Full of lily ponds, roses, and leafy trees, Descanso Gardens lets kids roam free and explore the natural world. 

Don't miss the Enchanted Railroad, daily story times, and the family-friendly concerts in the summer.

With 3.5 acres of interactive exhibits including an indoor imagination workshop, an ant colony climbing structure, and an interactive greenhouse, the Kidspace Children's Museum is one of the top destinations for LA kiddos. 

Don't miss the outdoor Arroyo Adventure area, where children can learn about ecosytems by climbing a giant hawk's nest, building dams, and exploring a mud kitchen. 

Pro tip: Bring a change of clothes, towel, and water shoes; things can get messy.

Hop on the free shuttle from the Gold Line and head to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden for gorgeous mini-hikes and a variety of hands-on activities.

Kids will love the roaming peacocks, bookworms story time, and the family adventure classes offered monthly.

Located on 45 acres of Goldwater Canyon Park in the Santa Monica mountains, TreePeople offers nature trails and experiential education with the goal of teaching kids environmental stewardship. 

Daily admission is free, but check the website for special events like moonlight hikes, group dog walks, and native plant classes.

The Huntington consists of an extensive library of rare books, three separate art galleries, and a botanical garden that covers more than 120 acres. Kids will love exploring the desert, Japanese, rose, and Chinese gardens.

A conservatory provides middle-school-age students exhibits on botany, but for the little ones (2 to 7 years old), the Helen and Peter Bing Children's Garden is not to miss. 

Children can splash in the water, explore a fog grotto, climb through a prism tunnel, and even dance in a circular rainbow room.

Pro tip: Bring a swimsuit or change of clothes to take advantage of all the fun.

Families love the old El Capitan Theatre, a glittering example of cinema that opened in 1926 on Hollywood Boulevard. 

Beyond hosting "Tiny Tot Tuesdays" for parents with toddlers, the Disney-operated theater also adds something extra to any film experience. Expect to see familiar characters, live singing, and the delighted faces of children as streamers and confetti fall from the ceiling.

Located in central Los Angeles with a stunning view of Downtown, Echo Park Lake is a favorite destination for strolling, fishing, and picnicking. But the best part is the pedal boats available for rent. 

For just $6 per kid and $11 per adult, you can paddle around the lake for up to an hour.

After being closed for more than three years, this Chinatown park has reopened with a whole new look. Families will love the new perks of a $20 million renovation: A pleasant pedestrian walkway, picnic areas, wetlands, a public fruit orchard, and an elevated lookout point.

Even better, the park’s also added a ranger station and a welcome center with the always-important bathrooms.

The world’s most famous ice age fossil site is conveniently located in LA’s Miracle Mile district. 

Kids can take an excavator tour of the tar pits to see what the scientists are digging up, then head into the museum for exhibits on the Ice Age or a 3D film showing how animals become trapped in tar. 

There’s also a fossil lab where budding scientists can see what happens after fossils are extracted from the tar. Pack a picnic and have lunch in the park surrounding the museum, right in the middle of all the tar pit action.

Located in Downtown Los Angeles, between the Music Center and City Hall, the 12-acre Grand Park is an urban oasis complete with fountains, tons of green space and drought-tolerant landscaping, and bright pink benches. 

Kids will love the splash pad and the whimsical playground (closer to City Hall) that looks like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

The birthplace of Los Angeles is full of activities for the whole family. Take a stroll down colorful Olvera Street (and grab some churros); take a step back in time at LA’s oldest home, the Avila Adobe; visit the old Plaza Firehouse. Conveniently located across the street from Union Station, the historic site also hosts frequent kid-friendly events, from live music to dance performances to the annual Las Posadas festival every December.

If you have kids who love old-timey transit, it doesn’t get any better than Angels Flight—a tiny railway that climbs up and down Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles.

The two train cars are 116 years old and are an essential part of a Grand Central Market visit. The short ride costs $1 each way, or 50 cents with a TAP card.

Sometimes kids just want to ride in an elevator, and there’s no better place to do it than at this Downtown LA hotel. The spherical, glass-walled elevators scurry up and down the building’s exterior, providing a thrilling view of the city’s skyline. The hotel’s space station-like interior is also fun to explore.

As California's largest used and new book and record store, the two-story Last Bookstore is part Harry Potter wonderland and part artist loft. 

Hit the kids section on the first floor and then take a stroll through the "Labyrinth" on the second floor, a quirky area with used books organized by color and a very photographable book tunnel.

This recently opened, 116,000-square-foot complex in the Arts District is one of six Hauser & Wirth art centers located around the world devoted to contemporary art and modern masters. 

Kids and parents alike will enjoy the art and the amazing indoor and outdoor spaces, and the onsite restaurant is not only kid friendly, it also boasts 12 rare-breed chickens that are sure to delight the younger crowd. 

Not feeling a sit-down meal? Bring your own lunch and picnic in the garden.

This natural history museum impresses with more than 35 million objects, some as old as 4.5 billion years. But while the exhibits are stunning and the dinosaurs are massive, the museum also delivers on the little things, like tiny chairs for tiny people. 

Check out the rotating exhibits and don't miss the Nature Lab, a hands-on science lab with live animals and touchable specimens suitable for kiddos of all ages.

Located on the eastern end of Exposition Park, near Downtown, the California African American Museum aims to showcase under-represented artists of color. Ever-changing exhibits give kids a taste of the arts, and a robust family program hosts mixed-media workshops for all ages on select weekends.

Kids will like the IMAX theater and the rotating exhibits at the California Science Center, but the real draw is the space shuttle Endeavour on display in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion. 

The museum is in the process of building Endeavour a new home, but in the meantime you can still see the NASA shuttle that traveled to space 25 times between 1992 and 2011. 

Note that timed reservations are required to see Endeavour on weekends, holidays, and high attendance weeks.

Run by the nonprofit Heal the Bay, this under-the-radar aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier is home to 100 species of marine animals and plants. 

Kids rave about the interactive exhibits, the mesmerizing "moon jellies," and watching aquarium staff feed the horn and swell sharks.

Originally built as an expansion of the much-loved, but long gone Children’s Museum of Los Angeles, this huge, kid-oriented science center finally opened in 2014. It features a wide array of regular exhibits and temporary exhibitions where young ones can take a virtual helicopter tour or hop aboard a Zamboni machine.

The expansive Hansen Dam Recreation Area next door is a great place for a post-visit picnic.

With more than 11,000 animals in more than 50 exhibits, the Aquarium of the Pacific offers way more than a few fish in a tank. Kids can get up close with a penguin, touch over 150 sharks in Shark Lagoon, and feed colorful birds in the Lorikeet forest.

Pro tip: Consider reserving a spot in the Animal Encounters to feed a sea lion or other creatures.

Kids and adults alike will love this cozy book store with more than 80,000 titles and loads of interesting stuffed animals and educational toys. Find your way using the helpful age-appropriate sections and check the website for story hours.

This family-friendly marine life center isn’t as well known as the Aquarium of the Pacific, but it’s still got plenty to offer—starting with $5 admission for adults and $1 for children. The aquarium exclusively focuses on local marine life, and houses several exhibits on Southern California’s oceans in its Frank Gehry-designed building. Staff also offer free guided tidepool walks on weekends at nearby Cabrillo Beach.