Kids Activites

Travel Toys for Toddlers

These are the best travel toys for toddlers! Use these toys to distract and play on the road, airplane or anywhere you need. These toys and activities will help keep your kids happy, entertained and mostly quiet!

Every year we go on a road trip to Telluride, Colorado with two kids under 6. We have to keep them entertained for 9 looooong hours since we do the drive in one day.

Over the years I have tried lots of activities and toys for traveling. I have found that the Dollar Store toys are always fun to have and we have had one or two that are a success but overall they end up not working well, breaking or the kids have no interest in them.

I put together a list of the travel toys that I think are worth purchasing for more than $1. The best part is all of these toys work great at home, at the restaurant or anywhere you need!

If you do use these toys at home I recommend hiding them from the kids a few weeks before the trip so they are new and exciting when you are traveling.

Happy Travels!

Travel Tray

A travel tray is the most important thing you can purchase for your road trip! This allows the kids to play with all the other things on this list easily and helps pass time. Without this the kids are dropping their toys and have no where to play with anything.

I tested a few travel trays to see what features work best. I found that the ones with a cup holder don’t really work and the kids can’t get their bottle in and out easily. It was actually more of a hassle then a help.

This version has lots of pockets to hold markers, play people or other little items that will get lost easily so I really pack those up before we leave.

My kids actually used the track on the tray to play with their cars and people. Their devices fit in the holder which was also a struggle with a few other options. This has a little more stretch allowing for different types to fit.

On to the Toys…

Magatiles

These magnetic building blocks are worth purchasing even if you aren’t on a road trip! However, I love them even more for a road trip. There are cheaper options out there which I also own (I included a link below to a less expensive one) but I do think think Magna-Tiles stick together easier and hold better.

This allows so many ways to play during your drive! My kids build towers, tunnels, houses for their play people and anything they can think of.

More Affordable Magnetic Tiles

Reusable Stickers– Top Pick Travel Toys for Toddlers

Reusable Stickers are the best because they are mess-free. They aren’t too sticky and you can use them more than once!!

This set has 60 stickers and includes a fold out with different scenes to play with your stickers on. It’s a great way to have some screen free time during your drive. We have played with them tons of times and they still stick. They have different versions like dinosaurs and space so there is something for every kid.

Color Wonder Markers and Paper

Color Wonder are perfect because you don’t have to worry about getting marker all over your kid or your car. The first road trip we went on my son and daughter literally covered their entire bodies in marker when they use regular markers. It was quite the mess!

That’s when I got smart and got this stow and go Color Wonder. These markers color only appears on the color wonder coloring sheets. The markers and paper stow in the holder which keeps it organized. The kids still love coloring with these markers and there’s no mess for me!

Lacing Cards

Tracing Cards are a great way to work on hand eye coordination and are super fun! Both my 4 and 6 year old enjoy showing how they “sew”. This is another easy and time consuming activity!

Table Topics-

We got a set of these as the prize in the Chick-Fil-A Kids Meal and I couldn’t believe how much the kids love playing this game. It’s full of age appropriate kids questions that they a blast answering all fun topics. I pull this out whenever the kids start to get really antsy and need a change of focus, it works every time!

Duplos

Duplos have been my go-to travel toy since my son was 2. This set has blocks, people and a car which serve lots of different play scenarios. These are an awesome travel toys for toddlers! They can use the car to drive around on their tray table, imagine with the people and of course build! I prefer Duplos to Legos even with my 6 year old because it’s much easier for them not to drop them.

Magnetic Drawing Board

This classic drawing board has been around since I was a kid and it’s still just as great! Easy to draw with the attached stylus and shapes to make creative pictures. I will say that the shapes do get dropped so sometimes I take those away before we play with it in the car. It’s not worth the crying if they drop them on the ground.

My Busy Book– Top Travel Toy for Toddlers

We got our first Busy Book at a yard sale and it was life changing! This is all in one travel activity. It is a 10 page book, lots of plastic figures and a large durable mat. The best part is it all fits inside its box. It has tons of versions like Frozen, Disney Princess or Toy Story. If you only invest in one thing this is my top pick for travel toys for toddlers.

Tablet-

I will say that we love our tablets as well to watch our favorite shows and play games so I had to include them! We have tons of educations games that we have downloaded so I can feel a little better about the screen time. All of the Khan Academy ones can be downloaded so kids can play while you drive!

