Kid-friendly Activities for Your Denver Family Trip

 

The Mile-High City lives up to its moniker—especially when you learn that, from the 13th step of the Capitol Building, you'll be standing exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. The city's past as a gold rush center and cowboy town has left enough traces—like the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad and the huge rodeo and stock show—to win any kid's heart.

Public Art is Child Smart

Forget lions and tigers. Book your Denver hotel and discover the Big Blue Bear. Gawk, laugh and take photos of Denver's new mascot, a 40-foot statue of a blue ursine placed peering into the second-floor windows of the city's Colorado Convention Center. It's been wowing kids and delighting adults since sculptor Lawrence Argent installed the steel, fiberglass and cement artwork in 2005. Your kids may balk at museum art, but they'll delight in the public art, and Denver has an awesome supply of it, accessible by simply walking the streets. Introduce them to the 60-foot-high Dancers and to Botero's Man and Woman in front of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the life-sized Yearling outside the Denver Public Library and the Mustang at the airport.

Buggin' Out Around the City

Kids love bugs, and they'll enter Denver's Butterfly Pavilion with all the hush and anticipation of visiting a foreign shore. The magic feel is increased in the indoor rain forest habitat by the constant silvery mist required to please the lush vegetation that offers food and shelter to the 1,200 to 1,600 butterfly inhabitants. Whose heart wouldn’t flutter as fast as wings when butterflies land on your arms or hair? But insect-lovers aren't limited to flutters-by here. They can venture into a world of leaf insects to marvel at the leaf insect walking stick, the Hercules beetle and other native Colorado species before peeking at cockroaches, tarantulas and scorpions.

Go Wildlife Watching at Genessee Park

Just mention the wild elk and buffalo at Genesee Park and your kids will be squealing to go. This free wonderland is part of Denver's Mountain Parks system and has been a family favorite for decades. The buffalo and elk enclosure is huge, and you can watch and photograph the herds—including frolicking young ones if you are lucky—as they roam the range happy and free. Drive the park loop for more animal sightings, and then stop at a picnic area or scenic overlook when the hungry stomachs grumble. Grill hot dogs at one of the park’s charcoal grills, play horseshoes or volleyball and hike on one of the many nature trails.

A Museum Your Kids Will Love

Egyptian mummies, dinosaur bones and fossils attract kids like light gathers moths. An afternoon will fly by at Denver Museum of Nature & Science in City Park as your children explore gems and minerals and learn the story of big feathered reptiles in the “Prehistoric Journey” exhibit that outlines 3.5 billion years of Earth's changes. Watch nature come alive in a 3D movie at the museum’s IMAX Theatre, or learn what life was like for Native Americans hundreds of years ago. Younger members of the family might get stuck at the interactive “Discovery Zone” on the second floor, but you may be able to drag them off to a planetarium show. New fascinating exhibits appear as old ones close, so any time is a good time to go.