Spirit of Buffalo
Whirlpool Jet Boats
Buffalo Museum <br>of Science

Gallery Above
Clockwise from left

Spirit of Buffalo

Whirlpool Jet Boats

Buffalo Museum
of Science

Family Fun

If your recreational plans no longer revolve around weekend bar crawls and nightclub hopping with your friends, take solace in knowing you can have even more fun with the family here in Buffalo. We’re sure you’re repeatedly faced with the “what are we doing today?” question from the kids. Good news: we have the answer!

Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum is Canalside’s newest attraction that centers its experience on the endless benefits of PLAY. (Translation: This place is SO. MUCH. FUN.)  Once inside, the kids will be busy marveling at the multi-story waterfall, sliding in their socks on the play ice rink and harvesting crops from the rooftop garden.  In fact, Explore & More’s 7 play zones celebrate everything that is uniquely Buffalo from our sports teams to our architecture.  Step outside and the fun doesn’t stop. Overlooking the Canalside boardwalk and sitting at the water’s edge of Buffalo’s historic replica canals, this four-story museum is at the epicenter of all our waterfront action.

Canalside is chock full of kid-approved activities like water bikes, paddleboats, kayaking and pirate cruises too! Or better yet how about you take a spin on the brand new Buffalo Heritage Carousel? Storybook magic is woven throughout the carousel’s history. It was hand-carved by artisans in North Tonawanda – approximately 14 miles from where it is now sited – almost 100 years ago. In 1925 amusement park entrepreneur Domenick De Angelis commissioned what is now the Buffalo Heritage Carousel to operate at a park in Massachusetts. He operated the carousel until 1952, the year of his death. In 1988, the menagerie was moved to Ohio where it languished until the Buffalo Heritage Carousel, Inc. acquisition.  The Buffalo Heritage Carousel menagerie was meticulously restored for four years, once it returned to its place of origin. If woodworking is your thing, watch the step-by-step process of building a replica packet boat at the The Longshed at Canalside.

Blur the line between learning and fun as your little scientists explore the Buffalo Museum of Science. Find a bird egg bigger than a dinosaur egg. Find a pendulum that tracks the earth’s movement. Find a hive big enough for 80,000 bees.  Their beautiful, and sometimes bizarre, collections on display are sure to spark your kid’s curiosity. And while you may have sworn off science after that C+ in Physics class, we guarantee you’ll walk away learning a thing or two yourself! Plan your visit for a Wednesday evening and you’ll have access to the restored Kellogg Observatory. Go star-gazing with a look through the telescope perched on the Museum’s rooftop. Introduce your pint-size explorers to all of the Museum’s hands-on experiences and make science their BFF.

Take a journey around the world, all within the 23 acres of the Buffalo Zoo.  Located within the city’s picturesque Delaware Park, the Zoo is home to over a thousand wild and exotic animals who are ready for a little face time with you and your family.  Put your nose up to the glass while the polar bears take a plunge. Look up to see the colorful free-flighted tropical birds inside Rainforest Falls. Or be one of the first people in the door at the brand-new Reptile House.  Explore Buffalo’s animal kingdom rain or shine, all year round!

Whether you’re 4 or 40, everyone is free to be a kid in Buffalo.