Check Out My Favorite FREE Educations Apps for your tablet!

Best Free Educational Apps

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Make these Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars at home with only 4 ingredients! These are a great for breakfast, on the go snack or anytime. Perfect for kids and adults because they are packed with protein and whole grains!

Homemade Treat Time

We have been cooking up a storm in our house. Every morning my kids want to make a new treat and I needed a new easy one that my young, 4 and 6 year old, kids could help make. I was looking for a recipe that is easy, quick and already had all the ingredients in my pantry. That’s when I remembered the Best No Bake Peanut Butter Bars!

I remembered that we use to make peanut butter bars like these when I was a kid. We only had Honey Nut Cheerios when we made ours but you could use any version of Cheerios. The best part is Cheerios are naturally gluten free so you don’t have to substitute anything. I always love when I can let me kids help cook so they can start to learn important skills in the kitchen! This recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Bars is the perfect place to start with all your young chefs! Next stop Food Network.

What You Need for No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut Butter or Peanut Butter Alternative

Cheerios

Honey

Chocolate Chips (optional)

Parchment Paper

8×8 Baking Dish

Non-Stick Spray

Recipe

3 cups Cheerios
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix Peanut Butter and Honey in large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments until melted. (You can also do this on the stove in a pan but this way I don’t have to worry with the kids.)

2. Pour Cheerios into melted honey and peanut butter. Mix until coated. Add chocolate chips and gently mix again.

cheerios and chocolate chips — Mix Cheerios and Chocolate Chips

4. Pour mixture into lined 8×8 baking dish. Press into place with parchment paper or spatula with non-stick spray.

5. Refrigerate for one hour.

6. Cut into bars and Enjoy!

Tips for Making No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

-Spray everything with non stick spray when dealing with honey

-Store any leftovers in fridge for up to a week

-You may need more honey depending on your peanut butter. Mine is natural which doesn’t have added sugar.

More Snack Ideas

Try these other fun snack ideas

No Bake oatmeal Energy Balls

Rice Krispie Nests

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Author: Allison Treadwell

PRINT PIN

5 from 2 votes

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

Servings : 12 servings

Calories : 176

Total Time : 1 15

Prep Time : 15

Ingredients

3 cups Cheerios
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Mix peanut butter and honey in a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second increments until melted. (You can also do this on the stove in a pan but this way I don’t have to worry about the kids.)
Pour Cheerios into melted honey and peanut butter. Mix until coated. Add chocolate chips and gently mix again.
Mix Cheerios and chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into lined 8×8 baking dish. Press into place with parchment paper or spatula with non-stick spray.
Press flat into dish.
Refrigerate for one hour.
Cut into bars and enjoy!

Notes

-Spray everything with non-stick spray when dealing with honey.

-Store any leftovers in fridge for up to a week.

-You may need more honey depending on your peanut butter. Mine is natural which doesn’t have added sugar.

Nutrition

Books and Cooks for Kids- Cooking with Kids

Get your littlest chefs excited about reading and cooking with books and cooks fo kids! This idea came from cooking class that my son had at school where they put a book together with a fun cooking activity. Since we are at home during school break I thought it would be a perfect activity to add to our day. Cooking can help your child work on their math skills by counting marshmallows or pouring ingredients. Here’s a quick example of how I set up the cooking class.

Pick a Theme for Your Books and Cooks with Kids

Easter is coming up so we decided the theme of Books and Cooks class was going to be Easter. We read an Easter book, “The Story of the Easter Bunny” and make Rice Krispies candy-filled Easter Baskets. Feel free to switch the book to any Easter book you want or have. And you can even skip Easter and you can use any theme to go with these Rice Krispies bowls, it could be a bird theme and these could be nests with eggs. The possibilities are endless!

Prepare

Cooking with kids can be fun but preparation is key. If you have little kids like me it’s best to have everything measured out ahead of time. Put each ingredient in separate bowls they can easily pour. I have them double check the measurements when they cook with me so we work on math with numbers. Also, they learn how to read a recipe with step 1, step 2, step 3 and following directions. As long as you prep before they come to help it keeps it fun instead of stressful.

