7 Things To Do with Kids in Tulsa, OK (plus 5 Frugal Travel Tips)

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I have to admit that Tulsa, Oklahoma was never particularly on my radar. But visiting family and friends takes you to all kinds of unexpected places, so we just spent a one-week vacation with the kids in the state’s second-largest city.

It was our first trip to Oklahoma, and we had a great time!

Tulsa’s history as the “Oil Capital of the World” was evident from the numerous beautiful Art Deco buildings and world-class cultural institutions.

But whew, it was hot! We dealt with the temperatures by taking a very leisurely approach. We spent a lot of time simply relaxing at home with family, cooking up delicious meals, exploring the neighborhood, and cooling off in the pool.

When we did venture out from our air-conditioned comfort to cruise around different parts of the city, we were looking for activities that would be fun for us adults and our kids alike. We found some great options!

Tulsa for Kids

Here are a few of the highlights of family-friendly things to do in Tulsa.

Gilcrease Museum
Oklahoma Aquarium
Discovery Lab
Rose District Farmers Market
Philbrook Museum
Tulsa Air and Space Museum
Elsing Museum at Oral Roberts University

Plus, I sprinkled in some bonus frugal travel tips that will help stretch your budget and make your family’s trips more affordable.

1. Gilcrease Museum

Website: gilcrease.org

The whole family loved this wonderful art museum!

Albert Bierstadt Multinomah Falls — “Multinomah Falls” by Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). He was born in Solingen, not too far from my German hometown.

I thought we’d just be popping in for a quick look – as long as the kids would let us – to take advantage of the free entry (on the first Tuesday of every month), but as it turns out, Max didn’t want to leave.

We spent well over two hours taking in what is the “the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West,” according to the museum’s website.

I have a thing for 19^th-century romantic landscape paintings, so I was very happy with the “masterworks” gallery that houses pieces by such artists as Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, and William Keith.

We got lucky and caught the last week of a great exhibition of photos Norman Rockwell took as studies for his paintings. Max loved these playful images from everyday life and looked at every single one.

Finding out that my 3-year-old can be captivated by art was worth every minute of carrying him on my hip the whole time.

Even without this special exhibit, the Gilcrease is really family-friendly. The quiet nursing room with toys and a chair was a pleasant surprise.

But the main reason Max didn’t want to go home was the lovely Kids’ Site. It’s filled with a puppet theater, bookshelf with Western-themed books, and a 13-foot traditional birch bark canoe that kids can “paddle” in.

FRUGAL TRAVEL TIP: Many museums have a free day or evening every month. Check out their websites or search online to find out when. Maybe you’ll get lucky and it’s during your visit. If not, Groupon may have coupons on offer.

2. Oklahoma Aquarium

Website: okaquarium.org

It had been a while since our last visit to an aquarium. This one did not disappoint!

Oklahoma Aquarium, baby watching jelly fish — Miki with white-spotted jellyfish

First of all, at $16 per adult ticket (kids pay $12), it felt like a really good value. Some places we’ve been to cost nearly twice as much!

The aquarium is also just the right size for a visit that doesn’t make you feel overwhelmed and has a good variety of displays – from local bass to exotic corals, from tiny fish to large sharks.

I even enjoyed reading all the labels because they offered fun facts and interesting explanations of the animals’ Latin scientific names. Did you know that sea stars regrow limbs and don’t have blood but pump seawater through their body?

We watched some beavers and otters devour a snack, and Max asked to feed stingrays bits of shrimp off a long skewer. We didn’t mind paying a couple of extra dollars for that.

The highlight is clearly the shark tank. The aquarium boasts the nation-wide largest collection of bull sharks, which are notoriously aggressive and difficult to maintain in captivity.

As you walk into the tunnel, the atmosphere around you becomes calm and (relatively) quiet. The perfect place to take a quick breather from the bustle of the rest of the aquarium.

It’s amazing to think that from above and the sides, 4 inches of acrylic separate you from the sharks and half a million gallons of man-made sea water.

We were going to take advantage of the aquarium’s same-day reentry policy but ended up staying all morning and into the afternoon. Luckily, we’d brought some snacks that we devoured in the cafeteria.

FRUGAL TRAVEL TRIP: When an attraction offers same-day reentry with your ticket, take full advantage of your entrance fee by breaking the visit into chunks. Go early in the morning when it’s not too crowded yet, have an affordable lunch outside (at home, at your AirBnB, a cheap restaurant), and go back in to see whatever you missed earlier in the day.

