Top things to do in Oklahoma City with kids

Oklahoma City is the capital of the state of Oklahoma, and also the state’s largest city. It’s the perfect size city with so much to do, yet not so big that it’s difficult to get around. Oklahoma City with the kids is a fun getaway for the family. We have visited multiple times!

Here are our top things to do in Oklahoma City with kids!

My family recently visited Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on a hosted getaway in partnership with VisitOKC. As always all opinions are my own.

1. Wheeler Riverfront Plaza

Located in the Wheeler District, the Wheeler Riverfront Plaza is a picturesque location for a family outing. With food trucks, outdoor family games, hammocks, and of course the Wheeler Ferris Wheel, there is much family fun to go around.

Check the Wheeler District calendar for fun events. The day we visited there were Pop Up Shops with vendors selling all kinds of fun and unique items.

The Ferris Wheel is an exciting ride, maybe even a little scary for someone afraid of heights, but our family loved the thrill. The speed was faster than expected. If you love great views, there is a gorgeous view of Oklahoma City from the top! We all loved the ride and agree it’s no boring Ferris-wheel ride.

Come to the Wheeler Riverfront Plaza with plans to stay a while. The kids didn’t want to leave!

2. Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden expands over 119 acres and is home to more than 1,900 animals. Our animal loving family strolled through the zoo and was once again amazed at all of God’s creatures.

We saw okapi for the first time! Have you seen them? They look like a zebra mix, but are really the only relative of the giraffe!

We were given Zoo-It-All passes, and I highly recommend them. I always wonder if upgrades are really worth it. Don’t you? Here, paying a little extra for Zoo-It-All is definitely worth it. This pass includes admission, rides and experiences, all feedings, and all shows.

These experiences took us beyond just looking at and reading about the animals to interacting with them. We fed the giraffes and parakeets–my favorite, touched the stingrays, and enjoyed the Sea Lion Show. Unlimited rides on the Elephant Express Tram, Choo Choo Train, and Conservation Carousel are also great perks of these passes. We have enjoyed the animals and many zoos, but this experience tops our list! Zoo-It-All passes at the OKC Zoo are must when visiting Oklahoma City with kids!

3. Scissortail Park

Scissortail Park is 70-acres of FREE family fun. Featuring an array of experiences including gardens and woodlands, a 3.7 acre lake, a children’s playground and water fountains, a seasonal roller rink, a dog park, a picnic grove, a performance stage, and more. The park has something for everyone to enjoy.

When I travel, I always try to get in some hiking, so that we exercise enough to counter balance all the good food we eat. That’s why we parked on the other side of the Skydance Bridge (also called the Scissortail Bridge by some) and walked around the park.

It was a beautiful, sunny day! We stopped periodically, especially for my younger kids to run on the playground, zoom up and down hills, and pound on drums, but when we made it back to the fountains, we had to stop and play a while. Bring a change of clothes because kids cannot resist the fountains! Truth be told, I was DYING to get in them and run around myself.

My youngest raced and played until he was completely soaked and exhausted. It did my heart good to watch him live it up! You’ll want to spend some time at Scissortail Park on your next trip to Oklahoma City!

4. Plaza District and Plaza Walls

The Plaza District is a destination in Oklahoma City for arts and entertainment! On a previous trip, we had gone to Lyric’s A Christmas Carol down the street, and it was fantastic! This time we visited in the morning and discovered the beautiful wall art around the Plaza District. There are so many murals that we liked, but being partial to dragons, the one in the photograph above was our favorite.

When you visit, you don’t want to miss the Plaza Walls. We turned a corner and behind the buildings was a wall art walk that is incredible! My artistic kiddos would love to have a wall to create on. They found the difference in styles fascinating and left inspired.

5. Myriad Gardens

Myriad Botanical Gardens is a 15-acre botanical garden and interactive public park. The Garden is compiled of multiple tiers of lovely landscaped areas around a sunken lake.

The centerpiece of the Gardens is the Crystal Bridge Conservatory. It houses thousands of tropical and desert plants that are beautifully displayed. Inside this 13,000 square feet are 750 varieties of plants, a waterfall, and a sky bridge where you can see the gardens from above. There is even a parrot living in the Crystal Bridge who was very polite and greeted me with, “Hello!” Myriad Gardens is a beautiful place to explore!

6. Science Museum Oklahoma

Originally founded in 1958 Science Museum Oklahoma has greatly evolved and is now home to 350,000 square feet of hands-on science experiences, art, and history! I love how the kids were entertained and didn’t even realize they were learning with every new encounter.

My crew especially enjoyed playing with magnets, experimenting with shadows, learning to ride a Segway, and getting dizzy looking at the perception walls. I think we could spend a month here and still not get bored.

7. Factory Obscura

It’s fun to find roadside attractions when we travel. We didn’t have time on this trip to tour Factory Obscura, though it looks like a blast, but our kids loved stopping by. The boom box on the building is interactive. The tape buttons are push-able and booming music plays from the speakers. At night the boom box lights up and you can see a short show with each song. It’s a great little stop in Oklahoma City the kids will love!

8. National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is America’s leading center of Western history, art and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum collects, preserves, and showcases an internationally celebrated collection of Western art and artifacts.

My dad is a cowboy from Oklahoma, so this museum is near and dear to my heart. He has his own collection of cowboy artifacts, so I recognized many. Joy has spent the most time with my dad in the last few years, and I loved how she exclaimed, “There’s Festus!” as we entered a room full of cowboy show paraphernalia.

The younger kids especially enjoyed walking through the old cowboy town and imagining what it would have been like to live in that day. There is much to see and learn at the Cowboy Museum.

9. Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum

I remember where I was when I first heard about the Oklahoma City bombing. My college roommate and I were cleaning a house when we walked by the TV that the home owners had on. What we heard and saw was completely unbelievable!

The National Memorial is a beautiful place that remembers the lives of those killed.

The museum is very well done! Taking you through the day, it begins the morning of the bombing, and relates how it was just a regular day. Then you join a hearing in session where after listening for a few minutes, you hear the explosions interrupt the hearing. Next, you walk through the lives of survivors as they tell what they went through. It is harrowing and moving! It concludes with the events of the capture and justice of the perpetrators.

I learned so much along the journey. My children also appreciated their time spent here. My youngest is seven, and he walked around solemnly taking everything in. Every American should have this experience.

10 Bricktown Water Taxi

For the full Oklahoma City experience, don’t miss the Bricktown Water Taxi! We took an evening water taxi and had so much fun. The tour gave the history of the area and pointed out interesting sites and gorgeous sculptures along the way. The lights are beautiful! Our tour guide was funny and engaged the kids. We had a blast. It was the perfect finale to our amazing time in Oklahoma City!

Embassy Suites

Every wonderful family getaway includes a great place to stay. Accommodations are one of the first things I look at when I book a trip. Embassy Suites is one of our favorite places to stay on any vacation, and the Embassy Suites Downtown Medical Center was fantastic.

We loved the property, and they treated us incredibly well. We looked forward to their breakfast with made-to-order omelets and enjoyed catching snacks and drinks during the complimentary evening reception. Local area transportation was also offered most days, so there was no need to worry about parking downtown! Our stay at Embassy Suites was fabulous!

Traveling together as a family is one of my favorite ways to bond and make memories. Our time in Oklahoma City was fun filled and such a refreshing time together. I hope you are inspired to discover more of Oklahoma City with the kids! For more information and places to explore, check out the website: VisitOKC.