10 Kid-Friendly Things to Do in Canberra

Think Canberra is all politics and museums? Think again, the family-friendly Aussie capital is also about animal encounters, playgrounds and outdoor adventures. The best part? Half of it’s free! Learn a little about Canberra’s child-friendly side below.

Canberra: A Secret Kids’ Paradise

There’s a slide that drops you six metres inside a science museum. A playground shaped like giant acorns, connected by rope tunnels and nest swings. Welcome to Canberra, a city built for scientists, historians and politicians on paper, but somehow perfect for kids in practice!

Between the interactive museums and the free playgrounds scattered along the lake, there’s enough here to fill a long weekend with all kinds of exciting activities. Best of all, a huge chunk of it costs nothing at all. So skip the “boring capital” jokes (we hear them all too often!) and pack the sunscreen, because you need to get ready for a weekend of adventure with the family.

Things to Do in Canberra with the Kids

Here are 10 things that’ll turn Canberra into the family holiday nobody saw coming!

Questacon (National Science and Technology Centre)

Questacon is Canberra’s National Science and Technology Centre, right in the heart of the Parliamentary Zone with over 200 hands-on exhibits spread across eight themed galleries. This wondrous place is built entirely around learning by doing, so instead of boring glass cabinets, your kids get to feel a simulated earthquake in Awesome Earth and test their reflexes against flashing lights in the Excite@Q gallery.

For the very little ones, Mini Q is a dedicated space for under-6s with water play and a construction zone, so even toddlers have somewhere to explore. Don’t miss the live science shows and demonstrations running throughout the day; a great way to break up the self-guided exploring!

National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia sits right on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, and its bold, colourful architecture is worth the visit on its own before you’ve even stepped inside. Entry to the permanent galleries is free, and the exhibits cover a genuinely broad sweep of the country’s story, from the deep history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through to natural disasters, wildlife and everyday Australian life.

For younger children, there’s a dedicated indoor play space for under-5s, while older kids will find plenty of interactive screens and hands-on elements scattered through the galleries to keep them engaged enough for at least an hour of exploring.

Cockington Green Gardens

Found just outside of Gold Creek Village, meticulously crafted miniature buildings from more than 30 countries sit among immaculately kept gardens. This is a Canberra institution that’s been family-run across four generations since it first opened in 1979!

Cockington Green Gardens is a tiny village complete with cricket matches and cobbled cottages, standing alongside global icons like Peru’s Machu Picchu and the Eiffel Tower. The kids will love the interactive touches scattered throughout, pressing buttons to set model trains racing or windmills turning.

A miniature steam train loops around the international display for younger visitors, too. By the way, this one’s easy to pair with the nearby National Dinosaur Museum nearby or round off with a Devonshire tea at the on-site garden café.

National Zoo & Aquarium

Australia’s only combined zoo and aquarium spans 47 acres in Canberra’s Weston Creek, home to more than 200 native and exotic animals and the largest inland saltwater tank in the country. Lions, tigers, giraffes and cheetahs sit alongside native species like dingoes, wombats and Tasmanian devils, and the hands-on encounters are what set this zoo apart, kids can feed a lion, pat a cheetah or get up close with meerkats and lemurs on one of the guided experiences.

There’s also a fibreglass animal playground for younger children to climb over, plenty of grassed picnic areas, and even the option to stay overnight in a giraffe treehouse at the zoo’s Jamala Wildlife Lodge. During school holidays, the zoo runs a junior keeper program where kids take an active role in animal care for the day, which is a genuinely memorable add-on!

National Dinosaur Museum

Dinosaurs are always a hit with the kids, so why not try the National Dinosaur Museum? Australia’s largest permanent display of prehistoric in Gold Creek Village is home to over 150 dinosaur models, 23 complete skeletons and more than 300 individual fossils spread across a multi-level indoor gallery.

Your kids can walk straight through the gaping mouth of a T-rex to get inside, and the museum takes visitors on a journey from the earliest life on Earth right through to the Ice Age, mixing real fossils and casts with animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar. Outside, the Dinosaur Garden is packed with life-sized fibreglass models kids can climb over and there’s a gift shop with crystals, fossils and dinosaur toys if you want to take a little piece of prehistory home.

