12 Fun & Educational Ideas For Spending Time With Dad

With Father’s Day just around the corner, there are many of us who are thinking about Dad, especially all the kids who love and adore their father (even if they do give them gray hair and refuse to listen to his sage advice).

Here’s a list of some fun Dad/Kid activities for the summer months:

Make something together at one of the Saturday Build-it Clinics for kids held at Lowe’s or Home Depot each month.

Head out to the park to toss around a football, race Dad down the trails or enjoy one of these fun activities.

Spend the day at the KC Zoo and act like animals for the afternoon. Dad’s get in free on Father’s Day and also get a free hotdog or brat! Plus, Dads are always willing to imitate a monkey with the kids.

Most Dads will want their kids to learn how to save money, right? Why not visit the Money Museum (free!) to enjoy some money activities, see what a million dollars looks like and take home a bag of money!

Enjoy one of the free kid’s workshops at Bass Pro as part of their Family Summer Camp program. Kids get to do a craft, project and try their hand at archery, fishing, shooting, animal tracking and more (while Dad’s get to browse and enjoy the store – woo hoo!)

Dads are also big on encouraging the kids to ‘reach for the stars’ — so enjoy an evening together observing the stars at Powell Observatory.

Maybe Dad’s a history buff – take him to browse the exhibits at the World War I Museum and get a great view of the city from Liberty Memorial. Or head over to Truman Library for the afternoon.

Enjoy a game of bowling with the Kids Bowl Free program at one of the many locations around Kansas City.

Take a free tour at the Harley-Davidson factory to see how they make their bikes (kids have to be at least 12 years old to attend this one).

Be adventurous! Head out to one of our local parks and rent a canoe or kayak. Or take your bikes and explore a new trail in town.

Catch a movie together! If Dad loves action, the new superman movie ‘Man of Steel’ is out in time for Father’s Day weekend. If he’s more of a nature guy, Wonderscope & Screenland are teaming up for weekend showings of all four of the Disney Nature film series this summer!

Or just relax in your own backyard with some fun family games.

This post is by my friend Jacquie Fisher who is the author and curator of KCEdventures. KC Edventures is an online resource that provides parents & grandparents with ideas to keep kids creative, curious and connected to the world around them. (In my speak, they give you ideas that combine hands-on, with books, and places to go in Kansas City.)