Many St. Louis family attractions have re-opened with limited capacity and enhanced safety protocols for visitors and staff. Read more about family attraction re-openings and safety guidelines here. We invite our readers to enjoy virtual events and socially distanced events highlighted in our Things To Do calendar. Public health experts recommend that when you go out, follow public health guidelines: wear masks (required in St. Louis City and County), practice social distancing and wash your hands frequently. To learn why social distancing is important and effective in lessening the spread of COVID-19, hear from Dr. Alexis Elward, Chief Medical Officer at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

free family events in St. Louis

Storytelling at the Museum: Baby Animals

Spring means new beginnings, and some of those beginnings are pretty adorable!

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Storytelling at the Museum: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Preschoolers can celebrate Earth Day by listening to stories that inspire them to take care of the planet.

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Storytelling at the Museum: Will You Be My Valentine?

Preschoolers will hear stories about this LOVEly holiday at this special storytime at the Missouri History Museum.

Storytelling at the Museum engages the youngest visitors and their families in historic objects and introduces them to a museum setting in a really fun way using traditional and contemporary story books. Children will also enjoy hands-on crafts and other activities.

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Family Film Day at the Missouri History Museum

Visit the Missouri History Museum with your kids and enjoy a free movie in front of a big screen. You'll also enjoy some light snacks.

Scheduled films include:

Feb. 14: Shrek

March 7: An American Tale

Movies begin at 12:30 p.m. Admission is free.

More information: mohistory.org

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Multicultural Family Fun Day

Explore the special exhibit The Missouri Immigrant Experience and enjoy a day of interactive learning about other places in the world. Families can listen to stories about people around the world, learn a few basic phrases in different languages, make traditional art, hear live music and go on a scavenger hunt.

All activities are free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum

More information: mohistory.org

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Summer Family Fun Series Kicks Off at the Missouri History Museum

As St. Louis schools let out for the year, local parents are on the lookout for fun and educational destinations to visit with the kids.

Field Trips For the Win

My husband doesn't get many days off, so on the rare occasion we're hanging out at home all day together it sort of reminds me of when I was in sales and the district manager would pop into town and see what I'd been up to.

Which, on a good day, was blowing off my clients and taking five hour lunches at Lion's Choice with my co-workers. And, on a bad day, was blowing off my clients and sleeping off the night before in the back seat of my Mitsubishi Mirage in a mall parking lot.

I didn't really like sales all that much.

Let me be clear – for the most part Nick is so exhausted on his days off that he mostly just lays on the couch and mumbles incoherently every once in a while for some water. But being the praise-crazed (and starved) person I am, I find myself narrating my every move, giving him the “look what an awesome stay-at-home Mom I am” play-by-play of our daily routine.

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Things to Do

Under the Big Top at The Butterfly House

Under the Big Top is an all-new summer exhibit at The Butterfly House where guests will be awed by arthopod acrobats and thrilled by sideshow spectacles! Bring your kids to spy on the fabulous flea circus and marvel at circut-inspired botanicals. Daily show schedules include story time, live animal encounters and butterfly releases.

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Magic At Home with The Magic House

The Magic House is bringing innovative, hands-on learning to you at home with its #MagicAtHome series of interactive, instructional online presentations. The Magic At Home series of activities includes lots of fun projects that you can make at home with common materials. The easy-to-follow directions mean your kids can make paper sculpture, do shaving cream marble painting, create make-your-own flowers, go "fishin," make TP roll animals, make salad spin art and more.

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Science @ Home with the Saint Louis Science Center

The Science Louis Science Center is continuing to ignite and sustain lifelong science and technology learning through its online Science @ Home series! Visit the Science Center's web site or social media channels for DIY science experiments that can be done at home, Amazing Science Demonstrations from the Science Center's Energy Stage team, connections to local scientists, astronomy updates from the McDonnell Planetarium, live chats and more. Content is designed for all ages.

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City Museum on Air

Make art. Go on a guided tour, DIY a time capsule. Peek behind the scenes. Watch the Cassily Crew at work. Help inspect the slides. All from home! Every Monday through Friday the staff, crew, artists and historians at City Museum are going LIVE on Facebook to share stories, offer free art classes, and entertain kids and families in all the ways they know how (read: mischief, mayhem and making).

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Amazing Animal Encounters at the World Bird Sanctuary

Take your family to watch birds of prey fly right over your head, snakes slither across the stage, macaws speak the English language and much more at Amazing Animal Encounters at the World Bird Sanctuary. Every program showcases different animals so each day is a new experience. Advance tickets are required. Seating is limited due to social distancing requirements. Masks are required to attend.

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See All Things to Do

Popular Stories

Parenting During the Pandemic: Overwhelmed and Exhausted

No, last Saturday I didn’t plant a victory garden or make a sourdough starter. I wasn’t the mom who created movie tickets and set up a concession stand in my house for movie night (seriously, WHICH ONE OF YOU DID THIS and how did word get back to my kids?). I stayed on the couch all day and hissed at anyone who invaded my territory. Like millions of other parents juggling homeschooling and working from home, I’m beat.

The Magic House, Made for Kids, Sandcastle Beach Will Reopen to the Public, Including Summer Camps

The Magic House has announced it will reopen to the public on June 15, open its St. Louis city satellite location – MADE for Kids – on June 9, and summer camps are proceeding as planned.

St. Louis Area Summer Camps, Some Family Attractions to Open In June with New Safety Guidelines

Summer camps in the St. Louis area that have announced they will hold in-person summer sessions are enacting strict safety protocols to help ensure the health of their campers. In addition to limiting enrollment, camps are cancelling field trips, enacting strict cleaning protocols, taking daily temperature and symptom checks, and installilng measures that allow for social distancing.

Saint Louis Zoo Announces Opening Date for Summer 2020; New Safety Protocols

The Saint Louis Zoo has announced it will reopen Saturday, June 13 with new protocols for visitors, including requiring timed reservations and face masks, and limiting attendance to better allow for social distancing. All Zoo staff will wear face masks and all guests over the age of 9 will be required to wear face masks/face coverings while visiting.

Coming Soon: Why the Forest Park Playscape, Opening This Year, Will Be Much More Than a Playground

Since breaking ground on the child-inspired Nature Playscape in Forest Park last summer, Forest Park Forever, the City of St. Louis and their team of partners have been pushing forward on this much-anticipated project at full speed, constructing eight activity areas where your kids will soon splash, climb, build, and learn. Already halfway completed, this one-of-a-kind play area in the heart of the park is destined to grow children’s interest in the natural world around them.