Home of the Dallas Cowboys and high-end retailer Neiman Marcus, the city of Dallas thrives on diversity. Although businesses, luxury hotels and shopping centers line the streets, Dallas also features the biggest urban arts district in the country. This sophisticated northern Texas city isn't for adults only, though. Dallas offers a variety of educational and entertaining places for kids as well.
Take your kids to see endangered tigers, rare okapi and giant anteaters at the Dallas Zoo. The 95-acre zoo opened in 1888; it houses thousands of animals, including penguins, mandrills, cheetahs, otters and kangaroos. The exhibits closely resemble the resident species' natural environments, such as desert, rainforest, woodland and the Australian outback.
The zoo provides educational opportunities as well. Your kids can study bugs at the Bug U exhibit or learn about conservation at the Gorilla Research Station. In the Children's Zoo, your kids can ride ponies, feed donkeys and birds, and crawl inside a burrow to visit a dwarf mongoose. The zoo is open daily.
Dallas Zoo
650 S. R. L. Thornton Fwy.
Dallas, TX 75203
(214) 670-5656
www.dallaszoo.com/
Watch a favorite children's book come to life on stage at the Dallas Children's Theater. The theater produces plays and musicals based on classic children's books, such as "Charlotte's Web", "The Velveteen Rabbit", and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Shows aimed at teenagers are also offered. The theater opened in 1984. It offers eleven shows each season and features local actors, playwrights and designers.
Dallas Children's Theater
Rosewood Center for Family Arts
5938 Skillman Rd.
Dallas, TX 75231
(214) 740-0051
www.dct.org
Your kids can crawl into a giant anthill. They can also practice being a firefighter at the Children's Museum. The museum offers several interactive exhibits that encourage kids to use their imaginations and make new discoveries. The exhibits provide kids up to age seven an opportunity to explore various careers, such as farming, construction and acting. Your kids can play with water, learn about different cultures and study minerals. They can play musical instruments.
Live snakes, turtles and lizards are also on display. Your kids can climb along a spider web or cling to walls. Babies and toddlers can have fun and develop their skills in their own play areas. The museum is open daily.
Children's Museum at the Museum of Nature and Science
3535 Grand Ave. and 1318 S. 2nd. Ave.
P. O. Box 151469
Dallas, TX 75315
(214) 428-5555
www.natureandscience.org/dcm
