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Two In Tow’s Kid Picks | Family-friendly July events

Posted on July 11th, 2025 By: Tonya Strickland

Graphic by Tonya Strickland

Welcome to Two in Tow’s Kid Picks, where I flip the script on our usual adventure column by rounding up the coolest-sounding events for families all within easy day-tripping distance from home. Instead of recapping places we’ve been to, this series is all about helping you catch the fun before it starts — so you pencil them into your own calendars and kiddo plans. Expect quirky storytimes, hands-on museum days, and can’t-miss outdoor meetups. And, don’t worry, my regular Two in Tow & On The Go column here at Gig Harbor Now will still be dishing out all the place reviews, too.

Summer is finally here and there’s no shortage of kid-approved adventures to check out in Gig Harbor and even a little farther out. From swooning at baby meerkats to dashing down bouncy obstacle courses, here are some family-friendly things to do in and around the South Sound to wow the kiddos in your life in the coming weeks.

PenMet Parks Mobile Rec

Event website | PenMet Parks’ free Mobile Rec program is back for the summer. Families can drop in at various community locations for free daytime craft sessions, games, and a no-cost lunch every weekday. The program is designed for children ages 3 to 12, but organizers say everyone is welcome. These are not drop-off events. An adult or someone age 16+ must stay onsite with the children they came with. Each week features new themed activities like tie-dye, gaga ball, cornhole, and more. According to PenMet, the program welcomed more than 780 participants and served 432 free meals during its pilot year in 2024.

📅 When: July 7 – Aug. 22, weekdays, 11 a.m – 2 p.m.

💰 Cost: Free

📍 Where: Four different elementary school sites and the brand-new PenMet Parks Recreation Center, on the following schedule:

Mondays: Harbor Heights Elementary (4002 36th Ave. NW)

Tuesdays: Purdy Elementary (13815 62nd Ave. NW)

Wednesdays: Artondale Elementary (6219 40th St. NW)

Thursdays: Discovery Elementary (4905 Rosedale St. NW)

Fridays: PenMet Parks Recreation Center (2524 14th Ave. NW)

BONUS: Seperate Free Mobile Rec Adaptive Recreation Sessions for all ages and abilities are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 24 and Aug. 14. These special “Creative Connections Clubhouse” events require advance registration here.

💡 Tonya Tip: The free lunches are served to all kids and their adults on site.

Babies, Bloom & Beach

Event website | Babies, Bloom & Beach are three separate super cool things happening at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park this summer, named by me for this article and detailed here:

Babies

1. Four litters of baby meerkats are now bustling about their habitat at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Baby meerkats are called “kits.” Meerkat mamas Keeya and Naledi each gave birth recently to four healthy kits behind the scenes at the zoo, according to the zoo’s meerkat webpage. Keeya’s kits were born in March and are starting to wander outside of their den while Naledi’s kits were born this summer and are still out of sight. The new babies bring the zoo’s total meerkat population to 21. Find them in the meerkat habitat located in the zoo’s Kids’ Zone area.

💰 Cost: General zoo admission

📍Where: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N Pearl St., Tacoma

💡Tonya Tip: Download this zoo map to find the Kids’ Zone area on the zoo’s westside.

Bloom

2. See the zoo’s giant agave bloom! A 17-year-old Agave parryi of the truncata variety is shooting up a towering 15-foot flower stalk in the zoo’s Desert Garden. And it’s what officials are calling a “once-in-20-years” event, according to this announcement. The spectacle is expected to last only 2 to 3 weeks, though, before the stalk falls. A special garden talk about it with the zoo’s horticulture team is planned for Sunday, July 13, at 10 a.m. The discussion is free with paid zoo admission, and those interested are asked to meet to the left of the main plaza inside the zoo.

📅 When: In a zoo blog post, officials said the stalk should remain visible for 2 to 3 weeks from July 8 👉 so go check it out from now until about July 22 to July 29 ish.

💰 Cost: General zoo admission.

📍 Where: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N Pearl St., Tacoma.

💡 Tonya Tip: The zoo’s Desert Garden is located to the left (west) of the main plaza by the restrooms and giftshop.

