Top 5 Kid-Friendly Activities in Austin

Last spring break (April 2019), we decided to visit Austin, TX because I wanted to see Magnolia Market and all it involves.

Magnolia Market itself wasn’t necessarily a kid-friendly adventure, but one thing I have always found is that every city has something adventurous for kids. Once you start looking, you can find things for kids everywhere you go, even if they’re nontraditional. I did my research in advance (a key to success) and picked a few things I thought the whole family would enjoy.

Based on my research, and our experience, here are our top 5 kid-friendly activities in Austin.

Bat Bridge

We were batty for Austin’s Bat Bridge. Bats are in abundance in Austin, drawn to the plentiful supply of insects (eating roughly 20-30 thousand pounds of insects each night), so you may not need to travel far to see one swoop through the skies. If you’re on the hunt to make sure you have a bat sighting, you need to look no further than the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. At dusk each day, you might be able to see them looking for those tasty bugs while traveling 60-plus miles per hour with flight patterns over 2 miles high!

There have been reports of more than a million Mexican free-tailed bats in flight each night around 5:30-6:30 p.m. To get the most of your adventure, try these tips:

Emergence typically peaks in mid-August, but you can see them any time from early spring to mid-fall.
Weather often affects the bats’ appearance, along with lights and loud sounds. Carefully consider which night you want to view, or call the “bat hotline” at (512) 327-9721 for more information on their visibility.
Best viewing spot: try sitting on the lawn or standing on the bridge. There will be lots of signage around telling you more about the bats, so getting there early will give you a few things to see and do.
The fun flight patterns and feeding typically lasts about 45-60 minutes, from 5:30-6:30 pm (ish).

There’s even a Bat Festival! It might be a great time to head out to Austin and look for a few of those night fliers.

Disclaimer: We didn’t actually see bats. I know! We were bummed too. But turns out, the boys didn’t even care. We brought ice cream and there was ample space for the boys to run around, watch the sky, and even enjoy the possibility of seeing the bats. If you go, I have to warn you that there’s no guarantee you will see bats flying in the night sky. The most important thing that I realized is if you keep it fun, even when it’s not what you want or expect, your rascals will be excited just for the adventure.

Public Library

I love finding public spaces that are kid friendly. The Austin public library has a huge children's section with an amazing rooftop deck and view lookout. This was a fantastic find, especially since our whole family enjoys reading.

The first destination was the lovely rooftop lookout, where they had plenty of games to play, like a huge chess board. Then, we explored the rest of the library, which was open, airy, and inviting for a long stay. There’s even a coffee shop on the first floor, allowing you to enjoy a cup of coffee (or hot chocolate) while you read your newly borrowed book.

Ben and AJ particularly enjoyed the comic books section of the library, where they were able to explore and peruse as much as they wanted. We didn’t spend a penny on this stop, and it was a highlight of our day. Even though most of the library was quiet, they could have fun in the noise-appropriate areas. This will definitely be a return spot for our next trip.

Barton Springs Pool

Barton Springs Pool is located within Zilker Park and is one of the hidden jewels of Austin. The pool itself is three acres in size and is filled from an underground spring source.

There’s a history of excitement at the Barton Spring Pool, with various folklore and infamous stories that you can hear about as you visit. You can learn all about this in the “Splash!” exhibit that is housed next door. We went through the exhibit first, and learned all about what we were about to see.

Then we went to explore the springs! No matter what the season, or weather, the pool is open for use. The facility says the temperature maintains 68-70 degrees, however when we were there it was too cold to be in there for more than a couple minutes. I believe we made it 10 minutes, to be exact, but it was still exciting to be able to say we were able to go in!

There’s plenty to explore around the springs, so don’t let the fear of cold water deter you from visiting. You might also explore the park, where you could find many surprise gems, like the Zilker Zephyr Miniature Train.

One word of warning- if you do go swimming in the warmer months, the pool’s depth wildly fluctuates, from 0 inches (perfect for the sunbather) to 18 feet (serious swimmers only please).

While this spot is absolutely kid-friendly, you also want to make sure to identify and communicate clear boundaries with your kids to keep them in the safest areas for their swimming abilities.

College Campus

This may be a less traditional option for some families, but is one of the Lay’s favorite things to do in a new city! Okay let’s be honest, I have a personal addiction to visiting them. In addition to being a life-long advocate for higher education, having worked in the university system most of my career, I have so much fun strolling different college campuses and taking in their architecture, student life, and general atmosphere.

In addition to my personal love for campus exploration, I like exposing the boys to this world of possibility. Statistically, the best way to help kids decide they want to pursue higher education is to expose them to all the possibilities and dreams of college by fifth grade. This is how I want to encourage them to reach for the stars!

On this trip, we visited the University of Texas, Austin. Albert wanted to see the football stadium, so off we headed to where we could people watch, let the boys run around, and appreciate all that their athletic department has to offer. There was so much to do on this short visit - we visited the turtle pond, hung around the main quad area (my personal favorite), and generally gave the boys as much liberty to run around as possible.

We had lunch before we left, finding one more reason to stay, before moving on to the next part of our day. Our visit was a relaxing and easy way to spend a few hours. Once again, it didn’t cost us anything to explore and enjoy the campus.

Thinkery

The Thinkery is all things hands-on! It’s also a children’s museum, where science, technology, engineering, art, and math become toys, activities, and ideas to explore. We love the way that the Thinkery explains their mission; “Thinkery is Austin’s home for “why” and “how.” A place where science and families play side by side.”

Friendly for all ages, there are labs with glow-in-the-dark legos, places to build and take apart toys, and plenty of stations that explore science topics like wind, currents, and space. As a bonus - if your kids are getting squirrely, there’s an entire outdoor playground where they can let off some steam and let their imaginations soar.

This was a stop that was fun for both the kids and adults.

There are so many more places in Austin that could have made this list, like the Congress State building, where we swung by on a Sunday and to our delight, found that there weren’t many people there. We were able to walk around and let the boys explore, while explaining the importance of where we were (even though they don’t full understand why yet), without the added stress of weekday crowds.