Home of popular Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia Zoo, Franklin Square and many other activities to do in Philadelphia on Memorial Day. We've compiled some of the best activities to do in Philadelphia on this Memorial Day holiday.
On Memorial Day, Housed in Fairmount Park’s Memorial Hall, this major kids’ attraction includes two full floors of interactive exhibit zones, plus a fully restored century-old carousel. Kids can play and pretend amid Alice’s Wonderland, River Adventures and other hands-on fun.
America’s first zoo and a foremost conservation organization is home to nearly 1,300 animals, many rare and endangered. The zoo has a first-in-the-world animal travel and exploration train system, Zoo360, enabling primates and big cats to move above and across the main visitor pathway. Exhibits include Big Cat Falls, the McNeil Avian Center, the PECO Primate Reserve and KidZooU, an interactive wildlife academy of dynamic displays, rare breeds and indoor-outdoor learning.
One of William Penn’s five original squares is a modern, fun park, with a Philly-themed miniature golf course, restored marble fountain, large playground and a carousel. When hunger sets in, seasonal SquareBurger delivers with burgers, fries and Cake Shakes.
Two million gallons of water and 8,500 animals can’t help but impress. The aquarium has a Shark Bridge to cross; hippos and penguins to meet (and smell); stingrays to feed; and horseshoe crabs, starfish and sharks to touch. The big wow exhibit: a 760,000-gallon tank of sea turtles, stingrays, schooling fish and sharks, including an impressive seven-foot Great Hammerhead.
The region’s most popular science museum has a full city block of kid-friendly exhibitions, such as the walk-through Giant Heart, Space Command, SportsZone,Sir Isaac’s Loft, Amazing Machine, Electricity, Train Factory, and Changing Earth. The museum’s 53,000-square-foot Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion features the 8,500-square-foot exhibit YourBrain, along with rotating special exhibitions. The Franklin Institute also houses the Tuttleman IMAX Theater and the Fels Planetarium.
Lauded as one of the best urban beaches in America, Spruce Street Harbor Park is an outdoor oasis on the Delaware River waterfront. With tree-slung hammocks, cargo container arcades and concessions, misting palm trees and planted barges (with bars for Mom and Dad), the park has become a summertime must-do during Memorial Day.
Big Bird, Elmo, Abby, Julia and more stars of Sesame Street come and play at the only theme park in the nation based entirely on the long-running children’s television show. A water park (open Memorial Day through Labor Day), rides, interactive activities, parades, fireworks and shows add to the fun.
