Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around Pittsburgh - 2021
2021's Best Places for Kids in the Pittsburgh area!
The best places to take kids in and around Pittsburgh, based on KidsOutAndAbout's annual reader survey. But there is LOTS more to do in and around Pittsburgh! Get great ideas here at KidsOutAndAbout.com! What is listed below are just the starting point: Browse through our site and calendar to find lots more, sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter, and be sure to visit our Everything That's Free page.
1. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium strives to foster positive, lifelong connections between animals and people. Whether through our exhibits, educational programs, or our many conservation projects, our goal is to make certain the Earth remains a suitable home for all life by our discovery of the interconnectedness of the natural world.
2. Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is a place that delights and inspires children, where they can take off on fantastic flights of imagination daily, and return to earth to splash in a river, hammer a nail and design a puppet. From toddlers to teens, the Children's Museum offers innovative experiences for all families and children. Purchase tickets and learn more at https://pittsburghkids.org/
3. Idlewild & SoakZone
With something for everyone, Idlewild & SoakZone is rated the Best Kids Park in the World by Amusement Today magazine, and rated Best Park for Families by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. With two parks in one, this is what family fun is all about!
4. Kennywood Amusement Park
Kennywood is America's Finest Traditional Amusement Park! Located just outside Pittsburgh, PA, Kennywood offers a unique mix of classic rides and modern thrills, including six roller coasters, a 14-ride Kiddieland, and several attractions that cannot be found anywhere else.
5. My Local Library
Of course, the libraries in the Pittsburgh 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. Carnegie Museum of Natural History
To use our collections and scientific expertise to create knowledge that inspires an understanding of natural heritage, communicate the unity and interdependence of humanity and nature, and advocate for the protection of the earth and its inhabitants, while encouraging participation in the natural sciences.
7. Fern Hollow Nature Center
The Fern Hollow Nature Center is a place where individuals, groups and families can come to enjoy the outdoors. It is also the gateway to the area park system. Educational programs are both organized and spontaneous and are aimed at helping children and adults understand and appreciate the environment.
The Nature Center welcomes the public and is an accessible facility. There is an indoor assembly area which will accommodate 40 people, a catering kitchen and two restrooms. Immediately adjacent to the Center is a small parking area. Outdoors, there is a plateau – an ideal place for camping, football, kite flying or star gazing. There is a sloping field with paths for walking, sledding, bird watching and observing insects. Within a short distance, is the vast Sewickley Heights Borough Park and various creeks, such as Fern Hollow and Little Sewickley Creek.
8. National Aviary
The National Aviary is America’s premier bird zoo. Located on Pittsburgh’s historic North Side, the National Aviary’s diverse collection comprises more than 500 birds of 150 different species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild. The National Aviary’s large walk-through exhibits create an experience unlike any other – an intimate interaction between visitors and free-flying birds, including opportunities to handfeed and meet many species rarely found in zoos anywhere else in the world.
9. Pittsburgh Botanic Garden
Pittsburgh Botanic Garden inspires people to value plants, garden design and the natural world by cultivating plant collections of the Allegheny Plateau and temperate regions, creating display gardens and conserving the environment. Adults and children of all ages can enjoy educational programs and activities while beginning the process of fostering appreciation for the outdoors. The Garden connects people to Pittsburgh’s history and the beauty of Western Pennsylvania in the hopes of creating a more eco-friendly world. With 460 acres, it’s just beginning to blossom.
10. Heinz History Center
An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania. The 275,000 sq. ft. museum features six floors of long-term and changing exhibit space, including the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.
11. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Explore the beauty and wonders of nature at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Encompassing 15 acres including a historic 14-room glasshouse and 23 distinct indoor and outdoor gardens, Phipps features stunning seasonal flower shows, exclusive art exhibits, renowned orchid and bonsai collections, a delightful butterfly house, immersive Tropical Forest and some of the greenest buildings in the world. Located in Schenley Park just a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Learn more and plan your visit at phipps.conservatory.org.
12. Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
Take a ride into the past at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum! Imagine a Museum where visitors are actually encouraged to touch the exhibits and ride in them too! We are a lot more than a trolley ride; our museum guides will put the trolley in its historical context and explain what life was like 50-100 years ago. Try out our newest exhibit: The Trolley Operator Simulator!
The Museum was founded in 1953 and opened to the public in 1963. Its collection has grown to 50 historic trolleys including the original “Streetcar Named Desire” from New Orleans and a vintage 1911 open trolley from Rio de Janiero. Try our new Trolley Operator Simulator exhibit! The Museum is staffed mostly by enthusiastic volunteers who enjoy sharing their knowledge of days gone by when the streetcar took you everywhere!
