Family-Friendly Things to Do with Kids in Grand Rapids

Do your kids love animals? Don’t miss Butterflies are Blooming (March 1-April 30 every year), when colorful tropical butterflies flit about visitors in the tropical conservatory at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Make sure to visit John Ball Zoo , home to more than 2,000 furry, feathered and finny creatures – including Hugo, an adorable baby hippo born in September 2025, and Phil, voted the World’s Most Popular Penguin in the 2025. Zoo pathways are wide and stroller-friendly, behind-the-scenes tours and animal encounters are available, and kids can ride a funicular, pan for gems, and tackle a zip line or sky trails rope course. Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park is home to an even younger baby hippo as well as 1,300 additional animals, many rare and endangered, all situated in naturalistic environments easily accessible by foot and by stroller. Deer Tracks Junction Adventure Park  lets kids interact with farm animals and Site 57 Safari, at the same site, invites families to drive through wild animal enclosures. All of these attractions offer snack shops, picnic areas and playgrounds.

The Grand Rapids Children’s Museum  is built on the premise that play is essential for healthy development, and it offers a range of fun, interactive activities and experiences for kids 2-10. The GR Dragonflies Downtown Scavenger Hunt is a great way to learn about the city’s amazing public art collection as your family searches for 25 bronze dragonfly sculptures – get a map at the Children’s Museum or online here. The newly refreshed Lena Meijer Children’s Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park invites kids to use all five senses while exploring a treehouse village and log cabin, digging for buried fossils and launching a boat in a Great Lakes Garden. Bring a change of clothes, splashing may occur!

The Grand Rapids Public Museum  offers three floors of fascinating exhibits, many offering interactive features for kids, plus a working carousel and a wow-worthy planetarium. The Grand Rapids Art Museum  hosts kids and families for creative workshops every Saturday. Blandford Nature Center  presents wildlife events and outdoor experiences, including a historical village and miles of trails to explore.

Pack the right clothes for you and your kids to enjoy the Grand Outdoors in every season. Hike, bike, blade, snowshoe and cross-country ski on 70+ trails in and around the city. Rent a kayak, paddle boat, canoe or row boat at Millennium Park , which also features a sandy beach, splash pad, fishing area and large playground, all just five minutes from downtown GR.

Millennium Park is one of 12 great stops on our local’s guide to area playgrounds. It’s also one of 20+ beaches in the area – the rest are located along Lake Michigan, a 30-40 minute drive from the city. And it’s one of 120+ city and county parks with amenities ranging from ballfields and picnic areas to swimming lakes and campsites.

Visit Grand Rapids in spring for the opening of kid-focused attractions like Game Time Fun Park and the outdoor go-karts and bumper boats at Craig’s Cruisers ; summer for a multitude of outdoor pools and splash pads, fall for hayrides, pumpkin picking and more at family farms such as Ed Dunneback & Girls  and Robinette’s Apple Haus ; and winter for outdoor ice skating , tubing and other winter sports.

Not all kids are outdoorsy – and few are outdoorsy all the time – so Grand Rapids also offers plenty of activities to keep families occupied inside. Check out 15 area bowling alleys. Get in on the duckpin bowling  craze. Play laser tag or archery tag   in an indoor arena. Play pinball and other arcade games. Tee up for a round of miniature golf  under the glow of black light. Roller skate at Tarry Hall  or GR Skate .

Bounce around at Altitude , Sky Zone  and Rebounderz  trampoline parks. Work together to make your way out of an escape room. Watch a family-friendly movie at Celebration Cinema , attend a kid-friendly production at Broadway Grand Rapids , Grand Rapids Ballet  or Grand Rapids Civic Theatre , and browse the Van Andel Arena  schedule for Disney tours, monster truck shows, concerts and more.

Help your kids explore their and others’ heritage at 40+ cultural festivals throughout the year, celebrating the lives and contributions of local Native Americans, African Americans, Polish Americans, Hispanics and more. Almost all of them feature special kid-friendly programming plus lots of delicious food.

Kids love the colorful, illuminated Asian lanterns on display during the GR Lantern Festival (April 8-June 14, 2026) at John Ball Zoo each spring. Summer brings a different festival nearly every week leading up to ArtPrize (Sep. 17 - Oct. 3, 2026), the world’s most attended public art festival, which always includes all sorts of fun and whimsical creations kids love.  

Watch the West Michigan Whitecaps  (a Detroit Tigers affiliate) play baseball in LMCU Ballpark from April through October. Cheer the Grand Rapids Griffins  (Detroit Red Wings) hockey team, the Grand Rapids Rise Pro Volleyball  team, and Grand Rapids Gold  (Denver Nuggets) basketball team at Van Andel Arena in fall and winter. All of them pepper their schedules with fantastic family promotions, including discount tickets, giveaways, contests, fireworks and more. Coming in spring 2027: Grand Rapids Athletic Club, a new MLS NEXT Pro soccer team, in a new downtown GR soccer stadium!

Tanger Outlets , an outdoor mall, offers discount prices on designer wear from Adidas, American Eagle, Carter’s Babies & Kids, Gap Factory, OshKosh B’gosh and more. Woodland Mall  and Rivertown Crossings  are traditional indoor malls that boast 100 stores each, including Journeys Kidz, Kids Foot Locker, The Children’s Place, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Game Stop and FYE. You’ll find more unique treasures in neighborhood shopping districts like East Grand Rapids (check out Pink Lemonade), Rockford (Aunt Candy’s Toy Company) and Uptown (Hopscotch Children’s Store).

Need a break from shopping? Main Event at Woodland Mall features more than 85 games and activities, while Rivertown Crossings hosts Soar N Bounce Trampoline and Adventure Park. Both malls have movie theaters, too!

The Grand Rapids Public Library and Kent District Library systems offer a range of events for kids, including family storytimes, at locations throughout the area. The Storytelling Garden in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park  hosts storytellers as well as puppet and theatre shows. Storytime Grand Rapids presents a Storytime in the Park series in select city parks every summer.

Kid-friendly food destinations abound in Grand Rapids, from pizza parlors to taco joints, ice cream parlors to frozen yogurt bars, and sweets shops to the food courts at Rivertown Crossings , Tanger Outlet  and Woodland  malls. Sticky Fingers  is a magical candy store, filled with new and nostalgic treats to satisfy you and your kids. Dino Daisy Play Café, Giggles & Gourmets Play Café & Bakery, Stomping Grounds Play Café and Tia’s Play Café offer play spaces for younger kids along with snacks and beverages for them and their caregivers. And believe it or not, many local breweries are family-friendly, with foods kids like and outdoor spaces to run around in.

Check out our Parent’s Guide to GR-Area Playgrounds. Explore year-round learning opportunities at John Ball Zoo. Have fun in the water at indoor and outdoor pools and splash pads. Discover which attractions are equipped to deliver sensory-friendly experiences. Get advice about visiting Grand Rapids with a family member who is hard of hearing, has vision loss or uses a wheelchair. Finally, search our Events page for things to do by date and category – you can filter by children’s activities, art, music, sporting events and much more.