The best place to take your kids! My kids could spend hours…read moreon end here! There is so much to do and see. It's so nice to have an indoor hands on interactive learning place for the young ones! It's fun and pretty clean. We were so generously gifted a family membership for Christmas by our family friends and it was perfect! The STEAM hands on learning and activities really engages children of all ages. My 7 year old and 4 year old enjoy it here. My 6 month old will get into it soon enough. No food or drinks inside the museum. The water zone is nice that it has smocks and crocs for kids to wear and change into to avoid getting wet and slipping. There is also an outdoor playscape and water tables to get into. I am so grateful they have a comfort nursing room for moms to have a private blocked off area to feed babies! It's much appreciated

I just became an ASTC member, and the Thinkery is reciprocal. It's cheaper to buy your membership…read morethrough the Texas Science and Natural History Museum. They charge $120/year for 5 passes each visit. The Thinkery charges $160/year for 3 passes each visit. My toddler loves the bloom section. The bloom section is always clean and sanitized. None of the vending machines were working in the dining area. I could have sworn they used to have people selling food a decade ago. The Thinkery is great for Austin, but pales in comparison to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis which is five stories and 7.5 acres.

Love it here. It's my second time and I'll be coming here often. The food is AMAZING - best…read morebreakfast sandwich I've had in a long time. The kids have fun and have many options for entertainment. I bring my computer, ear, and watch my kids. Everyone is so nice here too.

UPDATE: my son got a fever after we visited. Hopefully they start to sanitize the toys. He has been…read moresick for 3 days and the last place he went before getting sick was this place. I had a fussy 10mo and needed something to do inside as it's very cold. We've never been to Almost Grown and it seemed like a good way for my kid to let off steam. This is a very cute cafe and ice cream shop with a play place in the back. It's a $10 admission per child, parents get in free. The admission here is $8 less than Pikopye's and you're able to just walk in. Love that. As some yelpers have mentioned, it is a bit chaotic as there are so many toys around. There are lots of tables to sit and eat at within the play area. There are different play areas such as a doctor's office set up complete with little scrubs, hats, and stethoscopes. There's a firefighting area with fire fighter gear. As well as a farmer's market area with tons of toy produce. All the toys from each play area are scattered amongst the entire play room. I'm kind of wondering how often they sanitize all the toys/costumes/tables etc. as there are a lot of kids with runny noses here. Overall it's a good place for kids to come and socialize/burn some energy.

Finally--a place where my kids and I can have a blast together!…read more There are a lot of classic carnival rides/attractions like bumper cars and hall of mirrors. At the same time, there were tons of new rides, too! We purchased the wrist bands--which is such a good deal! Truth be told, my kids went on all of the rides, that they could, at least two times! There was also a bungee, catapult jumper--which is a hoot! You have to try it! My little guy loved the games, along the midway--but I mean.... Who doesn't love those?! Can we talk about the food? If you have to eat one thing while you're there, do yourself a favor and order a bucket o'fries! This isn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill fries. They must be coated in fairy dust and deep fried in unicorn tears--they're that good! If you want to splurge, get the bucket o'cheesey fries--trust me, you won't be disappointed. "What if I get two things?" You say? Well, that's a no brainer--get the foot long corn dog--yummy! We've been to a couple of this family's carnivals. Their staff seems great and friendly! Many of them will strike up a conversation with my husband or I while waiting for our kids, outside of rides. Can't wait to try to catch up with this carnival in October, when we go to a family reunion in Louisiana!! Wait.... Am I a carnival groupie?!

This Carnival is so amazing and my kids are absolutely obsessed. Every year when it's in Round…read moreRock & Austin we go multiple times. The food is really great! The burgers, fries (oh my..I dream about the bucket o' fries), corn dogs and homemade lemonade seriously compete with independent food trucks in Austin. This is a local Austin family run business. We have come to know the owners as we go so often, thus when you visit The Mighty Thomas Carnival you are supporting a local business. The rides are fun and small enough that my 4 year old still has multiple ride options. I know that people sometimes are discouraged by the cost of going to a carnival. When you look around and see the cost of operating such a business, the cost of admission is totally appropriate. My kids love it the most and I do have this amazing nostalgic feeling walking around the midway, especially at night. It is such an enjoyable experience! Highly recommend this carnival, especially for families!

We stayed at Blue Hills Resort on a whim and had the best time. There were so many animals to…read moreinteract with and meet. Mostly they are nice but can be a bit food motivated and come right up to you expecting some snacks. The cabin we stayed in was just enough for our needs since it was just my husband and me. We did the guided safari and was amazed at the vastness of the area. Ryan our guide was amazing and so knowledgeable. We had a great time. Matt was extremely helpful. The entire staff is kind and willing to listen.

