Discovering Dallas with Kids: Family-Friendly Museums

If bringing the family on a museum excursion doesn’t inspire enthusiasm, have no fear: the Dallas area is home to a variety of family-friendly museums with engaging, cutting-edge exhibits that are sure to challenge visitors’ perceptions.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, a six-level architectural marvel with everything from enormous dinosaurs and geodes to an earthquake simulator and a virtual journey down into a gas well, should be first on your list.

The Dallas Museum of Art, which has one of the biggest and most significant art collections in the country, is close to the Perot. There’s no need to worry about the kids being bored because the museum keeps them occupied with interactive exhibits and a range of family-friendly programming. The National Videogame Museum, which highlights the videogame industry as you might expect, takes home the title of the coolest museum in the Metroplex. What’s best? Here, you can play many of the videogames in addition to viewing one of the largest collections of them.

Read on for a list of all the family-friendly museums you’ll want to explore right away if you think these locations sound interesting.

PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE

This magnificent 180,000-square-foot science museum on the outskirts of the Arts District was designed by Thom Mayne, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Award. It has five-story interactive exhibits covering everything from Earth and space to geology, archaeology, and architecture. Features include a quake simulator, a children’s museum with a dinosaur excavation, and a display of gems and minerals with a 5-foot geode. Take the external glass escalator to the top and descend while taking in the expansive views of downtown Dallas. This is an excellent place to start.

Suggested Family-Friendly Museums because Children between the ages of 3 and 15 will find the Perot Museum very engaging.

NATIONAL VIDEOGAME MUSEUM

Parents won’t have to persuade their children to visit this museum. The National Videogame Museum (NVM), a real vintage gamer’s paradise housed inside the Frisco Discovery Center, is devoted exclusively to the history of the gaming industry. The museum, which was the creation of three lifelong gamers, houses the largest functional Pong game in the world among its astounding collection of videogame artifacts. Also, visitors can play all the classic games in addition to seeing them. Both Donkey Kong and Space Invaders are present, along with a retro arcade with game stations where you can compete against loved ones. Talk about a time travel moment.

Suggested Family-Friendly Museums because What’s not to appreciate about a museum full of video games, many of which are worth playing?

DALLAS HERITAGE VILLAGE AT OLD CITY PARK

Visitors can get a sense of what life was like in North Texas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by visiting this living history village, which is housed in one of the city’s oldest parks on the southeast border of downtown. The hamlet consists of 38 renovated and fully furnished structures, some of which are a log cabin, a palace in the Greek Revival style, a school, a shotgun home, and farmland. Children will particularly enjoy the general store, where they may weigh goods, wrap up purchases, and play checkers around an ancient stove. Costumed docents, real farm animals, and a variety of ongoing events, such as mock gun battles and ancient reenactments, all add to the mood.

Dallas Heritage Village is a pleasant and interactive venue for youngsters to learn about the region’s early years, making it a suggestion for family-friendly museums.

FRONTIERS OF FLIGHT MUSEUM

This Smithsonian affiliate, housed in a 100,000-square-foot airplane hangar at Love Field Airport, is a must-see for aviation enthusiasts of all ages. More than 35,000 items from the history of space exploration and airplanes are on display in 13 galleries at the museum. A wide variety of spacecraft and airplanes will be on display, including a full-size copy of the Wright Flyer from 1903, a Sputnik I replica, and a Chance Vought V-173 Flying Pancake. Together with the sole genuine moon rock on exhibit in North Texas, this location also houses the Apollo 7 command module, which is on loan from The National Air & Space Museum. Moreover, there is a hands-on children’s discovery section with a control tower that children may climb on.

Because it’s entertaining to visit the Frontiers of Flight and see aircraft take off and land at Love Field, it is suggested for family-friendly museums.

DALLAS WORLD AQUARIUM

This privately owned aquatic paradise is home to innumerable species of marine and animal life (many of which are rare) from all over the globe and is nestled inside a sizable renovated warehouse in Dallas‘ Historic West End District. The aquarium features stingrays, alligators, and Orinoco crocodiles in addition to a multi-level rain forest with a waterfall and a 20,000-gallon shark walk-through exhibit. Also, visitors can interact with a variety of animals, including huge river otters, birds, ocelots, three-toed sloths, and sea turtles. Please take note that animal feeding events have been postponed in order to maintain social distance standards.

Because The Dallas World Aquarium is a must-see for pet lovers of all ages, it is ideal for family-friendly museums.

DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART

One of the greatest and most remarkable art collections in the country is housed in the vast 370,000-square-foot Dallas Museum of Art. Also, your family can enjoy a selection of fantastic games presented all year long in addition to viewing works by notable artists including Pollock, Rothko, Monet, Rodin, and Picasso. The museum has galleries, a play area, a place for creating art, a sculpture garden, and a restaurant with a window of Dale Chihuly’s glass flowers. The best part is that the museum’s general entrance is always free.

The Dallas Museum of Art is a good choice for family-friendly museums because it provides activities for all age groups and is completely free.

MUSEUM OF ILLUSIONS

This educational museum, which is housed in downtown’s West End, exhibits a bewildering variety of optical illusions with the goal of illuminating how the eyes can perceive things that the brain is unable to comprehend. With more than 60 exhibitions including anything from holographic images to installations and interactive illusion rooms, it’s also an Instagrammer’s paradise. A vortex tunnel, a reverse room, a slanted room, an infinite room, a Beuchet chair, and a smart playhouse with a range of riddles, brainteasers, and arithmetic games are among the delights visitors may expect to find. This emporium of mind-bending pleasure is the place to go if you’re searching for an experience that will appeal to people of different ages.

The Museum of Illusions is excellent for all ages, but especially teens. It is suggested for family-friendly museums.

PLAY STREET MUSEUM

While many local museums provide kid-friendly activities, the Play Street Museum, which has locations all throughout the metroplex—is one of the only establishments specifically made for children aged eight and under. There is no chance that kids would become bored in this place because there are so many entertainment options, including construction blocks, research programs, and crafts aplenty. Together with all of the available activities, the museum frequently conducts special events, such as tea parties, painting classes, and pottery making. For information on locations and event schedules, see the website.

Play Street Museum is excellent for families with young children; older children would get bored here, therefore it is suggested for family-friendly museums.

HEARD NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM & WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

This beautiful biodiversity shelter and basic sciences museum is ideal for families seeking an urban getaway. The Heard is a 289-acre nature preserve located in McKinney, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas. It has 6.5 miles of nature paths, a two-acre native plant garden, real animal exhibits, and a reproduction of a prairie community from the 1800s with eight playhouse-sized structures. Not to add that this location is a hotspot for viewing migratory birds (it is a registered birding area by the Audubon Society). Visit the teaching facility to see interactive exhibits with anything from venomous snakes to marine life and children’s fossil digs after trekking through the marsh, shallow root forests, prairie, and white rock escarpment.

The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary is a top pick for family-friendly museums because it appeals to nature lovers of all ages.

GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

This magnificent building on the Southern Methodist University campus houses not just a library and museum but also the George W. Bush Policy Institute and the George W. Bush Foundation. It is second in terms of size only to Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The majority of tourists will, however, only view the museum, which has interactive exhibits and 14,000 square feet of exhibit space, including a 22-foot tall World Trade Center steel beam that has been damaged and a full-scale walk-through recreation of the Bush Presidential Office. Several of the presents that foreign heads of state gave to the president and first lady are also on display. Throughout the year, keep an eye out for unique exhibits and activities.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center is a fantastic location to learn about presidential history, making it a suggestion for family-friendly museums.