Salt Lake City with Kids

The Leonardo is a science and art museum in downtown Salt Lake City that is dedicated to exploring the many ways art, creativity, science, and technology connect. Opened in 2011, the museum was founded on the ideas and theories of Leonardo da Vinci and features fascinating exhibits such as Boy Works, Flight, Leonardo's Workshop, Leonardo's Studio, and Perception.

Leonardo's Workshop showcases da Vinci's creative obsession with tinkering, design, and experimentation, while Leonardo's Studio allows visitors to explore the different techniques and technologies that influence art. Perception is a mind-blowing exhibit that focuses on three senses—touch, hearing and sight—and how perception can manipulate them.

209 E 500 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, Phone: 801-531-9800

The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is home to 4,500 animals representing 550 species ranging from Asian small-clawed otters, seahorses, and piranhas to snakes, stingrays, penguins and more. Founded in 1997 by marine biology graduate Brent Andersen, the aquarium features a variety of land and marine exhibits including the Ocean Explorer, which features a 3.5-inch-thick acrylic viewing tunnel and is home to saltwater species from all over the world; Journey to South America which travels through the dense rainforests of South America to see the fauna and flora that reside within it; Discover Utah which houses some of the state’s threatened and endangered species; and Antarctic Adventure which journeys to a Falkland Islands research station to experience gentoo penguins.

The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium offers two educational outreach programs and visits over 450 elementary schools around the state each year.

Address: The Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, 12033 Lone Peak Parkway, Draper UT 84020, Phone: 801-355-3474

Boasting beautiful views of Emigration Canyon, Utah's Hogle Zoo is a 42-acre zoo that houses more than 800 animals from diverse ecosystems. Founded in 1931, the zoo features beautiful natural landscapes with tree-lined pathways and a variety of habitats in which the animals live. One of the most-visited attractions, Utah’s Hogle Zoo aims to provide inspiring educational, recreational, and conservation opportunities for visitors of all ages. Exhibits include African Savannah, Rocky Shores, Asian Highlands, Elephant Encounters, Primate Forest, Great Apes, and the World of Flight. Utah's Hogle Zoo is involved in a range of global conservation efforts with the hope of making a significant impact in saving wildlife and their habitats.

Utah's Hogle Zoo, 2600 Sunnyside Avenue South, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, Phone: 801-584-1700

The Brigham Young University Museum of Peoples and Cultures is a teaching museum of the Brigham Young University that specializes in archaeology and ethnology. The museum boasts over 7,000 collections of around a million objects regions around the globe, including Mesoamerica, America Southwest, South America, the American Southwest, Polynesia, and the Great Basin. The student-run museum offers engaging exhibitions and educational activities for students, adults, and children, including Children's Story Time; Youth Programs such as Cub, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Activity Day groups; Mornings at the Museum; and Museum Camps.

Address: Brigham Young University Museum of Peoples and Cultures, 2201 N Canyon Road, Provo, UT 84604, Phone: 801-422-0020

Located 18 miles north of Salt Lake City in Farmington, Lagoon is a privately-owned amusement park that offers a wide range of fun for the whole family. The theme park is divided into five main areas, each of which features rides, slides, food concessions and games arcades. Lagoon-A-Beach is a waterpark with many water-based rides, slides and swimming pools; The Midway features an array of rides, carnival-type games, and several food outlets; Kiddie Land with rides for small children; the Pioneer Village where pioneer artifacts and buildings are displayed; and the X-Venture Zone where adrenalin-junkies can get their kicks with extreme rides. Lagoon also has a campground, a full-service RV park, and a shaded walking trail that is open all year.

Address: Lagoon, 375 North Lagoon Dr, Farmington, UT 84025, Phone: 801-451-8000

Located in The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City, the Clark Planetarium engages audiences with an array of exhilarating exhibits, displays, and shows about space and science. Established over 50 years ago and still one of Salt Lake City’s top tourist destinations, the Clark Planetarium features hands-on exhibits, immersive educational and outreach programs, on-site programming, and mind-blowing shows and performances at the IMAX and dome theatres. The Planetarium boasts 10,000 square feet of space that house free exhibits, the Northrop Grumman 3D IMAX® Theatre, and the Hansen Dome Theatre which present films and shows, the Planet Fun Store where visitors can buy a selection of books, toys, gifts, and souvenirs.

Address: Clark Planetarium, 110 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, Phone: 385-468-7827

Located in The Gateway shopping center in downtown Salt Lake City, the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, formerly known as The Children's Museum of Utah, is an interactive, hands-on children's museum dedicated to the joys of exploring and discovering through play. The museum boasts 60,000 square feet of interactive, and immersive fun for children of all ages, ranging from workshops and classes to educational programs, and hands-on exhibits. Exhibits include the Garden, which features a giant marimba, and an enormous machine humming; Kid's Eye View, where children can shop in a Market; and the Construction Zone where kids can build structures. Other exhibits range from the Utah Family Farm to Hatch, Waddle, and Fly, and the Story Factory, which highlights plays, comic strips and motion films.

Address: Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, 444 W 100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, Phone: 801-456-5437

Cherry Hill has been a fun, family-friendly destination for more than 50 years and features a family-fun center, a water park, and shady campsites. Founded in 1967 and located on 20 acres of beautiful landscapes that were once a working farm in Kaysville, Cherry Hill is named for the more than 700 trees on the property, many of which used to be cherry trees. The family park features a lazy river, a water playground for children with a pirate ship, two swimming pools, and several water slides with lighting effects and human-made fog, a foam-padded Cardiac Canyon River Run, batting cages and a ball crawl, mini-golf, a climbing wall, outdoor pavilions for parties and camping. Other features include a jungle maze, several food concessions, and snack bars, and a Pie Restaurant and free live entertainment is offered every Friday and Saturday evening.

Address: Cherry Hill, 1325 South Main Street, Kaysville, UT 84037-2639, Phone: 801-451-5379

Located at The University of Utah, the Natural History Museum of Utah is dedicated to natural history with an emphasis on Utah and the Intermountain West. Founded in 1959 and based in a new building called the Rio Tinto Center, the museum has a collection with more than 1.6 million objects, many of which are from the inter-mountain region of the United States and focus on the natural history of Utah. Used for both education and research, the collection is divided into genres ranging from Paleontology, Entomology and Vertebrate Zoology to Mineralogy, Botany, and Malacology. Permanent exhibitions include Past Worlds, Great Salt Lake, Life, Land, First Peoples, Gems and Minerals, Native Voices, Sky, Our Backyard, and Utah Futures.

Address: Natural History Museum of Utah, The University of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, Phone: 801-581-6927