How often do you visit Milwaukee with kids? Do you head into the city often or mostly stay in our quaint suburbs enjoying the #lakelife? My kids love the short drive into Milwaukee for an urban, city experience, different than our suburban Lake Country daily experience. We venture into Milwaukee a bit more often now and have been enjoying the short day trips, especially to the butterfly room at the Milwaukee Public Museum or to take in lake views at Discovery World. If you are looking to explore the area around you, Milwaukee is not far away and is loaded with family fun. Here is Lake Country Family Fun‘s top picks for fun in and around Milwaukee!
The following are top spots for Milwaukee family fun:
- Milwaukee County Zoo
- Discovery World
- Domes
- Milwaukee Public Museum – changing its name soon!!
- Milwaukee Art Museum
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Betty Brinn Children’s Museum
- Boerner Botanical Gardens (Hales Corners)
- 3rd Street Market Hall
- Wehr Nature Center (Franklin)
Fun Fact: We love our local libraries. The public libraries throughout Waukesha and Jefferson County are part of the Bridges Library System. You can rent things from one library and return at another. Except for the Library of Things. What is the Library of Things? Well, it’s things…like snowshoes and giant UNO cards and a Frozen shaped baking pan or a kayak…that you can rent for FREE from the library! Each library has their own “LIBRARY OF THINGS”.
PLUS – they offer passes to our favorites in Milwaukee, like the Domes and the Zoo, pictured above.
Guess what’s new at Discovery World?
Curious George™: Let’s Get Curious! Traveling Exhibit Coming to Discovery World. Swing into a world of curiosity, adventure, and hands-on fun.
OPEN: May 17, 2025 – August 31, 2025
See our preview of the space on Instagram.
The insatiable curiosity of Curious George – the little monkey who has captured the imagination and hearts of millions of children and adults – is now at Discovery World.
The new exhibit, Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!, introduces children to Curious George’s world and leads visitors on a fun, meaningful interactive math, science and engineering-based adventure.
Build structures at the construction site
Experiment with physics and play mini-golf
Harness wind power to move whirligigs and windsocks
Sort and weigh fruit and vegetables
Create light patterns in George’s apartment
Admission is included in your ticket price to attend for the day or your Discovery World membership.
- Play structures for both 2–5 and 5–12-year-olds
- ADA-accessible features
- Swings and stand-alone play pieces
- A combination of poured-in-place (PIP) rubber and engineered wood fiber surfacing
- New benches and other site improvements
An anonymous donor has made all kids 12 and under FREE at the Milwaukee Art Museum, effective December 2024 and valid in 2025!
Milwaukee County Parks celebrates summer with free and discounted experiences for everyone to enjoy! Visit us for free admission on the last Thursday of the month at the Boerner Botanical Gardens, free parking days at Wehr Nature Center, and a special discounted admission at the Mitchell Park Domes. Mark your calendars for the last Thursday of each month, and join us for a day of affordable adventure in nature.
- Location: 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners, WI 53130
- Phone: 414- 525-5600
- Plan your visit: Thanks to the generosity of Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens, admission to Boerner Botanical Gardens is FREE on the last Thursday of every month, through Oct. 30, 2025. Bring the kiddos to explore the new children’s garden, Margie’s Garden, and enjoy all the garden spaces Boerner has to offer!
- Website: https://county.milwaukee.gov/
EN/Parks/Explore/Boerner- Botanical-Gardens
- Location: 9701 W College Ave, Franklin, WI 53132
- Phone: 414-425-8550
- Trails and Accessibility: Open from dawn to dusk, featuring the All Abilities Trail, Accessible Pier, and Observation Blind.
- Visitor Center: Universally designed facilities open daily from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
- Friends of Wehr Nature Store: Variable hours from 10 AM – 2 PM; calling ahead is recommended.
- Currently At Wehr: Enjoy the All Abilities Trail with its wheelchair-friendly boardwalk, or view wildlife from the accessible pier and observation blind. The Visitor Center features engaging exhibits, live animals, and fully accessible facilities ensuring a welcoming experience for every guest.
- Website: https://www.wehrnaturecenter.
com/
- Location: 524 S Layton Blvd, Milwaukee, WI 53215
- Phone: 414-257-5600
- Hours of Operation: Open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, with last admission at 4 PM.
- Special Rate: Enjoy admission for just $5 on the last Thursday of each month (children 2 & under free).
