comes to entertaining children.

The weather is likely to be a little on the chilly side – to say the least – and this soon after Christmas there can be few families who aren’t experiencing financial problems.

But fear not, for there are plenty of places to take the children where they can amuse themselves or be entertained inside in the warm, many of which are free.

Right in the heart of the city, the National Media Museum has free events throughout the holiday for all the family, and you can catch a screening of Aladdin for just £1.

Drop-in activities include Toy Story Big Screen Gaming every day from 10am to noon. Go along and join some of your favourite characters from Toy Story to kick-start your day.

From noon to 2pm during half-term, the Magic Carpet returns. Using animation and green screen technology, you can ride across oceans or through starry night skies.

Budding artists can see their drawings come to life from 2pm to 4pm, when they can create their own reel of animated film and watch it projected on the wall. Also running daily is Animation Bingo, which includes a tour of the animation gallery.

On the Wednesday of the holiday, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, children over seven can create their own stop-motion animation in the style of console games Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones, while on Thursday, youngsters can learn how to use Flipnote to create short animations.

There are free environmental activities on the Wednesday from 2pm to 4pm at Bracken Hall Countryside Centre on Shipley Glen.

Youngsters can join in the children’s corner on Thursday from noon to 4pm for story-telling and dressing-up at Bradford 1 Gallery in Centenary Square. Younger members of the family can have a go at printing their own fantasy creature or fairytale princess.

The Industrial Museum in Eccleshill is always a popular destination with youngsters. The site is a former worsted mill, complete with mill manager’s house with Victorian decor and a terrace of back-to-back houses showing how mill workers lived at different times in history.

The museum has working displays of textile machinery, steam power, engineering, printing and motor vehicles. Bradford’s working horses also live at the museum and the horse emporium displays show just how important they were to industry.

A little further afield, the Royal Armouries in Leeds would like you to have some beastly fun over the half-term break. Visitors can explore the exciting world of exotic animals in the Oriental gallery, finding out about tigers and horses, pangolins and dragons plus other weird and wonderful creatures – real and mythical. They can also help celebrate the Chinese Year of the Rabbit with craft activities for all ages. Admission to the museum is free, although there may be a small charge for some events.

Spirit is an exciting free street theatre event in Dewsbury town centre on Friday, February 25. This year’s event starts at 7pm and features an outdoor show which starts with a procession in town centre streets, lead by stilted figures which grow and transform throughout the process, ending with a finale in front of the Town Hall.

Children can enjoy creating collages and layered 2D and 3D artworks exploring play, novelty and growing-up at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield. Using printed images and personal memories, they can take their creations home with them. The sculpture workshops run from the Tuesday to Thursday, with sessions from 10.30am to noon and 1.30pm to 3.30pm. The cost is £2 and you will need to book on (01924) 832528.

The UK’s largest Valentine’s event is back in Leeds for the half-term holiday. The Valentine’s fun fair will be on Leeds United’s Elland Road car parks, with more than 150 rides and attractions, including three rollercoasters, thrill rides, family rides, games and stalls. All children’s rides are £1. The fair starts at 3pm on Thursday, February 17, and runs until Sunday, February 27.

Fact file:

* National Media Museum, Bradford – free entry, tel 0844 8563797, nationalmedia museum.org.uk.

* Bracken Hall Countryside Centre, Glen Road, Baildon – free entry, tel (01274) 584140, bradfordmuseums.org.uk.

* Bradford Industrial Museum & Horses At Work, Moorside Mills, Moorside Road, Eccleshill – free entry, tel (01274) 435900, bradfordmuseums.org.uk.

* Royal Armouries, Armouries Drive, Leeds – free entry, tel (0113) 2201999, royalarmouries.org/leeds/.

* Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, Wakefield – free entry, £4 parking, tel (01924) 832631, ysp.co.uk.