Kids enjoying Klyde Warren Park — Photo courtesy of Klyde Warren Park Facebook page
Dallas is very family-friendly, and there are tons of things you can do when the entire clan comes to town. Choose from a wide variety of activities and attractions that are fun for the whole family.
Family-Friendly Museums
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, which opened in the December 2012, is actually the culmination of three previous museums - the Dallas Museum of Natural History, Dallas Children's Museum and The Science Place. This over-the-top museum features a wide variety of exhibits and activities perfect for the whole family, including an IMAX theater, an outdoor plaza, a one-acre science park with water features, giant leap frogs and musical instruments, and a Texas-inspired landscape design.
Visitors are greeted by a Malawisaurus dinosaur fossil and "dancing water" molecule exhibit in the museum's lobby. Other family-friendly museums include the Dallas Firefighters Museum, where your kids can climb on a real hook and ladder truck, and the outdoor Nasher Sculpture Center, which features free admission the first Saturday of each month.
Kid Doodles, a toddler art program at the museum — Photo courtesy of Perot Museum Facebook page
Family-Friendly Parks
There's nothing better than enjoying the great Dallas sunshine, and one of the newest parks in town is Klyde Warren Park located between downtown and uptown - just across the street from the Perot Museum of Science and Nature. This innovative deck park is actually situated over a freeway, and it's Dallas' prime green space. Admission is free, of course, and it has a children's playground, dog park, fitness area, ping pong tables and live concerts and entertainment every weekend.
Food trucks park at the edge of it during the daytime, so you and your family can partake in a fun picnic while you're there - without all the work! Other family-friendly parks around Dallas are Lakeside Park and Celebration Park, which has a toddler playground.
Spring break at Klyde Warren Park — Photo courtesy of Klyde Warren Park Facebook page
Other Family-Friendly Attractions
Some other fun places to take the kids are the Dallas Zoo, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens and the Dallas World Aquarium. The Dallas Arboretum has a newly-opened Children's Garden designed to teach life and earth science to kids from preschool to middle school age. There are 17 indoor and outdoor galleries, hands-on exhibits, nature walks and a discovery center in this special part of the arboretum. The Dallas World Aquarium is always a hit with kids because they can feed the toucans and see free-roaming New World monkeys, jaguars, sharks and penguins!
Tiny Tot Tuesday at the Dallas Arboretum — Photo courtesy of Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Facebook page
Family-Friendly Restaurants
After you've worked up an appetite exploring Dallas, go to one of Dallas' best family-friendly restaurants. If you're in the mood for Tex-Mex, Mariano's Hacienda serves up delicious fajitas and gives the kids complimentary crayons. There's even some old-school, coin-operated riding toys out front. Other good choices include the Purple Cow, a family-friendly diner that has an electric train that runs around the restaurant, gourmet hamburgers and decadent milkshakes, and Snuffer's, known for its cheddar fries.
