Siouxland Families

*Updated May 2019* Splash pads are popping up across Siouxland, and in this weather, we sure need them! Splash pads are park areas that don't have any standing water like a pool, but have lots of fountains, dumping buckets, sprayers, and other water features kids can run through, under, over, or past to get nice and wet on a hot day (Want to dive deeper? You may be looking for my Guide to Siouxland Pools & Swim Lessons) The Sioux City splashpads get mostly rave reviews from local families, but the most common complaint when one comes up is kids slipping. To avoid this, make sure kids are in water shoes with good grip on the bottom, not in flip flops or other shoes with smooth bottoms. And don't forget your sunscreen! Here's where you can go to join in on the refreshing splash pad fun in and around Sioux City: Cone Park multi-generational fun at the Cone Park Splash Pad Where: 3800 Line Drive Open: 10am-8pm Want to know more? Here's

I'm excited to announce that I have launched a review site to serve as a sort of sister site to this page. It is really important to me to keep this page focused on great local fun for kids and families in the Sioux City area, but I really enjoy doing reviews as well. To keep that balance, I will be posting reviews on Siouxland Families Reviews . To kick it off, I just posted a review of a GeoSafari Jr. Explorer Scope from Educational Insights which I encourage you to check out!

If you love ice cream, you won't want to miss LeMars Ice Cream Days 2018, featuring free ice cream at 10+ events during the weekend, plus tons of other fun. Le Mars, Iowa, home to Blue Bunny Ice Cream, is also known as the "Ice Cream Capital of the World," and they are ready to celebrate ice cream! Ice Cream Days 2018 is from Wednesday June 13th to Saturday June 16th. Some of the fun events for kids and families include: All weekend: Downtown Scavenger Hunt LeMars Art Center projects Wednesday: Splash dance at the LeMars pool ($1 per person) Municipal Band concert and ice cream social at Foster Park Wednesday night Thursday: Family Bike Ride and Ice Cream Social Drive-in Movie Thursday Night  Friday Smile Contest Friday Kids Fest Basketball and Softball tournaments Extreme Stunt Show Saturday: Grill n Chill Rib Rally Ice Cream Days Parade  Art in the Park Coloring and Crafts Disc Golf Tournament Rubber Cow Races Log Cabin Days Airplane

Head over to the Travel Iowa Blog to check out my latest post there, Top 6 Ways to Cool Off Your Siouxland Summer for ideas from splash pads to banana splits! Beach at Brown's Lake near Salix, Iowa

The Sioux City Public Library does a fun program every summer to get kids excited about reading and visiting the library, and their 2018 program with a theme of "Libraries Rock"  is sure to do that! There are actually 4 programs happening at the library this summer: Kids Summer Reading Program For kids entering pre-K through 5th grade, the reading program is based on visiting the library 4 times over the course of the summer. On their first visit, kids get to choose between individual disposable library bags or one reusable library bag per family. This year's bag features the 2018 "libraries rock" theme. On their second and third visits, kids can choose something out of the prize basket, which usually has a variety of toys that go with the theme, plus coupons for free treats at restaurants. Then, on their 4th visit, kids can choose a free book to keep! Teen Summer Reading Program The teen summer reading program is also based on vis