Austin is absolutely fantastic to enjoy a family vacation with tons of kid-friendly fun activities and interesting things. The city highly welcomes the curious little explorers.
They can experience several world-class museums, swimming pools, live music, and other natural beauties with family field trips and create memorable adventures enjoying many recreational activities.
So, if you are planning to spend a Texas vacation, just head to Austin. Your kids are getting started to explore the wonderful world of fun things.
Lucky you, we are here to plan a list telling you what are the best things to do in Austin with kids.
If you have a shortage of time, you can choose any one of these places to explore. Believe us, you will experience a completely unique family outgoing here!
-
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Traveling to another state can be difficult, especially when you haven’t traveled much. Check in with local tour guides to learn more about traveling to other states or even countries. For another trusted source of reliable travel information, check out Scott and Yanling here.
You will need guidance, especially when looking for places to take your children. While visiting a museum may seem cliche, and most children don’t even like them, Bullock Texas State History Museum is worth going to.
Exploring the museum is a must to learn about Texas’s history and culture. The museum has three floors of interactive exhibits. It was designed to tell people about the history of Texas. Each floor exhibits unique themes.
The first floor tells about the Colonial war, the division of the land, and culture. When you move to the second floor, you can see the history of how Texas city was built, how they built their unique state culture, etc. On the third floor, the museum features modern history.
The museum contains an IMAX theater and the Texas Spirit theater. There are arrangements for more than 400 seats at a time. The Spirit theater hosts popular, and current films. It also presents the destiny and history of the Lone Star State regularly. Whereas the IMAX theater presents both 2-D and 3-D films. There is also a Cafe & Shop that offers breakfast and lunch.
-
Austin Zoo
Austin Zoo is a small non-profit rescue zoo. Their mission is to help needy animals and rescue them from various circumstances. The staff works to educate visitors on how to protect animals in different situations. The zookeeper also informs them about different species of animals.
Picnic tables are available for family adventures throughout the zoo, and a concession stand is also placed with snacks on the weekends. Kids can participate in active games, animal encounters, crafts, zoo-based science activities, and more. They can also enjoy a 20-minute train ride here.
There are more than 300 animals of 100 different species, from tigers to monkeys. Children enjoy feeding friendly animals such as goats or capybaras. Kids who love seeing scary animals like iguanas or bizarre hyenas will appreciate the zoo.
The zoo is great for spending hours with young children and experiencing fun things. It also has a gift shop where souvenirs and apparel are sold.
-
Thinkery
Remember to include Thinkery in your itinerary when visiting Texas with your children. The museum allows you to be side-by-side with your kids as they explore it.
You can also experience different exhibits with them throughout the museum. There’s The Story Nook, which offers kids books to read. It also helps them participate in science projects, make colorful artwork, and more.
The museum’s fresh farm market provides enough space to play or wipe up their recipes. It is the best imaginative play for kids of all ages.
Thinkery also provides different packages for birthday parties and various interactive programs all year round. The museum’s backyard holds other attractions where kids can play with water, enjoy the fresh air, and more.
-
Inner Space Cavern
A construction worker accidentally discovered this underground cavern. This amazing cave has large rooms, beautiful formations, a unique discovery story, prehistoric animal bones, etc.
Inner Space Cavern is where kids can learn about various rock formations. They can uncover fossils, look for gemstones in the mining area, and learn the difference between stalactites and stalagmites in this preserved cave.
-
Museum of Ice Cream
Most children absolutely adore ice cream! This museum is a dream for ice cream lovers as it has twelve multi-sensory stations, a rainbow tunnel, and an infamous sprinkle pool to explore. The pool features a diving board, lots of huge sprinkles, and a slide.
You can begin your adventure by sampling popsicles, one of their signature being pink lemonade. Then you can proceed to the tasty stations where you find Austin’s best sweet treats. The treats include fluffy pink cotton candy, pink vanilla soft-serve, and a wide array of candies.
-
Barton Springs Pool
When visiting Austin during summer, the hot weather might get too much to bear. So, if you want to enjoy a refreshing splash of water, you can visit Barton Springs Pool with the kids.