Get Reading-

We start by sitting down and reading the book before we start cooking. This is nice to start with because they calm down before we head into the kitchen. Once we finish reading we head over to the kitchen and talk about how the book relates to what we are cooking. For example in our book “The Story of the Easter Bunny” he makes baskets for all the kids and fills them with candy eggs. We talk about how we are doing the same thing as him. This helps the kids work through critical thinking and correlating. Who know cooking could be so educational!

Get Cooking- Books and Cooks with Kids Style

This recipe can be done on the stove or in the microwave. We do it in the microwave since the stove might be a little too dangerous for kids. My daughter (3) pours the ingredients in and my son (5) does the stirring. Teamwork! Once everything is stirred together you can make your baskets. The kids grab a handful of the mixture and push them into the muffin cups and top with M&M eggs. They work on their identifying colors and adding 2 eggs per basket. Once all the hard work is done you get to enjoy your sweet treat! Click here to get the recipe.

More Fun Cooking with Kids Recipes

Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

Say Fore for fun! All you need to make this DIY mini golf course is leftover boxes. Do you have some Amazon boxes or any size boxes laying around? Build Your Own Mini Golf Course! Take those boxes and transform them into your very own putt putt course in the backyard or even indoors! This activity has multiple steps so it a great project for when you have a lot of time at home. You can even count this as an educational activity since it works on motor skills and math too!

Skills Used to Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

Cutting and painting helps with hand eye coordination
Working on math with numbers
Following steps

Have Kids Help- Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

As you can see, I really let my kids decorate and build them so they are not the cutest. As a result of building them, they love playing with them even more. Putt Putt golf is fun to play as a family and we played it as a family after dinner! If you don’t have golf clubs you can even just do it with your hands, imagine skee-ball style which is how my daughter (3) likes to do it. Hope this free kids activity helps you up-cycle some boxes and have an interactive activity as a family!

What You Need

Boxes
Scissors
Paint or Markers
Lots of Creativity

Instructions to Make Your DIY Mini Golf Course

Step 1- Collect all the boxes you can. The more boxes the “holes” you will have for the golf course. (We only had 4 so that’s what we used).

Step 2- Cut out a hole in the front and the back of the box. You may have to help with this section since cardboard can be hard to cut. Make the holes larger than you think. We had to make our much larger once we played.

Step 3- Paint and decorate boxes. This part can be as simple or elaborate as you want. You can add flags, tape construction paper or even make a windmill! Need Paint? Make sure to use washable paint with your kids. We always use Crayola Washable Paint.

Step 4- Make numbers for each box and tape them on the box. This is another great way you will be incorporating learning into this fun activity. The kids will work on how many numbers there are and putting them in order.

Step 5- Step up each hole in numerical order. Play golf in backyard or in your house. You can make it as easy or difficult as you want. My son wanted to add the slide into our last hole to make it harder.

Repeat Step 5 all day long!

More Fun Kids Activites

Try these 35 At Home Kids Activities

Get Cooking with the kids with these easy No Bake Oatmeal Energy Bars.

At Home Activities for Kids

These boredom busters are perfect to break out when you hear those two words…”I’m bored”. Looking to fill your daily schedule during the school closure and need some new ideas of to create the best “camp at home”!

These 35 At Home Activities for Kids is a great please to find fun new things to do. Try one or all of them when you are stuck at home and can’t go anywhere! Comment any ones that you guys do at home since I am always looking for fun new ones too!

Arts and Crafts

Painting Shapes– Take a giant piece of kraft paper and draw shapes all over it (square, circle, heart etc..). Tape on wall and let the kids paint. This idea is from Busy Toddler and if you want endless amazing kids activities I recommend heading over to her site immediately.
Painting Rocks- Easy as it sounds. Get rocks from outside and paint them!
Fuse/Melt Beads– These are my son’s (age 5) favorite thing. It is the only thing he will do for up to an hour. You take tiny beads and make them into and pattern. Once the pattern is finished you iron them and the beads melt together.

Legos/duplos– Make a city! Here are more great ideas…https://www.mykidstime.com/entertainment/download-free-30-day-lego-challenge-creative-fun/

Make a Racetrack for cars with painters tape on the ground. Have the kids help make it and they will love to race on it all day.
Build with Play-Doh– Play-Doh Kids can work for hours of fun.

Kinetic Sand– Get seashells or animals and hid them in the sand. Have kids find them all.

