Tag Archives: st louis zoo

Things to Do Indoors on Easter Sunday

After the Easter celebrations are over, what to do indoors on a rainy day when most places are closed in St. Louis? Here are some family friendly places that are open on Easter Sunday.

Children’s Zoo at the St. Louis Zoo
One part of the children’s zoo is indoors. It’s a great place for a little climbing, pretend play, watching and petting animals, and scooping sand. Also be sure to check out the free indoor Bird House (separate from the Children’s Zoo). There are some incredible and crazy looking birds in here.
Open 9 am to 5 pm.
$4 per person. Children under two are free.
Free for certain member levels.
Admission for Children’s Zoo is free the first hour the Zoo is open.

CAM (Contemporary Art Museum)
A just right amount of art and images for your little one. Be sure to go upstairs to explore the books, puzzles, and overall space.
Open 11 am to 4 pm
$5, adults  |  $3, seniors  |  Free for children, students, and members

St. Louis Art Museum
A fun place to just roam. Be sure to download some of the museum’s family gallery guides for ideas to keep your kids engaged.
Open 10 am to 5 pm
Free

Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden
After splashing outside in some puddles, head over to the indoor and warm Climatron building for some tropical plant viewing and family fun. Towards the exit of the Climatron is an excellent education room featuring numerous kid geared puzzles, puppets, magnets, pretend play, coloring, books, and more.
Open 9 am to 5 pm
$8, age 13 and up  |  $4, St. Louis City and Country Residents  |  $3, St. Louis City and County Senior Residents (65+)  |  Free, Members and Children (12 and under)

Butterfly House
Experience thousands of butterflies whirling about inside this beautiful conservatory. (Or view the hallway exhibits featuring “enclosed in plexiglass insects” while your family enjoys the conservatory if you’re bug phobic!)
Open 9 am to 4 pm
$6, general  |  $4.50, seniors  |  $4, children 3 to 12  |  Free, children 2 and under and MO Botanical Garden members

Photo: Jennifer Lin

The year-end ask (not from your kid).

Your mailbox is probably overflowing with letters from nonprofit organizations asking for year-end donations. If you don’t already have a personal connection to a cause, what to pick? Who is more worthy than the rest?

Tough call. It’s particularly challenging at the end of the year for cultural organizations to compete with other nonprofits whose missions involve urgent and tangible needs like feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, advocating on behalf of battered women, giving medicine to needy children, and more. But as you know, cultural organizations can also feed the mind, offer solace, inspire, and bring joy (and of course contribute to our economy in a major way). Please keep them in mind as you consider donations this month.

Here are a few recommendations that focus on family friendly places in the St. Louis region and whose memberships include useful benefits that can save you money on your visits. Donations to these companies are tax-deductible (check with each membership level for the exact amount). Do you work for a mid to large size for-profit company? Ask your human resources department about matching gifts. You can often double your donation and the nonprofit typically bumps you up to the next membership level with the match.

Missouri Botanical Garden: Memberships come with complimentary tickets to The Children’s Garden (open April-October), an incredible place for kids to run around, engage in pretend play, climb, play with boats, hang from ropes, slide, stack, play with musical instruments, and more.

Museum of Transportation: This museum is a little on the scrappy side, but perfect for your little one who loves things that go. A membership includes visits to the Creation Station (a wonderful indoor play area that is great for infants to 5 year olds) and train rides that go around a big parking lot two times (kids still love it!). There are great old trains to ramble around in on the museum grounds as well.

The Magic House: People travel from all over the country and beyond to delight in The Magic House, a fantastic children’s museum that caters to infants through 9 year olds (or so). Most museum memberships offer complimentary admission, free visits for playdates, cafe and class discounts, and more. We’ve been visiting The Magic House for the last year and my three-year old often ends up crying/whining about leaving. She has way too much fun. There is an enormous amount to play with and it is all smartly designed. Admission is usually $8.75 per person above one year of age (including you!), so if you end up being a frequent visitor, a membership is definitely worth it.