This recreational swimming pool is a popular destination as it uses pristine, natural water. It lies within Zilker Park. The pool itself occupies 3 acres of land and has some designated floating areas for kids.
The pool has an average temperature of 68 to 70 degrees, making the pool ideal throughout the year. Additionally, tons of green space surrounds the pool. That makes it perfect for a family picnic.
-
Austin Toy Museum
It’s a non-profit museum where parents can encounter a sentimental walk down memory lane with their kids. Here, parents can show their children varieties of toys that they loved to play with when they were kids. You will get plenty of budget-friendly facilities here.
The museum also features different vintage video arcade games. You can easily introduce games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and more. If you have an admission ticket, your kid will get free access to play.
If you or your children have a soft spot for Barbie dolls, you will see how Ken and the original Barbie looked and how they dressed up during the ‘60s. In addition to these, there is also a collection of comic books for comic fans.
-
Dinosaur Park
Do your kids love dinosaurs? The Dinosaur Park exhibits replicas of life-size dinosaurs with color and skin variations to better understand how dinosaurs looked when they were alive.
Children can enjoy a fascinating walk along the nature trail. The replicas are placed within trees, plants, and rocks so that people can imagine a real dinosaur in a natural environment.
The park offers not only fun activities for kids. It is also an educational place where kids learn about this majestic animal that has ruled the earth for millions of years.
Fun activities include a picnic area, playground, and fossil dig. There is also an amazing dinosaur store that sells various gifts to please a dinosaur fan.
-
Austin Fire Museum
Does your child dream of becoming a firefighter? This small two-room museum attached to the Austin Central Fire Station is the perfect place to take them when you are in the city!
The museum has many interesting relics, some of which are ancient. You can plan a free group visit to the museum if your kids are interested in firefighting. Your children will get inspired by the heroes who combat fire and save lives.
-
ZACH Theatre
Do you want to inspire your children to love the fine arts? By bringing your kids to the ZACH theatre, you can introduce live music, arts, and many kid-friendly productions to them at an early age.
The theatre regularly stages family events, enabling children to enjoy the shows, which are both engaging and fun.
Most of their productions are suitable for kids above the age of three, but some only suit younger children. This non-profit company provides your children with intimate theatrical experiences to broaden their imagination.
The theatre includes designers, musicians, and over 250 performers to present these fun-friendly shows, musicals, and plays.
Moreover, they also provide an opportunity for the kids to participate in the action if you enroll them in any of their educational programs, such as camps, classes, workshops, and residencies.
-
Austin Nature & Science Center
Austin Nature & Science Center offers the kids an opportunity to learn about the natural history of Texas. While some museums have a policy stating that kids can’t touch things, this center is against such rules and allows kids to touch and explore the center.
The center arranges education programs, hands-on nature exhibits, and different recreational activities for children, parents, teachers, and other visitors. They also offer some special programs for both children and adults.
-
Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve
Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve include playing and learning facilities for kids. There are picnic tables outside the garden’s main gate, where you can also find peacocks and peahens hanging out by dusting themselves.
Within the park, you can see how gracefully peacocks parade the grounds. These exotic peafowls walking in the picturesque gardens make this park one of the top listed parks in Austin.
The central area includes a water lily garden with a vintage cottage covered in vines. The garden has beautiful seating arrangements for nature lovers to meander around the small ponds and blooms.
The park offers a serene environment for observing nature in peace. It occupies more than twenty-one acres of natural green environment.
You can walk the nature trails through the wildlife habitat. Children can also explore short hiking trails here. This hike is perfect and appropriate for kids. This is an excellent free thing to do in Austin. There is also a cultivated cottage garden over two acres of land.
In Closing
Austin is one of the best cities to visit with your children in the entire Lone Star State. In this vibrant city, parents will have no trouble exploring kid-friendly fun attractions, educational indoor and outdoor events, and budget-friendly activities with their children.
Check your destination’s available hours and take the necessary safety precautions before visiting. Hope you enjoy an excellent vacation in Austin!
