Memphis Fun for the Whole Family

There’s a moment every spring when Memphis’ spirit lifts. The sun is out. The little ice and snow that’s fallen has melted. Parents play hooky with their kids. And minivans move throughout the city with their windows down, hitting one family-fun destination after another. This day almost always begins at the Memphis Zoo.

With over 3,000 animals, including a pair of giant pandas and a family of polar bears, the Memphis Zoo is often ranked as one of the best in the nation, according to TripAdvisor. A popular spot for residents and visitors, the zoo is centrally located in Overton Park. It’s unique not only for its broad of range species, but also its size. Like Memphis, the zoo is not too big or too small. It offers visitors enough to see in one day, but not so much that the experience overwhelms. Over the past few years, the zoo has made an effort to expand its exhibits, including the popular sea lion show, which families can catch two times a day; “Teton Trek: A Tribute to Yellowstone National Park;” and “Animals of the Night,” a rare look at nocturnal animals in the United States.

But the Memphis Zoo isn’t the only place in town with animals. The Peabody Hotel is well known to many visitors as one of the most historic hotels in the South. They also know it as having one of the most unique traditions of any institution. Every day the Peabody Ducks, a small group of mallards, make their way down from the hotel’s rooftop to spend the day lazily swimming around the hotel’s grand lobby fountain. Guided by the Peabody Duck Master, the ducks receive royal treatment, including a red carpet and international paparazzi (mostly hotel guests). Incredibly charming and good fun, visiting the Peabody Ducks when they march to (11 a.m.) and from (5 p.m.) the lobby fountain is one of the best ways to spend an hour in Memphis.

Parents who make the effort to take a day off from work to spend with their kids know that the zoo or even the Peabody Ducks are not enough. It’s a good thing, then, that Memphis offers families a few other options to fill up their day. One of these options is the Pink Palace. The former home of Clarence Saunders, the founder of supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly, the Pink Palace offers a massive collection of historic, scientific and technological attractions. But what keeps people coming back is the Palace’s planetarium and IMAX Theater, the only one in the Mid-South.

For those families that need more than inside entertainment, Memphis’ Mud Island River Park is an excellent alternative. The park gives people the chance to rent bikes, canoes, kayaks or even paddleboats to use on the island or into downtown. And in the summer months, when the nights are still cool, families can rough it by camping out under the stars next to the mighty Mississippi.