Amusement Parks

A venerable westside institution is Memphis Kiddie Park, located at 10340 Memphis Avenue (what W. 117th turns into, south of Bellaire Road).  Open April through September, it offers just the right amount of thrills for the "Too Short for Cedar Point" crowd. There is no admission fee, just a ticket per ride price (25 cents per ticket; booklets come in packs of 10 for $-- and 25 for $--). Tickets are good forever, making the ticket-book price a real value. A concession stand, restrooms and a charming miniature golf course complete the outing. For more information, call 216-941-5995. Russ Wintner, president of Memphis Kiddie Park, sent this note:

For other amusement parks, check out this Amusement Park Directory.

 

Community Zoos & Parks

Every Monday until noon, admission is FREE for Cuyahoga County residents at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Regular admission is $8.50 for adults, $4 for children 2-11 (children under 2 are free). Of course, you can get an annual family membership and then it's free any time you want to go, and includes admission to the Rainforest. A zoo membership also provides reciprocity at over 100 zoos throughout North America.  The Akron Zoo is not a long drive away, and admission is free with a Cleveland Zoo membership. Both of the zoos offter programs throughout the year, so be sure to check out their websites for the latest information.

Don't forget about our wonderful Cleveland Metroparks, either! Through the multitude of park reservations and nature centers, there's always something going on -- and often the programs are free or inexpensive. Check out their schedule of special events.

 

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Even if you don't have a young train fan, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad offers thrills and excitement for kids of all ages! Plus the scenery year-round is intoxicating. The railroad offers 11 different trips -- running from a short jaunt to Peninsula (leaving from the northernmost Rockside station in Independence) to the full route down to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- with rates ranging from $11-25 for adults, $7-17 for children (3-12).
The various routes include stops at the Canal Visitor Center, Peninsula (with a ranger-guided tour), Quaker Square (19th century home of the famed Quaker Oats, with four restaurants), Stan Hywet Hall, Hale Farm, Akron Zoo, the Inventor's Hall of Fame, Hartville Marketplace and Flea Market, and Canton -- with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, First Ladies National Historic Site, McKinley Museum & National Memorial, Canton Museum of Art, and Classic Car Museum.

Seasonal adventures include an Easter Bunny Express, Maple Sugaring Express, Mother's/Father's Day Expresses, Halloween Express, Santa Claus Express, and even a Polar Express -- an interpretation of the book by Chris Van Allsburg, with children encouraged to wear jammies, and enjoy cookies and hot chocolate! Reservations are required for most of these special trips, but the prices tend to still be reasonable ($11 adults, $7 children 3-12). The Polar Express tickets are by mail-in lottery. In May 2004, they had 'Day Out with Thomas' -- featuring a 25-minute ride with Thomas, storytelling, video, live music and arts & crafts. The website hints that it might be a yearly event!
For a mom & dad get-away, the railroad also offers wine-tasting and beer-tasting tours, a murder mystery train ride, and a Hale Farm Antique Show run. Other special adventures include an Underground Railroad experience and hike, a Civil War re-enactment at Hale Farm, fall foliage tours, and Christmas Tree trips to Heritage Farms.

 

Cultural Institutions & Destinations

The greater Cleveland area features an amazing array of cultural institutions and destinations, offering fun and sometimes adventure while teaching our young ones about themselves and their world. Many centers have annual family memberships at a cost that pays for itself with two or three visits. And if you're a member, special programming opportunities are often free or at reduced cost. They may also offer discounts in their gift shops. Places worth a look include:

Beck Center for the Arts -- Introduce your child to theater with the Beck Center's Youth Theater. This series has shows intended for children, performed by students in the Beck Center's Arts Education program. The center also has early childhood education classes: "Hear and Touch the Music" features a demonstration and narration about a particular instrument (they change each month) by a professional musician, with singing, dancing, instrument playing and an activity sheet to take home. "Early Childhood ABC" features arts adventures in music, dance, the visual arts and theater.
(Classes: $6 per child -- Shows: Adults $10; children $8 - ticket prices vary by show)

Children's Museum of Cleveland -- This museum is dedicated to children from the youngest up to 8 years of age! The exhibits and programs are all designed to engage little ones in hands-on, interactive learning -- and the admission fee makes it do-able on a regular basis. Exhibits now include The Big Red Barn (based on Margaret Wise Brown's book, it's geared for the 0-4 group), Splish Splash (all about water and weather), Bridges to our Community (with a market, bank, airline ticket counter, gas station, bus, a community of buildings, and an art studio), and SANDstruction (a temporary but great exhibit that's a huge sandbox, with tools, trucks, buckets, and even areas to do plumbing or house-building!). Each week, the museum has craft time, art studio and storytelling with props programs -- they're free or have a 50-cent materials fee. They offer group tours and birthday party rentals.
(Each visitor $5; under 11 months free; individual membership [one adult/one child] $40; family membership $60)

