When you start noticing your baby’s rapidly growing curiosity in his or her surroundings, it may be time to pack up the diaper bag for a change of scenery. Visit these Dallas-area destinations for stimulating activities that are both adventurous—smelling fragrant flowers and petting animals on dry land and in the water—and and comfortable, where you’re never far from amenities. Consider these local venues for your next mommy’s day out with your baby or toddler.
Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden
No place will ignite your baby’s senses quite like the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden at Dallas Arboretum. Once inside, head first to the First Adventure gallery, located immediately to your left after the entry plaza. This walled garden introduces science concepts to its youngest visitors through play in natural settings: caterpillar maze, a sandbox, giant acorns and insects, mushroom seats and tables, a potting shed, a tree house, a babbling brook and a plant petting zoo.
Dallas, 214/515-6500
dallasarboretum.org
RELATED: A Guide to the Dallas Arboretum
Children’s Museum at the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
The Children’s Museum provides a multisensory experience for even the tiniest tots. Your baby will ogle at the live reptiles and amphibians, giggle at the water play stations and learn through exploration in the infant developmental space, all housed in a colorful, kid-pleasing environment. A family restroom and nursing room are provided for mommy’s convenience.
Fort Worth, 817/255-9300
fwmuseum.org
Moody Family Children’s Museum at Perot Museum
This area inside the Perot Museum of Nature and Science fills up quickly with rambunctious kids, but you can find respite with your little ones inside the Baby and Toddler Park, an enclosed, gazebo-style area with a mole hole to crawl through, knobs and levers to turn, and stories to read from the book bench. On your way out, show them the brightly colored giant leap frogs and the xylophones in the outdoor musical forest.
Dallas, 214/428-5555
perotmuseum.org
Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo at Dallas Zoo
Though babies cannot appreciate how rare and exotic the animals are inside the Dallas Zoo, petting, feeding and looking eye-level at wildlife will thrill their little hearts. For a full-on animal experience, prop your little one on your hip and feed leaves of romaine lettuce to giraffes with outstretched tongues, let them hold a cup of nectar or a birdseed stick to attract friendly birds, and pet the ponies, rabbits, African pygmy goats or baby doll sheep inside the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo.
Dallas, 469/554-7500
dallaszoo.com
Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park
The aquarium, originally opened in 1936 and remodeled again in 2021, brings youngsters up to eye level with the stingrays, sharks, turtles and more fish inside the tanks and interactive zones. Visit the coastal touch tank for your baby to touch horseshoe crabs, sea urchins or sea whelks with the help of a volunteer, or guide them in turning a knob to change the colors inside the glowing jellyfish tank.
Dallas, 469/554-7340
childrensaquarium.com
RELATED: A Guide to the Children’s Aquarium Dallas
Children’s Park at Klyde Warren Park
On Dallas’ so-called front lawn near the Dallas Arts District, Klyde Warren Park includes a special place for young children to roam – a 15,000-square-foot playground built with soft sidewalk material, mounds to climb and plentiful seating by the grass, real and Astroturf. The misting water from the caterpillar-inspired fountain comes in handy during the hottest days, and the spacious family restrooms with changing tables, outdoor sinks and long counters allow for an easy diaper change.
Dallas, 214/716-4500
klydewarrenpark.org
NorthPark Center
For moms on the go, you’ll get your time’s worth at NorthPark Center, the four-in-one stop for shopping at children’s boutiques and toddler story times at the Bookmarks library (on Tuesdays at 10:30am). Show them the ducks and turtles wadding in the shallow indoor pond at Neiman Marcus Court and visit the adjacent sloped planters, perfectly shaped for a short slide.
Dallas, 214/363-7441
northparkcenter.com
Texas Discovery Gardens
No matter the weather outside, you can see hundreds of exotic butterflies housed year-round at Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. Visit the indoor butterfly house, open 10am–5pm daily, for a guaranteed sighting. Come for the butterfly release each day at noon, bring a blanket for a peaceful picnic on the outdoor garden lawn and explore the rest of the 7.5-acre gardens.
Dallas, 214/428-7476
txdg.org
Prestonwood Baptist Church
A Promised Land-themed play place at Prestonwood Baptist Church’s Plano campus, one of the largest churches in the country, welcomes nonmembers and members alike to bring their preschoolers for playtime. You’ll find Noah’s Ark with a ladder, slide and crawlspace underneath as well as seating for adults on the log-, tree- and fishing pier-shaped benches. Come on Sunday–Friday mornings or all day Wednesday when the adjacent Main Street Café is open, and don’t miss the children’s bookstore and up-front parking for expectant mothers.
Plano, 972/820-5000
prestonwood.org
RELATED: Indoor Play Areas in Dallas-Fort Worth
Top image: iStock