We had an amazing time at Blue Hills Ranch in Waco, TX- I highly recommend a trip out there to get…read morethe up-close and personal experience we enjoyed with all the amazing animals! Fantastic staff, happy animals, well-kept facilities...what an incredible day we had. It feels like a dream. Easy day trip outing with the family or as a date- book your animal experiences online like we did at https://www.bluehillsranch.com . The staff was flexible to shift timing of the experiences so we didn't have to wait long in between- they were extremely accommodating and we never felt rushed either. The otter swim/playtime experience was originally what drew us, and it was even better than I'd imagined. Worth every penny! Then we got to feed and pet the capybaras, which were way friendlier than I thought they would be! The babies enjoyed some extra belly rubs too. Bottle feeding the kangaroo was so fun too- little Dundee was SO soft and loved all the pets, even gave us kisses! The giraffes were super friendly and greeted us every time we were nearby; feeding and getting quality time with them was an extra treat. The safari ride tour was also amazing- 5 of us fit comfortably and got to feed/see lots of animals that we wouldn't normally get to experience. We were surprised at how this place wasn't crowded at all in the middle of July when it is peak vacation season, so it really felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. They also have a beautiful main lodge area that is comfortable and welcoming with additional animals to enjoy.

My son celebrated his birthday party yesterday and it was such a great experience. Most of our…read moreguest were toddlers and they loved it. This place is safe, clean and staff very helpful, thanks to Tanner, Quinton and Kate, you guys did a wonderful job! I am so glad we found this place and I highly recommended it..

We just had my kiddo's birthday party here and it was fantastic! We invited his entire class to…read morethis open invite party (so awesome that they offer this!) and to our surprise we had a great turnout. The staff were all super attentive and fun and helped facilitate everything so that the party ran super smoothly. I can't wait to go back this summer. So glad we have a place that 'gets' my child. Ya'll ROCK!

I didn't know what to expect from this place. Some science centers are kids-only affairs (despite…read morenot being billed as such) while others have more to offer visitors of all ages. Fortunately, the Austin Nature & Science Center ended up falling in the latter category. The main building houses an assortment of bones, shells, and rocks (as well as an axolotl tank) and another building is home to various reptiles. Outside areas include a dino pit (where kids can dig for fossils) and several animal enclosures. What makes the latter unique is that the animals are rehab/rescue cases. They include everything from a bobcat to a porcupine to a 34-year-old one-eyed owl (!!) and more. Granted, Austin Nature & Science Center does offer more for a younger crowd, and it isn't particularly easy to get to by bus, but it's hard to argue with a chance to take in flora and fauna for free.

Great FREE option in Austin for kids!…read more One of the best parts is you can see an axolotl (two, actually) in their visitor center building. Then you can head over to the birds of prey, the reptile/fish building, and the animal enclosures. There's also a little lake and a large sand pit (dino dig). There's a cool room in the visitor center that has all sorts of nature items (bones, dead bugs, shells, rocks, etc.). You can bring in your own stuff to trade! Is it a huge amount of things to do/see? No but for a free attraction, it's pretty great. Parking is across the street -- lot is shared with Zilker Park and all the nearby attractions so it can get busy.

Live this playground! There are separate slides for be the big and little kids with a few seats on…read morethe sides of the playscapes. You can also grab a bite from one of the many surrounding restaurants.

This place is great for kiddos! There is a play scape for bigger kids as well as some that are a…read morelittle bit younger. There's some cool musical instruments and fun hills to roll down. The best part is there are lots of kid friendly restaurants surrounding the landscape area. You can get a pizza, ice cream, or a burger and sit right there while the kids play. The area has some shade, but not fully shaded. Also, it is not fully fenced in so you do need to keep an eye on your Littles..

TLDR: Great park for all ages, with unique playscapes, climbing structures, and a splash pad…read more Limited parking in paid lot. Awesome park with a variety of playscapes. Large space -- spread out. You've got climbing structures, slides, tunnels, swings. What I really loved was how they incorporated the playscapes into the terrain (e.g. slides and tunnels were built into hills). I also appreciated that they had activities for various ages -- my 3.5-year-old daughter enjoyed the complex climbing structure while my 1.5-year-old son liked the simple tree stump climbing structure. Splash pad nearby and ample green space to run around. Downtown is nearby so you've got a beautiful view of the skyscrapers. You've also got some less pleasant aspects. When we were parking, there was a disheveled looking man being arrested. No idea how much of a disturbance he created but the cops were taking care of it. There's a paid parking lot that fills up quickly. Terry Black's BBQ is right across the street if you got a good parking spot and want to snag some meat as well (their line moves fast).

Alliance Children's Garden is a playground within the larger Butler Park in Austin. We chose to…read morecome here since its want right across the street from Terry Black's BBQ, where we planned to have lunch. The park has lots of playscapes and climbing structures, and you'll also get nice views of the tall buildings of downtown Austin. They do have an hourly pay-parking lot at the entrance, but it does fill up quickly. It's almost better to leave your car here and walk to Terry Black's. We only hung out at the hills and tunnels section of the park, which our 4yo son loved. They have several hills covered with artificial turf of varying heights that are fun to crawl, climb, or roll down. The tunnels through each hill will make you feel like a Hobbit in those LOTR movies.