Speaking of AirBnB: Receive $40 off your first booking of $75 or more by signing up through this link!

green moray at Oklahoma Aquarium — Fun fact: Green moray eels are actually brown, covered in a protective yellow mucus.

3. Discovery Lab

Website: discoverylab.org

The Discovery Lab is a fun little play museum and good place to spend an hour or two with kids.

In the Main Hall, we explored the science-inspired activities and toddler zone (busy board, activity cube, small ball pit).

But Max pretty quickly abandoned those for the huge climbing structure. He loved barreling down the long tunnel made of packing tape.

Discovery Lab Tulsa Oklahoma — Max stuffing cloths into an oversized vacuum machine at the Discovery Lab

Exhibitions in the Featured Hall change a couple of times a year. We especially enjoyed a machine that sucks cloths into tubes and spits them out again.

Sometime in the next year or so, the museum is going to quadruple in size and become part of the Gathering Place, an almost 100-acre waterfront park and recreation project on the Arkansas.

In its current iteration, the Discovery Lab was nice but not necessarily something I’d visit again. Maybe if I lived nearby and wanted to let the kids work out some energy while I chat with friends. (This is exactly what some parents were doing).

I’d contend that many kids had just as much fun outside at the (free) splash pad that belongs to the surrounding park.

The Discovery Lab is part of the Association of Children’s Museums, so if you’re a member of a participating museum, your entrance fee will be reduced.

FRUGAL TRAVEL TRIP: Many museums (especially for children), botanic gardens, and other organizations belong to networks. Check with your local museums, join them for year-round fun, and get free or reduced entrance to museums nation- and world-wide when you travel.

Tulsa Discovery Lab packing tape tunnel — Max ascending a packing tape tunnel at the Discovery Lab.

4. Rose District Farmers Market

Website: www.facebook.com/BAFarmersMarket

On a Saturday morning, we headed north to a charming farmers market in Broken Arrow, Tulsa’s largest suburb.

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Rose District farmers market — Broken Arrow, OK farmers market and splash pad

Most vendors were protected from the sun’s worst bite under a pavilion, where we browsed their fresh vegetables and fruit, pastured meat and eggs, cheese, honey, soaps and other handmade goods and a few bites to eat.

For kids there’s a splash pad out front on a plaza. (Sensing a theme here? This is a state that knows it gets hot.)

We braved the sun to walk along the town’s cute main street. Max especially liked the Binding Contract sculpture next to a bank. It shows two larger-than-life cowboys on horses shaking hands across a fence.

Binding Contract sculpture in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma — Binding Contract in Broken Arrow

We knew it was high time for lunch when our son made a beeline for a restaurant. He opened the door all by himself, walked in, and promptly sat down on the floor, staring up at us wordlessly. The place was crowded, so we found a Mexican restaurant, Fiesta Mambo!, a few doors down.

We got what we needed: reasonably priced, standard fare, served quickly and by friendly staff. We had mole de pollo (chicken in mole sauce) and pollo con queso (you guessed it, chicken in cheese sauce) with rice and refried beans and were pretty happy.

FRUGAL TRAVEL TRIP: Farmers markets are a great place to buy a healthy, local meal or ingredients for a picnic. (In our case, we had a kitchen to cook in, so we just bought vegetables for that day’s dinner.)

Other Recommended Family-Friendly Sights

If we’d had more time, we would have loved to check out these three museums. Next time!

5. Philbrook Museum

Website: philbrook.org

We were a bit sad to miss the beautiful gardens of this art museum in a villa. It’s said to be a good experience for kids, as well.

6. Tulsa Air and Space Museum

Website: tulsamuseum.org

A small-ish museum chock-full of airplanes – including a full-size MD-80 – and with a planetarium.

7. Elsing Museum at Oral Roberts University

Website: www.oru.edu/the-elsing-museum

My sister-in-law recommended a tour of this tucked-away gem and mineral collection. And it’s free! We did drive by to see the huge Praying Hands – the world’s largest bronze sculpture – at the campus entrance.

FRUGAL TRAVEL TIP: Most cities have at least one free kids’ publication, such as TulsaKids. Pick it up in coffee shops or check them online for free or cheap activities happening while you’re in town.

Max eating sourdough kefir waffles with berries — Max feasting on waffles. They’re made from sourdough and kefir cultures that traveled with us from home. Yes, I’m weird that way.

sunrise at a bridge over the Arkansas, Tulsa Oklahoma — Early morning jog across the Arkansas River. So many road bikers, it was a veritable Tour de France!