Things to Do & See for Children Teens & Families in Vegas
This section is both for young crowds, teenagers, thrill seekers and for those seeking children’s activities.
Let’s be honest. Vegas is not ideal for young children, no matter how much you may want to think otherwise. We see many children have a terrible time in Vegas, crying, screaming or looking lost or simply bored… It’s a lot different for older children (11 and up) and teenagers, of course, provided you choose the resort wisely and plan your trip to cater for their needs too. It will help you to know what to do and where to go in order to entertain your children and offer activities to them which are a huge break from the hustle and bustle of ‘adult-fun, smoke-filled, loud-noises places’. So, let’s start from the obvious to the unconventional, the ‘hidden secrets’ you may be unaware of.
♥ The Adventure Dome at Circus Circus (North Strip). This not so much of a secret, I know! But it’s one of the top must-do if you go to Vegas as a family. It’s an excellent indoor fun park with rides for all ages, from adults to teenagers to young children. A teen or a child can have fun all day here.
They sell day passes or single rides. The choice is yours. We (adults) had great fun here. We would not necessarily go back (because we are adults!) but I would whole-heartedly recommend it as a family fun time, especially if your children are a little older. However, they do have some ‘rides’ for very young children too.
♥ The world’s largest, permanent circus at the Circus Circus resort: if you want to spend absolutely nothing, you and your family can enjoy the actual circus (with real circus acts), located above the casino floor. The circus acts (such as acrobats, jugglers, trapeze artists and uni-cyclists) are performed all day long (from 11am to midnight, but always check with the resort by phone to be sure of the timetable, as it can change without notice).
♥ The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at Mirage (on the Strip). It’s not a free activity but it’s affordable (from around 20 dollars per adult for non-Mirage guests, and around 17 dollars for Mirage guests) and you will love it, the children will love it and pretty much anybody who likes animals and dolphins will love it. 
I don’t like to see large animals confined in small spaces (as in the case of tigers, for example), but the dolphins seemed happy enough and they were all heart-warming and… very funny! (The young dolphin below is playing with a ball)
You can just sit and enjoy them in the various pools and, from time to time, the trainers will play with them (that’s when they will jump and ‘entertain’ you); the younger dolphins play ball all day long and that’s fun too! You can also opt for VIP packages where you can interac a lot more with the dolphins (for example). You can read more about this on http://www.mirage.com/attractions/secret-garden.aspx or you can also view our video of the Dolphin Habitat by clicking on the underlined title).
♥ Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay: here you can marvel over 1,200 species of marine life (sharks, sea turtles and exotic fish) as well as huge lizards and reptiles; to add more to this great experience, here you can also enjoy a ‘touch pool’, which is basically where you can ‘touch’ stingrays, eels and crabs.
♥ IMAX 3D at Red Rock: a fantastic screen, great sounds and comfortable seats. We watched the Hobbit here 3 times! Palms resort too has a great movie theater including 2 3D screens.
♥ All Ages – Winter Escape at Venetian. Only open during the festive season around Christmas and New Year (until 6th January), but worth going not only because it’s visually beautiful but also because of the ice-skating ring just outside of Venetian. You can click on the underlined title to view the video.
♥ The ‘Mystic Park’ at Sams Town (off Strip – free). It’s a very nicely made park-imitation with animals, waterfalls, trees, surrounded by very cute buildings; it’s more like a large, treed courtyard with waterfalls, ponds, animals, trees, bridges and small paths, but it’s very cute. The animals are not real but they move as if they were, so it can be fun for a child, and even for adults. We went there late at night and we really enjoyed it, including the waterfalls and the (fake) animals above it (namely a big moving bear, an eagle and a leopard), as well as the other animals scattered in the relatively small but cute environment. At set times (see photo below) there will be a ‘show’ to enjoy. See images below (and then continue with other Vegas attractions for families, after the images).
You can also view our video of the Mystic Park.
♥ The Silverton Aquarium (off Strip, South-bound). Completely free and absolutely beautiful, great for all ages. More on it on our other must-see Vegas page. Whilst you are here you can also enjoy their affordable buffet.
♥ Discovery Children’s Museum (near downtown Vegas). If you have young children and want to spend a day interacting with them and the may fun experiences on offer, this could be a great way to do it. More on this on http://www.ldcm.org/ 
♥ Spring Preserve. A cultural and historic attraction with multiple ‘experiences’. Details on our page ‘Things to Do in Vegas on a Budget’.
♥ For thrill-seekers. If you are young or you just enjoy thrills, you don’t have to go far in Las Vegas.
The most easily accessible thrill areas (besides the above-mentioned Adventure Dome at Circus Circus,) are the huge roller coaster at the New York New York resort, the rides on top of the Stratosphere tower and the indoor skydiving near the Convention Center by the Las Vegas hotel (it’s actually relatively close to the Strip, albeit the Northern part). If you like to enjoy the Fremont Street experience from the sky, you will love the new sky rides in downtown Vegas.
♥ Night clubs for those under 21: go to this page.
♥ Haunted Vegas Tours: go to the end of this page.
♥ Christmas & Winter for the family in Vegas: click on the underlined words to access our dedicated page
Please refer to the menu on top of the page (with sub-menus), as well as our 2nd menu on the left (or at the bottom if you are using a small device) for ideas and guide for Vegas visitors, written by Vegas visitors. A small sample of pages is as follows:
THE FREMONT EXPERIENCE: IS IT REALLY A MUST-SEE?
FREE ATTRACTIONS ON THE VEGAS STRIP