Free Play

Cincinnati Art Museum - www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org . 953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513-639-2995).  Located in Eden Park, the CAM is FREE for general admissions and is a great place to go to get a bit of culture!  They have a cafe onsite if your little ones need some nourishment.  You'll need to check out the Family First Saturdays where they offer a lot of fun activities such as scavenger hunts, crafts, & kid friendly performances. We've been to a few of these and I am always amazed that we have such wonderful things to do here.  You can also check out their "Wee Wednesday" morning program for parents and their preschoolers - I haven't done this but they have story time and "touchable" objects on the last Wed. of the month. I need to check out my own rec! Parking is now $4 but there aren't many free museums anywhere so I think paying for parking is well worth it.

• Family Artventures - Sat. at 1:00pm and Sundays at 3pm - tour CAM with a docent with touchable objects and ARTSTOPS.
  
• Public Tours - Tuesdays - Fridays at 1pm, Saturdays at 1pm & 2pm an Sundays at 1pm, 2pm & 3pm - FREE - docent led tours - meet in the main lobby.

Contemporary Arts Center - www.contemporaryartscenter.org. 44 E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513-345-8400). Okay, so I haven't been to this place yet, but I'd like to and thought I should include it on my list especially since they have the UnMuseum® there and according to their website, "the UnMuseum is a gallery of participatory art designed to offer children and parents an enjoyable experience with the most innovative art of our time".  They have FREE admission from 5-9 pm on Monday's.  Check out the Museum Tab for more info on the CAC.

Hamilton County Park District - www.hamiltoncountyparks.org. Hamilton County has some of the most wonderful parks around from Sharon Woods to Winton Woods to Woodland Mounds - they all have free nature centers & free outdoor playgrounds.  Okay, so you do have to pay a $5.00 annual car registration fee but I think that's a very very small price to pay for all the wonderful parks out there.  Check out their website for their calendar of events at each park.  I'll have more in the Nature section but if you want to see some real gems in Ohio, head to any of these beautiful parks!

Duke Energy Train Display - Seasonal Display -  in 139 E. 4th Street Cincinnati, Ohio.  www.duke-energy.com. This is another great holiday tradition that you might want to start.  Duke Energy has been putting this on for over 63 years now and it is something to see and it's FREE!  Open the Friday after Thanksgiving through Dec. 31, Mon-Sat: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sun: Noon - 5 p.m. Closed Christmas Day.

IKEA - www.ikea.com - If you want to make both Mom and kids happy, head over to large blue & yellow building in West Chester.  Kids can play in Smaland (must be potty trained and 37" tall) while parents shop.  After they play, stop by the cafe for some affordable kids' meals or head to their Bistro when you check out for hot dogs, pizza, yummy cinnamin rolls, and ice cream.  My girls love it.  9500 Ikea Way, West Chester, Ohio 45069. 513-779-7100.

• See my Associated Content article - "IKEA.....My Kind of Shopping".
  

Krohn Conservatory- www.cincyparks.com. 1501 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio (513-352-4080).  If you haven't been to the Krohn, you are missing out.  This is a wonderful place and has a 75 year history in Cincinnati.  It has wonderful floral exhibits - you can walk through a rain forest, check out the dessert, and go through some of the most outstanding changing exhibits from Bonsai trees to their beautiful holiday displays.  They are open 10-5 every day of the year. Great place to bring out of town guests!  If you want to get some great family pictures, pack those cameras!  The Krohn is FREE but they do take donations and volunteers are always needed.  After visiting the Krohn, drive down and check out Eden park and then you can have lunch in Mt. Adams - all very close and easy to do! 

Read more about The Krohn Conservatory and Eden Park on Family Friendly Cincinnati.

Upcoming Krohn Events:

• Fall Floral Show - Sept. 4-Oct. 31
• Holiday Floral Show - Nov. 20-Jan. 2

Local Playgrounds & Parks - check out the Playgrounds & Parks tab and you will find plenty of FREE places to play.

Local Libraries & Story Times - check out the Libraries & Story Times tab for more information.

MetroParks of Butler County - www.butlercounty.metroparks.org. Okay, so we need to give a shout out to Butler County now.  You really need to check out the new Voice of America Park and go for a stroll around their lake.  You'll be able to do some nice bird watching.  Get those bikes & helmets out if you want to kick it up a notch.  The kids can also fish (get a license first at the office).  They have some fun events during the year, so check out the website for more details.  It looks like there are plenty of other wonderful parks to check out but since I've only been to the VOA, I can at least recommend that.

Mt. Airy Forest- www.cincyparks.com. 5083 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio. Take a hike through the woods or check out the huge treehouse there (it's even wheelchair accessible).  If you've never been to the "other" side of Cincinnati, take a drive, pack a picnic lunch and get in touch with nature.  There's over 1500 acres of natural beauty to check out.  You can also check out some of the other parks in the cincyparks.com family - I know I need to get some of them on this list.