St. Louis Zoo: Yes, it isn’t exactly warm weather to be romping around at the zoo, but there is an indoor area of the Children’s Zoo as well as some other indoor animal exhibits. With a membership, you get passes for the Zooline train (regularly $5 per person over the age of 2), parking (comes in handy when there is no street parking for blocks and your kid is saying “hold me!” The parking lot is regularly $11 per car.), the Children’s Zoo (regularly $4 per person over the age of 2), and the carousel (regularly $3 per person over the age of 2, that includes a caregiver who is holding the child on the carousel animal).

St. Louis Science Center: If you have a high energy child who likes a little “organized” chaos, this place is for you. The free areas of the Science Center are fairly limited. Special exhibitions, the Discovery Room, the OMNIMAX, and the planetarium among other activities, require admission fees. Parking is $9 per vehicle. Membership benefits include free or discounted admission to all of these and parking passes. If you have a 3 to 7 year old who likes things a little calmer (the rest of the Science Center is really loud on a busy day), the Discovery Room is perfect. Interactive magnet exhibits, a water table, reading areas, pretend play and more help your kids learn a bit about science. The Discovery Room sessions are 45 minutes each and start at the top of the hour.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis: This professional opera company is nationally and internationally respected. It is fiscally sound, bursting with creativity, and produces some fantastic productions. Opera Theatre of St. Louis also has an extensive education and artist training program. About 26% of Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s income comes from ticket sales, so they rely heavily on donations to make their magic happen. We are very lucky to have them in Webster Groves.

Naturally, any of these memberships/donations can be given as thoughtful gifts.

Want to check on these nonprofits’ fiscal management? Check guidestar.org for more or contact the organization directly.

Happy Holidays and enjoy the gift of experience!

Halloween family fun in St. Louis

Being somewhat new to St. Louis, I am amazed at how many Halloween events there are in the region. If you have a child under the age of five, there are many not so scary fun opportunities to choose from. Here are a few highlights:

The Magic House’s 10th Annual Not-So-Haunted House. October 22-24 and October 29-31. Kids are invited to dress up and enjoy trick or treating throughout the museum. Special visits from 15 storybook characters from Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz will make the event a festive one. Cost: Free with regular admission ($8.75 ages 1 and above. A membership is well worth it if you come often.)

Boo at the Zoo Spooky Saturday. October 30, 9 am to 4 pm. FREE, no reservations needed. Costumes are welcomed. Trick or treating along the Pumpkin Trail, costumed characters, clowns, and entertainment.

Botanical Garden: Ghouls in the Garden. Sunday, October 24 , 1 to 4 pm. Advance reservations required by October 21. Trick or treaters enjoy treats throughout the Garden and visit the Children’s Garden. $5 non-member children (ages 3 to 12); adults included with Garden admission. Garden members are free.

Missouri History Museum Storytelling (ages 2 to 7). Friday, October 29 at 10:30 am and October 30 at 1 pm. FREE. Kids can wear their costumes and listen to not-so-scary Halloween stories.

The Butterfly House “Bootterflies” Halloween Party (ages 3 to 10). Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24, 11 am to 2 pm. Non-spooky Halloween family fun, featuring bug inspired games and crafts. Kids receive game prizes and a goody bag. Admission FREE to $6.

Eckert’s Costume Carnival (Millstadt Farm location). Sunday, October 31. Any child, 12 years old or younger who comes in costume, receives FREE admission to the entertainment farm. More about all the Fall fun events available at the Millstadt Farm throughout October.

St. Louis Zoo

Enjoyed a cloudy (but no rain) day at the St. Louis Zoo.  What an incredible resource for the city. We became members when we moved here. Great perks and benefits. Don’t waste one of your free parking passes though when there is street parking within a couple of blocks from the zoo entrance. When the parking lot is busy you end up walking almost the same distance to the entrance.

Friendly volunteers throughout the zoo as well. We got to pet turtles, goats, and snakes today.