Looking for the best things to do with kids in Fort Lauderdale? This coastal city is a top family destination, home to a hands-on science museum, calm beaches, and Everglades adventures. This local family guide covers Fort Lauderdale’s top kid-friendly attractions, museums, outdoor fun, and rainy-day options — plus how to find what local parents actually recommend.

Top things to do with kids in Fort Lauderdale

The Museum of Discovery and Science, with its IMAX theater and hands-on exhibits, is the marquee family attraction. The wide, gentle beaches are perfect for kids, the Jungle Queen Riverboat offers a fun family cruise, and nearby Everglades airboat tours and Butterfly World in Coconut Creek are memorable outings.

Kid-friendly museums & attractions in Fort Lauderdale

The Museum of Discovery and Science (with IMAX) is the family centerpiece, and nearby Butterfly World, Flamingo Gardens, and the Everglades airboat parks add wildlife adventures a short drive away.

Parks & outdoor fun for families

The beach and beachfront promenade, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (with trails, a lagoon, and canoeing), and Snyder Park’s lakes and trails give families plenty of outdoor options in the warm weather. For more, see our guide to the best parks and outdoor spots in Fort Lauderdale.

Rainy-day & indoor options in Fort Lauderdale

On stormy or very hot days, families head to the indoor Museum of Discovery and Science and its IMAX, or to indoor play centers and trampoline parks.

What local parents in Fort Lauderdale recommend

Kids’ favorites, new attractions, and which spots are worth it at each age change all the time — and local parents know the details that listings miss. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Fort Lauderdale community, real Fort Lauderdale parents share what their kids genuinely love. For more ideas, see our guide to the best things to do in Fort Lauderdale. Join your Fort Lauderdale neighbors free and get real family recommendations →

The Fort Lauderdale angle

Family spots here range from playgrounds to hands-on museums, and locals know which hold up on a rainy day. Half the fun of a day out with the kids in Fort Lauderdale is stringing it together with the places nearby. the Las Olas Riverwalk is the landmark most people orient around, but neighbors will tell you the Bonnet House grounds and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park are where the town really shows its character, with Fort Lauderdale Beach worth a look if you have the time. Use those as your reference points and this guide slots neatly into a day that feels like Fort Lauderdale, not a checklist.

Keep exploring Fort Lauderdale

If this was useful, these companion guides cover Fort Lauderdale from angles that pair naturally with it: Free things to do in Fort Lauderdale, Parks in Fort Lauderdale, Things to do in Fort Lauderdale. Together they add up to a full weekend without leaving town.

The indoor anchor: Museum of Discovery and Science

Museum of Discovery and Science, 401 SW 2nd St is the single most reliable family day in Fort Lauderdale and the one to hold in reserve for a rainy afternoon or a brutally hot one. It is hands-on rather than look-at-the-case, it has an IMAX attached so you can extend the visit when energy flags, and it sits downtown within walking distance of the Riverwalk and Esplanade Park – so you can pair it with time outdoors without moving the car.

Outdoors with children

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, 3109 E Sunrise Blvd is the best-value family outing in the city: $6 per vehicle for up to eight people, open 8am to sunset, 365 days a year, sitting between the ocean and the Intracoastal and protecting the last Tropical Maritime Hammock in Broward County. Bring bikes or scooters for the loop road, and cross to the beach afterwards.

Holiday Park, in the Victoria Park neighbourhood, is the city’s largest and most heavily used park and the everyday answer for playgrounds and sports fields rather than a destination attraction. Las Olas Oceanside Park, where the boulevard meets A1A, puts a park directly beside the sand and hosts a market Saturdays 9am to 4pm and Sundays 10am to 4pm year-round. Our parks guide covers the full list.

Boats, which is what children actually remember

This is Fort Lauderdale’s unfair advantage over other family destinations. The Water Taxi charges $18 for ages 5 to 11 and nothing for under-fives, runs 10am to 10pm with boats roughly every 30 minutes, and the boats themselves do the entertaining – open-sided, slow, and full of yachts and canal-front houses to point at. The city’s LauderGO! Water Trolley on the New River is completely free, with eight stops, daily 10am to 10pm, which makes it the cheapest novelty in the city for a small child. Details in our water taxi guide.

Combine the two with lunch at 15th Street Fisheries, 1900 SE 15th St – Water Taxi stop F3, open daily 11:30am to 9:30pm – where feeding the tarpon off the dock is a genuine local ritual and reliably the highlight of the day for anyone under twelve.

The beach with children

The central stretch at Las Olas Beach is the most convenient, backed by a wide promenade and the low white wave wall, with lifeguards on the main sections. Practical local knowledge: go early or late, because midday sun here is genuinely punishing from spring through autumn; shade is scarce, so bring an umbrella rather than expecting to find one; and check the flags before letting children into the water, as rip currents and occasional jellyfish are real rather than theoretical. Summer afternoon thunderstorms arrive quickly, so treat a dark sky as a cue to leave rather than a passing inconvenience.

Family-friendly places to eat

Fort Lauderdale is easy with children, largely because so much of the dining is outdoors and casual. Coconuts, 429 Seabreeze Blvd is relaxed, on the water and completely unbothered by noise. 15th Street Fisheries has the tarpon. Rocco’s Tacos, 1313 E Las Olas Blvd makes guacamole at the table, which children find far more interesting than they expect. A hibachi room such as Saiko-i Sushi Lounge & Hibachi is the reliable choice for a large or restless table, because the cooking is the entertainment. More in our restaurants guide.

Rainy-day and hot-day plan

Have this ready, because you will need it. Museum of Discovery and Science plus the IMAX covers most of a day. The NSU Art Museum at 1 E Las Olas Blvd is a shorter visit and works well combined with lunch. A Stranahan House tour at 1, 2 or 3pm is indoors, under an hour, and more interesting to older children than it sounds – it is the oldest surviving building in the county. Public libraries across the city run free children’s programming and are genuinely pleasant places to sit out a storm. And the free water trolley is covered and runs regardless of a passing shower.

What a family day costs here

Fort Lauderdale is cheaper for families than its yachting reputation suggests, provided you lean on the outdoors. A full day at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park costs $6 for a carful. The beach is free, and parking beside it is not – budget for a metered space or a lot. The free LauderGO! Water Trolley costs nothing at all. The Water Taxi is the one real ticketed expense at $38 per adult and $18 per child aged 5 to 11, with under-fives free, and it is worth doing once. Museum admission is the other line item. A realistic figure for two adults and two children doing one paid attraction, lunch out and a beach afternoon is $120 to $200, and you can halve that by making it a park-and-beach day with a picnic instead.

Ask a Fort Lauderdale neighbor

The best tips never make the guidebooks — they come from neighbors who know which spot is worth it this week. That is what the Fort Lauderdale community on Neighborhood Nurturers is for. Ask Fort Lauderdale locals what they would do, or join free and get honest answers from people who actually know Fort Lauderdale.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best things to do with kids in Fort Lauderdale?

The Museum of Discovery and Science (with IMAX), the gentle beaches, the Jungle Queen Riverboat, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, and nearby Butterfly World and Everglades airboat tours.

What can you do with kids in Fort Lauderdale on a rainy day?

Visit the indoor Museum of Discovery and Science and its IMAX theater, or an indoor play center or trampoline park.

What do local parents recommend in Fort Lauderdale?

Fort Lauderdale parents share their kids’ genuine favorites and current tips in our community.