The city of Waterloo Iowa is a friendly and welcoming destination that offers plenty of affordable family fun. The historic city has a wide range of excellent attractions and activities suitable for families travelling with children of all ages, from the museums of the Grout District to the Phelps Youth Pavilion. Â Waterloo is famous for its small town Midwestern charm, but between the shops downtown, and the wide array of art centers, the hardest part of your visit will be deciding what to do first!
Here are some ideas of family-friendly activities in Waterloo Iowa that you can enjoy during your visit:
The Phelps Youth Pavilion
This is one of the best places to be a kid in Waterloo. It is a newly opened pavilion within the Waterloo Center for the Arts that offers hands-on creative and artistic learning experiences as well as temporary and permanent art exhibits that are designed to stimulate the curiosity and imagination of young visitors. The Phelps Youth Pavilion also includes a Book Nook and Reading Corner and the Tropical Toddlers Playhouse on Caribbean Kinder Island.
This center hosts hundreds of fantastic events and programs throughout the year, from workshops to classes to special events. If your children love to get creative and make things, they will fall in love with the inspiring atmosphere.
The Bluedorn Science Imaginarium
If your kids are more interested in science than art, they will love the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium located within the Grout Museum District. This hands-on science center features plenty of great exhibits that reveal the principles behind light, sound, electricity, momentum and more. Your kids will be able to build their own robots, operate the controls of a hot air balloon and take a ride on the angular momentum machine. The museum also regularly hosts live science demonstrations, where kids can learn how to make a fire extinguisher or get to meet a live snake. This is the kind of place where your kids will be having so much fun that they will forget they are learning.
Lost Island Waterpark
What could be more perfect on a hot Iowa summer’s day than to spend the afternoon splashing around at the waterpark? Your whole family will love Lost Island for its waterslides suited to adventure seekers of all ages. Your little ones will be able to play in the Blue Iguana Lagoon and the Tahiti Treehouse and your older kids will love floating down the Kailahi River tube ride or swimming in Tsunami Bay. As well as the water slides, you will also find an arcade, a pool table and a mini-golf course located just outside the park. With these sorts of kid-friendly attractions, you will never hear your little ones complaining of boredom!
Each summer the community celebrates the My Waterloo Days Festival, a 30 year tradition located on the banks of the Cedar River that showcases the town’s unique cultural and recreational characteristics. What a perfect time to take the family somewhere that’s fun, charming, and won’t break the bank. If you’re looking for the perfect summer getaway, you definitely want to check out the hidden gem that is Waterloo, Iowa.
About the Author: Cheryl Woodford is a freelance writer and mother of three. Her kids love the many great attractions in Waterloo and when they visit they stay at the Econo Lodge Hotel in Waterloo Iowa.
