Detroit is the perfect Midwest destination if you’re looking for educational (but still fun!) activities for the kids in your life. Consider planning a trip to Detroit if:
- You want a family-friendly road trip destination in the Midwest, that will keep your kids entertained but also using their growing brains.
- You’re a teacher, educator, or parent looking for interactive field trip ideas for this school year.
- You’re a Detroiter brainstorming hands-on, educational staycation ideas that will keep the whole family engaged (and off screens!).
Here are 19 activities you can add to any kid-friendly learning getaway in Detroit.
1. The Henry Ford
Your kids will certainly not get bored at The Henry Ford, which is a 250-acre collection of three attractions – perfect for a day out or a field trip.
Start your day at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, where you’ll learn about inventors, scientists, and activists that changed our country’s history. Kids can step in the actual bus where Rosa Parks made her stand, try out airplane simulations, explore a circular house, and more.
2. Greenfield Village
Your whole family will have so much fun at Greenfield Village that you won’t even realize you’re learning along the way. This 80-acre historical village is part of The Henry Ford complex, and is one of the most memorable experiences in Detroit.
Here, children can ride in a real Model T vehicle, visit farm animals, watch 1867-style baseball, and truly immerse themselves in history.
3. Detroit Historical Museum
For another chance to bring history to life, take your kids (or students) to the Detroit Historical Museum. This museum is packed with interactive exhibits that will keep kids engaged. Kids will especially love the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit, which is a life-sized recreation of a Detroit street from the 1800s and early 1900s.
4. Coreander’s Children’s Bookshoppe
Be sure to pay a visit to Coreander’s Children’s Bookshoppe, in Grosse Pointe, if you have any bookworm kiddos in your life. Described as “magical” and “whimsical” by visitors, this children’s themed bookshop holds fun for the whole family. Kids will love the under-the-stairs reading nook, murals, and theater, and adults will love relaxing in the café.
Pro tip: After you pick out your books, you can order an ice cream at the bookstore café.
5. Live Theatre
There are plenty of opportunities to see your child’s favorite stories and characters on stage in Detroit! Many of Detroit’s theatres (think: Fox Theatre, Little Caesar’s Arena, Fisher Theatre, and Detroit Opera House) have kid-friendly programming, so check out their event schedule. Past productions have included Elf The Musical, Sesame Street Live!, Disney on Ice, Frozen, Bluey’s Big Play, and more.
For budding dramatists, you might also consider attending a Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit performance, where you can see shows by kids and for kids.
6. Michigan Science Center
Most kids could do with a bit more STEM in their lives, and there’s nowhere more fun than the Michigan Science Center (affectionately called MiSci!) to learn. Featuring over 200 hands-on exhibits, kids can learn about our natural and technological worlds up close at Detroit’s largest science museum.
7. Cranbrook Institute of Science and Planetarium
For more science-y fun, take your kids (or students) to the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills. This natural history museum features over 20,000 artifacts and includes exhibits on everything from mastodons and megalodons to a 40-foot tall refractive light lab.
Pro tip: Be sure to pay a visit to the Acheson Planetarium, where you can learn about the starry sky in detail.
8. DNR Outdoor Adventure Center
Looking for a learning experience in Detroit that will also help kids burn some energy? Pay a visit to the DNR’s Outdoor Adventure Center, located by William G. Milliken State Park & Harbor near the riverwalk (perfect to pair with some outdoorsy explorations on a nice day!).
This indoor playground features more than 20 educational and interactive exhibits, all themed around Michigan’s outdoor offerings. Kids can safely explore behind an indoor waterfall, climb in a treetop structure, fish in a boat, play in a campsite, and so much more.
Pro tip: The Outdoor Adventure Center is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, and bookable for private groups on Tuesdays.
9. Detroit Kid City
Detroit Kid City, located in Clinton Township, is an expansive playscape perfect for younger kids who love to play pretend.
Whether you’re planning a field trip, private party, or want to join their open-play days, one thing’s for sure: your kids will have a blast. They’ll explore real-world but kid-sized environments like a grocery store, baseball diamond, pizzeria, barber shop, school, and more, all perfectly set up for imaginative role-play that will bolster your kids’ development.