Coloring pages- Print out all your Disney favorites or even color online. Here is a link to their free coloring website!
Board Games– Count your Chicken, Candlyland, Zingo and Headbandz are the ones that work for my family, ages 3 and 5. Here’s a link to all my favorite ones!

At Home Activities for Kids — Painting shapes and Board Games

Science

Science Experiments- All you need is vinegar, baking soda and dish soap! Food coloring makes it even better. Add them to each other and VOLCANO. We purchased this science experiment kit and use it a ton.

Here are some other easy ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McVpXiSttnU
Make Ice Cream in a bag with only a few ingredients.

Get Moving with these At-Home Activities for Kids

Build an obstacle course- This can be as easy without any ropes or ladders. I usually put pillows on the ground to jump on and chairs to climb under and over.
Pillow Fight- Break out the pillows and start throwing.
Blow up balloons- This one amazes me every time. If I blow up two balloons the kids will play with them and make up games. My go to is don’t let the balloon touch the ground. Here are some easy games if you want ideas. –https://www.brisbanekids.com.au/10-best-balloon-games-kids/
Timed races- My kids will run for a half hour as long as I’m timing them. I pick different places they need to run to and time them.

Dancing and YouTube

Freeze Dance- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcZWXvgMZE
I am A Robot- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbL61Ex3avM
Milkshake Waffles- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNL6RwymoNg
Make a band by getting all your musical instruments out and create a song!

Classic Games

Red Light/Green Light- Kids start and one end and you say green light they run, yellow light go slow and red light stop.
What Time is it Mr Fox- https://www.kidmintools.com/2012/11/14/childrens-game-what-time-is-it-mr-fox/
I Spy- Someone picks something they see and says what color it is. Everyone guesses what the object is. Whoever wins get to be the “spyer”
Play “Simon Says” or “Follow the Leader.”
Grab a deck of cards and teach your kids the simple joy of Slapjack.
Easter Egg Hunt- This works anytime of year! Break out the eggs and get hiding.
Puppet Show- Socks or paper bags work great if you don’t have puppets.

Outside Games At-Home Activities for Kids

Scavenger Hunt- Click here for an easy scavenger hunt to get the kids outside. These are all pictures so no adults needed if your child can’t read yet. After they find everything mine usually stay outside playing with all their treasures!
Water Fight- Fill up a bucket or bowl with water. Give cups to everyone and run around.
Wash toys and trucks
Water table- Add food coloring and soap to the water table. Throw in cups, spoons and any other pourable items for open-ended fun.
Chalk Art- Break out the chalk and make a hopscotch pattern.

Other At-Home Activities for Kids

Build a fort- If we are going to do screen-time I always like to build a fort before to try and extend the activity a little longer.
Daytime bath- Break out the bathtub during the day and it becomes exciting instead of routine.
Clean the windows and dust- My kids love to do this. I let them spray while I wipe. Two birds, one stone!
Make a paper boat and see if it floats! Click here for instructions

Screentime

Break out the tablet- Click here for a list of free educational apps that your kids will love so much they won’t even know they are learning!
Cosmic Yoga is a way to get moving and calm your mind! They are for kids and have great themes like Frozen, Spiderman and Trolls themed yoga sessions!

Shamrock Hunt

Start a Shamrock Hunt in your neighborhood!

Create a festive shamrock. Here’s a link to a free printable! Use paint, sparkles, glitter, feathers, whatever—make it as pretty as you have the time and resources for (we’ve all got a lot more of the former now, right?).

Put your shamrock in your window, so it’s visible to passersby, on March 17.

Take your kids on a “Shamrock Hunt” through the neighborhood and see how many they can spot. Share photos of particularly fun ones on social media.

Clearly this takes a little coordinating in your neighborhood, so if the idea hasn’t already popped up on NextDoor or other community sites, post it ASAP. Then again, what else are you doing today? #StayHome

Best Free Online Kid Apps

Here’s a list of the Best Free Online Kid Apps to download today for your screen time! If you are home all day because school is canceled then get busy downloading. The great part is they are educational, free and fun. Plus, they have NO ads and tons of options to choose from! Independent play allows the kids to make their own choices on what they want to play and you don’t have to help them…Win-Win. The best free online kids apps will help you stay sane while we stay home. I use these options in my screen time for my daily schedule. Click Here for my daily schedule if you are looking to add a little structure to your day!

