Are you looking for fun St. Louis family activities for family bonding this summer? This summer family bucket list has all the best activities around St. Louis for kids and parents to enjoy. Share this list with your loved ones and make sure to follow on Instagram to see our daily adventures around St. Louis.

Kids History Clubhouse at the Missouri History Museum

St. Louis Family Activities

indoor Family Fun:

Magic House kids museum in St. Louis

The Magic House in St. Louis is one of the best childrens museums around St. Louis. They have so many fun activities for kids of all ages. I love that there are a lot of educational and real life lesson teaching opportunities at the Magic House too. During the summer there is also an outdoor garden and small water play area that my boys love.

The Magic House Childrens Museum St. Louis Summer Family Bucket List — Magic House Children’s Museum St. Louis

MADE for Kids by the Magic House

Made for Kids is a huge makerspace affiliated with the Magic House childrens museum. It’s located near Forest Park in St. Louis. Made for Kids is for children ages 4-14 who love to build and make things. They can design and build everything from a wooden car, a stop motion film, to pottery.

Science Center St. Louis

As a clinical pharmacist I have always loved science, so the St. Louis Science Center is one of my favorite places to go with my family. My boys share my love for learning about plants, animals, chemistry, and more! The fact that the Science Center in St. Louis is free is just the cherry on top.

St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station

The St. Louis Aquarium is way more than just fish. There are tons of kids activities, interactive exhibits, chances to pet the animals, and more. My kids love the water play area as well as seeing the sharks and petting the stingrays. Union Station is a destination in itself with plenty of restaurants, the ferris wheel, and of course the aquarium.

Edwardsville Children’s Museum

The Edwardsville Children’s Museum is a small but fun indoor kids museum in the Metro East Illinois.

Missouri History Museum

The Missouri History Museum is a must for any family trip to St. Louis. My family recently visited here this summer for the first time and I was blown away. They have one of the best children museums in the area and its totally FREE! The History Clubhouse at the Missouri History Museum is a huge kids indoor play area that will keep them busy for hours.

indoor YMCA water park in OFallon, MO

If you have a YMCA membership anywhere, you can often use other facilities for free! Even if you don’t have a membership sometimes you can pay a small fee to use a pool or waterpark at local YMCAs.

See a movie in theaters

This one is pretty self explanatory but a movie day or night always gets my kids excited and keeps them busy for a couple hours in the summertime.

Go to the Library

Local libraries are an often untapped source of fun and (free) resources for kids. Not only do they have books but they always have games and movies too. My local library has a summer reading program every year where the kids can earn prizes like crafts, toys, and coupons for local businesses.

Family Outdoor Activities

Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House

The boys and I had a fabulous time at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly house this summer. The Butterfly House is a beautiful park like enclosure that houses over 60 species of butterflies. You can even release a newly hatched butterfly into the butterfly zoo. If you have a membership the the Missouri Botanical Garden you can visit the Butterfly House for free.

Missouri Botanical Garden - Children’s Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden is a great outdoor family activity in St. Louis. Walk through the gorgeous gardens to the Children’s Garden where you’ll find a splash pad, learning activities, slides, and fun for the whole family.

Grant’s Farm

Grant’s Farm is a unique attraction just 20 minutes from downtown. Owned by the Busch family for over 120 years, this historic farm is one of the few places in St. Louis where you can get free beer. Grant’s Farm truly is for the whole family with a petting zoo, live music, camel rides, and a beer garden.

Sculpture Park

There are actually a few different sculpture parks around St. Louis to check out. Serra and Citypark Sculpture Parks are downtown St. Louis. They offer an artistic green oasis between the skyscrapers. Then there is Laumier Sculpture park - a larger greenspace in Sappington Missouri, just 20 minutes from downtown.

St. Louis Zoo

The St. Louis Zoo is one of my favorite fun family activities in St. Louis. This world-class zoo is such a beautiful space filled with a huge number of animals and activities. My boys love animals so this is one of their favorite places to go in St. Louis as well.

More Outdoor Family Fun activities Around St. Louis:

Forest Park Naturescape

Visit local splash pads

Go Swimming

Go on a hike

explore a new park

Go camping

Watch a movie outside

Family At Home Activities:

Do a craft project every week
Bake cookies
Plant a garden
Have a bonfire
Weed and water garden every week
Do a science experiment
Have a family game night
Build a lego kit together