Admission includes 4-mile scenic trolley rides, exhibits, guided tour, film, museum store and picnic area. Free parking. Great for families and young and old alike!
13. Conneaut Lake Park
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer amusement park, located in Conneaut Lake, PA. Featuring unique and historical rides, it has long served as a regional tourist attraction. It is particularly loved by coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak wooden roller coaster. Conneaut Lake is Pennsylvania's largest natural glacier lake and is a popular summer destination for recreational boaters due to there being no horsepower limit on the lake. Come and experience a park that is a real alternative to today's frenetic and agitated lifestyle.
14. DelGrosso's Amusement Park
DelGrosso's Park is the home to Family Fun and Famous Food. The ride park has over 30 rides and attractions and the Laguna Splash water park feature a lazy river, wave pool, 5 speed slides and two children's play areas.
15. Gemini Theater Company
The mission of Gemini Theater Company is to cultivate creativity, imagination and originality through the performing arts. We just celebrated 25 years of programming in the Pittsburgh area! Gemini Theater provides families with children and teens a variety of experiences to participate in shows and education programs, emphasizing an environment of inclusion, equity, respect, and IMAGINATION! From our interactive performances to our theater workshops and classes, there is something for almost ANY child or teen who has an interest in the theatre arts. Is everybody ready?
16. Little Lake Theatre Company
In the spring of 1949, Edith Disney and her son, Will, discovered an old barn on the side of a lake in Washington County. An amiable farmer named Mr. McDowell agreed to lease the barn on his working farm to the Disneys for use as a space to present live stage plays. The original stage, surrounded by wooden folding chairs, was located in the center of the barn floor, forming the area’s first theater-in-the-round.
17. Pittsburgh Musical Theater
Pittsburgh Musical Theater (PMT) is a non-profit arts education organization committed to youth development. We cultivate a diverse creative community and future leaders with transferable life skills through a uniquely-designed convergence of training, mentorships, and professional performances. In a nurturing environment that promotes wellness, safety, and freedom of expression, our integrated opportunities for young artists and local professionals create quality productions for all audiences, foster a community of belonging, and enhance the vibrancy of our region.
18. Sandcastle Water Park
Sandcastle is Pittsburgh's favorite destination for refreshing water fun! Open since 1989, this park spans 60-acres and offers over a dozen different water slides with varying speeds and angles of descent for thrill seekers of all levels. If you prefer to stay dry, take a leisurely stroll on the Boardwalk where you can enjoy your summer food favorites.
19. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania connects the people of southwestern Pennsylvania to birds and nature through our programs, projects, and places.
We have four public properties: Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve (Fox Chapel), Succop Nature Park (Butler) Buffalo Creek Nature Park (Sarver), and Todd Nature Reserve (Sarver). We offer programs for people of all ages and encourage our visitors to connect with nature in a way that will motivate them to become active and engaged in our natural world.
20. YMCA
The Greater Pittsburgh community will be vibrant and inclusive, providing hope, access and belonging where all are prepared to succeed and to live and lead with a sense of purpose.
More than 150 years of innovating programs and delivering transformative responses to urgent social challenges has produced and reinforced a set of basic beliefs about how and why our YMCA effects meaningful, enduring change. One Y for ALL is grounded in these beliefs.
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
Cynthia's School of Dance & MusicCynthia’s School of Dance & Music was founded in 1988. Our mission as dance and music educators is to build confidence in the lives of young children, teens and adults through Dance, Music, Fun and Laughter in a Positive Environment. We offer classes for ages 2 – Adult in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip-hop, Musical Theater, Piano and Voice. The Senate of PA recognized Cynthia’s at the 30th Anniversary celebration as an entity which, through adherence to the highest standards of service, contribute in a meaningful way toward a better and more productive society. Call for current schedule at 412-367-3330, www.cynthiasschoolofdance.com and visit us on FB.
Top Sports Educator
Soccer Shots - PittsburghSoccer Shots is the premier intro-to-soccer program for 2 to 8 year olds. Public & private (daycare, preschool, etc.) sessions available. Our caring team positively impacts children’s lives on and off the field through best-in- class coaching, communication and curriculum. Our coaches are the best-trained in the business. Our expert-approved curriculum is age-appropriate and aligns with childhood education standards.
Top STEM Educator
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG AquariumThe Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium strives to foster positive, lifelong connections between animals and people. Whether through our exhibits, educational programs, or our many conservation projects, our goal is to make certain the Earth remains a suitable home for all life by our discovery of the interconnectedness of the natural world.