List of Best Free Online Kid Apps

Khan Academy Kids– This app is built with ages 2-7 in mind. There are hundreds of games, books and coloring pages to choose from! They focus on early literacy, math, emotional feelings and reading. If you have an older kid check out Khan Academy.

Duck Duck Moose Apps– More great apps from Khan Academy! Type Duck Duck Moose into your search in the App Store and ALL the options will pop up. They have so many different options depending on what your kids enjoys. Pick a few since they are FREE . My kids love Moose Math, Build A Truck, and Trucks! They have Princess Fairy Tale Maker and Fish School which are fun too. Actually every app they make is a hit. Here’s the link but it works best if you just go to your App Store and search.

PBS Kids Games– Educational content from all your favorite characters at PBS. Daniel Tiger is the favorite in our house but there are plenty to choose from. Content you can count on since PBS is making it! Link- https://pbskids.org/apps/

Scholastic Learn at Home– Scholastic is offering a free at home school with new curriculum everyday during the shut down. Pick your grade and go! Link- https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Here are some new options we have found!

Splash Learn– Easy for kids to follow along independently with fun games with either math or reading. My son (5) really enjoyed the new games. You pick your grade level and it offers different content for math and letters. They offer a daily lesson in math and reading for free! You can’t win the big prize at the end unless you subscribe. But I just made tickets to give him each time the purple screen pops up and told him that he won the lesson. After he gets 5 tickets he gets a prize!

Starfall– There is a free option that has some good learning activities. You can also pay to upgrade but we are using the free version. We do the alphabet lesson everyday!

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Everyone loves an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt! This one is the best because it gets the kids outside to play and is so easy they can do it on their own. I am always looking for free ways to play at home and my kids never get tired of finding treasure! I found that a lot of the scavenger hunts had items that we couldn’t find like acorns and pinecones, which aren’t easy to find in Phoenix! I decided that I needed a super basic outdoor scavenger hunt. I pull this out whenever I want to take an outside break. Once the kids get outside and start hunting they usually end playing with things they find or just exploring.

I created one for my toddlers with pictures. This way they can do it on their own, since they can’t read yet. This is the best because they feel independent and proud of themselves as they mark the items off on the Outdoor Scavenger Hunt list. The bonus is that I can usually do a quick chore like empty the dishwasher while they are on their outdoor scavenger hunt. I made all the items super easy and I pick out a treasure to hid before we start! Happy Hunting!

Outdoor-Scavenger-Hunt Download

Free Admission to Phoenix Museums and Attractions

This is a hidden gem of the Scottsdale and Phoenix Library. If you have a library card you can get admission for two people to museums and activities. I use the Culture Pass instead of having memberships to these places. This makes my kids love them too because they think they are a “special treat”. Check out the links for the Desert Botanical Gardens and Arizona Science Center if you haven’t been to either for my go to guide.

Check here for more info on the Culture Pass and the whole list of places that participate. Passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis so I always go to the smaller library locations.

Children’s Museum of Phoenix

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is one of the best places for kids young and old. There are three floors of interactive, hands on exhibits! You could spend an entire day on just the third floor but I’m going to break it down by each floor. Each area does have a dedicated baby zone with age appropriate toys and activities so this is perfect if you have different aged kids to keep everyone happy!

Don’t forget every First Friday of the Month– Free Admission from 5-8pm

There is usually a special exhibit that is free with admission. They have done foam fun the past two summers. They turn the entire outside into a giant foam party and then sock skating during the winter. In addition, they offer so many free classes to do with your baby and toddler. Make sure and check their museum calendar HERE a few days before and sign up for all these free extras.

First floor

Giant Treehouse – As you walk in your eyes will be drawn up to the giant climbing structure built with kids imagination in mind with a car and house they can climb into. It’s the ultimate climbing structure. Parents can climb to with little ones but it does get a little tight so be ready. It only has one exit and entrance so you can feel confident sending your kids in without you and knowing they can’t go far.
Whoosh Area- Push scarves into plastic tubes and wiggle through see-through tubes and then they shoot through the sky!
Building Area- This area changes periodically but it usually has wooden blocks, foam blocks or fort building.
The first floor also has lockers to store your stuff and a gift shop. We usually spend at least 15-30 minutes playing in the gift shop as we leave and make a list of things we want from Santa.

