When we first moved to Omaha, Nebraska I was 35 weeks pregnant and one of the top things on my mind was what there was to do here with kids. I’ll be honest, I knew nothing about Omaha other than they had corn and steaks, but I was pleasantly surprised that Omaha is packed full of activities and places to spend some good quality time with your family. Omaha continues to be ranked number one on multiple “Best Places to Raise your Family” lists and I can definitely see why. There are many places to get out as a family, but here are some of our favorites.
Family Friendly Activities in Omaha
1. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
This zoo is amazing; TripAdvisor recently named it 'America’s Top Zoo'. It’s a must see for anyone traveling in the Omaha area. It has a jungle building you can walk through with hundreds of animals, a top notch aquarium, desert dome, IMAX, and lots, lots more. This is our children’s favorite place to visit by far because there’s so much to see and who doesn’t love animals! Best bet is to buy a family military pass for $60 and you can go all year. It’s hard to see it all in a day so a military pass ensures you can see it all in multiple visits without breaking the bank!
2. Parks
Omaha has so many beautiful parks and fun playgrounds for the family to enjoy. There are so many open spaces here and we really haven’t found a park that we haven’t enjoyed! Some of our favorites are Elmwood Park in the Dundee Neighborhood of Omaha, Halleck Park in Papillion, Stinson Park in Aksarben, Ralston City Park in Ralston, Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, not to mention all of the wonderful parks in the on-base housing at Offutt and all of the neighborhood parks in Papillion and Bellevue that surround base. Best part? It’s FREE!
3. Omaha Stormchasers Game
Although Omaha doesn’t have a major league baseball team, it is definitely a baseball city. College World Series, anyone?! A fun thing to do in the spring and summer is take your family to a Stormchaser’s game. They are a AAA minor league team for the Kansas City Royals and their games are a blast. Can’t keep your children interested in the game? There’s a family fun area that includes a merry-go-round, bounce houses, playground, not to mention a basketball court, a grass berm, and a small baseball field for kids to play on. Ticket prices are very reasonable so you can catch some baseball and not feel like you were cheated if you have to leave early. There’s fun for everyone there!
4. Omaha Children’s Museum
Bored and have nothing to do with the kids? How about play in a grocery store, be a firefighter, paint a masterpiece, play with water, climb and jump around and do so much more? My kids love the Omaha Children’s Museum and there is so much to do for everyone. We love that they have an “under 3” area so when my children were really young we could go there and play without the fear of getting trampled by bigger kids. They also offer a military pass which is reciprocal at several other museums in the country.
5. Durham Museum
Photo from Durham Museum website
Omaha is a town rich in history. The Union Pacific Railroad headquarters are here and the railroad played a large part in shaping Omaha to the city it is today. The Durham Museum was Union Station back in the day and is architecturally a beautiful landmark. They have several exhibits that pertain to Omaha history and you really can learn so much. My son has a major train obsession so the trains you can climb on and walk through are just about the best things in the whole world. There are several times during the year where the museum is free to visit and we always take advantage of it!
6. Fontenelle Forest
Another of my children’s and our favorite places to visit is Fontenelle Forest. It is our favorite place to hike and to enjoy nature as a family. They have 19 miles of paved trails, 1,400 acres of conserved forest, prairie, and marshland. Have a stroller and don’t feel like going off the beaten path? No worries, they have 1 mile worth of stroller and wheelchair accessible boardwalk that takes to a view of the river. They have many children’s activities and it’s just a great way to spend an afternoon as a family!
There are so many things to do in Omaha as a family; this is just a small sample of it!
Find more fun things to do, read our on and off base reviews near Offutt AFB!
