Detroit with Kids: 22 Best Things To Do in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan is home to world-class museums, quirky art and attractions, a free aquarium, and a fun professional sports scene. We were surprised to find out just how much Detroit has to offer for families traveling in the Midwest. The Motor City took a hard hit during the recession, but it is full of enduring history, and many of its attractions have been renovated and restored to their original 1920s glory.

My family visited Detroit as a stopover between Chicago and Toronto, but there's easily enough to do there to fill a four-day trip. Here are our 22 favorite things to do in Detroit, Michigan with kids, from where to find the best Detroit style pizza to kid-friendly Detroit hotels.

See our Midwest Family Vacation Guide for more fun midwestern cities to visit with kids, like Columbus, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sit in the actual bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the Henry Ford Museum.

Top Things To Do in Detroit, Michigan with Kids

1. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

This one-of-a-kind museum is all about the recent past and how the way we live has evolved in the last century or two. Much of the focus is on how things were made and the way that has changed over the decades. Obviously there's a large section about the history of transportation, but there are also exhibits on how the average American living room has changed over the last five generations. We loved showing our kids what phones, TVs, and music devices used to look like.

Make sure you see the "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit, which shows how social views have changed over time. The exhibit discusses slavery, civil rights, and women's suffrage with artifacts including the actual bus Rosa Parks sat in and the chair Abraham Lincoln occupied at Ford's Theatre.

2. Greenfield Village

This 80-acre historic village adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum includes seven districts where visitors can learn about innovations in American life throughout time. Tour a working farm from the 19th century and visit Liberty Craftworks, where docents mill grist, make glass, and create pottery. Tour the house where Ford was born, visit one of his original factories, ride in a Model T, and stroll down a historic Main Street to visit old-timey shops.

3. Ford Rouge Factory Tour

This is the third option available on the Henry Ford campus. A bus picks visitors up a the Henry Ford Museum and takes them to a factory where actual Ford vehicles are being made. The experience includes exhibits and videos on the innovations the Ford Company has made throughout the last century. Visitors stand on a platform above the action as a truck is assembled and walk over the assembly lines as the finishing touches are put on the F-150.

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See a variety of wildlife, from an octopus to an axolotl, at the free Belle Isle Aquarium.

4. Belle Isle Aquarium

The Belle Isle Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in the US that has been continuously operating in the same location. Bonus: It's FREE! You do have to pay a parking fee to get onto Belle Isle, but it's well worth all the attractions you'll find here. The aquarium itself isn't huge, but it houses lots of local and international aquatic life, from an octopus to an axolotl to typical great lakes gar. All of these are located within a beautiful historic building.

5. Belle Isle Nature Center, Beach, and Lighthouse

If you're paying to park on Belle Isle, there are a few other attractions you can visit. The Nature Center, sponsored by the Detroit Zoo, has specimens of frogs and turtles, exhibits about local waterways, and its own beehive. Tour the historic William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse, the only lighthouse in the country made entirely of marble. And Belle Isle's beach makes for great swimming and picnicking with a view of the Detroit skyline across the river.

6. DNR Outdoor Adventure Center

This unique riverfront attraction in the heart of Detroit, Michigan shows kids the state's outdoor wonders through simulations and demonstrations of activities like fishing, boating, camping, and hunting. Kids can step into a waterfall, climb across a suspension bridge, paddle a VR kayak, and see the view from a plane as workers fight a forest fire. Note: This attraction is only open on weekends and Wednesdays.

7. Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

This museum houses a weird and wacky collection of hundreds of coin-operated machines from various periods of history. It includes modern-day video and pinball games, but also oddities from the early 20th century. Admission is free, but make sure you have some coins to operate anything you want to see in motion. Kids can collect tickets to "buy" prizes just like in an everyday arcade.

8. Detroit Zoo

This urban zoo is home to more than 2,000 animals of over 200 species. Unique exhibits include the Polk Penguin Conservation Center (one of the largest centers in the world devoted to just penguins) and the Arctic Ring of Life, where guests can walk through a tunnel to see polar bears in action. Also check out the tiger habitat, where you can climb inside a Range Rover to get an up-close view of tigers, and the red panda forest to walk across the rope bridge among the trees.

9. Michigan Science Center

This kid-focused science museum has a lot of interactive activities, live science shows, a 4D theater, and a planetarium where children can see demonstrations of what they're learning from the exhibits. Visit the space exhibit, make something at the Smithsonian Spark! Lab, and try to scale Math Mountain as you play and learn throughout the day.

