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| Photo: Carolyn Fletcher |
Oklahoma is home to several museums and attractions aimed at challenging children’s minds while treating them to a fun, exciting adventure. There are many options in Oklahoma for not only an enjoyable outing, but also a chance to get the kids to think about and explore the world around them. Below is just a sample of Oklahoma’s children’s activities sure to be a perfect delight for the entire family.
Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole
The Jasmine Moran Children's Museum is one of the world’s largest children’s museums, where thousands of children come each year to experience the grown-up world from a kid’s perspective. They can try out career choices from being a doctor to a judge or even a broadcast journalist. Outdoors there is also a miniature train ride and a large maze to navigate.
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Experience the wonder of one of the nation's top-rated zoos as you encounter creatures from Oklahoma and all over the world in their own habitats at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. State-of-the-art enclosures and exhibits give you a unique view on these magnificent animals. The zoo showcases over 2,500 animals on 110 beautifully-landscaped acres.
Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum
Trek to the tropics, feed feathered friends from your hand and be part of the crowd oohing and ahhing over the adorable penguins at the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum. The zoo is located on 78 acres within Mohawk Park and is home to more than 1,500 animals.
Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City
A massive complex featuring hands-on exhibits, one-of-a-kind displays and a planetarium, this “amusement park for the mind” provides hours and hours of fun and educational entertainment. Science Museum Oklahoma is home to more than 350 hands-on exhibits and educational programs. Catch the Science Live shows where explosive demonstrations of scientific principles will blow your mind and watch a movie in the large-format dome theater where the educational movies literally surround you.
Woolaroc Ranch, Museum and Wildlife Preserve in Bartlesville
A 3,600-acre ranch and wildlife preserve open throughout the year as an educational and historical attraction, Woolaroc derives its name from the woods, lakes and rocks of the beautiful Osage Hills. The museum houses a world-class collection of Western art, artifacts and special exhibits, and more than 700 animals including water buffalo, elk, deer and longhorn cattle, graze freely in the natural surroundings.
Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium
The Tulsa Air and Space Museum features several full-size fighter jets, hands-on exhibits about Tulsa's aerospace heritage, interactive exhibits for children including a T-37 cockpit trainer, wind tunnel and more. The new planetarium is only the second of its kind in the world and allows audiences to experience the universe in a 50-foot diameter dome.
The kids can enjoy to their heart's content and parents won't mind. 
Orr Family Farm in Oklahoma City
This 106-acre working Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse training farm with 240 horse stalls offers children and visitors of all ages a host of farm attractions and activities. Orr Family Farm features two trains, stocked fishing ponds, a carousel, an animal petting barn, apple orchard and pumpkins in the fall, pony and hay rides and the Amaze'n Maze, one of only 10 mazes of its kind in the world, offering 4,900 square feet of challenging fun.
Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks
If an underwater adventure is what your family craves, check out the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, just across the river from Tulsa. Children will marvel at the magnificent displays of color and the mystery of the more than 200 exhibits of marine and aquatic animals, many of them from around the world. Walk through the gigantic shark tank tunnel and bubble which is home to the world's largest captive bull sharks, enjoy the touch tank where you'll find starfish, anenomes and urchins and even try your hand at feeding turtles, manta rays and small sharks.
Kiddie Park in Bartlesville
This special amusement park has been providing wholesome family fun since 1947. Kiddie Park provides 16 brightly painted rides that do not go very fast, far or high. Rides include a Ferris wheel, airplanes, carousel, bumper cars and many others. Each ride costs only 25 cents, so the kids can enjoy to their heart's content and parents won't mind. The park is open Tuesday through Saturday evenings during the summer months.
Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse & Adventure Quest in Enid
Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse is a hands-on museum with experiences for youngsters in the areas of arts and science. Touch a real dinosaur egg, slide down a three-story slide, build your own castle in the carpentry shop, get lost in a variety of bridges, tunnels and mazes, experiment with different scientific principles, tell time on a sundial, travel to the moon in a simulated space shuttle, and lots more. All day admission also includes Adventure Quest, an outdoor science playground featuring a 3-story castle.
