free things to do in St. Louis with kids

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.

Kids ages 8-10 can join the quest to make the perfect cookie! They'll explore at least two cookie styles, such as bar, drop, or shaped; and a range of ingredients, such as cocoa, chocolate chips, oatmeal, lemon or peppermint. Along with way, participants will learn the basics of baking and a dash of personal preference and creativity. 

Hop, crawl or slither over to Play Street Museum for a visit with Serengeti Steve and The Reptile Experience. Kids will have play time in the museum as well as a fun, interactive show featuring live reptiles. 

In this veterinary-themed program, students will assume the role of a veterinarian and learn how to perform a nose-to-tail exam, the importance of proper nutrition, perform a tick check, and identify animal body language.

Kids can learn about their friendly, neighborhood spiders and their amazing senses. Then they'll paint spider webs using their own sense of touch, just like spiders. Spidey Senses is a free workshops for kids ages 6 to 11 presented by The Butterfly House. Registration is required.

It's the season to make gingerbread houses, and at this Merry and Bright Gingerbread Party, kiddos will have a blast decorating gingerbread houses* and gingerbread men with icing, candy, marshmallows and sprinkles. 

Polar bears and penguins don't mix, but your kiddos' batch of polar slime will at this fun winter sensory experience at Play Street Museum. Kids will learn about the arctic, make slime, and then enjoy playtime in the museum.