2019 Top 20 Places to Take Kids in and around Toronto
2019's Best Places for Kids in the Toronto area!
The best places to take kids in Toronto, based on KidsOutAndAbout's annual reader survey. Our Top 20 results page is an annotated list of the winners, both of the top 20 slots and of the category winners. But there is LOTS more to do in and around Toronto! After browsing the list below, check out our packed daily calendar, see what's happening this weekend, sign up for our weekly e-newsletter, and be sure to visit our Everything that's Free page! Plus we have comprehensive lists of birthday party venues, indoor play centers, classes, summer camps, and lots more!
My Local Library
Of course, the libraries in the Toronto area are not really ONE place, but MANY places... but it's important to emphasize how valuable libraries are for family learning and fun. The libraries in our area are wonderful about posting their events to the KidsOutAndAbout calendar so you always can get ideas for free things to do with your kids that celebrate education and imagination. KidsOutAndAbout.com takes this opportunity to salute the wonderful children's librarians who serve our community with such dedication. They're proud that locals voted them #3 in best places to take kids this year!
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is a dynamic and exciting action centre that inspires people to love, respect and protect wildlife and wild spaces. It is Canada's premier zoo and the leading destination for adults with kids. Open every day except Christmas, the Toronto Zoo attracts approximately 1.3 million visitors each year and welcomes an average of 1,000 to 10,000 visitors each day.
Ontario Science Center
The Ontario Science Centre delights, informs and challenges the communities we serve, enriching people's lives and understanding through engagement with science of local, national and global relevance. Since 1969, the Ontario Science Centre has welcomed more than 51 million visitors, with an interactive approach that was the model for Science Centres around the world. It is the public centre for innovative thinking and provocative dialogue in science and technology, aiming to inspire a lifelong journey of curiosity, discovery and action to create a better future for the planet. The Ontario Science Centre is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
High Park Nature Centre
Our mission is to promote awareness and respect for nature through year-round, hands-on outdoor nature education and park stewardship. Nature Centre programs inspire a sense of wonder, knowledge and respect for High Park’s natural systems; restore human connections to local plants and animals; and engage visitors in ecological restoration activities to ensure a sustainable future for High Park for generations to come
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Canada.
Electric Moon Theatre Company
Electric Moon believes that live theatre and arts education are valuable contributors to childhood development. Through our theatre arts programming and family touring shows, Electric Moon strives to support and encourage imagination, self-esteem, empathy and confidence. The only requisites are an open mind and the willingness to try something new. Whatever the age—from toddler to teen— we promise to captivate and enlighten with story, music, movement and spectacle.
Innovative Arts
Innovative Arts is a musical theatre training program for youth ages 8-18 located in Oakville and Toronto. We produce two musicals a year and focus on developing the skills of singing, dancing and acting while building confidence and having a blast!
Centreville Amusement Park
Centreville Amusement Park, located on the Toronto Islands, is the ultimate summer destination for families with young children. With over 30 rides and attractions this amusement park offers up a full day of family fun. Getting to Centreville is almost as exciting as the park itself. Everyone will enjoy the scenic ride across Toronto Harbour on the Centre Island ferry!
African Lion Safari
African Lion Safari is dedicated to the conservation of declining wildlife species. We strive to ensure that all guests have an enjoyable and educational day, as well as an opportunity to gain a better appreciation of the animals in our care. You'll get closer than you ever imagined to over 1,000 exotic birds and animals from around the world including majestic lions, graceful giraffe, and a crash of rhino!
Mirvish Productions
Mirvish Productions is a Canadian theatre management and production company, based in Toronto, Ontario Canada. From Mamma Mia to Henry V, Mirvish Productions has brought some of the greatest plays and musicals from around the world to their Theater stages for the people of Toronto to enjoy. Come to one of their four theatres in Toronto to experience the wonder!
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
Epic battles of Steel and Steed - a two hour tournament and dinner with feasting, fighting, horses, knights, and more!
LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto
With 14 attractions and activities for the whole family, it's hard to be bored at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre! Your child can build their own LEGO creations, play games, race to beat challenges, and meet their favorite LEGO characters.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts
The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts provides a home for Richmond Hill's diverse arts community, creating a destination in the downtown core, and is a major venue to bring Canadian and international performing and visual arts to Richmond Hill and York Region. It is truly a Centre of extraordinary quality that encourages actor/audience relationships, embraces the passionate use of language, celebrates Canadian talent and ignites the imagination that engages our community. The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts offers a full season of professional entertainment presented to celebrate the cultures of our community
Black Creek Pioneer Village
Immerse yourself in the 1860s and explore an authentically re-created country village of the Toronto region. At Black Creek Pioneer Village, visitors discover 40 historic buildings, 70 rare and heritage breed animals, 10 gardens growing flowers and plants from heirloom seeds, and exciting programs that engage people of all ages. They meet costumed educators who demonstrate and involve visitors with trades and crafts common in 1860s’ Ontario, tap their toes to music of the era, laugh at the hysterical antics of the History Actors, and have fun engaging in hands-on activities throughout the village!
Chudleigh's
Scadding Court Community Centre
SCCC is a multi-service agency that was founded in 1978. Located in the heart of Downtown West Toronto, we offer a wide range of programs, services and opportunities for people of all ages and walks of life. Our work is about supporting individuals and families, strengthening communities and building a better Toronto.
Toronto Botanical Garden
The TBG offers a complete range of indoor and outdoor learning experiences for all ages including courses, lectures, workshops, special events, garden tours and an extensive horticultural library. Children’s programs for schools, community groups and individuals take place year-round in either The James Boyd Children’s Centre or outdoor Teaching Garden located within Edwards Gardens.
Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG) displays a series of contemporary themed gardens spanning nearly four acres. These unique green spaces are designed for visitors to enjoy and engage in the splendour of nature, while learning practical applications for their own gardens. The gardens reflect the scale of a typical urban setting, making it easy for visitors to translate the ideas presented into their own gardens. The gardens are open year-round from dawn until dusk and admission is free of charge.
Wet 'n' Wild Toronto
Wet 'N' Wild has SAFE, CLEAN, FAMILY FUN to cool off every summer! With tons of heart-pumping water slides and Big Surf, our half a million gallon wave pool, there is plenty to do all day. Looking for something relaxing? Try Muskoka Soakah - our lazy river! Take the little kids to the Jr. water slides so they can have fun like the big kids. Don't want to get wet? Try out zip line and feel the wind in your hair. Make this summer the best yet at Wet 'N' Wild Toronto!
Balls of Fun
Canada’s ONLY children’s Ball Gym! This gym and party place is perfect for active kids. The gym is a large open play space, with a three-level structure, five slides, ball-focused gym equipment, a colourful ball pit, and a ton of different balls. Come in to play volleyball, soccer and basketball. Also, practice many necessary ball skills, like rolling, bouncing, dribbling, aiming, throwing, catching, and kicking. There is also a separate Baby & Toddler Gym space to help encourage gross motor development. The ball gym switches equipment monthly, to create different learning opportunities. The more practice children have with balls, the more confident they will be playing sports and with their friends. So, come in and play ball today!
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection stands alone as the only publicly funded fine art gallery in the nation that focuses on Canadian art and the Indigenous art of our country, both historical and contemporary. The permanent collection consists of over 6,500 artworks by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, their contemporaries, and First Nations, Métis, Inuit and contemporary artists who have contributed to the development of Canadian art. The McMichael is also the gallery of record for works on paper from the Inuit community of Cape Dorset, as we are the custodians for the Cape Dorset archive, totalling more than 100,000 artworks.
Winners in Special Categories
In the second part of our survey, we asked readers to select their favorites in six categories. Here were their choices.Favorite Arts Education
Electric Moon Theatre CompanyElectric Moon believes that live theatre and arts education are valuable contributors to childhood development. Through our theatre arts programming and family touring shows, Electric Moon strives to support and encourage imagination, self-esteem, empathy and confidence. The only requisites are an open mind and the willingness to try something new. Whatever the age—from toddler to teen— we promise to captivate and enlighten with story, music, movement and spectacle.
Favorite Sports/Physical Education
Northern Karate SchoolLeaders in the field of martial arts education and personal development for more than four decades. At Northern Karate, we believe a martial arts education is a vehicle for self-discovery and positive change. We also believe it can improve the world - one person at a time. We're proud our students kick and punch so well. We're even more proud that through their martial arts training, they learn respect for themselves and others as they strive to achieve PERSONAL BEST.
