Top 20 Places to Take Kids in the Ann Arbor - Detroit Area - 2021
Top 20 Places to take children in the Ann Arbor - Detroit Area - 2021 survey results
The Metro Detroit / Ann Arbor area is rich in fun events and exciting places. It was hard for our readers to select their favorites from the hundreds of choices! The venues listed below are wildly popular with kids and families in Metro Detroit. After you check out the list, make sure to find great things to do on our packed daily calendar, sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter, and visit our Everything That's Free page for lots more ideas. We have birthday party venues, indoor play centers, classes, summer camps, resources for special needs, seasonal lists, and lots more!
1. Motor City Youth Theatre
At Motor City Youth Theatre our goal is to enrich the lives of youth and facilitate their development of life skills such as problem solving, decision-making and team work through theatre arts. Our programs emphasize team work, respect for differences, and a love for theatre.
2. Tree Runner Adventure Park
TreeRunner West Bloomfield Adventure Park is a premier aerial adventure park located 30 minutes from Ann Arbor. With over 250 exciting obstacles, 40 zip lines, 6 difficulty levels, and 16 different courses, there is plenty to explore! TreeRunner is designed for all ability levels and ages 6+. Experience our unique courses on your own, or with friends and family! We are the perfect outdoor adventure for Birthday Parties (goodie bags included!), Team Building, Scout Outings, Summer Camp visits, Athletic Teams, and Special Events.
3. Heritage Park: Farmington Hills
Heritage Park is the perfect spot to Play, Explore, and Learn! This 211-acre park includes 4.5 miles of trails for hiking and nature study. Other amenities include picnic shelters, a youth playground, sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and in-ground grills. Also located in Heritage Park are the Visitor Center, Day Camp and Nature Center, Stables Art Studio, Amphitheatre, History Center, Splash Pad, and Riley Archery Range. For rental and year-round program information, call (248) 473-1800.
4. Detroit Zoo
The Detroit Zoo is home to more than 1,800 animals and has 125 acres of expansive, naturalistic habitats designed to meet the animals’ needs. Kids’ favorites include seeing polar bears and sea otters in the Arctic Ring of Life, five different species of penguins waddle and swim in the Polk Penguin Conservation Center and kangaroos or wallabies face-to-face on a winding path through the Australian Outback Adventure. No Zoo trip is complete without a ride on the carousel!
5. My Local Library
Of course, the libraries in the Ann Arbor area are not really ONE place, but MANY places... but it's important to emphasize how valuable libraries are for family learning and fun. The libraries in our area are wonderful about posting their events to the KidsOutAndAbout calendar so you always can get ideas for free things to do with your kids that celebrate education and imagination. KidsOutAndAbout.com takes this opportunity to salute the wonderful children's librarians who serve our community with such dedication. They're proud that locals voted them to the list of the best places to take kids this year!
6. The Henry Ford - America's Greatest History Attraction
Five distinct attractions at The Henry Ford captivate and inspire more than 1.5 million visitors annually: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, The Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford Giant Screen Experience.
7. Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
Offering more than 250 interactive exhibits, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum attracts over 280,000 visitors of all ages annually who discover the wonder of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In addition to exhibits and public programming, the Museum offers award-winning distance learning and outreach programming to schools, libraries, and community centers statewide and around the world.
8. Professional Youth Theater of Michigan
Professional Youth Theatre of Michigan was cofounded by Megan Wright and Drue Gray to provide high quality educational theatre for young artists, in Southeast Michigan.
9. Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League Central division.
10. Farmington Hills Nature Center
Located in Heritage Park, this 2,325 square foot nature facility offers interpretive exhibits, including a life-sized tree and animal home exhibit, a bird viewing area, native fish aquariums, a library and a hands-on learning station for kids.
11. The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium
The Toledo Zoo© is more than just a great value. With a world of animals, from mammoth elephants to tiny toads, it's a trip around the world - from the Arctic to Africa - all in one great day!
12. Maybury Farm
Maybury Farm's mission is to educate children and families in our surrounding communities about the animals and agriculture that are essential to a traditional Michigan-based working farm, through hands-on experiences that are both engaging and educational. We work to create an awareness and appreciation of the animals and land that provide much of the food, fiber, and other resources that are utilized and consumed and expand knowledge and awareness of agriculture and its vast and vital role in our world.
