I’ve already talked about all the great dinosaur related things to do in Denver, but there is sooooo much more great stuff to do in Denver with kids.
While we spend a lot of our time with friends and family when in Colorado, we do like to get out and take the kids new places too.
At the top of most lists for Denver with kids will be the Children’s Museum of Denver. Nestled on the edge of downtown next door to the Downtown Aquarium, the museum seems small from outside but provides hours upon hours of hands on, exploring fun. Current exhibits include an art studio, bubble zone, fire station, vet clinic, supermarket, inside forest and separate toddler/baby zone. The day we went (years ago, when Sugarplum was barely one and Honeybun had just turned three) we visited every room, did nearly every activity and spent hours playing and exploring only leaving when we were hungry and tired, definitely not because we were bored!
Next to the Denver Zoo (which we’ve not taken our kids too yet but I LOVED as a child myself) is the Museum of Nature and Science. I talked about the dinosaur exhibit before, but the museum has so much more to offer for learners of all ages. One of my favorite exhibits since I was a child is Expedition Health (which was called “The Hall of Life” when I was growing up) which analyzes different aspects of ones health and records it all for you to take home on a neat little sheet. There is also the wildlife exhibits, Egyptian mummies, North American Indian Cultures and Gems and Minerals exhibits which have all been around since I was young. There are also rotating exhibits which are always amazing as well as the newer Discovery Zone for the younger crowd which my kids loved. You could easily spend an entire day at the museum, especially if you add on a visit to the planetarium or IMAX theatre which are also housed in the museum.
This last visit we also visited the Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum because my parents had a coupon for the flight simulator which my daddy and hubby enjoyed. While they were doing that, my mommy, sister, the kids and I explored the museum which is housed in a decommissioned air force hangar. The space is massive and filled with airplanes of different types, eras and sizes as well as smaller rooms off to the sides with different exhibits on things like ejection seats and a small kids play area. The kids loved looking at all the different airplanes (hubby did too!) but I think the hit for all three kiddos was the Space Station Module where the kids could push buttons to their heart’s desire!
If you’re up for adventuring outside the city, there are a lot of other great things for kids. One of our favorites is the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden which is home to tons of different train engines and cars which can be climbed on, in and around. The museum also houses two extensive model railway systems which are amazing on their own!
Up into the mountains a bit, past Golden, you will find a magical little place called Tiny Town. The village of child-size buildings is delightful and Honeybun could have explored for hours (we took her when she was barely two and I was 37 weeks pregnant with Sugarplum). Tiny Town also has a train which goes around the entire park and has a nice little playground for the kids to climb and play.
