Things to Do With Kids In Austin, Texas

Austin Convention and Visitors Center offers two free guided walking tours of historical homes and places in downtown Austin. Both tours require 48 hour advance reservations and reservations may be made through the Austin Convention and Vistors Center website. The historic Congress Avenue and Sixth Street tour times are 9 AM Thursday through Saturday and 2 PM on Sunday and include 19th century buildings such as the Old Bakery, the Driskill Hotel, and St. Mary's Cathedral. The Bremond Block Historic District tour examines a collection of homes belonging to members of the John Bremond family built during the Victorian era and tour times are at 11 AM on Saturday and Sunday. The departure point for both tours is the South entrance of the Capitol building.

Congress Avenue from the Texas State Capitol steps, Austin
Photo used under creative commons from DarkMarty

The Austin Children's Museum has something for people of all ages. Tots enjoy the low-tech but creative playscapes, tweens take on a variety of "creation stations," and grown-up environments such as a studio sound stage (part of "Austin Kiddie Limits") please even adolescents. Parents will get a kick out of the replica Austin city landscapes, including the recently introduced Rising Star Ranch, where a Hill Country pond is stocked with wooden musical frogs.

Gears at Austin Children's Museum
Photo used under creative commons from abbamouse

Home to the world's largest urban bat colony, the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is one of three bridges linking the downtown area to South Austin across the Colorado River or what is usually referred to as Town Lake, but recently renamed Lake Lady Bird. Each night from mid-March to November, approximately a million or more Mexican free-tail bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food. The bats generally emerge before dark, but may fly late as the time of year and weather conditions affect bat emergence times. July and August are the best times to see the most dramatic flights when new born pups first begin to forage with their mothers. It is possible to view the bats from the bridge, but the bridge itself is a high traffic throughfare. The best way to see the bats is to bring a blanket or lawn chairs to the Bat Observation Center located at the Austin American Statesman offices at 305 South Congress Avenue on the southeast side of the bridge where there is a viewing area and an educational kiosk. If parking is not available at the Austin American Statesman, additional parking after 6 PM is located at Texas Department of Transportation offices located around the corner off Riverside Drive. Bat Conservation International Bat Interpreters are present Thursday through Sunday nights in the months of June, July and August. Please remember to look, but DON'T TOUCH THE BATS. Bats are wild animals and like all wild animals, they may bite in self-defense if handled

Congress Avenue Bridge Bats, Austin
Photo used under creative commons from portmanteaus

Painter Hall
The Astronomy Department at the University of Texas hosts free viewing on the Painter Hall Telescope every Friday and Saturday night while UT is in session. Painter Hall is located at the corner of 24th street and Inner Campus Drive just to the north of the UT Tower. At Painter Hall take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. At the sixth floor go to the right and follow the signs up to the telescope. Parking is available at nearby UT parking garages for $3 after 6 PM. Viewing times change throughout the year so check the website first or call (512) 471-5007 for current times. If the weather seems questionable call (512) 232-4265 approximately 30-45 minutes before the scheduled start time to find out if the viewing is cancelled. The Painter Hall telescope has been in place at Painter Hall since the 1930's and the lens in the telescope was ground at the turn of the century.

Robert Lee Moore Hall
The Astronomy Department at the University of Texas sponsors free public star parties on the top roof of Robert Lee Moore Hall at the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway every Wednesday night while UT is in session. Take the elevators at Robert Lee Moore Hall to the 17th floor and then follow the signs to the stairs up to 16 inch telescope used for teaching undergraduate astronomy majors and for graduate student projects. Parking is available at nearby UT parking garages for $3 after 6 PM. Viewing times change throughout the year so check the website first or call (512) 471-5007 for current times. If the weather seems questionable call (512) 232-4265 approximately thirty to forty-five minutes before the scheduled start time to find out if the viewing is cancelled. A typical night will include a planet or two, binary stars, star clusters and some of the brighter nebulae.

The Tower of the Main Building, University of Texas at Austin
Photo used under creative commons from jdn

Admission to the Texas Memorial Museum is always free and it is a great place to spend the time with kids of all ages. Located on the University of Texas campus, exhibits at the museum include dinosaurs and fossils, Texas wildlife, and gems and minerals. There is also a working Paleontology Lab where visitors can ask questions as scientists research dinosaur bones and other fossil finds and the Virtual Science exhibit, the first immersive 3-D museum exhibit in the country

The Austin City Limits studio doors are open to the public for official, organized tours every Friday beginning at 10:30 AM. Admission is free. Bring a camera and have your picture snapped in front of the famous Austin City Limits skyline backdrop

Austin City Limits Studio, University of Texas
Photo used under creative commons from Daniel Morrison

Every morning between 5 AM and 9 AM and every evening between 9 PM and 10 PM there is no charge for swimming at Barton Springs Swimming Pool at Zilker Park . There is no lifeguard on duty between 5 AM and 8 AM. For the evening swim, the best time to get to the swimming pool and find a convenient parking spot is about 8:30 to 8:45 PM. When the lights at the entrance flash on at 9 PM that is the sign that pool admittance is now free. During the summer, there is usually local music on the night of the full moon and the pool area is full of Austinites howling at the moon during free swim between 9 PM and 10 PM.

Zilker Hillside Theatre is located in Zilker Park across the parking lot from Barton Springs swimming pool. The stage is located in a natural amphitheater under a stand of 100 year old pecan trees and features numerous locally produced musical and dance oriented events including the Austin Symphony, Shakespeare in the Park and the annual Zilker Summer Musical. This year's Zilker Summer Musical is "The Music Man" and runs from July 3 through August 15, 2009 on Thursdays through Sundays (no performance July 4). Admission to events at the Zilker Hillside Theatre is always free but there is a $3.00 fee to park in the Zilker Park parking lots. Most events start at 8 PM and blankets can be placed on the hillside after 6 PM. Theatre goers may bring a picnic or other refreshments, but alcohol is not permitted in the park.

Locally owned by Amy Simmons, Amy's Ice Cream has been an Austin institution since 1984. There are about 13 stores all over Austin, offering over 300 flavors of ice cream and fruit ices. It has been voted the best local ice cream by the Austin Chronicle for the last eight years. Each store and its employees are unique.

Amy's Ice Cream, Austin
Photo used under creative commons from Robert Banh

"Twinkle, Twinkle Lonestar", one of the 10 foot guitars designed for the GuitarTown Project.

KXAN-TV Studios, Austin
Photo used under creative commons from abbamouse