Best Indoor Activities for Kids in Melbourne for those Cold Rainy Days!
A list of rainy day indoor activities in Melbourne for kids. If you are looking for a family day out but bad weather is about, it doesn’t mean you need to stay inside all day. There are many indoor things to do and see with your kids on a rainy day.
Make sure to also check out our post with 50+ Things to do with kids at home if you can’t go out.
Indoor Activities for Kids in Melbourne
Here is a list of our favourite indoor activities for kids in Melbourne.
For those rainy days when you need to get the kids out of the house, but with bad weather it seems impossible, we have some rainy day activities in Melbourne to keep you and the kids busy.
1. Indoor Climbing
Do you have little monkeys who love to climb? Then and indoor climbing centre is perfect! Spend your rainy morning or afternoon having a coffee watching your little ones burn off their energy climbing and running around.
Check our our full list for all ages: Indoor Climbing Melbourne. Some of our favourites are:
- Funtopia in Melbourne’s West
- Latitude In Melbourne’s North
- Go Climb In Melbourne’s North
- Ninja Parc In Melbourne’s East
Many of these have playzones too for different age groups which gives them something else to do once they have had enough climbing. They also have on site cafes where you can have snacks, lunch or dinner!
2. Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
Experience life under the sea with the kids at the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. Sea Life is a great day out for the whole family and is perfect for an indoor activity with the kids if you are visiting Melbourne in bad weather. Everything is indoor, and there is even a cafe if you stay for lunch too.
Read More: Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
3. Trampoline Park
Let the kids bounce around and burn off energy at a trampoline park. There is so much fun to have jumping and bouncing around and is a great indoor activity in Melbourne if you have been cooped up inside for a few days in a row.
Check out some of our favourites:
4. Kids Museums
A kid friendly museum is a great way to spend a Melbourne rainy day indoors with the kids. With a range of museums around Melbourne there are a few to choose from. See our full list here: Museums in Melbourne or some of our favs below:
1. Melbourne Museum in Carlton is perfect for all ages and includes a children’s gallery for younger ones up to 5 years old. The exhibition features various activities that allow children to play, discover, and learn.
2. Scienceworks in Yarraville, just west of Melbourne is perfect for feeding the curiosity of young minds. Scienceworks makes learning about science fun and exciting and is perfect for a rainy day activity in Melbourne.
3. Melbourne Planaterium is perfect for little space lovers. Children can learn about planets, constellations, and their home planet earth at the planetarium through a kid-friendly animated film. Sit back and enjoy the show laying back on reclining seats looking up to a domed roof.
4. ArtVo is an art gallery especially for kids in Melbourne at the District Docklands. Home to over 100 hand panted 3D artworks, they have all been especially created so that if you step on the designated marker on the wall and take a photo, they create a special 3D effect.
5. The Australian National Aviation Museum is another good one. You can find a fantastic collection of rare and unique examples of Australian made aircraft. Kids can sit in the planes and play pilot too!
6. MOPA Museum of Play and Art is an immersive space has been specially designed for families with kids from 1-10 years old where they can explore, play, create, and learn. There are locations in Bayside and Geelong so sure to be one near you.
7. Old Melbourne Gaol is a great day out for kids to learn about some of Victoria’s history and the perfect indoor activity in Melbourne for school aged children on a rainy day. Explore the gaol, experience the interactive watch house where you get “arrested” and “locked up”, and participate in different events and activities throughout the year.
6. Indoor Activity / Play Centre
We love to send our kids to run outside as much as possible, even in the Winter time. But on cold rainy days it is sometimes impossible and staying inside all day with energetic kids seems unbearable.
See our big list: Best Playcentres in Melbourne, and check out some of our favourites below:
LEGOLAND is a great indoor activity in Melbourne. There are plenty of activities for younger children, such as the DUPLO Farm and soft play, and for the older ones there is the LEGO Racers, the underwater world, the creative workshops and more.
IFLY is a fun indoor activity for kids of all ages if you are looking for something different. Located in Essendon, it is the new indoor skydiving tunnel for thrillseekers.
There are various other play centres all over Melbourne including Lollipops at Bundoora and Knox. Then there is Kid Factory and Hopscotch where children can let of steam and run around, and parents supervise while enjoying a well deserved coffee break!
6. Roller Skating / Ice Skating
You don’t have to wait until Winter to go Ice Skating, you can go any time of the year in Melbourne!
For Ice skating head to O’Brien Ice House or Ice HQ.
If you prefer roller skating, then make sure to check out Sk8House or Skateworld Mordialloc.
7. Bowling
One of our favourite indoor activities to do with the family is go Bowling. A game or two will kill a couple of hours at least, and will keep the kids entertained striving to bowl that perfect strike!
Go for dinner and make an afternoon or evening out of it. Check out King Pin at Crown, Strike at Melbourne Central.
8. Cinema
Movies are the perfect indoor activities for kids in Melbourne or anywhere else! Grab some popcorn, and a drink and sit back and enjoy a film with your little ones.
V Junior Village Cinemas have specific sessions, perfect for younger ones who may like to make a little noise during the movies. They have the room set up especially for kids.
9. Chocolaterie
Up for something different, head to one of the chocolateries around Melbourne for a chocolate making class or workshop, a high tea, or even just for a meal or afternoon out.
There are some great locations all around Melbourne including
- Yarra Valley Chocolaterie is in the outer east
- Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie in the south east
- Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie on the surf coast.
10. Indoor pool
Cold outside? No problem, indoor pools are usually nice and warm and you won’t even realise how the weather is outside. There are plenty of indoor pools in Melbourne including some centres with wave pools and waterslides!
Check out Aquapulse in Melbourne’s West which has waterslides, or Kingston Active in Melbourne’s East which has a wave pool,
11. Local Library
Don’t you just love curling up with the kids and reading a good book together? Well if you are bored with the books that you have at home, and the kids are driving you nuts, a trip to the library can be a fun indoor experience with the kids.
The Melbourne State Library is particularly impressive, however there are tones of local libraries in Melbourne. Most have a children’s area and usually there are days where they have story time or other activities. Gathering with other mums and kids in the library can be a calming way to spend a rainy day together indoors.
Staying Home?
There is always dancing in the rain
Don’t be bummed about the weather. While there are plenty of indoor activities for kids in Melbourne to do on a rainy day, you can always just grab a jacket and umbrella and head out to dance in the rain!
Looking for more family fun in Melbourne? Take a look at our Melbourne For Kids page, Follow Mum’s Little Explorers on Facebook, or join our Facebook Community Group What’s on Melbourne for Kids
