Support Us Button Widget

How to plan a kid’s perfect day in Austin

From breakfast to dinner, we’ve rounded up a day full of kid-friendly activities for the whole family to enjoy.

Two young girls silhouetted in front of a wall of colorful fish.

There are colors galore in the Light Lab at Thinkery.

Sorry, but — NO ADULTS ALLOWED — this one is for the kids. Grown-up, please hand this over to your little one. Got it, kiddo? Let’s plan a family day together. Here’s a fun schedule for you to try.

Morning

Be a chef and cook breakfast for the adults at home. The night before, ask your family to choose from one of these recipes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if any of the instructions seem confusing.

While you eat, talk about your plan for the day. Ask your family to help you prepare a backpack with things you’ll need. We suggest bringing:

🍫 Plenty of snacks like granola bars
💧 A water bottle
🧢 A hat

If you have time before heading to lunch, play at a playground like the Auditorium Shores Playground.

Afternoon

For lunch, head to your nearest Kerbey Lane All Day Cafe for some pancakes or chicken nuggets. After you’ve filled your belly, spend the afternoon exploring Thinkery. What are you looking forward to most? Playing with colors in the Light Lab? Or climbing to (safe) heights in Our Backyard?

ATX_OurBackyardThinkery

Kids can work on coordination skills by climbing, jumping, balancing in Our Backyard’s The Climber.

Evening

Wrap up the day with a family dinner. Head to one of our local farmers markets to pick out foods you can make together. Over dinner, talk about everything you did today. Ask questions like:

🧠 What was something new you learned?
🤡 What was something funny that happened?
👀 What would we do differently if we did that again?
👍 What do you definitely want to do again? (And again and again…)

Grown-ups — send us more family-friendly recommendations and we may just feature them in an upcoming newsletter.

More from ATXtoday
The big race is almost here, and even if you don’t have tickets to watch in person, you can catch the race in style at one of these admission-free parties.
The 2025 Great American Beer Festival awards are here and Austin-area brews took home the gold, so get ready to taste them for yourself.
At these 10 miniature art galleries in the Austin area, you can take a piece of art or leave one for your neighbors to love.
The store finds vacant retail spaces and signs temporary leases to set up shop leading up to Halloween — but locations can change each year.
The LGBTQ+ bar, which was in danger of closing earlier this year, is now poised to become a larger brand across the state.
Themed cocktails, mad science experiments, haunted houses, and pumpkin carving await you throughout the whole month in Austin.
Who were the best-dressed festivalgoers at ACL Fest 2025? Let’s take a look.
From surprise celeb duets to friendship bracelets and festival fashion lessons, here’s everything Austin is still buzzing about.
The annual free book festival shared the full lineup of 300+ authors, here are a few we’re most excited to hear from in November.
Don’t go into Weekend Two of ACL Festival blind, but do go in with these tried-and-true tips from someone who has been attending for years.