• The Notting Hill Carnival – Europe’s largest cultural event and the world’s second largest carnival – marks 60 years as it takes place in London’s west this weekend. Saturday sees the UK National Panorama Steel Band Competition Day take place in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park (for ticketed guests only) while Sunday is the free Families and Children’s Day and Monday is Adults Day with the Adults Parade. The event traces its origins back to a children’s street party organised by local resident and social worker Rhaune Laslett in an attempt to bring together a neighbourhood that had been scarred by racial tension and conflict in the preceeding years. Laslett invited a steel band to play and, tying their pans around their necks, they processed down Portobello Road, bringing people out of their homes to dance and enjoy the music. For the full programme of events and more information, head to https://nhcarnival.org.

• The party continues at Wembley Park which will be transformed into a giant dance floor this weekend. Speaker Box Street Party will bring a free street dance event in Samovar Place, just off Olympic Way, on Saturday with five back-to-back dance sessions – Latin, Caribbean, Afro and Bollywood – followed by a Michael Jackson birthday celebration and Grand Final party. The free family event also involves a summer market and food stalls. Runs from 12pm to 5pm. For more, see www.wembleypark.com/speakerbox-dance-party.

• London Zoo held its annual “weigh-in” this week with capybara siblings Kiwi and Gizmo and Giant Magnolia Land Snail No 2 among those stepping on the scales (so to speak). The zoo weighs the animals as part of its efforts to monitor their health and shares measurements on the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) on Species360, a database which is shared with animal carers and conservationists around the world. For the record, female Kiwi came in at 45 kilograms and brother Gizmo at 50.5 kilograms while Giant Magnolia Land Snail No 2 weighed 102.5 grams. For more, head to www.zsl.org.

Send all items for inclusion to exploringlondon@gmail.com.