Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around the Triangle

Located less than five miles from downtown Durham, the Museum of Life and Science is one of North Carolina’s top family destinations. Situated on 84-acres, our interactive science park includes a two-story science center, one of the largest butterfly conservatories on the East Coast and beautifully landscaped outdoor exhibits which are safe havens for rescued black bears, lemurs, and endangered red wolves. Other popular attractions include over 60 species of live animals, Dinosaur Trail, Ellerbe Creek Railway, and Into the Mist.

Urban Air Raleigh offers a huge selection of unique attractions that bring a one-of-a-kind experience to thrill seekers of all ages! From trampolines and virtual reality adventures to a Warrior course and flipping bumper cars with an attitude, there is something for everyone! And, don’t forget our Sky Rider that lets you soar over the entire park. At Urban Air Raleigh, we take fun to new heights!

This public park has it all! Experience paddle boat rentals, kiddie amusement park rides, outdoor theater, swimming, and a fantastic playground.

The Nasher Museum is a major center for the arts. Since opening in 2005, the museum has organized and presented leading-edge exhibitions that travel worldwide. Dynamic family programs feature performing arts events, art-making activities and more. The museum also offers free guided gallery tours for K-12 students and their teachers. The Nasher Museum Café features local, seasonal ingredients. More than 1 million people have visited the museum since 2005. Free admission for all!

Kidzu Children’s Museum is a hands-on museum dedicated to inspiring young children and the adults in their lives to learn through creative, purposeful play. Kidzu’s 8,500 square foot space is multi-sensory, play-centered, and focused on providing area children and their families, teachers, and caregivers an ever-changing menu of exhibits and programs that inspire creativity, collaboration and community. Kidzu serves upwards of 70,000 visitors each year on-site (pre-pandemic), another 5,000+ through extensive community outreach and after-school programs, and thousands more virtually through its Virtual Museum initiatives. Kidzu’s vision is to become an innovator in interactive, museum-based learning for children and families, to excel at serving, celebrating and reflecting its community and to offer a model for other museums that share its commitment to creative, playful, evidence-based learning, and deep community partnerships.

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed garden with one of the largest and most diverse collections of landscape plants adapted for landscape use in the Southeast. Plants especially adapted to Piedmont North Carolina conditions are collected and evaluated in an effort to find superior plants for use in southern landscapes.

Attractions include Go-Karts, Miniature Golf, Bumper Boats, Batting Cages, Arcade, and MORE! Enjoy great food too, like Johnny Rockets at the Greenville Park, and Frankie's Restaurant at the Raleigh Park.

Since 1857, YMCA of the Triangle has provided facilities, programs and services that positively influence the quality of life throughout our community.  Today, the YMCA of the Triangle is one of the largest YMCAs in the country. The YMCA of the Triangle offers resident camping, after school care, sports, fitness, mentoring and outdoor programs for children, teens, adults and families.

The Go Ape Treetop Adventure and Treetop Journey courses create a one-of-a-kind outdoor experience. These exciting high ropes courses include suspended obstacles, rope ladders, Tarzan swings and some truly epic ziplines.

More than a simple canopy tour, the Treetop Adventure takes between 2-3 hours to complete. Treetop Journey is a 1-hour activity, appropriate for all ages and a terrific introduction to an aerial adventure course. Puzzle junkies can also challenge themselves with Forest EscAPE, Go Ape’s unique take on outdoor escape rooms.

Built in 1946, The Cary property was once home to the town’s first indoor movie theater, which hosted live performances as well as films. The property was also used as a clothing store, auto parts store and recording studio. Now the marquee lights up Downtown Cary with the mission of providing a unique setting for cinema and live performance to enhance the cultural arts experience in Downtown Cary.

Travel a million miles without leaving North Carolina at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, located on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! Experience our Fulldome Theater's live star shows and multimedia programs, including our acclaimed Carolina Skies show. On weekends, our Launch Lab maker space is open for you to engage in hands-on learning activities. You can fuel your curiosity by attending our Science LIVE! demonstrations and exploring interactive exhibits that show how UNC-Chapel Hill researchers are unlocking the mysteries of our world. Additionally, you can discover how Morehead played a role in training the astronauts who landed on the Moon!

Music Beyond Measure Studios is a unique, family-owned music school highly dedicated to planning educational strategies for the future of committed musicians and artists alike. Whether you desire to pursue a musical career, record your next project, build your repertoire, prepare for an audition, or you just want to take music lessons for the sake of enjoyment, our services are very beneficial and rewarding. We offer a plethora of services: Music Lessons (to children and adults, ages 4 and up), Summer Camps, Birthday Parties, Recording Sessions, Arranging, Mixing & Mastering, Songwriting, Performance Opportunities, and Artist Development.  Call our Music Hotline to book your FREE Trial Lesson today, no obligation: (919) 294-8413.

Imagination Station Science & History Museum exists to stimulate an interest in science, technology, and history while improving the quality of informal science education through dynamic hands-on science learning.