Here are 10 great activities to do with your child while in Phoenix, AZ.

1. Rawhide
   Walk the dirt streets of this old west town located in the southern part of Phoenix. Rawhide offers a wide variety of activities for kids including a train ride, a stagecoach ride, gold panning, burro rides and more. Daily gunfights and stunt shows provide entertainment for the whole family. Rawhide also features many shops and a steakhouse where you can order anything from rattlesnake to rocky mountain oysters.
   http://www.rawhide.com
2. Challenger Space Center
   This museum is dedicated to exhibits focusing on space and science. Exhibits include a Columbia Shuttle Memorial, A meteorite exhibit hosted by Arizona State University, a satellite model and more. The center also includes a 10ft model of the space shuttle Atlantis.
   http://www.azchallenger.org
3. Makutu’s Island
   This large 20,000+ sqft indoor playground, located in Chandler, AZ offers a fun adventure for kids and adults alike. Centered around a large tree, Makutu’s Island offers tunnels, caves, slides, ropes and other structures for kids to climb on. There is a café and arcade on site as well.
   http://www.makutusisland.com
4. Castles and Coasters
   The only real amusement park in Arizona, Castles and Coaster offers a couple of roller coasters, a log flume and various other amusement park rides. There is a large arcade within the castle, 4 miniature golf courses and go karts.
   http://www.castlesncoasters.com
5. Arizona Renaissance Festival
   During the months of February and March, the Arizona Renaissance Festival sets up shop in the far east valley. The festival is famous for its jousts, comedy shows, and turkey legs. There are many shops and exhibits for the whole family to explore. Guests can participate in various activities including archery, glass blowing and more.
   http://www.royalfaires.com/arizona
6. Arizona Science Center
   The Arizona Science Center is located in downtown phoenix, located in the heritage and science park. The science center offers various permanent exhibits including construction, body and health, forces of nature and my digital world. The science center also has a large screen theatre as well as a planetarium. Various exhibits have passed through the science center on tours around the country.
   http://www.azscience.org/
7. Golfland/Sunsplash
   A giant water park/ miniature golf park located in Mesa, Golfland/Sunsplash offers many different water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river and more. Golfland offers 4 miniature golf courses, go karts, and a large arcade. The park is a great place to spend those hot summer days cooling off.
   http://www.golfland.com
8. Phoenix Children’s Museum
   The Phoenix Children’s Museum is located downtown and offers a wide variety of activities and exhibits geared towards ages 0-10. Children learn through playing with and exploring these different exhibits geared towards the arts, science business and more.
   http://www.childrensmuseumofphoenix.org
9. McCormick Stillman Railroad Park
   McCormick Stillman Railroad Park is a great place to spend the day and enjoy the Arizona sun shine. The park offers two different train rides, a model train club, a carousel, playgrounds and plenty of picnic areas. The park also is home to full size Pullman railroad cars which you can walk through.
   http://www.therailroadpark.com
10. Phoenix Zoo
    The phoenix zoo is located in the Papago Park area and is built near some beautiful and interesting rock formations. The zoo includes a variety of animals both native to Arizona and from around the world. You can expect to see bears, wild cats, giraffes, elephants and more. The zoo contains an Arizona Trail exhibit which allows you to view animal and plant life from around the state.
    http://www.phoenixzoo.org

We are starting a new series to help plan out vacations or weekend activities. We will be listing 10 things to do with your kids for different cities. If you live in one of the cities or are planning on visitng them this will be a great reference to help plan activities with your kids. If you have any suggestions for activities please email us at info@dailydads.com.

Please check out our first city Phoenix, AZ

This morning my 3 year old said something i’ve never heard out of his mouth… “Daddy I’m cold.” Ok so I’m sure a lot are thinking “Yeah right, you’ve never heard that before”. Well my son has just recently started really talking well and we live in the furnace known as Phoenix. After I can’t count how many days of walking outside into an oven, the cooler weather has finally hit us. Now you must remember when I say cooler weather, the high today is supposed to be around 90 degrees, but the mornings are a bit brisk.

This is one of my favorite times of year because unlike most places, here in phoenix, fall is the time to really get out and do things. In the summer it is much too hot to be outside for more than a few seconds, so we have to rely on spring and fall for our outdoor activities. I’m really looking forward to taking my son out and playing sports such as baseball, basketball and football. He has been begging us all summer to play outside more. Now he finally can. Maybe I can finally get him to ride his big wheel.

To us, fall mean’s we can go to the zoo, take a hike in the mountains or just sit out and look at the stars. While many bundle up for the cold months of autumn, we look forward to the freedom of the outdoors and a little physical activity.

Please feel free to post any comments about what you like to do in the Fall. If you are like me and live in a warm area of the world, what outdoor activities do you look forward to? If you live in a cooler area, what do you like best about this time of year?