13. Michigan Renaissance Festival
An annual weekend event that runs from the end of August through the last weekend of September with Renaissance entertainment from live mermaids, jousting, Celtic music, delicious food and handmade crafts.
14. Blake's Orchard & Cider Mill
PYO fruits and vegetables, stop into the Orchard Cafe', visit Barnyard Funland & visit the animal farm, take a pony ride, walk through Bunnyville, find your way through our Giant Cornfield Maze, or our Giant Straw Barn Maze.
15. Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad
Need a break from the rush of daily life? Go back to a time when things were a whole lot simpler. Welcome to Crossroads Village. It’s an authentic Great Lakes town from the turn of the last century, with over 34 historic structures and a thriving community to welcome you. Ride the Huckleberry Railroad, catch a show at the Colwell Opera House or learn about a trade from one of our tradespeople. It’s a place out of history where you can make a little history of your own. And it’s just around the corner. At your Genesee County Parks.
The Huckleberry Railroad features the newly rebuilt diesel, Engine #12, pulling the train on Thursdays and Fridays. Engine #152 our coal-fired locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, will pull the train on Saturdays and Sundays. The narrow-gauge railroad’s collection of cars includes 11 original and replica wooden coaches plus a classic red wooden caboose.
16. Defy Detroit
DEFY is an attitude and a rallying cry promoting individualism and freedom from the norm. It’s a collection of extreme air sport parks across America that are rewriting the rules of sport — giving our communities a place where they’re free to express and push themselves.
Society has tons of expectations and rules, but DEFY gives everyone a safe place to defy those constraints. We’re for fiercely independent, fearless individuals who pass on organized sports in favor of nonconforming ones that challenge them in non-traditional ways.
17. Detroit Institute Of Art
An art museum in Detroit with free admission to residents who live in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. The museum houses a collection of over 60,000 works of art and offers a number of programs for families including classes and Family Sundays.
18. Farmington Civic Theater
With its iconic neon sign and the warm glow of the canopy lights, the Farmington Civic Theater is the spot to experience the nostalgia of an old-time movie theater paired with vibrant digital projection, dynamic Dolby Surround 7.1 and modern, comfortable seating. The best of both worlds!
The Farmington Civic Theater shows recent movies at budget-friendly prices and is known as a fun, social entertainment venue. We also have special events from time to time including the annual Miss Farmington pageant, Christmas movies benefitting the Farmington Area Goodfellows, concerts, musicals, comedy acts and weddings.
19. Leslie Science and Nature Center
Leslie Science & Nature Center creates moments of discovery that inspire curiosity, exploration and respect for STEM and the natural world. We envision a world where curiosity today leads to more purposeful lives tomorrow. We offer summer and break camps, birthday parties, school, scout, community programs and events throughout the year on site in Ann Arbor and across Southeastern Michigan.
20. Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit empowers young people to maximize their potential through professional performing arts training and the creation of theatrical and musical art that engages, transforms, and inspires.
Mosaic's all teen performances have toured to Africa, Asia, Europe and 25 states and provinces through the U.S. and Canada. Through transformative artistic experiences in music, theater and technical theater Mosaic promotes scholarship and global citizenship by providing a vehicle for youth to apply the skills they learn through mastery in the arts to academic and real-world experiences.
Winners in Special Categories
In the second part of our survey, we asked readers to select their favorites in three categories. Here were their choices.Top Arts Educator
Motor City Youth TheatreAt Motor City Youth Theatre our goal is to enrich the lives of youth and facilitate their development of life skills such as problem solving, decision-making and team work through theatre arts. Our programs emphasize team work, respect for differences, and a love for theatre.
Top Sports Educator
Ann Arbor Hands-On MuseumOffering more than 250 interactive exhibits, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum attracts over 280,000 visitors of all ages annually who discover the wonder of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In addition to exhibits and public programming, the Museum offers award-winning distance learning and outreach programming to schools, libraries, and community centers statewide and around the world.
Top STEM Educator
Michigan Science CenterWith over 220 interactive exhibits, live stage shows, films, lab activities, virtual programs and more, the MiSci experience is designed with you in mind. We’re the place to turn whether you’re seeking a safe and memorable adventure with the ones you love or simply a new perspective on the wonders of our world. We are an accessible community institution and a reliable source for scientific knowledge and education. Whatever you’re seeking, find it at the Michigan Science Center.
