This is quite possibly my favorite play structure in Iowa City. It lives in the heart of the…read morepedestrian mall and is always crawling with kiddos. Screams of glee and children running around like crazy people are normal around this green Iowa City staple. The structure is right next to the Iowa City Public Library and sits on a soft rubber floor. As a parent, I definitely appreciate that my kids aren't playing in sand or hot asphalt! Park benches surround the jungle gym and always has parents watching their kids but also soaking in the downtown atmosphere. With the addition of Gene's and their patio, I love having a drink as I watch my kiddos play in the summer now that they are a bit more self sufficient -- and when the students are out of town, so it is less crazy busy. The Weather Dance Fountain is right next to the play area, as well. My ONLY knock is lack of shade. Holy cow! Bring your sunscreen, baseball caps and expect to roast on summer days. Park in the Dubuque Street Ramp for a short walk to the park, and first hour free!

How have I never written a review!?…read more Colony Acres Family Farm is an NL staple-- having been around for over 25 years! In the summer it boasts sunflowers. In the fall there's games, food/drinks, pumpkin patch picking, a market and of course, the corn maze. In the winter Colony Acres offers fresh-cut trees and Santa. I've only event ventured here during the fall-- tickets are $11-16. (*Pro Tip: order online to save a few bucks a ticket.*) My kids adored the zip line, slides, train ride, bouncy pad and corn maze. We typically don't get pumpkins here but there's a wide selection of those-- mums, corn stalks, hay bales and more. The farm is closed Mondays and Tuesdays during the fall. It allows dogs! There's plenty of parking. Staff is uber friendly. Stop by.

I am going to review this as if I had kids. If I had kids, this place would've been awesome! There…read morewere tons of activities for the kids to do, things for them to play on, some kind of bouncy thing(that's a fairly technical term), just a lot of really cool stuff for kids. However, if you don't have kids, save your money as there really isn't anything for adults to do. Sure, there is a corn maze, but that is really it. Like I said, though. If you have kids, check this out as it looks as if it would be a blast.

This is a good trampoline park!…read more We've been here for my nephew's birthday party for the last 3 years. It's a great place for a birthday party. It's a good, fun trampoline park with a cool swinging obstacle course.

From the owner: DEFY Iowa City is Iowa's most extreme trampoline park. Explore our Zipline, Ninja Course, Trapeze,…read moreand Aerial Skills. Become a Flight Club member and celebrate your next birthday, event, or party and make it memorable with DEFY!

Love, love, love this museum. Nestled right on the Pentacrest of The University of Iowa campus, we…read morereally do have an amazing resource in our own backyard (for those of us who live in the Eastern Iowa corridor area, at least). The museum hasn't changed much since I last visited 10+ years ago, but that's okay. Rusty the Sloth and the polar bear in the gift shop are staples. Macbride Hall houses the Department of Anthropology at U of I. Wouldn't it be cool to see these artifacts every day as a student? The pair of lions in Mammal Hall were placed in an enclosed case in 202 (previously not enclosed) and a nice mural was painted behind them. From what I could tell, that's the most recent update to one of the museum's exhibits. Museum is free, but a donation is suggested. Please don't skip the donation box located near the guestbook in the gift shop. As indicated in a previous review, some of the exhibits have become quite 'well-loved.' Interactive features no longer work, particularly in the Hall of Birds. Mammal Hall is my most favorite, but there's so much to learn from each area of the museum. The museum covers 3 floors of Macbride Hall. Take the stairs and work those quads! Elevator available as well. Due to the summer season museum hours are a little different, so I'd call ahead or check the website for details. Parking during the summer on the street is easy to find. $1.50/hour. Highly recommend!

Great spot to walk around and explore with kids. Staff was friendly, fun scavenger hunt.read more

It was torrentially down pouring and time to take a stop on our cross country road trip, we got off…read morethe exit to walk around a target since a playground was out and saw signs for The Iowa Children's Museum. So glad we saw the signs this place was amazing it was just what our 2 year olds need to burn off some energy after 2ish hours in the car with many more to go. It was surprisingly large, has so many different rooms with different themes for the kids to explore. We let the kids play for close to 2 hours than grabbed food at the mall food court and went back on our way.

The museum is bigger than I expected it to be, attached to the mall. There are a variety of…read morehands-on activities for children to participate in and explore different interests. Some stuff was clean and well functioning, while other stuff was not. I'm not going to comment on the organization since it was mass chaos when we went. My husband's complaints are that some of the simulators didn't work, it was disorganized, and way too many big kids in the 0-5year old play area that did not have younger siblings and were UNSUPERVISED (specifically a group of preteen girls). My biggest complaint was we went on NYE and expected there to be a limited number of guests. We have visited different children's museums in the USA for the past few years and each one required tickets purchased in advance (and they all became sold out). But not this place. It was uncomfortably crowded and during the time of the ball drop, you couldn't move. We couldn't move even if we wanted to go to another area to play. So during the congregation of guests awaiting the balloon drop, my kids wanted to move around and I tried to hype up the balloon drop instead since we were stuck in place. Once the balloons were released and both children and their parents were savages, I realized my kids wouldn't have a chance of getting a balloon, so we moved on to another exhibit to play and spend some energy. Great! No biggie. Except we went to lunch in the food court shortly after and were disappointed to see families with 3 balloons per kid. My kids didn't cry, or make a scene or anything like that. They just didn't understand why they didn't get one. While we have no intention of going back to Iowa anytime soon, I hope they consider changing their policy to limit the number of guests inside the museum at one time, and consider encouraging families to take one balloon per child. We went to another NYE in the evening that had balloons and they helped entertain my children for the 7 hour drive home the next day.

