Pep Boys

One spark of inspiration is all you need for your next big idea at the Thinkery, where each exhibit is hands-on, play-based learning, with activities and content appropriate for visitors of all ages. Create colorful works of art, take apart toys or build and launch gliders at the Spark Shop. See, feel and hear the connections between water and sound at the Currents exhibit. Find out how color, light, and shadows impact the environment at the Light Lab. Participate in sensory exploration, chemical reactions, and edible minerals in the Kitchen Lab. Imagine buying and selling delicious fruits and vegetables or collecting eggs from a pretend chicken coop in Fresh! Farmers’ Market. Step outside to the Backyard and scale the heights of a universally-accessible, custom-designed climber, or rest under the branches of a native elm tree.

Take a step back in time and walk the grounds of the oldest modern-day urban farm, Boggy Creek Farm, where you can purchase fresh produce, attend a chef's dinner or enjoy any special events for foodies who dig the back-to-the-farm movement. The Market offers a variety of vegetables, meats, dairy, and bread, all year-round, grown in fields that are steps away for the freshest farm-to-table experience.

Take a dip into the Barton Springs pool, which measures three acres in size, and is fed from underground springs with an average temperature of 68-70 degrees, ideal for year-round swimming. Over the years, people from all walks of life, from legislators to free-spirited have been drawn to this fantastic pool where even Robert Redford learned to swim at five years old. Today, Barton Springs still attracts a diverse crowd of people and has seen record-setting numbers of visitors nearing 800,000 in recent years.