Things to Do With Small Children In and Around Wake Forest, NC

Indoor Activities

• Keep the little one̵7;s entertained on a rainy day with one of Wake Forest̵7;s many indoor activities. Jumpin̵7; Beans (jumpinbeanswakeforest.com) is an inflatable play space for kids ages 1 to 10. With two giant inflatable structures, as well as a special areas for babies and toddlers with soft play equipment, kids can jump and play for hours on end. For mom and dad, the facility has free WiFi and a café with coffee and snacks. Kidventurez (kidventurez.com) is a play center for small children with a variety of creative play activities. A pretend kitchen, art center, red barn playhouse and puppet stage are just a few of the things kids can enjoy at Kidventurez. If you̵7;ve got a little artist on your hands, head over to Clay Fusion (clayfusion.com) where kids can pick a piece of pottery and paint it any way they like. Once they're done, you can leave the pottery there for glazing and firing -- and pick it up the following week.

Museums

• Marble̵7;s Kids Museum (marbleskidsmuseum.org) in Raleigh is a multi-leveled facility where kids can get creative and use their imaginations in play. For example, they can shop in the pretend supermarket or whip up a meal in the makeshift restaurant. The museum also features things like an art area, water table and a toddler area for kids under age 3. Raleigh is also home to the NC Museum of Natural Science (naturalsciences.org) where small children can enjoy four floors of exhibits, hands-on activities, live animals and fun programs. The Museum of Life and Science (lifeandscience.org) is located just over 20 miles from Wake Forest in Durham. Here, kids can learn about dinosaurs, check out the butterfly conservatory and explore the outdoor animal exhibits with live black bears, red wolves and lemurs. There are also a variety of hands-on exhibits indoors for kids of all ages.

Outdoor Recreation

• Just 30 minutes from Wake Forest in Creedmoor is Three Bear Acres (threebearsacres.com). This expansive outdoor recreational facility lets kids play and learn using their imaginations. From climbing through crooked tree houses and zooming down the toboggan slide to making pies in the mud kitchen and painting on the graffiti wall, small children will likely have a blast at Three Bear Acres. Hill Ridge Farm (hillridgefarms.com) is located in Youngsville, just 15 minutes from Wake Forest. It features a giant slide, live farm animals, train and hayrides, a corn barn, moon bounce and playground. Head to the farm in the fall to pick pumpkins and find your way out of the hay maze. There̵7;s also exhibits on the farm where children can see old-time farm equipment.

Sports and Recreation

• Get active tots moving with Wake Forest sports and recreation programs. The Tumble Gym (thetumblegym.com) offers kids' tumbling classes starting for little ones as young as age 2. You can also drop in on Friday̵7;s and Sunday̵7;s for open gym where kids are free to play, tumble and jump on the different types of gymnastics equipment in the facility. Wake Forest Parks Department (wakeforestnc.gov) offers several sports and recreational programs for toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children. Soccer, baseball, basketball, creative dance movement, ballet and gymnastics are some of the programs small children might enjoy. Programs and classes are available for everyone, but Wake Forest residents receive a discount on some.