9 Best Family Things to Do in Seattle

If your family trip to Seattle is short and you’re sparing just a day to treat your whole family to some active fun, then the Seattle Center might just be your best bet. This 74-acre park in the Lower Queen Anne neighbourhood is filled with green spaces with pathways that lead you down to public art and installations, a large kids’ playground, the Dupen Fountain that offers splashing fun times, a skate park, and a dining area that’s serviced by food trucks.  

Take in breathtaking sights of Seattle, Elliot Bay and Puget Sound on this 175-feet tall Ferris wheel. The Seattle Great Wheel sits at the end of Pier 57, and features gondolas that take you up for around 3 turns to enjoy bird’s-eye views. Each gondola is fully enclosed, and there’s a VIP option with a glass-bottomed floor for added thrills. You get impressive views on clear days, and sunset rides are also amazing with city lights. Tickets are from $14 for adults and $9 for kids between 3 and 11. 

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen started the Experience Music Project at the turn of the millennium, which gave birth to the Museum of Pop Culture. This museum is dedicated to all things pop culture, ranging from music to television and film. You can get hands-on by channelling your inner DJing skills at its Sound Lab or admire the life-size models and busts of your favourite Star Wars or most recent video game characters. The museum is right next to the Space Needle. 

Regularly showing plays in front of an audience of different ages in its 2 theatres, the Seattle Children’s Theatre is a great place to be entertained and spark your kids’ appreciation of the world of performing arts. Favourite kids’ storybook tales such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Velveteen Rabbit are brought to life on stage by an energetic cast. Tickets are from $15. The theatre is also home to a drama school, which allows for participatory theatre arts education and training by professional artists.

If you’re a family with kids aged 10 years or under, you can enjoy a cool range of interactive arts and cultural learning exhibits at the Seattle Children’s Museum. Find it in the basement area of the Seattle Center, featuring over 22,000 sq feet of exhibition space. Play areas include a Cog City where kids can explore the science behind motion with balls, magnetic gears, conveyor belts, tubes, and air flow pipes. Its Imagination Studio is a great place to let them explore their artistic skills.

A host of hands-on exhibits at the Pacific Science Center are designed to keep the little ones’ minds and hands busy. Intriguing exhibits that even parents will admire at this independent science centre in Seattle include the virtual reality space where you can don the latest VR tech gear and immerse yourselves in a digital world. The Pacific Science Center’s Willard Smith Planetarium takes you on immersive visual journeys through the solar system. You can also watch the latest and greatest documentary movies at its IMAX theatre.

Seattle’s Green Lake offers a great time out for the whole family, with plenty to see and do in the water and around the lakeside. There’s a scenic trail for strolls around the lake, with special lanes for skaters and cyclists. The Green Lake Park on the north-eastern corner serves as the main recreational area, with spacious lawns and kids’ playgrounds. You can also rent pedalboats that can seat up to 4 and make your way to the tiny mound in the lake known as Duck Island.

If you visit Seattle around mid-June through October, you’re in for a seasonal spectacle of nature. During these months, schools of salmon go on their “salmon runs’, migrating by climbing up the fish ladder at the century-old Chittenden Locks in Ballard. You can reach the locks on a 15-minute drive north from downtown. Here, you can see the runs through viewing windows. You can also opt for free public scheduled walking tours that you can join from the visitor centre, which last around an hour. 

This park in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood covers over 48 acres, filled with recreational features fit for families. Spacious lawns are laden with picnic tables and pathways lead you past lily ponds, flower gardens, and kids’ playgrounds. Climb up its water tower observation deck for impressive city views. In the summer, there’s a music pavilion where gigs usually take place. From July through the early winter months, you can see usually beautiful dahlias in full bloom, overseen by the Puget Sound Dahlia Association.