These days, it’s so easy to fall into a routine of zoning out behind a screen and encouraging our kids to do the same. But our children really need the chance to learn, move, and play! Luckily, Fort Worth is an excellent place to raise a family, and there is no shortage of ways to entertain the youngest imaginations in our lives. Check out some of these fantastic things to do in Fort Worth with kids!
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) is a fantastic place to encourage your child to learn, explore, and imagine life beyond the comfort zone of home. Their vibrant and creative exhibits inspire a love of science and the stories that have made the Southwest the remarkable place it is.
If you have a dinosaur enthusiast at home, they will love a visit to FWMSH. It isn’t every day you get to see a real dinosaur skeleton up close. Still, museum visitors will get to take in the size and scale of a Paluxysaurus jonesi, a new species of dinosaur discovered right here in Texas! In fact, in 2009, the Texas State Legislature named Paluxysauraus jonesi the official State Dinosaur of Texas! But the fun only begins with the authentic dinosaur bones; DinoLab lets you discover other dinosaur skeletons native to North Texas and even dig for fossils in their mock field site!
The Children’s Museum Gallery is designed for FWMSH’s youngest guests, encouraging opportunities for children to learn through play and imagination. They’ll be able to shop at a kid-size grocery store, step into the role of a doctor, nurse, or EMT, and explore the ideas of friendship, cooperation, and community.
Kids of all ages (and grown-ups, too!) will enjoy Innovation Studios, where you can invent, doodle, design, and explore light and sound in the Designer Studio. Galaxy Park is an outdoor playground that gets kids active and moving while exploring outer space and developing social skills through community play. Don’t forget to take in a show at the planetarium and explore some incredible artifacts that have traveled all the way to space, including a Fort Worth flag that landed on the moon!
The Fort Worth Zoo is an incredible place to get up close and personal with animals from all over the world, all in one spot right in our backyard! The zoo is currently home to over 540 species, including mammals, birds, and ectotherms (reptiles, amphibians, and fish.)
When you visit, you’ll be able to see animals in their specially curated habitats, including Asian elephants, black rhinos, giraffes, gorillas, hippos, jaguars, orangutans, and kangaroos! There are extraordinary birds like bald eagles, flamingos, penguins, and reptiles like alligators, pythons, and Komodo dragons. You may feel like you’ve traveled the planet in one day after seeing all these incredible animals in one place.
But the zoo isn’t just for wandering; there are plenty of unique interactive experiences to take advantage of, too! The Giraffe Experience lets you stand eye-to-eye with a towering giraffe and feed it leafy green lettuce. On hot days, the Safari Splash is the perfect play area with four slides, a water dump tower, and so much more to stay cool. Take in a show at the Outdoor Learning Theatre and learn about the importance of conservation through live animal shows. When your tired feet need a break, hop aboard the Yellow Rose Express, a sweet train ride that travels between the Safari Depot and Texas Wild exhibits.
Still looking for more? Your kiddo may enjoy the Junior Farmhand program (for ages four and up). They’ll hop on board the Bluebonnet Express train and head down to the farm to help tend to some friendly farm animals with their keepers, learning how to groom, feed, and enrich!
If you’re looking for some outdoor entertainment and adventure, check out Rockwood Go Karts, a Fort Worth mainstay since 1962! Many generations of Texans have enjoyed driving go-karts here. Once you try it, you’ll understand why it’s been popular for so long.
For those four and up who love a little adrenaline rushing through their veins, the go-karts are absolutely the way to go! Their track is triangle-shaped for good twists and turns and built for some pretty rockin’ speeds! Kids can participate in the double-seater go-karts accompanied by an adult, so fasten your seat belt because you’re in for a heck of a ride, too!
After you finish racing, unwind with a round of mini golf on their Texas-themed course featuring a waterfall that makes for a few wet and watery twists throughout the 18 holes of putting green. Plus, the course is 100% ADA-compliant, so everyone can participate in the fun!
We all know and love a LEGO enthusiast, and Rogue Brick is heaven on earth for anyone who considers themself to be one. Part specialty retail, part buildspace, all you need to participate is imagination and energy; they’ll provide everything else. They pride themselves on being a space where kids can have fun completely unplugged and encourage them to think outside of the box sets they have at home and build anything they can possibly imagine.
The buildspace of Rogue Brick is large and spacious, community-driven but spread out enough that you can build something on as large a scale as you can imagine. Builders are provided with a 30-foot supply of LEGOs, so you can be as ambitious as you want in your design and execution! Building mentors are always standing by to help.
They offer a variety of LEGO bricks for every age and every builder; young builders can explore the area dedicated to LEGO’s DUPLO line of blocks, which are larger and more whimsical for little builders with big imaginations. Check out their themed day camp sessions for plenty of summer fun and their special events for new and creative ways to interact with LEGOS of all shapes and sizes!
There are so many things to do in Fort Worth with kids, and I guarantee you’ll have just as much fun participating as they will. Check them out for yourself, and enjoy every moment of watching your child play and use their imagination!
So are you trying to find more Fort Worth family content? Then check out the blog links below! But before you go, let’s chat about your dream photo session!