
Young visitors and their families are invited to the Energy Stage at the Saint Louis Science Center to enjoy interactive read-alouds of science-themed picture books. Story times are followed by a short demonstration or discussion connected to the book's main concepts.
Celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan, the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the United States. Your family can enjoy guided walking tours, bonsai, cooking, martial arts and origami demonstrations, sumo wrestling, and special activities for kids.
The Missouri Botanical Garden welcomes Santa during extended evening hours during Jingle in July. Santa will be in the Garden in his summer attire and will take photos with visitors from 5 to 7 p.m. Plus, outside the Children's Garden, visitors can meet and take photos with the Ice Queen.
Visit the library for free Library Pop-Up Play featuring interactive activities from The Magic House. These free pop-up play experiences are recommended for ages 5-10 and held at various branches of the St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library.
Beautiful Forest Park is the setting for the annual free concert performed by the St. Louis Symphony, complete with fireworks to end the show.
Romeo & Zooliet is a wildly fun, family-friendly stage adaptation of Romeo & Juliet! It explores what would happen if animals at the Saint Louis Zoo put on their own Shakespearean performance after zookeepers go home for the night. The show stage and seating area is designed as an enchanting version of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre within the Zoo's Historic Hill area. "Romeo & Zooliet" is produced as a partnership of the Saint Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. The production features dazzling animal puppetry by world-renowned Michael Curry Design, known for its work on Broadway's "The Lion King" and "Frozen," as well as Olympic and Super Bowl ceremonies.
Aquarium visitors will be immersed in a world of shark-centered adventures and have opportunities to get up close to the sharks during Shark Week at the St. Louis Aquarium.
The annual Kirkwood Greentree Festival will be held September 13 - 15 in Kirkwood Park. This free, family festival features a parade that steps off on Saturday at 10 a.m. beginning at Kirkwood High School, entertainment and food vendor booths, and kids activities.
Wagon rides, live entertainment, great festival foods, a petting zoo and much more make this an apple pickin' good time for the whole family. There will be pony rides, a children's carnival, opportunities to feed goats and other farm animals, caramel apples, funnel cakes and more.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.
Sensory Friendly Science Time features reduced noise, modified lighting and sensory-friendly demonstrations at the Saint Louis Science Center.
See the Purina Incredible Dog Team perform extraordinary feats of athleticism and skill right here in St. Louis at Union Station this summer and early fall. Performances are free and take place at the Purina Performance Plaza in front of the St. Louis Wheel Thursdays through Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.