10. Detroit Institute of Arts Museum

This hidden gem of a museum in Detroit, Michigan includes paintings from Monet, Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and Diego Rivera; centuries-old European sculptures; and Asian ink drawings. But kids will especially love its puppet display, including marionettes, theatrical puppets, and rod puppets. The collection's most famous residents include original versions of Howdy Doody and Kermit the Frog.

11. Campus Martius Park

This central downtown park turns into a beach in the summer and a skating rink in the winter. Enjoy concerts in the park, ping-pong, bean bags, and a sandy oasis with Friday-night parties from May through October. A giant Christmas tree is lit around Thanksgiving, and visitors can skate on an ice rink in the park or enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides around the neighborhood.

12. C.J. Barrymore's

Thrill-seeking kids will enjoy the outdoor rides at this amusement park just outside Detroit in Clinton Township. These include Indy SkyTrack, a three-story, 30-foot-tall racing track that opened in 2024. C.J. Barrymore's also has an indoor facility with arcade games, bowling, laser tag, and smaller rides. Kids can enjoy bumper boats, bumper cars, and a Ferris wheel outdoors during the summer as well.

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Cheer on the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Photo by Amaury Laporte via Flickr

Detroit, Michigan Sports Teams to Watch with Kids

13. Detroit Tigers

Root, root, root for the Detroit Tigers MLB team, or simply take a tour of Comerica Park to see everything from the press box to the locker rooms. The Tigers often host special themed game days during which kids can also enjoy non-baseball entertainment, like rides on the Hi-Chew Fly Ball Ferris Wheel and watching a water feature in center field.

14. Detroit Lions

Catch a Detroit Lions NFL game at Ford Field, an arena that was converted from an old warehouse in 2002. The venue has a number of creative food options that range from uniquely Michigan to international. Ford Field also hosts a variety of musical acts during the off season. Bonus: It's got a retractable ceiling, so you'll never have to watch a game in the rain or snow.

15. Detroit Redwings and Detroit Pistons

Both the Detroit Redwings NHL team and the Detroit Pistons NBA team play at Little Caesars Arena, giving families double the chance to catch a game. This venue offers sensory-friendly options for kids who are sensitive to noise, and you can arrange a tour of the arena through its website.

What and Where to Eat with Kids in Detroit

16. Detroit Style Pizza

No visit to Detroit, Michigan would be complete without Detroit style pizza! This square and spongy pizza is available at many restaurants. Two of the most famous are Buddy's Pizza, which has more than a dozen area locations, and Loui's Pizza in Hazel Park. The pizza was originally made in forged steel pans borrowed from automotive plants. Toppings usually go all the way to the edge and include Wisconsin-made brick cheese, giving the crunchy caramelized-cheese finish.

17. Coney Island Hot Dogs

My Chicago kids don't really recognize these as hot dogs, but Coneys are a frankfurter on a steamed bun topped with chili, onion, and mustard. There's a rivalry between the two main shops serving these: Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island. Try both to decide which side your family is on!

18. Paczki

Pronounced "poonch-key," these jelly doughnut-like treats are usually from Polish or other Eastern European bakeries. The Detroit, Michigan area has a particularly diverse population, so there are several restaurants serving paczkis around town. The suburb of Hamtramck has several shops with paczkis available even outside of their traditional Fat Tuesday holiday.

19. Asian Corned Beef (aka Corned Beef Egg Rolls)

Another example of the diversity of the Motor City, corned beef egg rolls combine a European protein with an Asian presentation—and they're delicious. Get a taste at one of the three Asian Corned Beef locations in the metro area or at a brick-and-mortar location or food truck from D Motown Deli.

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The Henry is an American art-themed hotel with a great pool and a casual restaurant. Photo courtesy of The Henry hotel

Family-Friendly Detroit Hotels

20. The Henry, Autograph Collection

Located just minutes from the Henry Ford Museum, this hotel is themed around American art and innovation. Book a special package to receive discounts at the Henry Ford or other Michigan tourist attractions. The hotel also has an impressive pool and a casual restaurant.

21. Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

This historic hotel was originally built in Detroit, Michigan's heyday in the 1920s and has recently been restored to reflect that era. It's located close to Campus Martius Park and has the city's only Starbucks Reserve, a huge amenity for travel-weary parents.

22. Staybridge Suites Dearborn

If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, this is the highest-rated of the suites in the Detroit, Michigan area. It offers free breakfast daily and complimentary happy hour Monday through Wednesday. Plus, there's a kitchenette for preparing your own food in case you don't want to go out to eat every day.

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