- Plan your visit: The Desert Dome is sure to delight as you explore the deserts of Africa, Madagascar, South America and North America. Snap a selfie by giant cacti, seek out succulents, agave and more. Next, you’ll explore the jungle, where you can look for coffee beans, cocoa pods, and bananas in the Tropical Dome! Stay tuned for the next show in the Show Dome, set to open June 7th!
- Website: https://www.mitchellparkdomes.
com/
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Visiting Milwaukee with Kids
This is the summer of outdoors for us! I mean, they all are. But the days are longer. There is no school, so day long trips into Milwaukee, here we come. There’s still so much to do and explore that we haven’t yet despite living here so close to it all!
They have beaches and plenty of area to walk along Lake Michigan in the outdoor air.
Here are some ideas from our past adventures:
- Head to Discovery World, right on the lakefront in Milwaukee, and visit this hands on learning environment.
- View all the things you need to know, plus buy your tickets or membership in adavance.
- We visited twice in May 2025 and you must check out the new Curious George exhibit, just don’t get too curious if an adult can fit down the slide, barely 😉
- We visited also a couple springs ago and had a fun-filled day. Touching the stingray was the highlight of my little one’s day.
- Discovery World is best aimed for children at elementary school age and tweens and teens.
- Lake Country Family Fun reader Heather S. suggests, “Consider purchasing a membership which has reciprocal admission to hundreds of museums around the country, including the Madison Children’s Museum, Building for Kids in Appleton, and most of the major museums in Chicago. This is hands down the best membership value we have found!”
- The Milwaukee Public Museum has their FREE admission days on the first Thursday of the month, this is a great way to visit the museum on a budget.
- The butterfly room is the best!
- My youngest loved the museum from ages 3 and up.
- We like to head down on the first Thursday of the month for Kohl’s free day, meeting up with some other mom friends and then heading home around lunch time. There is a cafeteria to purchase lunch or you can pack your own.
- We like to park in the Museum’s parking ramp to walk directly into the museum and not have to walk outside in the winter months/rainy days.
- Note their name change coming when they move locations!
- Did you know the Milwaukee County Zoo is open year round?
- *Find Zoo Free Days throughout the spring and fall.
- During the winter there are various FREE admission Saturdays at the zoo, and during the summer there is always a special exhibit. Hello Dinosaurs!
- Plus, the Milwaukee County Zoo pass pays for itself in two visits!
- We love the big animals and don’t leave without a train ride!
- The zoo is great for kids of all ages, baby and up!
- Visit the Mitchell Park Domes and be transported to a tropical environment, or the desert in one location. They are definitely a tropical escape right here in Wisconsin!
- The show dome always has something spectacular going on.
- Whether checking out the koi in the Tropical Dome or the Alice in Wonderland setup in the Show Dome, they are a great way to feel like getting away without getting too far away 😉
- Brewer’s Games are always a fun pasttime from spring through fall!
- Plus, our kiddos love going to Brewers Games.
- If you head to a game on Kid’s Day, don’t forget to snag a free lunch and go down the slide.
- Miller Park is great for kids of all ages. There are lots of places to walk around for toddlers, plus slides and a playground outside of the stadium for bigger kids to play.
- Have you taken your kids to a summer festival?
- In summer 2024, we took our kiddos to Summerfest and they loved it!!
- In summer 2017 and 2018, we took our kiddos to Irish Fest at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park (Summerfest grounds) and they had a blast!
- The Milwaukee Art Museum has undergone renovations and is an iconic Milwaukee building.
- Snag FREE admission for your little ones! Every day – see above!
- Stop by the Kohl’s Art Generation Studio to create art inspired by the artwork in the Museum. Each month features a different theme, and the projects are always changing!
- Visit Sprecher Brewery and go on a tour. Yes, this is family friendly!
- All adults 21 (proof of age required) and older get 4 samples of beer (chosen from up to 20 beers on tap) and a beer tasting glass to take home.
- Tour participants of all ages get to sample all of their available sodas to their heart’s content.
- Find the Bronze Fonz and take photo and feel like you are hanging out with Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days which was set in 1950’s Milwaukee.
- We have!
- If you have little ones, the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum should be on your list to visit.
- Kids can spend hours with the interactive exhibits.
- Visit Slice of Ice at Red Arrow Park, try ice skating with the kids at this outdoor skating rink during the winter months.
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