By the way, this museum pairs naturally with a visit to Cockington Green Gardens next door, because both sit within the same Gold Creek precinct.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

When you’ve had enough of the city, or of museums and attractions, there’s plenty of nature waiting for you. About 45 minutes from the city, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, emus and even the occasional platypus roam freely across Tidbinbilla. There are more than 24 marked trails to choose from, ranging from a gentle 20-minute stroll along the Koala Path to full-day treks up to Gibraltar Peak, so there’s an option to suit toddlers and teenagers alike.

The Sanctuary is the easiest starting point for younger kids, a stroller and wheelchair-friendly precinct where paved paths link a series of wildlife exhibits, and the Nature Discovery Playground and picnic areas nearby make it easy to turn the visit into a full day out. And this is no normal nature reserve, because rangers also run regular hands-on activities during school holidays. You’ve got everything from bushwalking skills sessions to animal tracking challenges to choose from.

Boundless (all-abilities playground)

There’s a fully fenced playground on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin called Boundless, built to celebrate Canberra’s centenary and still one of the city’s best all-abilities play spaces. It’s zoned into different areas, tunnel slides, climbing poles and stepping bridges for the more adventurous, a giant sand pit and sealed digger for younger kids, and a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round, aero-glider rocker and all-abilities swing for genuinely inclusive play.

Hang out here for a bit longer and there are BBQs, picnic tables and public toilets right on site too.

Hire a Boat

You can’t come to Canberra and not make the most of the lake! Love Boats operates from three spots around Lake Burley Griffin, Regatta Point, Commonwealth Place and Kingston Foreshore, letting families captain their own electric boat (with no licence required!).

Each boat holds up to ten people and comes with a fully enclosed canopy plus a Bluetooth stereo and a built-in fridge. So you can do a scenic cruise past landmarks like the National Carillon and the National Museum and even bring a picnic. Kids will get a kick out of “driving,” and with a top speed of just 9km/h, there’s plenty of time to relax and take in the sights rather than rush past them.

Love Boats also runs pedal boats holding up to four passengers.

National Arboretum’s Pod Playground

Perched high on a hilltop with sweeping views back over Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin, this award-winning playground takes its inspiration from seeds as the beginning of forest life. Giant acorn cubbies appear to float above the ground on stilts, connected by climbing nets and tube slides.

The Pod Playground is free to enter and sits within the wider National Arboretum, so you can grab a coffee at the Village Centre café while the kids clamber through the nets.

Lake Burley Griffin

The iconic and central Lake Burley Griffin sits right at the heart of Canberra, ringed by a sealed path that’s easy to pick up from almost anywhere in the city. The full loop runs around 28 kilometres, but families don’t need to commit to the whole thing. Shorter bits like the walk between Regatta Point and the National Museum are flat and easy for little legs.

Bikes and scooters can be hired right on the lake’s edge!

Yarralumla Play Station (mini train, mini golf, petting area)

Bluebell, the miniature train at Yarralumla Play Station, loops through a figure-eight track past old heritage carriages and a WWII-era anti-submarine gun, stopping halfway at Farm Friends Station where your kids can feed cows, alpacas, goats and horses along the way.

Stop by the 36-hole mini golf course themed entirely around Canberra landmarks and then enjoy something sweet at the café overlooking the lake.

Where to Stay in Canberra

Stay conveniently and on a budget at Ibis Styles Canberra, an award-winning 4-star hotel in Narrabundah, that offers 207 family-friendly rooms just 10 minutes from the city, along with an on-site restaurant, pool and fitness centre to keep everyone entertained between sightseeing days.

Otherwise, opt for Ibis Styles Canberra Eaglehawk which is even more family-suited, set across 30 acres of gardens and bushland with free-roaming kangaroos, a pool, playground and tennis courts on site. Kids can burn off energy right at the hotel, and with the Winter Garden Restaurant and a pizza bar both on site, it’s ideal after a long day in the city!