Discover a Wealth of Family Activities in Winston-Salem, NC
For years, locals and media rankings have agreed: Greater Winston-Salem is a great place to live. This North Carolina community is especially well-suited for families, thanks to the region’s intentionality behind promoting and prioritizing kid-friendly events and education.
Lots to Learn
A popular attraction among visitors and locals, Kaleideum is an experiential learning museum that began in 2017, with its building opening in 2024. The product of the merger between the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem and SciWorks science museum, the concept was realized as a space downtown that features five stories and nearly 70,000 square feet dedicated to exploring the natural world, outer space, human anatomy, technology and much more.
When it came to designing the new museum, accessibility was a guiding principle, says Elizabeth Dampier, CEO of Kaleideum.
“We wanted the museum to be accessible to all, whether that was different learning abilities, physical challenges or socioeconomic challenges,” she says. “We wanted to create a space that allowed everyone to have access to the museum, so we thought about that in our design.”
The museum experience is also geared toward kids of all ages, ranging from pre-K to grade school. Additionally, the museum has become a favorite destination for families, and its daily programming, rotating exhibits and annual signature events, like the beloved arts-focused MESStival, include something for everyone.
“When you come as a family, there’s something for the youngest person all the way to the oldest person,” Dampier says.
Entertainment Opportunities
It’s one thing to have kid-friendly programming be part of your profession. It’s another to appreciate it as a parent/guardian. For local parent Suzy Fielders, her love of Greater Winston-Salem is rooted in the “almost unlimited entertainment opportunities.”
Her favorites include story times at local libraries and events hosted by the city, like the Trail of Treats in October, where kids can safely trick or treat, as well as the Dino Dig at Washington Park, an arts-focused event where younger kids can dig for bones and create dinosaur crafts.
In the summertime, Fielders’ two preschoolers enjoy the region’s abundance of parks and splash pads.
“Sedge Garden’s pirate-themed playground and splash pad is always a hit with my girls,” she says. “We also love the playground and splash pad at Little Creek Park.”
The city also offers plenty of educational opportunities and activities that families love.
“When it comes to books, learning and playing, our top spots are Bookmarks, Central Library and The Bookhouse,” Fielders says.
She enjoys that the first two allow her and her family to spend time in the city’s vibrant downtown, and the last lets them explore local favorites, like Reynolda Gardens & Grounds and Reynolda Village. She also loves Kaleideum, saying the museum has been “invaluable to my girls, especially when they were crawling and just learning to walk. It was a safe place to roam, play and grow motor skills.”
Now that they’re getting older, Fielders says she is excited to see them explore some of the spaces designed for bigger kids.
“It’s been fun and exciting as a parent to see how they experience and learn from Kaleideum as they grow,” she says. “We are so blessed to have this amazing destination for learning and fun in our city.”
Improving Child Care in the Region
Access to care for children is also a priority in the region. Formed by a coalition of nonprofits and businesspeople in 2014, the Pre-K Priority project works to improve the quality and amount of early childhood programs available in the region.
“The evidence bore it out,” says Leslie Mullinix, the project’s director. “Kids who had access to excellent pre-K are not only more successful at transitioning to K-12, but they do better throughout the life course.”
The area had both private and publicly funded child care options, but limitations restricted the number of kids who were considered eligible. The coalition recognized that many children were still not able to afford or access pre-K.
“So that conversation started,” Mullinix says. “We got some support from the local philanthropy group the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. They helped fund our coalition to start meeting to talk about how this could look for Forsyth County if we tried to get more of our public citizens involved in this initiative.”
Get to Know Winston-Salem
Want to learn more about living and working in Winston-Salem, North Carolina? Check out the latest edition of Livability Greater Winston-Salem.