Best Things to Do with Kids in Dallas

Want to take your kids on a fantastical voyage into another realm? Then Dreamscape Immersive will be like nothing they've ever experienced before. Located on the second level of NorthPark Center, Dreamscape is basically a cross between a cinema and theme park ride, where with the aid of body-mapping and real-time motion capture technology, participants have the ability to interact as full-body avatars within a virtual, full sensory 3D environment. Tickets are $19.99, and each adventure, from beginning to end, takes approximately 35 minutes (including check-in and gearing up). It's best to purchase tickets online in advance as showings tend to book up quickly.

This is one museum parents won't have to convince the kids to go to. Situated inside the Frisco Discovery Center, the National Videogame Museum (NVM) is a veritable retro gamer's nirvana, dedicated solely to the history of the videogame industry. The brainchild of three longtime gamers, the museum features a mind-blowing collection of videogame memorabilia, including the largest working Pong game in the world. And not only can visitors see all the great games from the past, but they can also play them. Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, they're all here as well as an 80's style classic gaming arcade with gaming stations for you to go head-to-head with family and friends. Talk about a blast from the past.

This global, indoor theme-park chain at Stonebriar Centre mall in Frisco takes edutainment to a new level by offering children the chance to role-play more than 100 professions in a scaled-down replica city. Spanning 100,000 sqft over two floors, kids ages 4-14 can immerse themselves into a variety of real-life activities, ranging from flying airplanes on flight simulators to fighting fires and recording Spotify podcasts. And for every task acquired, kids earn a salary in kidZos (play currency) which can be used for toys and experiences inside KidZania. Oh, and did we mention there is also the opportunity to make your own pizzas and decorate cupcakes at the onsite eateries?

Boasting over 2,000 animals from roughly 400 species, the 106-acre Dallas Zoo is the largest and oldest zoological park in the state. But there's more going on here than your usual walk-through animal exhibits. Most of the enclosures have been constructed to replicate the animals' natural environments. Among them includes the 11-acre Giants of the Savanna, the only zoo exhibit in the United States to mix elephants with other species (think giraffes, cheetahs, zebras) in the same habitat. Along with a mini-train and a custom-made merry-go-round, there's also a children's zoo complete with interactive exhibits, a petting farm, and a nature-inspired swap shop where kids can exchange items. Daily presentations include animal encounters and a giraffe feeding experience.

Consistently ranked as one of the top botanical gardens in the country, the Dallas Arboretum boasts 66-acres of landscaped gardens chock full of seasonal flowers, ornamental shrubs, trees and exotic plants. So, of course, this is a must-visit spot for horticultural enthusiasts, but it's also a great place for children. In addition to a year-round calendar packed with family-friendly events, kids will especially love exploring the Rory Meyers Children Adventure Garden, an 8-acre oasis filled with water features, interactive exhibits, a treetop canopy walk and a two-story treehouse. Tip: Be sure to grab a scavenger hunt map at the information booth.

This 80,000-square foot, indoor-outdoor aquatic paradise will make you forget about the municipality swimming pools of your youth. Owned by the City of Grand Prairie, the waterpark features eleven different waterslides, including the nation's tallest indoor Aqualoop and the first indoor double rider Aquasphere inner tube ride. Not into water slides? No problem, the park also boasts a surf simulator, a 10,000-square-foot wave pool, a kiddie play area and one of the longest lazy rivers in America. Add in a 4,000-square-foot arcade, a café and a full-service bar, and good luck convincing your family to leave. Best of all, you don't need to wait for summertime to get your splash on, the park is open year-round.

Nestled inside a massive refurbished warehouse in Dallas' Historic West End District, this privately-owned aquatic wonderland is home to countless varieties of marine life from all over the world. In addition to stingrays, piranhas, electric eels, poison dart frogs and Orinoco crocodiles, the aquarium boasts a 20,000-gallon walk-through exhibit that includes a forty-foot long glassed-in tunnel filled with sharks that circle overhead. Visitors can also check out a lush three-level recreated South American rainforest as well as get up close and personal with manatees, giant river otters, three-toed sloths, penguins and more.

Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Thom Mayne, this stunning 180,000-square-foot science museum on the outer edge of the Arts District boasts five floors of interactive exhibits focusing on everything from earth and space to geology, paleontology and engineering. Highlights include a children's museum with a dinosaur dig, an earthquake simulator, and a gallery of gems and minerals featuring a 5-foot geode. A good way to start is to take the external glass escalator up to the top and work your way down while enjoying the panoramic views of downtown Dallas. Whether you're a science buff or just have a curious mind, this place is certain to fascinate visitors of any age.

Just minutes from downtown Dallas lies Trinity Forest Adventure Park, a seven-acre combination obstacle course and zip line park where families can soar, swing, scramble and climb to their heart's content. Designed for ages four and over, the park boasts over twenty zip-lines (from 10' to 75' above ground) and 70 different elements (cargo nets, wobble bridges, tight ropes and the like) which are spread out over eight aerial obstacle courses, each with varying elevations and challenges. The courses are all self-guided to allow everyone to move at their own pace, but it's important to watch your time since tickets are only valid for three hours.

No child-friendly attraction list would be complete without Klyde Warren Park. Perched atop the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the Dallas Arts District, this 5.2-acre linear park is considered one of Dallas' premier community gathering spots, boasting everything from a butterfly garden to special areas allocated for kids, dogs, and playing games. Speaking of kids, the park is enlarging the children's area to 18,000 square feet to make room for new state-of-the-art play equipment complete with a climbing tower, a climbing wall and spinning elements. Did we mention holiday events, musical performances, family film screenings,and food trucks?