Cleveland Botanical Garden -- All new glasshouse and gardens, including the Hershey Children’s Garden. The children's garden is one of just a handful of such gardens in the U.S. -- where children are encouraged to experience the natural world first-hand. There's a wheelchair-accessible tree house, cave, dwarf forests, scrounger garden, worm bins, watery bog, and an old-fashioned hand pump to explore! Other display gardens include a Japanese garden, rose garden, herb garden, woodland garden, restorative garden, gateway garden and theme gardens by internationally recognized landscape architects
(Adults $7; children 3-12 $3; under 3 free)

Cleveland Museum of Art -- Maybe a touch dry for the youngest, but the armor court is fascinating, as is the Egyptomania exhibit. On Sundays, the museum has free, Family Express hands-on workshop programs for children (from 2-4:30 p.m.), where they make different crafts based on parts of the collection and/or the season. Every third Sunday, there is a free museum mini-tour for families, that starts in the North Lobby at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 2 p.m. The website also has ideas for crafts you can do at home with your little ones.
(admission free; special programs for a fee)

Cleveland Museum of Natural History -- This place is fascinating even for little ones -- permanent exhibits include dinosaurs, other native animals of Ohio, a 360-million-year-old fish, 3.2-million-year-old Lucy, and a gallery of gems and jewels. They also have a planetarium, with a program for kids 5 and up exploring NASA's spacecraft missions to the outer reaches of our solar system.
(Adults $7; youth $5; children $4; toddlers free -- planetarium is $3 extra)

Cleveland Orchestra -- Introduce your child to orchestral music through the Cleveland Orchestra's "Musical Rainbows" series. These half-hour programs for children age 3-6 feature a single instrument or instrument family, and include a narrator, accompanist, sing-along and other age-appropriate activities.
(Adults and children $6)

Great Lakes Science Center -- This place is fabulous! Designed for hands-on investigating, every age will find something fascinating -- but it is expensive. Also, the Omnimax Theater, a six-story-tall, domed theater where you feel like you're actually in the educational adventure films, which change every other month -- extra or separate admission, but well worth it.
(Adults $8.95, kids 3-17 $6.95; family membership $70; home-schooling memberships $63.75)

HealthSpace Cleveland -- This museum encourages interactive learning about our bodies and health in the Road to Good Health. It's probably best for kids around 3 years on up. The main exhibit hall includes a deli wagon of nutrition information, a salvage yard about stress and its effect on bodies, a water treatment plant about how kidneys work, and a rebuild factory about bones, muscles and joints. Current special exhibits include "It's a Nano World," exploring the world of nanotechnology, and "CSI: Crime Scene Insects," exploring how insects (flies, beetles and maggots) reveal details of a crime scene. The special exhibits change about every three months.
The museum also has special programs (sometimes craft projects) designed for the whole family which vary based on the time of year. The Head First! interactive theater guides kids through challenging situations and healthy/unhealthy choices. The museum offers "Camp-In" sleepover parties, and themed camp-ins including "Choose Your Own Adventure," "Creepy Camp-in" and "Try It" Brownie/Girl Scout badge camp-ins. The website has a world of articles, by categories, targeted to parents, children and teenagers to answer many health-related questions.
(Adults $7; students $5; children 3-4 $3; under 3 free)

Lake Erie Nature and Science Center -- Wonderful center with native wildlife, exotic animals, classes, field trips, hikes, gardens, and an adopt-an-animal program. They also have a planetarium, with year-round programs for all ages -- including 'Twinkle Tots,' a 15-minute program just for toddlers!
(Non-members $12-$20 per session for classes; members $8-$15 per session; annual memberships reasonable; Twinkle Tots program: adults $1, kids free; other programs: adults $5; kids under 10 $3)

Lake Farmpark -- Out in Kirtland, but worth the drive. Part of the Lake Metroparks system, Lake Farmpark shows children the daily goings-on at a farm -- from milking cows to border collies herding sheep. Over 50 breeds of farm animals. Seasonal programs, horse- and tractor-drawn wagon rides, and 'My First Pony/Horse' program, a three-hour session for those 7 and older to learn how much fun -- and work! -- it is to own a pony or horse.
(Adults $6; children 2-11 $4; under 2 free)

Western Reserve Historical Society -- Maybe a touch dry for the youngest, but the Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum might engage a young Hot Wheels collector. This museum also often has special exhibits just for little ones; through January 30 is "Arthur's World," based on the PBS series. Hale Farm has great programs for children; particularly the holiday lantern tours in December and maple sugaring days in early spring. School-age children can also get a taste of history at Lawnfield (President Garfield's former home) in Mentor, Shandy Hall (the Harper family's home, built in 1815) in Geneva, and Loghurst (a turn-of-the-20th-century farmhouse) in Canfield.
(WRHS Museum: adults $7.50; students $5.50; under 2 free -- Auto Museum: adults $7.50; students $5.50; under 2 free -- Hale Farm: adults $12; kids 3-12 $7; under 3 free -- Lawnfield: adults $7; kids 6-12 $5; under 5 free -- Shandy Hall: adults $4; students $3; under 5 free -- Loghurst: adults $4; students $3; under 5 free)

 

For More Ideas

These comprehensive directories list cultural institutions and tourist attractions in the greater Cleveland area and throughout Ohio:

• Lakewood Public Library's Selected Northeast Ohio Websites
• Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism

 

If it's winter time, check out our Guide to Winter Fun page!