San Antonio Children’s Museum

On hot summer days when an entire afternoon at Six Flags [1] or Sea World [2] sounds unbearable, there’s a cool indoor alternative at the San Antonio Children’s Museum (305 E. Houston St., 210/212-4453, www.sakids.org [3], 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Tues.–Fri., 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Sat., noon–4 p.m. Sun., $6 adults and children 2 and up). With more than 80 exhibits to experience, kids will be entertained most of the day, often far outlasting their parents’ patience. Fortunately, the interactive activities are well maintained and even educational.

Highlights include the miniature bulldozer that kids can actually operate to some degree (a dream come true for most 3-year-olds and their fathers), a large supermarket area where kids can play customer and cashier, a music stage that captures future MTV stars on video monitors, a kid-sized airplane complete with knobs and buttons in the cockpit, and several areas for toddlers to play with blocks and soft sculptures.