David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
If you love elephants this is a great place to take your children. It is an elephant orphanage in Langata, at the Nairobi National Park. It is at one of those gates that are on the Rongai side. You can visit the orphanage for one hour, between 11 am and 12 pm. Apparently, if you adopt an orphan (50$) you can visit at 5 pm every day after the elephants have been fed. They are given a mud bath at this time. This is also a great chance to talk to your children about poaching and conservation. Elephants are beautiful creatures and you can start your child/ren’s love affair when they are young. It costs Ksh. 500 per person. You Must Check Out The Cute Baby Elephants At David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Nairobi National Park
Nairobi is blessed to be the only capital city in the world with a national park inside it. The park which is just 7 km from the city centre is a great place to visit. You will find rhinos, buffalos, giraffes, lions, zebra, wildebeest and more than 400 species of birds.
There are three options to choose from at the park. There is the animal orphanage where you can see animals in enclosures. The animals here were brought to the animal orphanage from the bush either because the animals were abandoned or injured.
The Nairobi Safari Walk is a wooden walkway high above the ground at the Nairobi National Park where you can walk around and look down to see animals in their natural environments.
The National Park – you can go into the National Park with your car or you can talk a tour with one of the KWS buses that picks people up on weekends and public holidays in town outside Nakumatt Moi Avenue. You can also hire a tour van from a travel agent or hotel to take you to the park. Find out 11 things you need to know about the Nairobi National Park
The Nairobi National Museum
The Nairobi National Museum is rich in culture and history. There is so much to see. Looking at the exhibits of Kenyan history with your children is a great chance to make history come alive for them. There is so much one can learn that is not in the history books. It is also great when somebody can see items and pictures from the past in order to create a mental image. There is a great collection of stuffed birds, stuffed animals and animal figurines (I am not sure if you are able to see this every day). The last time I went it was a national holiday and I heard that this particular exhibit is not usually open). There are also anthropological discoveries from the Leakey family. There is also flora and fauna from all over Kenya at the botanical gardens.
If your children are not afraid of snakes then you can also take them to the nearby snake park where they can see all sorts of reptiles including snakes, crocodiles, and tortoises.
There are also restaurants where you can take the children to have some food and drink.
Paradise Lost
Located on Kiambu Road Paradise Lost is a favourite to many children and adults as well. There are usually very many activities to be done including picnicking, boat rides, camel rides, nature walks, cave visits, and bird watching among other things.
The Giraffe Centre
Growing up a visit to the Giraffe Centre for a school trip was celebrated. Children love animals and they will fall in love with the giraffes. Whether they have visited the Giraffe Centre or not this is one place children fall in love with and don’t mind going to again and again. There is an education centre to teach children about conservation. Visitors can also choose to stay the night at the Giraffe Manor. The giraffes usually look into the dining room so that is a pleasant surprise. The children usually have a great time feeding the giraffes. Great for giggles too.
The Masai Ostrich farm
This is located in Kitengela. You can feed the ostriches and ride them as well. You can also eat some ostrich meat or burgers.
Ice Skating
Nairobi (I think) has the only ice skating rink in Kenya. The rink is located at the Panari Sky Centre. They charge 800 for half an hour. It is a great place to spend time with your kids.
There is also skating which is the new craze in town. You can take your children for lessons and if you are adventurous you can learn to skate as well.
Splash Waterworld.
Splash is a water theme park next to the Carnivore Hotel. It has water slides and shallow pools. This is a great place to go hang out with your children on those hot days. It would be an interesting place to show your children how cool you are (pun intended.)
Splash is Nairobi’s largest water theme park, full of entertaining water slides and shallow pools. On those hot days in Nairobi, Splash is a great place to cool off for the entire family! It is located out by the Carnivore restaurant.
Railway Museum – Home of the Lunatic Express
This is a great place to learn about the history of the railways. They usually have one of those small trains for taking round children but the last time I was there it was been serviced so call beforehand to find out if the children’s train is still operational otherwise you might be disappointed. There is not much to see inside the museum so children might get restless if there is nothing to keep them busy.
Movie/ Cinema
There are many movie theatres around Nairobi where one can talk their children to watch a movie. Nowadays there are many animations and child-friendly moves coming to the cinemas so you can’t miss something to watch with your children.
Maasai Market
Explore the Maasai Market. During the weekend you can usually find the Masai market outside the law courts. This is a great chance to teach your child to love and appreciate African art and ornaments. There is everything you would ever need from a curio market from cloth to jewellery, carvings, bags, shoes, paintings etc. Take them with you and let them see what Kenya has offer. It is said that children usually model what they see their parents do. So if you like African artefacts then they are likely to like them too. It is also a great opportunity to teach your children about bargaining.
Ngong Hills and Karura forest
These are forest sanctuaries that are great for hiking, biking and taking nature walks. Why you should visit Karura Forest
Go carting at GP carting.
Definition: Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on the scaled-down circuit.
There is GP Karting just past the carnivore. This is a great place to help your children master the art of driving without them causing an accident with your car. This is also great for teenagers who love speed racing.
Art galleries
There are many art galleries scattered across Nairobi. If you or your child is interested in art it would be great to go to the art galleries together. It is also a chance to teach your children an appreciation for art.
Lunar Park/New malls.
Lunar Park located next to Uhuru Park has different kinds of amusements for children. They also have a food court so you can sit at the food court and watch your children take part in different amusements.
Nowadays many new malls have children’s activities and amusement facilities.
Music events
There are now so many music events like the Safaricom Jazz Festival and Koroga which are child friendly with activities specifically for children. Share your love of music with your children and teach them to love music as much as you do.
