After searching around to a bazillion websites last year, I grew frustrated when I couldn’t just find a list of ALL indoor places in southeast Michigan that weren’t blatant ads, so I decided to make my own list of places to go in southeast Michigan. This is my cheat sheet for when I need an adventure with the kiddos this winter. Hope it’s helpful to you as well!
This list includes places to go with kids in Southeast Michigan during winter in Genesee, Ingham, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties. Make sure to scroll to the bottom, too, for spots/ideas located in multiple counties.
50+ Places To Go With Kids In Southeast Michigan
The adorable grocery store at the Flint Children’s Museum. We adore this spot!
Flint Children’s Museum (Flint)
Flint Institute of Music (Flint)
Sloan Museum/Longway Planetarium/Buick Gallery (Flint)
Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad (Flint)
Tri County Ninja {Fenton}
Broad Art Museum (East Lansing)
District5 Extreme Air Sports (Lansing)
Impression 5 Hands On Museum (Lansing)
My kids love the giant mouth inside Impression 5
Jumpin Jax Bounce Arena (Lansing)
Meridian Historical Village (Okemos)
Michigan Historical Museum (Lansing)
Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (Lansing)
MSU Museum (East Lansing)
Nokomis Learning Center (Okemos)
Pinball Pete’s (East Lansing)
Play (Lansing)
Potter Park Zoo (Lansing) — Check out the Wonderland of Lights during the holidays! Many exhibits are indoors.
R.E. Olds Transportation Museum (Lansing)
Sky Zone Trampoline Park (Lansing)
Bounce (Hartland)
Castaway Play Cafe (Howell)
Castaway Play Cafe is Michigan’s largest indoor play structure
Crepes & Games (Howell)
Iron Grip Ninja & Obstacle Training (Howell)
Sky Zone Trampoline Park (Brighton)
The Commons at 2|42 – Free play structures and indoor soccer field (Brighton)
Airtime Trampoline Park (Shelby Township)
C.J. Barrymore’s Sports & Entertainment (Clinton Township)
Detroit Kid City (Clinton Township)
Joe Dumars’ Fieldhouse (Shelby Township)
Jungle Java (Clinton Township)
Morley Candy/Sander’s Factory Tour (Free – Clinton Township)
Play-Place for Autistic Children (Sterling Heights)
Checking out one of the tanks at SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium
Airtime Trampoline Park (Novi, Troy)
Boogie Babies (Rochester Hills)
Cranbrook Institute of Science and Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills)
Detroit Kid City (Southfield)
Detroit Zoo (Royal Oak) – There are many wintertime activities!
Fort Clarkston (Clarkston)
Great Lakes Crossings (Auburn Hills) – Play in the kids section, take a ride on the carousel, have lunch at Rainforest Cafe and check out the big fish at Bass Pro Shops.
Gripz Gym | Ninja Warrior & Bouldering (Southfield)
GRIT Obstacle Training (Rochester Hills)
Jungle Java (Farmington Hills)
Kensington Mill Falls Miniature Golf & Kidz Clubhouse (Milford)
Kids Gotta Play (New Hudson) – Play on the showroom play structures for $5/child!
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan (Auburn Hills)
Little Big World (Ferndale)
Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Farmington Hills)
Mill Race Village (Northville)
Milford High School Pool (Milford)
Nature’s Playhouse (Ferndale)
Putting Edge Mini Golf – Glow in the dark (Novi)
Paradise Park (Novi)
Planet Rock Climbing Gym (Madison Heights)
Rochester Play (Rochester)
Robot Garage (Birmingham)
Safari Playground (Walled Lake)
SEA LIFE Michigan (Auburn Hills)
Sky Zone Trampoline Park (Novi)
Tiny Town Play Lounge (Northville)
Troy Historic Village (Troy)
Playing in the toddler area at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum
Ann Arbor Hands On Museum (Ann Arbor)
Chelsea Treehouse (Chelsea)
The Creature Conservancy (Ann Arbor)
Domino’s Petting Farm (Ann Arbor)
Eddy Discovery Center (Chelsea)
Tour the JIFFY Mix Plant (Chelsea)
Kidopolis (Ann Arbor)
Leslie Science & Nature Center (Ann Arbor)
Museum of Natural History (Ann Arbor)
Michigan Firehouse Museum (Ypsilanti)
My Urban Toddler (Saline and Ann Arbor)
Pinball Pete’s (Ann Arbor)
Planet Rock Climbing Gym (Ann Arbor)
The Scrap Box (Ann Arbor) – there is a daily craft for kids
3&Up Board Game Lounge (Plymouth)
Airtime Trampoline Park (Canton)
Arts and Scraps (Detroit)
Belle Isle Aquarium (Detroit)
Bounce It Up (Livonia)
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Detroit)
Detroit Historical Museum (Detroit)
Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit)
Dossin Great Lakes Museum (Detroit)
DNR Outdoor Adventure Center {Detroit}
GM Renaissance Center (Detroit) — Free tours daily
Ice skating in Campus Martius Park (Detroit)
Jungle Java (Canton)
Michigan Science Center (Detroit)
The Michigan Science Center in Detroit offers fun for all ages
Museum of Contemporary Art (Detroit)
Motown Museum (Detroit)
PuppetArt Detroit Puppet Theater (Detroit)
Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (Dearborn)
Selfridge Military Air Museum (Mt. Clemens)
Sky Zone Trampoline Park (Canton, Taylor)
Eleanor & Edsel Ford House (Grosse Pointe Shores)
Inside The Henry Ford Museum
OTHER PLACES TO CONSIDER
- Bowling alleys
- Community theatres — Check for kid-friendly productions!
- Community pools {Places like Aqua Tots and Goldfish Swim School periodically have open swim times too!}
- Libraries — Check for free programming
- Roller rinks — Check for “Rollers and strollers” events for young kids and open skates
- Ice skating rinks
- Nature Centers — Check for winter programming
- Sledding (Links to a website full of spots to sled in Michigan)
- Chuck E. Cheese’s (Ann Arbor, Canton, Novi, Dearborn, Troy, Southgate, Sterling Heights, Rochester Hills, Lansing and Flint)
- Huron-Clinton Metroparks (Various locations) – Tons of wintertime programming for kids of all ages. We love Kensington!
- Pump It Up! (Auburn Hills, Canton, Shelby Township, Taylor, Wixom)
Where did I miss? What are your favorite places for kids big and small during winter around southeast Michigan?