Don’t let summer turn you inside out, there’s lots for your kids to do in OKC
For those classic rockers out there, who can’t forget the lyrics from that iconic 1970s song by Alice Cooper: “School’s Out”? Those lyrics have lived on for generations.
Summer is a favorite time of the year for kids and parents alike for varying reasons. Kids, for example, can sleep later and hang out with their friends longer. For some parents, it can be a time when they get to spend more quality time with their kids.
Whatever the reasons, it’s nice to know that Oklahoma City has lots of cool, exciting and adventurous things to do with your children, regardless of age – in fact, too many to mention in one short article. But we will try to hit on some of the more popular options.
Visit Oklahoma City, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s tourism arm, recommends several things in which you and your kiddos can participate:
- Scissortail Park is a nearly 70-acre downtown park consisting of the Upper Park and the Lower Park. One popular feature of the Upper Park is the playground, where kids can climb walls and geometric domes and play on a large fort with towers and slides. Near the playground is an interactive sprayground/splash pad that was recently rated by USA Today readers as the best summer splash pad in the U.S.
- Museums are in abundance in OKC and captivate the kid in all of us. Several of them are located within the Adventure District, which is about five miles north of downtown OKC. The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is billed as America’s premier institution of Western history, art and culture. The museum has drop-in activities all summerlong, where kids can create various crafts and explore galleries such as Liichokoshkomo’ (“Let’s play” in Chickasaw), a 100,000-square-foot play space that includes a multi-cultural village, rail car and depot, trading post, pioneer wagon, sod house, playground, waterfall and interactive activities.
- Two other museums preschoolers are sure to enjoy are the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum with its many exhibits and artifacts, including a dozen restored fire trucks. At the Oklahoma Railway Museum, guests can explore vintage train cars and equipment, and on the first and third Saturday from April through August, they can climb aboard (for a small fee) one of the museums vintage diesel locomotives and passenger coaches and take an actual 45-minute train ride.
- Located in OKC’s Boathouse District along the north bank of the Oklahoma River is RIVERSPORT OKC, where families can enjoy whitewater rafting and tubing, surfing, zip lines, high-speed slides, a climbing wall and an adventure course, just to name a few. Kids can also enjoy the Youth Zone that features its own, scaled-down adventure course along with a miniature zipline and the Cloud Bounce, which is essentially a 48-foot inflatable pillow made for bouncing.
Not only does OKC boast numerous museums and other attractions for small children but there are also spots where older kids can explore, according to the folks at Visit Oklahoma City. Science Museum Oklahoma and the Museum of Osteology certainly fit the bill.
- Science Museum Oklahoma (SMO) offers summer camps which are sure to keep your child busy and engaged. The camps, designed for kids from Pre-K to sixth grade, have different themes so your child can discover new and exciting wonders. The camps sell out quickly, so visit the SMO website to check out what’s still available. Located in far southeast OKC, the Museum of Osteology, sometimes referred to as the “skeleton museum,” displays over 450 real skeletons of various modern species. Sorry, no dinosaur bones here! The museum is open every day during the summer and even offers educational classes for preschoolers all the way up to college-aged adults.
- If you are looking for someplace your kids can just let loose and release some of that pent up energy, you might try Frontier City and Hurricane Harbor Oklahoma City. Both attractions are Six Flags properties, which means quality and most importantly lots of fun! Hurricane Harbor is the largest waterpark in Oklahoma with more than 30 different water rides and attractions for all ages. Frontier City in northeast OKC is packed with all kinds of age-appropriate rides and attractions that will make you want to stand in line again and again to experience the fun. There are also live shows and other events to keep you and your family entertained.
As we mentioned earlier in this article, this list only scratches the surface of what places and attractions you and your children can experience this summer. If you would like to explore other options for you and your family, check out VisitOKC.com.
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