Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around Milwaukee - 2020
2020's Best Places for Kids in the Milwaukee area!
Milwaukee is rich in fun events and exciting places. It was hard for our readers to select their favorites from the hundreds of choices! The venues listed below are wildly popular with kids and families in the area. But don’t miss out on ALL the other wonderful places as well! Browse through KidsOutAndAbout.com, check out our calendar, and discover lots more to do, especially Everything That's Free.
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Shalom Wildlife: Wisconsin's Wildest Zoo
Located in West Bend, Shalom Wildlife Zoo is also known as "Wisconsin's Wildest Zoo" that's because the animals live in huge natural habitats. Shalom is truly Wisconsin's first wildlife safari and you'll experience nature at its finest. Home to 75 species and more the 750 animals! Herds of bison, deer, elk, mountain sheep, wolves, tigers, bears, cougar, zebra, and camel are just a few of the animals you'll see as you navigate the zoo. It is no surprise to visitors that Shalom Wildlife Zoo has been ranked by TripAdvisior as the #1 tourist attraction in the West Bend area for 6 consecutive years and is the highest ranked zoo in Wisconsin.
My Local Library
Of course, the libraries in the Milwaukee area are not really ONE place, but MANY places... but it's important to emphasize how valuable libraries are for family learning and fun. The libraries in our area are wonderful about posting their events to the KidsOutAndAbout calendar so you always can get ideas for free things to do with your kids that celebrate education and imagination. KidsOutAndAbout.com takes this opportunity to salute the wonderful children's librarians who serve our community with such dedication.
Racine Zoo
Nestled on the sandy shores of beautiful Lake Michigan, the Racine Zoo is home to some of the world's most remarkable and endangered wildlife. The walk is easy for kids and seniors, making the Racine Zoo a great way to enjoy the outdoors with the family.
Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum, the largest natural history museum in WI and one of the largest in the region, provides a dynamic and stimulating environment for learning, with something to excite and challenge visitors with a diversity of interests.
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
The Betty Brinn Children's Museum provides interactive exhibits and educational resources that promote the healthy development of children in their formative years from birth through age 10.
Old World Wisconsin
At Old World Wisconsin your experience will be engaging, enriching, authentic, relevant, and fun. This means letting you encounter history by exploring sensory rich spaces, stories, and exploration. We want everyone to have a fun and engaging time filled with stories and lots of questions. Our mission is to collect, preserve, and share stories; By visiting Old World Wisconsin you become a part of Wisconsin’s story. Welcome!
Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory
Experience a desert oasis, a tropical jungle and floral gardens…all at one destination! The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, better known as The Domes, is one of the most unique destinations in Milwaukee. Discover cacti, succulents, shrubs and desert palms in the Desert Dome. Enjoy five seasonal shows each year in the Floral Dome and walk among 1,200 species of rainforest plants in the Tropical Dome. The Domes are open every day of the year.
Bristol Renaissance Fair
For 9 glorious weekends starting in early July, each Saturday and Sunday, plus Labor Day Monday, visitors take a rollicking romp through Elizabethan England, complete with 16th Century games, rides, arts, crafts, food, music and one-of-a-kind encounters with a spectacular cast of characters. The Faire boasts a beautiful 30-acre site with 14 open-air stages featuring Swordfighters, Minstrels, Jesters, and Queen Elizabeth! All entertainment is included in the price of admission.
Boerner Botanical Gardens
The Boerner Botanical Gardens, an internationally renowned horticultural showplace in the Milwaukee County Parks, offers gardeners, plant lovers and students the opportunity to take in the colors and scents of a variety of collections. Hours: Mid-April-Sept. 30: 8 a.m.–dusk, daily. Oct. 1-30: 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., daily.
Swan's Pumpkin Farm
Swan's Pumpkin Farm is located in Franksville, Wisconsin. Fun for all ages! Free admission. Free parking! Making pumpkin time the best time for 40 years!
Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm
Family fun entertainment ,and displays ,Haunted cornfield for us Big Kids. company picnic areas, squash, apples pumpkins and other fall crops.. asparagus in spring and natural raised poultry and beef! Just ask about freezer Camp! And Home of the Midwest's Most involved Haunted Cornfield & action packed Haunt exhibit.
Wehr Nature Center
Wehr Nature Center is located in Whitnall Park. Explore over five miles of nature trails through woodland, wetland, prairie and oak savanna on 220 acres of protected land in Whitnall Park. Labeled gardens feature prairie, woodland and other plant varieties; a natural play space for kids with a log cabin playhouse; and an accessible deck over Mallard Lake. Wehr Nature Center also hosts nature-themed educational programming and special events year round.
Cedarburg Creek Farm
Cedarburg Creek Farm is a family owned and operated business focused on fall. Visitors enjoy the pumpkin patch, kid's straw bale and corn maze, a petting zoo, bounce houses, treats and other fall and Halloween fun close to home. With no admission fees and FREE Hay Wagon Rides, they provide affordable family fun.
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
The Marcus Performing Arts Center acts as an energizing force that connects our community to the world through collaboration, innovation, social engagement and the transformative power of live performing arts. The Center is a non-profit organization that offers programming for children of all ages, and annual community engagement events like KidZ Days at the Center, which incorporates educational components and encourages interactive participation.
First Stage
First Stage touches hearts and transforms lives through professional theater productions that engage, enlighten and entertain. Its Theater Academy, teaching life skills through stage skills, is the nation's largest high-impact theater training program for young people. As Wisconsin’s leader in arts-in-education programming, First Stage’s dynamic Theater in Education programs promote active learning in our schools and our community, serving over 20,000 children each year.
Harley-Davidson Museum
Find fun for the whole family! This isn't your typical stuffy, keep-your-voice-down museum experience here. The Harley-Davidson Museum is all about fun and freedom – for every member of the family. Enjoy the ride through our unrivaled collection, then be sure to fuel up at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant and take home a keepsake from The Shop.
Kenosha Public Museum
The Kenosha Public Museum is a natural history and fine arts museum featuring mammoths, fossils, American Indian fur trading, eco-systems and animals from around the world, and cabinets of curiosities. Enjoy special art exhibits, have fun in the hands-on Field Station for kids, and find treasures to take home from the gift shop. FREE admission, parking and spectacular views of Lake Michigan.
Milwaukee Art Museum
Experience art with the whole family at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Explore thousands of works in the galleries, and enjoy breathtaking views of Lake Michigan from the Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion. Then, recharge with kid-friendly snacks from Windhover Coffee.
Dinosaur Discovery Museum
Life-size replicas and bones show the link between meat-eating dinosaurs and birds. Kids love the permanent exhibit Little Clint: The Story of a Baby Dinosaur featuring interactive activities including a dino dig. FREE admission and parking. Hop on the city's historic streetcar for a short ride to the Kenosha Public Museum, Civil War Museum, shopping and dining. Check the museum website for updates on the reopening of interactive elements.
Oceans of Fun
Ocean Connections is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization organization committed to inspiring conservation awareness and public action for our world's ocean through education. Located within the Milwaukee County Zoo, Ocean Connections provides a variety of opportunities for you to meet our animals up close and personal, with the focus on educating the public about marine life, environmental protection and conservation.
Winners in Special Categories
In the second part of our survey, we asked readers to select their favorites in six categories. Here were their choices.Favorite Place for Arts Education
First StageFirst Stage touches hearts and transforms lives through professional theater productions that engage, enlighten and entertain. Its Theater Academy, teaching life skills through stage skills, is the nation's largest high-impact theater training program for young people. As Wisconsin’s leader in arts-in-education programming, First Stage’s dynamic Theater in Education programs promote active learning in our schools and our community, serving over 20,000 children each year.
Favorite Place for Sports/Physical Education
Pettit National Ice CenterThe Pettit National Ice Center is an official U.S. Olympic Training Site located in the heart of Southeastern WI.