10. LEGOLAND Discovery Center
Take the family to the ultimate indoor playground at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Great Lakes Crossing Outlet, in Auburn Hills. At MINILAND, you’ll see Detroit landmarks recreated with millions of LEGO pieces. You and your kids can also get hands-on with LEGOs yourselves, or ride a LEGO-themed ride.
Pro tip: You can get discounted admission when you book tickets to LEGOLAND, SEALIFE Michigan Aquarium, and/or Peppa Pig World of Play.
11. Peppa Pig World of Play
Also located in Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is Peppa Pig World of Play. This indoor playground, themed after the beloved TV show, is perfect for preschoolers and younger kids. Your kids will exercise their imagination (and all five senses) as they explore 14 play areas.
12. SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium
SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium is the biggest aquarium in Michigan, and the best place for kids to explore and learn about our planet’s underwater environments. Home to over 2,000 sea creatures, as well as interactive touchpools and 10 themed exhibits, no one in the family (or on the field trip) will get bored here.
13. Legasea Aquarium and The Reptarium
Legasea Aquarium and The Reptarium, located in Utica, is not your average zoo exhibit. Here, kids of all ages will be able to hold, interact, feed, and photograph animals ranging from snakes to lizards to alligators to sloths. Choose the general admission option if you’re on a family day-trip, or opt for a bespoke field trip, private tour, or zookeeper experience if you want even more from your day out.
14. Bowers School Farm
Animal fanatics will also have the time of their life at Bowers School Farm in Bloomfield Hills. A real working farm operated by Bloomfield Hills Schools since 1967, you can rest assured that your kids will get an educational experience alongside meeting some fluffy (or feathery) barnyard friends. “Open Barn” days happen on Fridays and Saturdays from April to October, but you can also schedule school field trips or sign your kiddo up for classes, workshops, or camps.
15. Detroit Zoo
For Detroit’s best-known zoo experience, head to the Detroit Zoo. With 125 acres and over 2,000 animals, there is more than enough here for a family day trip or school field trip. Kids will love animal exhibits, like the Artic Ring of Life or Great Apes of Harambe. You can even book interactive animal experiences, like feeding the giraffes, meeting the penguins, or a private photo safari.
16. Belle Isle Aquarium
Families visiting Detroit should definitely plan to head over to Belle Isle, the 982-acre island state park in the middle of the Detroit River. Pay a visit to the Belle Isle Aquarium, which is the oldest aquarium in North America.
Here, kids will learn about local freshwater fish from the Great Lakes, as well as tropical fish, eels, turtles, and more. The axolotl (which is a Pokemon-looking salamander), in particular, gets rave reviews from kids.
17. Belle Isle Nature Center
The Belle Isle Nature Center is another family-friendly educational attraction located on Belle Isle. At 5-acres, this zoo may be smaller in scale than the Detroit Zoo, but it’s still an exciting place for families and school groups, with its focus on animals that are native to the metro Detroit area. Kids will explore amphibian and reptile habitats, go bird viewing, learn about how to make backyards animal-friendly, and more.
Pro tip: Check out their events schedule for children’s exploration hikes and birding hikes.
18. Detroit Institute of Arts
DIY at the DIA, anyone? The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is the city’s most iconic art museum, and frequently voted the best in the country.
Take your kids to the DIA for their interactive “drawing in the galleries” events, which are free with general admission for anyone ages 6 through adult. Kids will feel like a regular Picasso or Van Gogh as they draw on easels throughout the galleries! Be sure to also check out the DIA’s art-making studio, which regularly hosts drop-in art workshops.
Pro tip: Check the DIA’s calendar of events before your visit, and look for the drawing in the galleries or drop-in art workshop events.
19. MOCAD
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) is another one for the art-loving kids in your life. Admission for children ages 12 and younger is free, and the museum frequently hosts family days where you can explore hands-on activities linked to the museum’s modern art exhibits.
Pro tip: Visit MOCAD on the second Saturday of the month for family days.
