Free Admission Days @ Portland Children’s Museum

Come enjoy the Museum for free, courtesy of their friend Target, on the first Friday of every month from 4:00pm-8:00pm.

Portland Children’s Museum was founded by visionary Dorothea Lensch in 1946 as part of Portland Parks and Recreation. The Museum is now the sixth oldest children’s museum in the country and each year the Museum welcomes more than 316,000 children from birth to age ten and their caregivers.

Since moving to its current location in 2001, the Museum has hosted over 1.6 million visitors from across the country and the world, is home to Opal Public Charter and Museum School, and has become a regional resource for early childhood development. Within the Museum Center for Learning, educators are studying the needs of young children and the kinds of environments and approaches to teaching that inspire children to grow and learn.

Portland Children’s Museum
4015 SW Canyon Rd, Portland, OR 97221
(503) 223-6500

Open Gym at The Children's Gym in NE PDX

Children crawling and up are invited to come play in our gymnastics facility whenever they hold Open Gym! A responsible adult must accompany children on the floor. Open Gym happens about everyday from 12:30 to 1:30 Monday- Friday and 1 to 2 on the weekends.

The Children's Gym occupies the space between 16th and 17th Ave on Sandy Blvd, a 12,000 square foot facility. Their gymnastics equipment collection is extensive, encompassing 4 long beams, 2 short beams, low rings, high rings, 3 spring boards that create 3 separate vaulting spaces, a thirty-foot Tumbl Trak, parallel bars, uneven bars, 3 unique sets of junior bars, a large rectangular trampoline, and a 24 by 30 foot floor space for tumbling.

They even have mats of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and the entire gymnastics apparatus area is covered in 2-inch-thick, specially made gymnastics flooring to absorb shock and protect against injury.

For members, cost is $5 for the 1st child and $3 for each additional child. For non-members, cost is $10 for the 1st child and $5 for each additional child.

Click here to see a complete schedule and learn more about Open Gym at TCG.

Portland Aquarium

Looking for a fun outing for the whole family? The Portland Aquarium is the perfect pick for an awesome (and educational!) experience. From examining colorful fish to petting stingrays, your little ones will have the time of their lives at the Aquarium.

Who said aquariums only had fish? The Portland Aquarium doesn’t stop there, offering an array of sharks, fish, reptiles, and even birds! Kiddos can touch and feed sharks and stingrays, among lots of other types of fish. They can even interact with and feed one of the Aquarium’s Giant Pacific Octopuses. Thanks to the many child-height exhibits, your little ones won’t have any problems getting up close and personal with some amazing animals. Keep the Portland Aquarium in mind the next time you’re planning a birthday party, too—complete with an educational tour, party tables, and friendly staff to help host, you won’t have to worry about a thing!

The Portland Aquarium’s convenient location makes it super easy to visit on a weekend or a weekday, and the admissions prices are a steal. Kiddos ages 2 and under get in free, ages 2-11 are $7.95, and ages 12 and up are $10.95. Also, if your worried about that extra dollar, they have a sale where you can save a dollar by purchasing your tickets online!

Whether you’re hoping to have a fun outing with the family or a perfect birthday party for your little one, the Portland Aquarium is the perfect choice. With 2,500 species on exhibit, you can be sure that everyone in your group will find something that captures their imagination.

Opening Hours
Sunday – Thursday at 10 a.m. -7 p.m.

Friday & Saturday at  10 a.m. -8 p.m.

Portland Aquarium
16323 SE McLoughlin Blvd.
Milwaukie, OR 97267
Online: portlandaquarium.net

The Playground Gym

WHAT IS OPEN PLAY?
Portland’s original play date space is still the best! The Playground Gym opens a unique facility to the public during their Open Play times. Open Play times are open to children 1 to 12 yeas old and are a nice way to introduce your child to their equipment, coaches and learning environment. It’s also a fantastic way to escape inclement weather and for you to get on the mat with your child for some fun bonding time.

WHY PLAY?
The power of play is undeniable. Every study done on the topic shows kids develop better & faster when they engage in regular physical activity. Not only does active & creative play make children happier and healthier, but it actively promotes development of the their neurological pathways, positively affecting mood, memory, attentions spans, and behavior.

WHY THE PLAYGROUND GYM?
The Playground Gym was voted Portland’s Best Indoor Play Space for a reason–they take active, creative play very seriously. There are plenty of indoor & outdoor play structures in town focused on traditional equipment like monkey bars, slides, beams and the like. While they have those things too, their space is made up largely of “loose parts” rather than a static play structure or fixed course. With traditional (adult designed) play structures kids too often “consume” play, rather than create it. Adults often have an opinion about how kids should play, something they want to control or prescribe. They've found that kids do it best themselves! Their move-able parts inspire active, creative play. Participants can invent purposeful play on their own terms, engaging kids’ creative sides, as well as challenging their physical skills. They can create their own games, engineer their own obstacle courses and challenge themselves in ways that no other place can reproduce.

Drop Ins

• Open Gyms *check schedule above for Open Play times.*
• $8 for the first child, $12 for two. $3 each additional child.
• Kids enrolled in our classes: $6 for the first child, $10 for two. $3 each additional child.
• Purchase an Open Play punch card and recieve 20% the costs listed above!

Drop in Classes
$15.
$10 for kids enrolled in another class.

Open Play Fees

• Kids not enrolled in classes: $8 for one child, $12 for two. $3 each additional child.
• Kids enrolled in classes: $6 for the first child, $10 for two. $3 each additional child.

** Purchase an Open Play punch card and receive 20% savings on the above prices! Parental supervision is required.

East Portland Indoor Pool

Parent/Preschool Swim
Parent/Preschool Swim is wonderful because it's just for preschoolers and their adult companions. Unlike the Mt. Scott Community Center, the parent/ preschool swim is only available every Friday at 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Family Swim
The Family Swim is created for families with older children. The water slide is only available on Fridays, the swim itself runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It does cost a little bit to swim but not that much. For drop-in visits cost about $6 for 18 and older, around $5 for teens, and about $4 for kids 3 to 12. Any children younger than 3 are free.


East Portland Community Center & Indoor Pool
740 SE 106th Ave
Portland, OR 97216

Mt. Scott Indoor Pool

Parent/Preschool Swim
I love this because it's available only to preschoolers and their adult companions. Makes it much easier on the parent because you don't have to fear some over sized teenager running into your kid while he's trying to swim! The best part is that Mt. Scott Community Center offers these swims every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Family Swim
Now for those parents with older kids, there is their family swim. This is pretty fun for even parents because they open up the water slide, your never too old to enjoy a water slide! The family swim is open every Monday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It does cost a little bit to swim but not that much. For drop-in visits cost about $6 for 18 and older, around $5 for teens, and about $4 for kids 3 to 12. Any children younger than 3 are free.

Mt. Scott Community Center
5530 SE 72 Ave
Portland, OR 97206