My first and last time there. First red flag was the staff giving my 2 year old twins and 4 year…read moreold daughter adult socks. (Not the end of the world just assumed maybe they ran out but still a hassle to keep them on) The worst was the staff hounding me that my 2 yo daughters need to be on their feet at all times. Confused I just said okay and we proceeded to jump, until a SECOND time another one comes back not even 5 minutes later with the same request. Mind you, it's busy. my daughters are falling and getting back up on their own. It's a trampoline park the kids are going to fall the smaller kids are going to take a bit longer to catch balance. I signed the waivers I understand the risks. Letting them fall and get back up on their own is okay with me. Apparently not with this park. In addition to the terrible service and unhelpful employees, the bathrooms are absolutely disgusting and ignored. Save your breath and go to skyzone.

I used a Groupon deal with no issues. I was offered to upgrade for 30 days for an additional $10…read moreper child for a total of $20 plus tax and socks. My total was $47.16. When I asked how, she told me the promo was changed to $20 per child even though their sign in front of my face (on their plexiglass) stated $10 each Groupon upgrade. She refused to honor the pricing and gave an attitude that I even questioned her "mistake." We were the only group in place at the time. The location was filthy. Dirty bathroom floors and counters, dust in the cubbies for shoes, etc. On top of it all, if you moved any foam squares off the top, you could see extreme amounts of dirt, stains, particles of more foam, drink straws, empty juice boxes, etc. I will never return. Way to make me feel safe during COVID! No wonder why there was no one else there... Also, I do have photos saved as well so do not try to rebuttal these facts.

Years and years, multiple kiddo sports teams and swim lessons later-- this is still my Rec Center…read moreof choice in the Iowa City area. I stand by that the staff here is insanely helpful and courteous, as well. You can't go wrong with signing up your kiddo for: - SWIM LESSONS. The times are convenient, the staff is knowledgeable, pricing seems right. My only knock on this is you can't register online, only via the phone. - SUPREME LEAGUES. My children have participated in basketball and football leagues through the Coralville Rec and I can say from experience of signing up one season with another rec center in the area-- they do it best. Communication is on point. -FREE PARKING. The Iowa City Rec Center is a nightmare to park at most times. And honestly, the NL Rec Center (while it is free) is chaos as well. -SPARKS CAMP. This is hands down the best camp offered in the area. The price is right. It is offered ALL summer. They do field trips, pool visits, library days and tons of fun activities. The staff is always great, too. Be sure to sign up right away! It fills up fast around March. I think my biggest knock is just that the facility itself is pretty dated. Get your kid active and thriving, sign them up for programmed at the Coralville Rec Center.

We visited the facility during Spring Break. We were visiting family and this was a great way to…read moreshare time in the pool. Gorgeous facility! Clean and friendly staff. $5 guest passes.

I have rented the limo and I have rented the bus. This woman is amazing. I love what she's doing…read morefor our children. What a great experience in an unforgettable memory highly recommend five stars.

From the owner: Birthday parties, special events, spa bus, Princess Parties, girl birthday parties, glam hair, mini…read moremani and pedi, dress-up, fashion shows, karaoke, magical makeover, sparkle tattoos, dance party

Tucked behind Casey's General Store lives this cute little park…read more It boasts a basketball court, plethora of slides, swings, spring riders, a shelter with a grill and other kiddo climbing thingamajigs. We stopped over, after my son saw it from afar. It has newer equipment, is in a good (semi-secluded) location with plenty of parking. Potter Park is definitely worth a stop if you're in the area with littles!

This place is so much fun. I've gone to two painting classes now, once alone and once with a date…read moreand I had a blast both times and came home with a beautiful painting. The teachers are great and show you exactly how to make your painting look like a professional painted it. An evening well spent!

I hadn't been to this new location of Brush & Barrel before (they moved to this location from the…read more1st Ave location in 2021), so this was a great chance to check it out. My husband and I had such a great time testing out our creative brains as we painted Picasso-inspired faces. Thankfully, the staff were generous with the paint! I think I asked for more paint 3-4 times... maybe I just like to glob in on, though. :) The space we painted in fit approximately 20-25 people. There was another room where splatter painting occurs. I think every one of us in our group said, "OooooOOOOooooo," as we passed that room on our way out. I will be curious to check it out sometime.