Second Floor- Children’s Museum of Phoenix

KIDtchen– This state of the art kitchen has kid themed cooking classes everyday. There are free classes but most of the time they do cost extra. However you always walk away with a yummy homemade treat!
Fort building-This room is filled with sheets and objects to make forts or whatever you imagine. There is also a mailbox area which the younger ones love delivering the mail for quite awhile.
Pedal Power/Car wash-Grab a bike, time or push car and take your ride through the pretend car wash
Face painting- Stop at the mirrors just south of the stairs and your kids or you can “paint“ their face with washable oil crayons.
Cafe– You can bring your own food or buy some delicious food from their cafe with sandwiches, pizzas, hot dogs and even a cheese plate!

Outside-

This sprawling outside is a hidden spot that I am always surprised to find people who have been many times never visit.

Garden– Stroll through the garden and look at all the veggies growing and you can even try a bit if you dare. Do be carful though my son did take a bit of a jalapeño one time!
Sand area– Play in the sand with kitchen tools and bowls.
Snake– Crawl through a giant metal snake. (As you can imagine during the summer this is too hot to play in)
Outside Seating for Picnics

Third floor-Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Noodle forest– Walk through this “forest” filled with foam noodles. This is always the the first request to go to with my kids. It’s a fun sensory activity and for reasons unknown to me kids love it.
Theatre- Put on your own play with costumes and instruments on their stage!
Ball room– As you can guess from the name this room has different ball runs to launch balls through and makes fun sounds while they go.
The Market– Go grocery shopping with little carts and baskets, check out and even stock the shelves.

Art Studio– paint the giant castle, make a thing-a-magig (random stuff you tape together) or do their monthly themed activity.

Car area– race model cars down two tracks or have a pretend race in the toothpaste and prickle themed cars.
Reading nook– kick your feet up and read a book
Cafe/pizza kitchen– make your own pizza in the pizza oven or cook up something on the stovetop with lots of “ingredients”.

Three and Under- Baby Room

This is a dedicated room for just kids Three and under. There is a baby zone with has age appropriate toys and plenty of soft areas to crawl.

There is a fun “tree house” with a bridge and slide. It has plenty of areas that help work with hand eye coordination.

There is a play house with a kitchen, garden and baby bedroom.

If you have older kids there is also a special “3 and Over” area which is filled with older toys to entertain them while the littles play.

We have a membership since we usually go once a week since they have so many different events, activities and is just overall fun every time we go. Hope to see you there!

Admission and Hours

215 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034 Free Parking on-site

Admission-$14.95 (Children under 1 Free)

Open Tuesday-Sunday 9am- 4pm Closed Monday (open on lots of holiday Mondays so check the website)

Looking for more fun Phoenix Activities for Kids?

McCormick and Stillman Railroad Park

This sprawling park has two playgrounds, a train, carousel, train museum and an indoor miniature train exhibit. Lots of the park areas are free and you can easily skip riding the train and carousel if you don’t want to spend money! It even has a real pay phone which my kid’s love calling me on.

Train-themed playground-Free

Come play with three climbing structures, sand to dig in and misters to run in when it’s hot. I love this playground because it’s safe for little kids since it is mostly enclosed except for the slides and rock wall so they can climb and explore. For the littlest conductors, there is a miniature train play structure they can crawl and slide on. There is also a train cafe where you can buy food during certain times of year.

Western Town-Free

Across the train tracks there is a two story Western-themed playground. Kids can go back in time with a pretend jail, gold mine, and even a fun wagon that you climb in.

Model Railroad Building- Free

This air-conditioned gem is more fun than it sounds! The building is filled with mini trains that are activated by a hand button. The first area is made for kids with trains pulling animated characters like Mickey through a fair, . There is even a miniature LEGO land. They change the theme based on the time of year which is also fun. Your kids will love watching their hand make their train go and ride through all the different scenes.

Train Ride- $3 per person

This 7 minute train is a blast to ride and goes across the entire park. You ride by all the playgrounds and kids love to run and wave to the train as it passes. The end is a dark tunnel you ride through which is always the highlight of the ride!

Carousel-$3 per person

Hop on and ride your horse to Disney-themed music!