Beach

3. Explore the Shore at Owen Beach: Point Defiance Park naturalists guide folks on a tide walk to discover crabs, anemones, and more hidden critters. Designed for ages 5+. Show up 10 minutes before the start time to register at the event tent in the Owen Beach parking lot. The program offers this free field guide to download prior to the event for a sneak peek of some of the animals folks might see.

📅 When: July 12, 10 a.m.– noon (but they say it’s OK to stay longer).

💰 Cost: Free

📍Where: Owen Beach, 5605 N. Owen Beach Road, Tacoma.

💡Tonya Tip: Wear shoes that can get wet and protect feet from sharp, rocky shores with shells and barnacles. Here at Two in Tow, our favorite beach shoes are the stretchy water sock kind with rubber soles.

🌈 Bounce the City Tour

Event website | A giant inflatable playground that’s touring the country has stopped in Seattle. It has slides, obstacle courses, and a headphone disco dome.

📅 When: Saturdays and Sundays, July 6–28, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

💰 Cost: $24 per child, per 90-minute session.

📍 Where: Westfield Southcenter at 2800 Southcenter Mall, Seattle.

💡 Tonya Tip: This one is a bit far from Gig Harbor, but given the size of the bouncing area, it looks like this destination is worth the drive.

✨ Pierce College Science Dome Summer Specials

Event website (scroll down to the “Summer Specials” box) | Live planetarium shows on different subjects held Wednesdays in July and August. The series features one-hour live talks inside the planetarium with images presented on the dome screen above. The 7 p.m. July 16 talk details how the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is using a large digital astronomical camera to create a detailed timelapse of the universe. Check out what scientists hope to find and what they’ve already discovered.

📅 When: Wednesdays at 7 p.m. July 16, July 23 and July 30; as well as Aug. 13 and Aug. 20.

💰 Cost: $8 per person; free for Pierce College students. Buy tickets online here.

📍 Where: The Science Dome is located inside the Fort Steilacoom Rainier Building, Room 263 at Pierce College, 9401 Farwest Drive SW, Lakewood.

💡 Tonya Tip: Shows are live and immersive—great for older kids who love space.

⚾ Cheney Stadium’s ‘R City Kids Club’

Kid’s Club webpage | With summer games in full swing, why not treat the kids to some extra fan fun? Signing up for Cheney Stadium’s R City Kids Club gets kiddos ages 12 and younger a hat, bag, vouchers for Rainiers baseball game tickets, and a free Museum of Glass ticket. Paying members can pick up their Kids Club bag with the merch and vouchers during any Rainiers home game, or at the front office.

📅 When: Ongoing all season.

💰 Cost: $15 per membership, plus a $3.53 Ticketmaster fee.

📍 Where: Cheney Stadium, 2502 S Tyler St., Tacoma.

💡 Tonya Tip: The included ticket vouchers for Rainiers baseball games are subject to seat availability— book them early for your preferred ballgame dates.

🎨 Tinkertopia

Program website | Kids ages 6+ can craft upcycled inventions from bins of creative materials, random objects and surplus pieces at Tinkertopia, a Tacoma makerspace and art center. Reservations required, call to book a time slot.

📅 When: Daily sessions at 12 p.m. or 3 p.m.

💰Cost: $10 per kid for a 90-minute session; $5 for their adult helpers.

📍Where: Tinkertopia, 1914 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.

💡 Tonya Tip: No tips … We’ve never been here so let me know how it is!

🏹 Fort Nisqually Family Fun Night

Event website | Old-fashioned games, heritage crafts, and an epic candy cannon that blasts pieces of candy onto a field so kids can make a dash for it. Bring a picnic dinner or buy a meal onsite.

📅 When: Friday, July 18, 6–9 p.m.

💰 Cost: $13 for youth; $15 for adults; $50 for a family pass; ages 3 and under go free.

📍Where: Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, 5519 Five Mile Drive, Tacoma.

💡 Tonya Tip: The candy cannon launches at 8 p.m., so line up early for some prime candy-chasing. Also — maybe bring a bag to carry your candy in?

See ya out there!

Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (11) and Wyatt (9) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.