Phoenix Childrens Museum

So you've come to Arizona, and you want the experince the desert like in the old western movies? The best spots to visit in Phoenix to experience this would be Rawhide Western Town in Chandler,which is a wonderful recreation of an old west town just as the name implies, with daily shows, saloons and shops. If you're on this end of the city, drive over to Queen Creek and visit the Lost Duchman State Park and Goldfield Ghost Town & Mine where you can pan for gold and take a miniature train ride around a real old ghost town. Down in Tucson, visit Old Tucson Studios where many of the old western movies were filmed, drive through the Saguaro studded national park nearby and enjoy some prickly pear jelly. If you want to see what it was like to live in Phoenix in the 1800's head up to North Phoenix, near Anthem and check out the Arizona Living Pioneer Museum. To complete your old western Arizona trip, you must go back horseback riding. Horseback Riding South Mountain is a family friendly spot to go and you're in the largest park in Phoenix.

Insert Photo

Arizona has so many beautiful places to explore and great hiking for all ages. Some easy and fun hikes with the kids include hiking at Papago Park in Phoenix, the White Tanks in the West valley and South Mountain Park.

Farmer's play an important role in Arizona's past and present. Kids love a day at the farm. Arizona has several great farms to spend the day at including Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, Superstition Farms in Mesa or Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale. They all have events throughout the year for a great day with the family at the farm!

To better plan your day, we organized Things to Do in Phoenix with the Kids by Location:

North Phoenix: Arizona Pioneer Museum | Deer Valley Rock Art |Amazing Jakes

Scottsdale: McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park |CrackerJax Family Fun & Sports Park

Things to do in Phoenix Arizona with the Kids

There are many interesting things to do with the kids in Phoenix. We picked activities for this page that will keep most kids attention, if travelling with older kids you may want to check out the other activities listed throughout this website as well. Older kids may very well enjoy The Heard Museum, The Phoenix Art Museum or Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum to name a few.

Whether you are looking to spend some time outdoors at the Desert Botanical Garden learning about our unique desert plants, take a scenic hike at Papago Park, or hey while you're in this area check out the Phoenix Zoo and enjoy some of the 1200+ animals in a gorgeous desert backdrop. Maybe you want to spend some time indoors having fun with one of the many hands on exhibits at the Phoenix Children's Museum or try out some of the 300 hands on science exhibits at the Arizona Science Center. Little girls will enjoy the Arizona Doll & Toy Museum, boys and girls alike have fun dressing up as firemen at the Hall of Flame Museum in Phoenix.

Crackerjax Bumper Boats

Visit the World Wildlife Zoo on the west side of the valley and see hundreds of animals up close and Arizona's first public Aquarium. In Glendale be sure to visit Cerreta's Chocolate Factory downtown, take a tour and buy some chocolate. Visit Sahuaro Ranch and see what it was like to farm in Arizona, don't forget to stop at that the incredible park to play. Wear some good climbing shoes the tangled web of a playset is fun to explore and stop to smell the roses while you're there. The ranch is home to a beautiful rose garden.

Science lovers will love Peoria's Challenger Space Center where you can view space memorabilia, take simulated flights and see models of the space rockets.

If your kids love dinosaurs, Mesa's Arizona Museum of Natural History has an awesome display of these incredible creatures. It is one of our kids favorite museums. While in Mesa you can also check out the Arizona Museum for Youth, an Art Museum for kids! Older kids will love spending a hot lazy summer day River Tubing. Little kids would enjoy the Freestone Railroad Park in Gilbert where they can ride a miniature train and the caraosel and mini ferris wheel. The Riparian Institute often offers free family bird walks and other events throughout the year.

Visiting Scottsdale with little kids, McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is inexpensive and sure to please the under 5 age group. There is a railroad museum, a miniature train ride, a park, tons of grassy areas to relax and take a ride on the antique carousel. This is a very popular park in Scottsdale and is especially busy during the Holiday Lights event. All of our kids like the CrackerJax Family Fun & Sports Park located in Scottsdale. They have three miniature golf courses (so far these are nicest we've seen in Arizona), bumper boats which are loads of fun, Go Karts for the bigger kids and miniature go karts for the little kids, as well as professional putting coourse for adults, batting cages, and a state of the art indoor arcade.

Click here for Things to Do in Tucson, Arizona with the Kids

Click here for things to do in Central and Northern Arizona (Sedona, Flagstaff) with the Kids

Some Fun "Arizona" books for the kids: