Top 10 Free Activities for Kids in Austin

Addie Gross Free Fun

Austin is full of incredible activities for families, and the best part is, many of them are completely free! Whether you’re looking for outdoor adventures, creative experiences, or local events, there are plenty of budget-friendly ways to keep kids entertained. Here’s our list of the top 10 free activities for kids in Austin that you can enjoy year-round.

1. Austin Nature & Science Center

We love coming to the Austin Nature & Science Center. They have a small indoor section with fossils and interactive exhibits, plus a large outdoor space with a pond, dinosaur bones dig sand pit, real live animals, and more. They also have a free story time on Mondays at 9:30 a.m.

2. Free History Museums

Explore the Bullock Museum, which is free the first Sunday of each month from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Or see the fossils at the Texas Science & Natural History Museum for free on the fourth Sunday of each month.

3. Free Art Museums

You can visit Laguna Gloria for free on the second Saturday of each month. The Umlauf Sculpture Garden also has free family days that are usually once a month.

4. Hikes

Most hikes in the Austin area are free and there are so many right in the heart of the city! That’s one of our favorite things about living here!

5. Playgrounds/Parks

6. Central Public Library

We love all libraries, but few can compare to the biggest and best library in Austin: The Central Public Library!

7. Story Times

Obviously libraries have story times, but you can find fun story times all around Austin are various locations like Austin Nature & Science Center, some Whole Foods locations (inquire at your local store), Letterpress Play, Paper Bark Birch, First Light Books, BookPeople, and more.

8. See Live Music

You can’t live in or visit the live music capital of the world and not go see live music! Lucky for us, there are plenty of places where you can find it for free as well. Central Market North Lamar has live music on their patio most Thursdays-Sundays (check here for updates). Cherrywood Coffeehouse has free live kids shows every Sunday on their patio at 10 a.m. The Hive often has live kids music as well.

9. Ride The Zilker Eagle (and visit Zilker Park)

Did you know that the Zilker Eagle Mini Train has FREE Community hours on every third Wednesday of each month, rides will be free to the public between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.,