2019 Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around Philadelphia

Situated on 42 acres of beautiful gardens, the Philadelphia Zoo, America's first zoo, is home to nearly 1,300 animals, many rare and endangered.

Adventure Aquarium is just minutes from downtown Philadelphia on the Camden Waterfront and features one-of-a-kind exhibits with more than 15,000 aquatic species throughout two million gallons of water. The Aquarium is home to the largest collection of sharks on the East Coast, including the only great hammerhead shark on exhibit in the United States, the only aquarium in the world to exhibit hippos, one of only six facilities in the US to have little blue penguins as permanent residents and exhibits the longest Shark Bridge in the world, a unique V-shaped rope suspension bridge just inches over Shark Realm.

NEST is a children's enrichment & activity center, an all-in-one play space for happy, healthy and hip families living in Philadelphia. NEST offers a wide range of incredible classes and services like birthday parties, kids salon, toy boutique, snack cafe & indoor playspace all in a clean, safe and secure environment. Refreshingly far away from the chaos of traditional playrooms, NEST creates an inviting urban utopia for play, socialization, snacks, shopping and learning inside over 10,000 sq ft on three levels.

Elmwood Park Zoo was founded in 1924, when a private landowner donated a small piece of property and a handful of white-tailed deer to the Borough of Norristown. Run by the Borough as a division of Elmwood Park, the Zoo exhibited a collection of animals throughout the 1920s, including monkeys, bears, peacocks, deer, raccoons, and rabbits. Popular for its exhibits, the Zoo was also a destination because of the natural spring that provided clean water to borough residents.

Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is a leading natural history museum dedicated to advancing research, education, and public engagement in biodiversity and environmental science. Visitors to the Academy have the opportunity to get face-to-face with towering dinosaurs, meet live animals, and explore a tropical garden filled with live butterflies. Philadelphia’s natural history museum offers surprises for all ages, from changing interactive science exhibits to a children’s discovery center, a fossil dig, and opportunities to interact with real science experts.

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts. 

Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse is a non-profit organization located in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA. Founded over 100 years ago to provide opportunities for imaginative and creative play for children, Smith's 16,000 square foot Playhouse and 6 /12 acre Playground welcome 215,000 visitors annually.

Arden Theatre Company is dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers – on the stage, in the classroom and in the community. We produce a wide range of stories in a variety of styles: classic and contemporary, intimate and epic, fiction and nonfiction, musical and dramatic. Producing the great playwrights allows us to measure ourselves against the masters of our craft, while sharing the voices of new writers gives us the opportunity to shape the future of American theatre. We embrace stories for audiences of all ages and bring the same artistic quality to all our work. 

Kids are celebrated at the Arden. We nurture curiosity, creativity and confidence through our educational programming. We foster connections between theatre and reading and promote literacy for our young audiences. We reach thousands of students each year, introducing many of our region’s kids to theatre for the first time. 

Riverbend is an environmental education center located in Gladwyne, PA. Riverbend teaches environmental principles to children in Southeastern Pennsylvania, through a direct connection with nature, inspiring respect for our natural world and action as aware, responsible and caring citizens. Riverbend hosts over 35,000 site visits annually, educating and motivating students and teachers through our nature-based STEM programs. Riverbend's 30-acre nature preserve is open to the public daily from dusk until dawn. To learn more about Riverbend, please visit www.riverbendeec.org.

Sesame Place is the theme park where Sesame Street comes to life! Bring the entire family to whirl on rides, splash down slides and hug everyone’s favorite furry friends. So before little kids become big kids, bring them to meet their Sesame Street friends at Sesame Place® theme park! Located 30 minutes north of Philadelphia and 90 minutes south of New York City. For more information, call 1-215-702-3566 today!

GOALS Martial Arts is located in the Holmesburg Section of Philadelphia. For 11 years GOALS has treated everyone like family from the way you are greeted when you arrive to the price you pay for classes. We only charge $5 per class and never require you to sign a contact. Too good to be true? Come and check us out for free.