National Airforce Museum of the United States - www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.  1100 Spaatz Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433 (937) 255-3286. So this is techinically in the Dayton area but I wanted to include it here since it's FREE!  This is an absolutely wonderful museum and it's huge - you probably won't be able take it all in  just one visit but you definitely need a place to start.  It is filled with actual airplanes, bombers, Airforce memorabilia from the start of aviation to present day.  It even has a cool area dedicated to space shuttles with actual shuttles to see.  You can even walk in to some of the planes.  There is a big bomber one that is fun to walk inside.  They have free guided "Heritage" tours everyday at 1:30 and an additional tour on Sat. at 10:30 a.m.  I read that they also have "behind the scenes tours" but you need to sign up for these and be at least 12 years old and have an adult with you.  Looks like this could be a great activity for a local Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop.  There's also an IMAX theatre (charge for this) and a Cafe onsite. It's open seven days a week from 9-5 but closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Rumpke Sanitary Landfill Tour - www.rumpke.com - This is a fun and educational bus tour that takes you through the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill and you'll actually get to drive into the main landfill as well as ride the bus to the top of "Mt. Rumpke".  Learn about how a "cell" is made, what they do with the methane gas produced by buried trash and ways you can help by recycling at home.  Tours are offered on Wednesdays and are best for ages 4 and up.  A minimum of 10 participants are needed to book a tour.  Please contact rumpkelandfilltours@rumpke.com to book a tour.  It is well worth it and it's FREE!  Please see my post on Family Friendly Cincinnati for more details.

Taft Museum of Art - www.taftmuseum.org. 316 Pike St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513-241-0343).  We've been meaning to get here but haven't made it yet but after reviewing their website, I really think I should make it a priority.  They have a lot to offer as well as having specific programs for families.  One program caught my eye, it's called Families Create and is for ages 5-12.  It's held two Saturday's per month, one at the Taft and the other at the Weston Art Gallery (another place I need to check out).  This is a smaller, historic museum with many famous works of art. Also, they have Lindner Family Cafe on site that is supposed to be really good and they actually have a children's menu so this has to be family friendly.  I think this would be a great place to do a Mommy/Son or Daddy/Daughter date. Oh, another bonus, the Taft Museum is FREE on Sundays starting May 9. They're open Tues-Sun.  11-5. Adults are $8.00.  Regular admission on other days is $8/adults and $6/students and seniors.  FREE for kids under 18.

The Dayton Art Institute -  www.daytonartinstitute.org - FREE for general admission (some special exhibits may have a charge) - 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, Ohio. (800) 296-4426 or (937) 223-5277. Closed on Mondays.  Open 10am-4pm every other day except on Sunday open Noon-4pm.  Click here for some of their family-friendly programming.

Restaurant Playlands

There are some local fast food restaurants that offer playlands that are FREE to their customers.  Here's a listing of some playlands close by: 

Burger King -  www.clubBK.com. 10558 Loveland-Madeira Rd., Loveland, Ohio 45140 (513-774-9955). This BK has a nice smaller indoor playland with lots of fun climbing to do and they still give out those BK crowns if you ask.  If your child joins clubBK.com you can get free food for your child's b-day.

Chick-fil-A -  www.chick-fil-a.com/voiceofamerica. 7733 Voice of America Drive West Chester, OH 45069 (513-779-1767).  This is probably my favorite fast-food place. The chicken sandwiches and chicken nuggets are real chicken and they taste great.  We always have a fun time here - the kids can play in the indoor play area while parents can watch them from seats in the main dining area.  They even give free balloons if you ask. 

Chick-fil-A is now open in Deerfield Township - off of Mason-Montgomery Rd. (across from bigg's).

McDonald's Playlands

Note: I only list indoor/outdoor if I know for sure.  The rest have Playlands or Playplaces but I'm just not sure if they are indoor or outdoor.

MasonMetu Tip - Thanks to MasonMetu viewer Sarah for emailing me about findronald.com - here you can log in an see if Ronald McDonald will be making an appearance at a local McDonald's, libraries and more in Greater Cincinnati, Northern KY or Southeastern, IN.  Ronald is a very busy guy, so click here for his tour stops and calendar of events.

Free Publications 

If you can pick up one of these great FREE magazines, they are a wonderful resource for family friendly activities in the greater Cincinnati area.  They usually have some great articles and parent tips.  You can also view their information on line. 

Cincinnati Family Magazine - www.cincinnatifamilymagazine.com.

Cincinnati Parent Magazine - www.cincinnatiparent.com.

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