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?
I LOVE that you did this. Thank you now and in advance for the numerous times I’ll be checking it this winter. I’m going to send it to the calendar person in my MOMS Club for ideas, too 🙂
(One place is the former Detroit Science Center is reopening as the Michigan Science Center. Hopefully my kids will still love it there; I don’t know what they’ve changed. They’re having a press conference on the 4th to announce the official date but are definitely having Planetarium showings during Noel Nights downtown.)
Thanks so much, Angela and thanks for the tip on Michigan Science Center…Not sure how I missed the reopening news, but that’s SO exciting. I loved that place before and am glad to see it’s reopening 😀
Thanks for this list! What a great resource.
No problem! Definitely let me know if there are spots I missed or if you come across any great ideas to add 🙂
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt in Canton is a great place for an excursion with the kids. It’s a fun self-serve yogurt bar and they offer dairy-free options, too. Froyo is a better-for-you treat, and along with the candy mix-ins, there’s fresh-cut fruit, granola, and nuts you can add as toppings. There’s a chalkboard for guests to color on and an upbeat, family-friendly environment. They hand out stickers and tattoos, to the little ones. Locations in Shelby Twp, Warren, Northville, Livonia, and Novi, too.
This is the best list ever!!
I’ve hit all of the Genesse & Ingam county places and Castaway Play in Howell but there are so many other places that we need to check out!!
Too funny, I’ve been to all the places except for those in Genesse and Ingham 😉 I really want to check out the Longway Planetarium one of these days!
This is my kind of site – I always pick up family fun events and put them in my calendar just in case. We enjoy trying new things and places – this will be added to my favorites! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by, Dionne! Hope it will be useful for planning future fun 😀
People need to note even though this says “All the places found” this is not an entire list of places as there are many many more. FYI
Absolutely, Jill. If you have any suggestions of places to add, please feel free to let me know and I’ll pop them in 🙂
This is an amazing list! I am gong to share it over on the Bargain Shopper Detroit Facebook page!
Just an FYI: Northville is in Wayne County, not Oakland (Tiny Town Lounge). Just wanted to correct that in case someone was looking for anything in Northville.
Thanks for the heads up! I didn’t realize Northville is technically divided between Wayne and Oakland Counties. Looks like most is in O.C. but parts of Northville are in Wayne. How crazy!
Actually probably 90-95% of Northville is in Wayne County. Anything south of 8 Mile Road is Wayne. I actually live in the Oakland County part of Northville & all the time forget that it’s mostly Wayne. 🙂
This is a great list! There is also the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti, Wayne county. We haven’t been there yet, but plan to go there soon ~ looks like fun! Here is the link for their website: http://www.michiganfirehousemuseum.org/
Thanks so much! They are on my list under Washtenaw County. I’ve heard awesome things, so you should definitely check it out 😀
New indoor fun center in Livonia.
Come in anytime every day includes FREE arcades.
Birthday Parties and Fundraisers, check out our website
http://www.bounceitupparty.com
Also, check out our facebook page.
🙂
Looks fab! Added you and liked you on Facebook 😀
Wow this is just amazing. Thank you so much for all of the great ideas. I didn’t know about most of these great activities and places for kids it just blew my mind. I never would have found some of these places without your help. Thank you
Good and helpful list..
FYI.. Selfridge in Mount Clemens is actually in Macomb County.
Some other things to consider for Macomb County
Lake Saint Clair Metro Beach (formerly known as Metro Beach)
http://www.metroparks.com/Lake-St.-Clair-Metropark
Plenty of Cider Mills and “pick your own” farms
My favorite being Blakes (Armada, MI.)
http://www.blakefarms.com/
Jungle Java
http://www.junglejavaplay.com/clinton/
and of course the seemingly countless Chucky Cheeses.
What about places in Grand Rapids, we would love to know. Thanks in advance.
Macomb county now has an Airtime and Sky zone (trampolines )
Both in Shelby township.
=)
Although not technically in southeastern Michigan, the Toledo Zoo is a wonderful place for both children and adults.
Wayne County light fest. You can drive your car through hines park and see millions of lights. Starting at merriman and hines and going to outer drive and hines. Super fun foe the whole family
Zap Zone has locations in a few of the counties. http://Www.zap-zone.com
My son loved making christmas gifts at pottery creations for his friends and family! It’s located in the city ofWyandotte in Wayne county. 🙂
Did you know about the Michigan Activity Pass program? You can use you library card from a Participating Michigan library to check out passes to many of these attractions.
http://www.eventkeeper.com/prmaps/code/index.cfm?mn=628322
Yes! LOVE that program. I’ve used it several times and written about it on here a few times. Great tip to include here too!
Ann Arbor has so much to see and do however as far as “kids” activities you can NEVER go wrong with Pin Ball Pete’s. Kids of all ages enjoy it and it’s walking distance to parking and restaurants so you can take the family out for dinner and some games. I hope this helps anyone who is looking to cure some winter or rainy day boredom! 🙂
In Genesee County (Flint) right across the street from Sloan Museum and next to the Longway Planetarium is the Flint Institute of Art. Permanently installed galleries are free everyday (ancient meso-American art, to renaissance furniture and tapestry, to Impressionism, a glass paperweight collection to modern art.) The changing gallery (which in the past has included exhibits from Warhol and Chihuly) is free on Saturday.
This is a great list!
While I was on my lunch break in Troy getting some frozen yogurt at Zoyo Neighborhood Yogurt (an excellent place for kids with lots of healthy options, and even non-dairy options), a couple of moms came in with 5-6 kids that had an off day at their school saying that they had just come from swimming at Aqua Tots, which is right across Big Beaver in Troy. Both sounded like great options for my son in wintertime.
One place I’d say you missed is the Detroit Film Theatre which is directly attached/connected to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Here you’ll find many independent and critically-acclaimed films throughout the year. As it’s a part of the DIA the interior is gorgeous and breath taking and a work of art itself just like the rest of the DIA. The concession stand on the second floor features pastries and wine in addition to non-alcoholic options for kids. As if that wasn’t enough to belong on this list, the highlight of the year comes in the winter where they feature all of the animated and live action shorts that have been nominated for an academy award. Last year they actually had to host this on 11 different nights to accommodate everyone. It’s an entertaining night and a fantastic place for a date or to hang with friends.
Great list! Sad to say the the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory moved out of state and closed its Chelsea location in December 2014. On the bright side, I have a few more suggestions in Chelsea that you can add to your list. Eddy Discovery Center at Waterloo Recreation in Chelsea offers wonderful programming both indoors and outdoors all year long. The Arctic Coliseum is a fun place for kids as well, offering both open skate and skating lessons, with a full restaurant upstairs to refuel. You can find bowling alleys in most areas, but I’m particularly fond of the one in my own town, Chelsea Lanes. Same goes for libraries — I know our Chelsea District Library has tons of events and programs for babies, children, and teens all year long. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us!
We have lots of great listings for places to go and things to do on http://chelseamich.com, too!
Thank you! Feel free to keep me in the loop with upcoming family fun for my monthly family fun calendars. You can email me directly to submit ideas at laurenmarieweber {@} gmail.com. 🙂
Great tips! Thanks for the heads up on the factory…I was hoping to visit soon. Bummer!
Just so you know..Rochester Play has reopened in Rochester Hills (Oakland County) and there is now a Robot Garage in Rochester Hills as well. Great List!
Gymboree is a developmental program for kids under 5 in Rochester and Birmingham. They offer gym, music, & art classes as well as open play times.
Thank you so much for helping bust our winter with a toddler blues!
You got it! I SO can understand that frustration 😉 Have fun!
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