Things to do with kids in Rochester

12 family-friendly places in Rochester: zoos, aquariums, playgrounds and more.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Buy
Archimage
Great gift shop with an eclectic selection. They sell children's toys, cards, jewelry, incense, stones, musical instruments, chimes, housewares, unconventional clothing items, and more. All at a variety of price points; it's not all cheap kitsch and it's not all pricey luxury. Well worth a stop in to browse, if nothing else.
Mon-Fri 11AM-7PM, Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun noon-5PM; closed holidays
Do
Geva Theatre Center
Geva, the city's premiere professional theater company, hosts a variety of productions on its two stages, housed in a converted armory! The yearly production of A Christmas Carol is a popular family tradition. Cafe on site. Discounts are available for students and seniors.
Eat
Jines
According to the jingle, "Sooner or later, everyone dines at Jines," which may only be a slight exaggeration. Jines is one of a cluster of restaurants at the corner of Park and Berkeley, each with very popular sidewalk tables (at least in nice weather), which makes this a particularly lively and inviting stretch of Park Avenue. Jines was part of the wave of Greek-American diners that opened in the 60s and 70s, though this is more "family restaurant" than "greasy spoon". The atmosphere and service are familial (the Gines family still runs the place), and the menu is extensive, hearty, and not without its creativity.
Sun-Tue 7AM-3PM, Wed-Sat 7AM-9PM$15-25
Eat
Mark's Texas Hots
This is where drunk college kids stumble off of Monroe Ave. to eat a garbage plate. The garbage plates from establishments that reside inside the city limits of Rochester have a decidedly more flavorful character than those in the suburbs. Mark's is the only diner you might ever visit that has a bouncer. Go if only for the spectacle.
Daily 24 hours$4-14
Eat
Mt. Hope Family Diner
A cozy little diner on the edge of Collegetown and URMC, frequented by U of R students and hospital workers alike. Excellent chocolate mint cake. Be careful not to miss the turn if driving from the north.
Mon-Wed 6AM-9PM, Thu-Sat 6AM-3PM, Sun 9AM-4PM
Do
Ontario Beach Park
Located at the northernmost reaches of the city, Ontario Beach is the most popular beach area in Rochester. Algae problems of prior years have largely been alleviated, but occasionally the beach may still need to be closed. When conditions allow, swimming is open 11AM-7PM daily during the summer. If you can't go in the water, though, there are other things to do; in particular, the 1905 Dentzel carousel should not be missed. There's also pickleball, ice skating on a synthetic ice rink, a playground, and five picnic shelters. No pets.
7AM-10PMCarouselː $1/ride, All day $5
See
Rochester Museum and Science Center
A science museum filled with hands-on exhibits and activities. Fantastic for kids, but a lot of it is fun for parents, too. Major hands-on exhibits include Wonders of Water, How Things Work, and Illumination: The World of Light and Optics. Don't miss the enormous mastodon skeleton in Expedition Earth, or the musical Tesla coils in the Electricity Theater. Other permanent exhibits focus on the people of the Haudenosaunee, 19th-century Rochester, and the Underground Railroad. The Strasenburgh Planetarium is next door; get a $4 discount on combined admission when you purchase in person.
Tue-Sat 9AM-5PM (+Mon during school breaks), Sun 11AM-5PMAdults $19, military/veteran $16, seniors/students $18, ages 3-18 $17, under 3 free
See
Seneca Park
While it's best known for the Seneca Park Zoo, the rest of Seneca Park largely maintains its Olmsted design focused on pastoral fields and river overlooks. Trout Lake, formed by damming a natural spring, is a gem. You can access Maplewood Park and the Genesee Riverway Trail via pedestrian bridge over the river.
7AM-11PM (summer hours)
See
Seneca Park Zoo
Rochester's zoo is nestled inside the Olmsted-designed Seneca Park. While small—the entire zoo can easily be enjoyed in an afternoon—a lot of value is packed into the small area. The zoo has the only African elephants in the state, part of their Step Into Africa exhibit that includes a rhinoceros, giraffes, lions, baboons, and zebras. The Rocky Coasts exhibit, with polar bears, sea lions, and penguins, is another highlight.
Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; Nov-Mar: daily 10AM-4PM; closed first Sat in Jun, Thanksgiving, 25 Dec, 1 JanApr-Oct: ages 12-62 $12, ages 63+ $11, ages 3-11 $9, under 3 free; $2 discount Nov-Mar
See
The Strong National Museum of Play
This downtown children's museum, the only one in the world with a specific focus on play, is the place to visit if you have kids from 1-12. You can easily spend a whole day here, or visit a couple of times to enjoy everything. This museum focuses on learning through play and features tons of interactive exhibits, including some focused on well-known themes like Sesame Street. The kid-sized Wegmans supermarket is always a must-do. One nice feature is that most exhibits have information for adults to read (such as on how fairy tales have changed with the times) while the kids do things like climb on a pirate ship. Older visitors (those who can remember the 1980s) may also enjoy the classic arcade cabinets in the eGameRevolution exhibit. The Strong is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame and the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The museum's Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden costs $6 extra and has a limited number of timed tickets available each day.
Sun-Thu 10AM-5PM, Fri Sat 10AM-8PM$25; under 2 free. Butterfly Garden $6 extra; Skyline Climb $8 extra. Discounts for students, veterans, military, SNAP recipients, and members of other museums in the Association of Children's Museums
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Imagine RIT
Rochester Institute of Technology's innovation and creativity festival showcases what happens "when the left brain and right brain collide," featuring hundreds of student projects from every corner of the university. Robotics, music, sign language, virtual reality, ecology, and weird science are just a few of the many subject areas covered; in fact, most of the projects take elements from multiple disciplines and combine them in innovative ways. Plenty of food, hands-on exhibits, and kids' activities make for an unbeatable value for a day out.
Last Sat in April 10AM-5PMFree
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Zoo Brew
Enjoy live music, drink beer and wine, socialize, and enjoy other activities among the animals of the zoo. Ages 21 and up only.
5:30PM-9PM, various dates in summer (and ZooBRRRew in winter)$10 advance, $15 gate, $50 VIP

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Rochester (CC BY-SA 4.0).