Fun Things To Do With Kids In Seattle

With its walkable urban areas, and kid friendly museums, parks, and even coffee shops, Seattle is a fun destination for the entire family. When the weather cooperates, there is lots of outdoor fun to be enjoyed, and even when it rains, parents and children alike can stay entertained and get some exercise at one of the city's many indoor play-spaces.

Explore Downtown on Foot

Outfit the family in good walking shoes and comfortable clothes and stroll Seattle's many neighborhoods. Start with Seattle's historic downtown area and be sure to stop off at the Pike Place Market early in the day, midweek to avoid crowds. Pike Place Market, which is full of fresh produce and live seafood, is interesting for audiences of all ages, but children will be especially entertained by the large piggy bank at the entrance. Buy a healthy snack and cart the kids to the park on the North side of the park for a break. Window-shop as you exercise or go wild and go into one of the many toy stores in the area with your little ones. If you have older children in tow, consider signing up for the Underground Tour and roam subterranean passages that were once the main roadways and first-floor storefronts in old downtown Seattle, while your guide educates you and your family with funny stories about the area.

Play at Local Parks

Public parks, located throughout the city, are a great place for you and your children to run and play. In the downtown area, don't miss the Olympic Sculpture Park, a great place to have a picnic of fresh produce purchased at the nearby Pike's Place Market. Bring along a Frisbee or a ball for active fun as a family, or have some fun on wheels, rollerblading, biking, tricycling or even red-wagoning smaller kids along the waterfront at Myrtle Edwards Park. Escape the traffic and the noise at Madison Park, where kids can play on the beach year round, and in the warmer summer months, dive and swim for free. At Lincoln Park, you can play a pickup game of baseball or basketball, burn some calories in the water at the outdoor pool, chase toddlers around the wading area or hike with older children. Because of its protected location under Aurora Bridge, kids and adults alike can climb the Fremont Troll without getting wet, even on rainy days.

Learn at Interactive Museums

A plethora of kid-friendly educational opportunities await your children in Seattle. For animal lovers of all ages, head to the Seattle Aquarium to observe and learn about all kinds of fish and sea-life at play. At the Pacific Science Center, kids and adults alike can appreciate hands on exhibits, a butterfly house, a planetarium, laser show and an IMAX theatre. The Seattle Art Museum has an "art ladder," with a craft area where kids can create their own masterpieces and learn from exhibits designed to be visually appealing to all ages. Older kids will enjoy the Seattle Center, where, after a mandatory ride up to the top of the Space Needle, they can toy with real instruments at the Experience Music Project or have a theater appreciation afternoon at the Seattle Children's Theatre. On rainy days, take kids to play at the Seattle Children's Museum, where they can play pretend in costume on a real stage, tour a "global Village" with homes and shops from different countries or develop their artistic tendencies at an arts and crafts area.

Get On the Water

Get on, or if it's especially warm during your visit, get in the water. At Greenlake Park, outfit the kids in lifejackets and rent a boat, or take a rowing, canoeing, kayaking or sailing class. You can also fish, windsurf, wade or hit the indoor pool for water games and maybe a quick breast-stroke race across the pool. If you and the kids are theme park fans, then head for WildWaves, Seattle's local waterpark. Slather sunscreen on yourself and the kids, and get wet at Seattle's largest freshwater bathing beach at Matthews Beach Park. For a quiet swim with no boating noises in the background, head to Pritchard Island Beach, where you can hike through area wetlands before you dive in off high and low diving boards.

Play Indoors

Seattle is known for its rainy days. Fortunately, in Seattle, there's a world of fun indoor activities to explore when the weather is having an off day. Kid-friendly museums aside, Seattle has an excess of indoor play-spaces where parents can make sure kids get their daily dose of exercise. There is an ample offering of indoor pools, including the Mountlake Terrace Recreation Pavilion and Pool, which has a lazy river and a shallow water play area that helps keep aquatic activities on the itinerary no matter what the weather. Let kids bounce until they drop at indoor inflatable fun parks like Pump it Up and Kidz Bounce, or take the kids bowling, miniature golfing or roller-skating to keep them active and entertained.