Specialty Builders

Create a masterpiece at Ceramics Bayou, a paint-your-own pottery studio where you can choose from more than 400 art pieces to decorate and take home. Voted one of the top five family outings in Austin.

Fly a kite or just gaze at the colorful sky during the Zilker Kite Festival, held the first Sunday in March. A kite-making workshop, face painting, games, contests, rock wall, moonwalks, and plenty of tasty food will hold your interest all afternoon.

One “spark” of inspiration is all you need for your next BIG idea at the Thinkery, Austin’s home for “why?” and “how?” Each exhibit is hands-on, play-based learning, with activities and content appropriate for visitors of all ages. It’s never too early or too late to connect with people, share ideas, create experiences, and have a great time. 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.

Visit market days at Boggy Creek Farm, a USDA-Certified-Organic Urban Market Farm just 1.5 miles from the heart of downtown Austin. Buy fresh produce, attend a chef's dinner or enjoy any of the special events for foodies who dig the back-to-the-farm movement.