4 Educational Attractions Your Kids Will Love in Amarillo

Looking for a fun city to visit with your kids? Want them to learn something along the way? Try Amarillo, Texas, and visit some of these great destinations for the whole family. Your little one will have so much fun they won’t even realize that they are learning along the way. Traveling is a great way to teach your kids about the world.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Image via Flickr by Maciej Kraus

Need a day in the great outdoors? Palo Duro Canyon State Park will fulfill the needs of your adventurous little ones. Learn about the different historical sites in the park while hiking around the second-largest canyon in North America. If you want to make a fun, educational game out of your visit, pick up a few copies of the Bird Field Check List at the visitor center and see how many species you can find from the list. 

You should also check out the schedule for outdoor musical dramas at the Pioneer Amphitheatre, where you can learn about the earliest settlers to the area. To maximize your kids’ experience, plan your visit to coincide with a showtime and purchase tickets to the musical. Then book a nearby Amarillo hotel so you’ll have time to explore the entire park and other area attractions.

Don Harrington Discovery Center

At the Don Harrington Discovery Center, kids and adults of all ages can visit exhibits such as Space Gallery and Critter Row, where they will learn about earth sciences in interactive ways. The Space Gallery will teach your family how space weather phenomena outside of earth’s atmosphere has such a profound effect on earth. If you need to rest from all the excitement, there is also a theater where you can watch a variety of amazing films in IMAX. 

In addition to these permanent exhibits, there is also a constant rotation of seasonal and visiting exhibits so you can continue to return and learn something new if you happen to be local, or just really like visiting.

Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is just outside of the city but well worth the drive. They have plenty of exhibits pertaining to Texas history that cover topics such as archeology, paleethnology, and geology. There are also some modern exhibits about textiles, windmills, and the petroleum industry. The best exhibit however, is the pioneer town, where you and your kids can walk through a real replicated town! Your kids will feel like they have gone through a time machine while learning about the pioneer towns of early settlers to the west.

Amarillo Zoo

Chances are you have a zoo near your home town as well, but some kids just love visiting the zoo! Why not indulge them with a trip to the Amarillo Zoo so they can have the chance to see new animals and old favorites. Be sure to keep an eye out for their zoofari carts with touchable displays, keeper chats, and other special events throughout the year.

With everything from a state park to local museums and even a zoo, Amarillo is a great destination for the family. If you’re looking for educational attractions, you’ll find more than enough in Amarillo to fill your time.