Things to Do With Family & Kids in Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

• The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo began in 1882 as Wade Park with 73 acres of land and 14 deer. Today it houses 3,000 animals in 600 species, including the most extensive collection of primates in North America. Exhibits include African Savanna; Australian Adventure; Northern Trek; Waterfowl Lake; the Primate,Cat and Aquatics Building; and The Rainforest, which features 6,000 plants and 600 animals from Asia, Africa and the Americas.

  Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

  3900 Wildlife Way

  Cleveland, OH 44109

  216-661-6500

  clemetzoo.com

Children's Museum of Cleveland

• The Children's Museum of Cleveland has provided fun and educational experience for children and their families since 1981. The museum consists of a series of hands-on structured exhibits and free play areas where parents are encouraged to join in with their little ones. The Healthier Ever After exhibit, set in a fairy-tale forest, teaches children the importance of exercise and proper nutrition. The Splish! Splash! water exhibit features a two-story climbing structure and the Kaleidoscope Shop. In Bridges to Our Community, families can pretend to be bank tellers, play in a pretend hospital, drive a bus or shop in a store. Even the youngest can enjoy the museum, with the Big Red Barn designed to entertain children from birth to 4 years old.

  Children's Museum of Cleveland

  10730 Euclid Ave.

  Cleveland, OH 44106

  216-791-7114

  clevelandchildrensmuseum.org

Nautica Flats

• Cleveland's waterfront area, known as The Flats, is a center of entertainment for the entire family. It features a 5,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, restaurants, comedy clubs, cruises down the Cuyahoga River, volleyball courts, a boardwalk and watersports equipment rentals for fun on the river.

  Nautica Flats

  1231 Main Ave.

  Cleveland, OH 44113

  216-861-6315

  nauticaflats.com

Great Lakes Science Center

• The Great Lakes Science Center, one of the largest of its kind in the country, is located on Cleveland's riverfront. It boasts a giant-screen Omnimax Theater, over 400 exhibits, an on-site restaurant and a gift store. Most exhibits are hands-on, designed with big and little kids in mind. Experience photoluminescence in the Shadow Room, visit the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, learn about modern medicine at the Biomedical Technology Gallery or explore the 618-foot steamship William G. Mather. A few exhibits are designed exclusively for younger children, like the Polymer Funhouse for ages 7 and under, where kids bounce in the Center's ball pit or play on the paddlewheel steamship Polymer II.

  Great Lakes Science Center

  601 Erieside Ave.

  Cleveland, OH 44114

  216-694-2000

  greatscience.com