Train Museum-$2 per person

These are real trains that you can walk through! One of the trains is best known for being used by every president from Herbert Hoover through Dwight Eisenhower. It is staged showing how the train was setup for the presidents with their dining room complete with china, sitting room and even the servant quarters.

Admission and Hours

Click here for their hours since they change seasonally.

$3 per person to ride train and carousel, 2 and under free

Address: 7301 E Indian Bend Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85250
Phone: 480-312-2312
Email: therailroadpark@scottsdaleaz.gov

Desert Botanical Gardens

As you walk into the Desert Botanical Gardens you are transported into a desert oasis. With over 50,000 desert plants that you will see this is a perfect place to show your kids the native plants that Arizona has to offer. They will love to walk the trails and check out cactus, plants and even a butterfly wonderland. They just recently opened up a Kid’s Clubhouse so the kids have a designated play area. We love coming here and enjoying the outdoors. There are several trails to walk with the kids but we usually stick to two, Wildflower and Native Plants and People.

Tips and Tricks

Don’t Forget to Visit your local Phoenix and Scottsdale Library for two FREE passes to the Botanical Gardens, click here for details!
Plus the second Tuesday of every month the Phoenix Botanical Garden is FREE ALL DAY. It gets super busy so make sure to go early.
Bring a stroller if you have kids under 5. There is a lot of walking!

Native Plants and People Trail

Stroll back through time and find all the ways that the local Native Americans, Tohono O’odham and Western Apache, used desert plants. This trail showcases several huts and building that are a favorite to play in with my kids. There are several interactive areas where you can grind your own mesquite seeds or attempt to pick cactus fruit. There are usual some Arizona wildlife on this trail too like squirrels and bunnies!

Wildflower Trail

This blooming loop is filled with wildflower and cactus. It is a shorter trail which is perfect to do with younger kids. There are tons of colorful flowers and cactus to look at and smell.

Butterfly Pavillion

The Butterfly Pavilion is on this trail also! It’s open from March to early May and is included in your admission. This incredible enclosed garden is home to 5,000 butterflies. They are flying and landing all around you and it is breathtaking to watch. Learn about their lifecycle and how the Desert Botanical Gardens works to help keep these beautiful creatures safe in the caterpillar nursery. This is a must if you are visiting the botanical gardens in Spring.

Other Trail and Exhibits

SONORAN DESERT NATURE LOOP TRAIL- Hike to the top of this trail for a excellent view of the Desert Botanical Gardens and surrounding area.
CENTER FOR DESERT LIVING TRAIL- Learn how to incorporate eco-friendly and sustainable ways to your own garden as you walk through this trail.
DESERT DISCOVERY LOOP TRAIL- Check out fun cacti and succulents in unique planting patterns.
There are rotating exhibits that change periodically. We just saw the “Wild Rising” which showcased animal sculptures created from recycled plastic. It’s always fun to see what new things they bring to add to your experience. Check their website before you visit to see why they have happening!

Admission and Info

General Admission | $24.95 – $29.95
Youth 3 – 17 | $12.95 – $14.95
Children under 3 | Free
Active Military Personnel – FREE (with valid government ID for General Admission only)
Address | 1201 N. GALVIN PARKWAY PHOENIX, AZ 85008

Kids Activites

On to the Toys…

Reusable Stickers– Top Pick Travel Toys for Toddlers

My Busy Book– Top Travel Toy for Toddlers

Check Out My Favorite FREE Educations Apps for your tablet!

Homemade Treat Time

What You Need for No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Recipe

Directions

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No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

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Pick a Theme for Your Books and Cooks with Kids

Prepare

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Have Kids Help- Build Your Own Mini Golf Course

What You Need

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Arts and Crafts

Science

Get Moving with these At-Home Activities for Kids

Dancing and YouTube

Classic Games

Outside Games At-Home Activities for Kids

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Screentime

List of Best Free Online Kid Apps

Here are some new options we have found!

First floor

Second Floor- Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Outside-

Third floor-Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Three and Under- Baby Room

Admission and Hours

Looking for more fun Phoenix Activities for Kids?

Train-themed playground-Free

Western Town-Free

Model Railroad Building- Free

Train Ride- $3 per person

Carousel-$3 per person

Train Museum-$2 per person

Admission and Hours

Tips and Tricks

Native Plants and People Trail

Wildflower Trail

Butterfly Pavillion

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