Best Museums & Educational Spots for Kids
Explore the best best museums & educational spots for kids options for kids and families in Solana Beach
San Diego Botanic Garden
Sprawling locale with unique vegetation. Large botanical garden with vistas & four miles of trails featuring flowering trees, palms & bamboo.
San Dieguito Heritage Museum at the Heritage Ranch
Community history, artifacts & exhibits. 1-acre property & museum of the history of San Dieguito in photos, stories & hands-on displays.
Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation
Coastal wetland & nature reserve. Protected wetland habitat with on-site parking & wildlife-viewing opportunities.
Los Penasquitos Adobe
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Birch Aquarium
Up-close marine life & hands-on exhibits. Interactive tide pools & exhibitions for all things under the sea in an oceanside building.
LEGOLAND California
Vibrant Lego-themed hotel with a pool. Vivid Lego-themed quarters in a lively hotel offering dining, an outdoor pool & free breakfast.
SEA LIFE Aquarium
Oceanic exhibits & play areas. Family-friendly exhibits featuring more than 5,000 sea creatures, plus a play area & group packages.
Fun Town
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Museum of Making Music
Galleries of instruments & live events. A museum about making music with galleries of instruments, special exhibitions & live events.
Craftsmanship Museum
Museum featuring metal & wood models. Miniature models of engines, buildings & vehicles made of metal & wood are displayed at this museum.
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation (Discovery Center)
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Palomar College Planetarium
Modern Astrotec dome with Friday shows. Modern campus planetarium features a 50-foot Astrotec dome with public shows every Friday evening.
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
Visit this great place for kids and families!
San Diego Children's Discovery Museum
Playful, hands-on exhibits for kids. Lively indoor & outdoor museum providing interactive educational exhibits for children.
EcoVivarium
Reptile, amphibian & arthropod museum. Nonprofit museum dedicated to reptiles, amphibians & arthropods with hands-on encounters.
Alta Vista Botanical Gardens
Botanical park integrating art & gardens. Botanical gardens dotted with works of art offering native plants, a lotus pond & ongoing classes.
California Surf Museum
Historic boards, iconic surfers & more. Surf museum chronicles the history of the sport with exhibits of surfboards, famous surfers & more.
Oceanside Museum of Art
National & global artwork in a mod space. This contemporary building presents a rotating collection of modern art pieces & cultural events.
Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum
Historical exhibits of rural life. Farming history via exhibits & demonstrations of old steam tractors, plus blacksmithing & weaving.
Junípero Serra Museum
Spanish Mission-style building on a hill. A Spanish Revival-style structure built to showcase the collection of the San Diego History Center.
Muramid Art Studio of Joanne Tawfilis
Huge global collection of murals. Thousands of murals painted on canvas from around the world, plus events & rotating exhibits.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Open-air living-history museum. Open-air museum about local life in the 1800s, with adobe buildings & interpretive performances.
Heritage Park & Museum
Historic buildings & a gazebo. Park featuring many early 1900s buildings from downtown Oceanside & a gazebo for events.
Marston House
Tours of a historic Craftsman cottage. This 1905 house exemplifies the Arts & Crafts movement, plus features period furniture & pottery.
Balboa Park
Multi-attraction park covers 1,200 acres. Sprawling outdoor destination is home to the city's renowned zoo, museums, gardens & more.
The San Diego Museum of Art
Renowned collections & an outdoor eatery. Venerable art museum with acclaimed works, plus a courtyard bar/bistro with sculpture garden views.
Museum of Us
Anthropology displays in historic digs. Museum in an ornate 1915 building featuring eclectic anthropology exhibits & a panoramic tower.
Timken Museum of Art
Intimate, curated 5-room gallery. This 5-room museum is a host to European paintings, bronze sculptures & 17th-century tapestries.
Mingei International Museum
Exhibits on folk art, craft & design. Museum located in a historic building showcases folk art, craft & design from all over the globe.
San Diego Natural History Museum
Big, comprehensive science museum. Large natural history museum with rotating displays on animals, dinosaurs & earth science.
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
Scale models of California railroads. Kid-friendly museum featuring many working scale models of California rail lines & landscapes.
Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum
Bonsai trees, koi ponds & garden tours. Balboa Park's Japanese gardens have koi ponds, bonsai trees, garden tours & more.
Fleet Science Center
Hands-on exhibits & an IMAX theater. Educational center with hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, an IMAX theater & interactive displays.
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Destination for restored antique ships. Waterfront venue showcasing many types of restored vintage ships & historical exhibits.
San Diego Air & Space Museum
Aviation history exhibits & a gift shop. Popular place with historical aircraft/spacecraft & interactive exhibits, plus a gift shop & grill.
San Diego Firehouse Museum
Vintage engines, alarms & gear. Antique fire engines, alarms, hats & hydrant molds are displayed in the city's oldest firehouse.
USS Midway Museum
Historic aircraft carrier with exhibits. Life-at-sea exhibits, restored planes & flight simulators aboard this legendary aircraft carrier.
The New Children’s Museum
Hands-on artwork & creative play spaces. From creative classes to climbable sculptures, contemporary art for kids, in a bright, modern space.
San Diego Air & Space Museum Gillespie Field Annex
Models & restored aircraft on display. This museum dedicated to aviation & space technology boasts a number of models & restored aircraft.
Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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