School’s out in San Antonio, and, while the mood may be celebratory now, kids across the city will soon bemoan their suddenly clear schedules and declare, “I’m bored!”
Luckily, San Antonio boasts a sizable list of destinations to take kids to cool off or simply get out of the house through September. From museums to movies, there’s plenty to do to help kids — and their adults — avoid the summer blues.
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
The West Side’s Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center has a full slate of kid-friendly, camps, events and classes lined up for the summer months. The country’s longest-running Latino film festival, CineFestival San Antonio returns July 12-16. The center’s Summer Music Academy will take place June 13-July 27, followed by a special three-day Mariachi Summer Camp from July 24-27. Pricing and calendars can be found on the Guadalupe Center’s website.
Garcia Street Urban Farm
The East Side is home to the four-acre Garcia Street Urban Farm, which includes food plots and pollinator and wildlife areas. In addition to promoting food security, the farm teaches all ages about wildflowers, food systems, organic farming and sustainability. On Summer Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon, visitors can get hands-on experience farming — just make sure to bring sunscreen, hats and closed-toed shoes for everyone. The fruits of your labor can be enjoyed when the Garcia Street farmer’s market resumes its fall season in September.
Playgrounds
Park on a Southtown side street to avoid pricey parking fees and get your daily steps in with no cost of entrance to Hemisfair’s Yanaguana Garden splash pad. The gardens surrounding the splash pad teach kids about South Texas native plants, wildflowers, history, culture and animals.
After browsing the books at Landa Library, kids can enjoy the surrounding Landa Gardens, which features two playgrounds, a pavilion and plenty of green space for running around.
If your kids need a little more room to run (or skate), Pearsall Park offers the biggest playground and biggest skate park in the city. With two splash pads, two basketball courts, and plenty of picnic tables, the whole family can get in on the fun.
Kid-friendly museums
The volunteer-led Texas Transportation Museum collects, preserves and displays historical transportation equipment stories, cars, model railroads, and artifacts dating back generations. With a mission to educate, visitors of any age can check out 19th-century fire trucks, 1920s Ford Model Ts, and old horse-drawn carriages, bringing their favorite cartoons and fairy tales to life. Unlimited train rides are included with affordable ticket admission for every guest, and its July Fourth celebration allows families to bring their dogs for train rides and a pooch parade.
Venture to the shade of Brackenridge Park to meander through six exhibitions for the season at the Witte Museum. Super Saturdays and STEAM Sundays throughout the summer include a bubble party and a dinosaur family reunion.
Dream Tomorrow Today is this summer’s new exhibit within the 60,000 square feet of interactive space of San Antonio’s DoSeum. Kids are immersed in STEM experiences with a creative lens. Rolling dates of summer events and camps for youngsters include the Little Artist Workshops, Little Maker Workshops for ages one to five and standard workshops for ages six to 11.
Free outdoor movies
Downtowners can hit Travis Park for free movies on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. with food truck vendors, or the Tower of the Americas for multiple movie dates. The Tobin Center’s H-E-B movie nights on Will’s Plaza also makes a return this year. Common’s Park at The Rim is scheduled for movie throwbacks on Wednesday nights starting at sunset. Southsiders can hit The Mission Marquee Plaza for the annual outdoor family film series hosted by the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office.
