Free and Inexpensive Things To Do With Kids Around Mid-Michigan

Are we the only ones that struggle to find inexpensive {or bonus, FREE} things to do with our kids??
If so, we’ve compiled a list of over 100 free and inexpensive things to do with your kids throughout the year.
Keep this list handy for summer break, rainy days, or those days when everyone in the house is SO bored.

1. See a Cheap (and Kid-Friendly) Movie – Throughout the year, popular movie theater chains Regal Cinema and AMC Theaters host reduced price kid-friendly flicks.
2. Go to a Building Workshop at Home Depot – On the first Sunday of each month, Home Depot hosts an on-site Kid’s Workshop for kids 2 and up. They’re free and open to the public. Registration is available, but not required.
3. Take a STEM Workshop at a Microsoft Store – Microsoft stores host a series of coding- and gaming-related workshops. Session themes include Harry Potter Creative Coding. Minecraft, and Make Your Own 3D Movie.
4. Go Roller Skating – Visit KidsSkateFree.com to find a location near you.
5. Go to a Museum – Many museums have reduced entry and free events.
6. Enroll in a Summer Apple Camp – Apple offers free three-day-long sessions (90 minutes per day) at its retail locations. Kids can choose to explore music, coding, moviemaking, or art & design.
7. Exchange a book at a Free Little Library
8. Eat at a Kid-Friendly Restaurant
9. Go for a Hike – Find one near you here
10. Visit a Farmer’s Market
11. Go for a Bike Ride
12. Plant a Vegetable Garden in Your Backyard 
13. Tour Your Local Fire or Police Station
14. Visit a National Park – Several days a year, the National Park Service waives the entrance fee at all national parks. This includes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (in January), the First Day of National Park Week/National Junior Ranger Day (in April), National Park Service Anniversary (in August), National Public Lands Day (in September), and Veteran’s Day (in November). Find a national park near you by using their Find a Park search tool.
15. Check Out a Local Library Story Time or One at Barnes & Noble or Pottery Barn Kids 
16. Go to the Zoo
17. Be a Trouist in Your Own City – try a new restaurant, new route home, or explore a new place
18. Go to a Concert in the Park 
19. Have a Movie Marathon Night at Home 
20. Have a Backyard Scavenger Hunt
21. Start a Book Club 
22. Take Your Kids Bowling – Go to KidsBowlFree.com and register your kids so they can score free games
23. Take an Arts and Craft Class at Michaels – Michaels craft stores offer a variety of kid-friendly classes (for ages three and up). Find a class near you here.
24. Go to the Playground
25. Have a LEGO building contest – strongest, tallest, longest, etc.
26. Visit a Botanical Garden
27. Step Inside a Factory – Did you know there are 12 factory tours in Michigan?! To find a fun and free factory tour near you, check out this website.
28. Take in a Beach Day
29. Color Inside a Cardboard Box
30. Absorb History at Monuments and Historical Sites – Most are free to see. Since the National Park Service celebrated a 100-year milestone in 2016, they offer free entrance days every year to several national parks, monuments and historic sites.
31. Head to the Fishing Hole – Twice a Year Michigan offers Free Fishing Weekends. Find One Here.
32. Start (or expand) a Rock Collection
33. Have a Chalk Drawing Contest
34. Play a Board Game
35. Play Hide-and-Seek
36. Register for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Recieve a free book monthly for children ages 0-5 years old.
37. Make Mazes (or other puzzles) for other family members to solve
38. Go on a “Litter Clean-Up” Walk
39. Build Musical Instruments
40. Write Letters to Family and Friends
41. Learn a Magic Trick
42. Do Some Volunteer Work
43. Donate Unwanted Items to a Local Charity or Center
44. Perform a Play
45. Make Popsicles
46. Make Shadow Puppets
47. Make Origami Creations
48. Have a bubble blowing contest
49. Read Aloud as a Family
50. Create a Comic Book
51. Make Snow Ice Cream
52. Have a Paper Airplane Contest
53. Visit Historical Sites in Your Area – Find a location near you here.
54. Do a Science Experiment
55. Create a Bug Box and Go on a Bug Hunt
56. Design Your Dreamhouse Blueprints
57. Create a Journal or Scrapbook About Your Life
58. Have a Water Balloon Fight
59. Camp in the Backyard
60. Build a Blanket Fort
61. Check Out Your Community Calendar or Facebook Page for a Local Festival, Fair, Parade, or Event
62. Bake Cookies
63. Build a Backyard Obstacle Course
64. Plan a Family Picnic
65. Build an Ice Castle
66. Teach Your Kids About Money
67. Try Star Gazing
68. Take a Road Trip and Visit Eastern Market – The largest outdoor farmer’s market in the nation
69. Watch Clouds
70. Wash the Car
71. Visit Your Neighborhood Splash Park
72. Make Bird Feeders
73. Make Your Own Mini-Golf Course
74. Make a Scarecrow
75. Make a Slip ‘n’ Slide
76. Go Geocatching – Use a GPS or mobile device to locate hide and seek containers. Find other’s items and follow your item as it travels across the world.
77. Hunt and Identify Animal Tracks
78. Car Racing
79. Play Tag in the Dark
80. Make Sun Shadows
81. Create Pretty Vases
82. Make Pizzas
83. Research and Learn a New Hobby – Drawing, Painting, Sewing, Bird Watching
84. Pasta Bead Jewelery
85. Make Daisy Chains
86. Fly a Kite
87. Write a Story or a Play
88. Create a Handprint Family Tree
89. Play Grocery Store/Bank/Post Office/etc.
90. Balloon Ping-Pong
91. Have a Family Coloring Contest
92. Life Sized Drawings
93. Visit One of Michigan’s 129 Lighthouses – Viewing and photographing the lighthouses is free, but admission fees may apply to enter.
94. Make a Cardboard Town
95. Tell Jokes
96. Have a Pool Day
97. Bake Cookies
98. Learn to Juggle
99. Explore a College Campus – UofM, MSU, CMU, SVSU, UofM Flint
100. Have a Hula Hoop Contest
101. Learn to Whistle
102. Visit Little Bavaria – Enjoy free samples, cross the covered bridge, explore the Bronner’s, get your Gnome Hunt Sheet and track down 10 gnomes for a prize, or take a free tour of the brewery!
103. Press Flowers
104. Build a Card House
105. Watch the Sun Rise or Set
106. Tour Public Areas of the State Capitol
107. Have a DIY Arts and Crafts Session 
108. Decorate Shoes
109. Head to Belle Isle – If you have a recreation pass, your admission to the aquarium, nature center, and conversatory free.
110. Paint Your Faces
111. Play Question Games – 20 questions and ‘I’m thinking of an animal/place’ where one person gives clues and the others guess are favorites in our family.
112. Cooking/Baking Competition – Pick a recipe as a family, divide into teams, and let the fun begin!
113. Make Snow Angels

Check out all of our guides and resources to the Mid-Michigan area here!
From the best pizza to play groups and where kids eat free – We’ve got you covered.