It’s a very (rare) rainy day in Perth, so what shall you do with the kids? Don’t let them climb the walls at home, there is lots to do and discover indoors in Perth. We have the low down on what to do with your family in Perth, when the weather is bad. To suit all budgets, we have broken our list down into free, low to mid cost and mid to high cost activities. Buggybuddys has got you covered! Checkout our huge guide on
things to do in Perth on a rainy day with kids here;
Free Rainy Day Activities in Perth
Entertaining the kids on a wet day needn’t break the bank. There’s no need to stress! There are plenty of free activities available around our wonderful city. Read on to find the best indoor activities Perth has to offer for a rainy day.
Local Libraries
A rainy day is a good excuse to check out your local library! All libraries have a dedicated children’s section, where you’ll easily spend hours reading books with your child. Most libraries offer free story time sessions for children ages 2-5 and Rhyme Time sessions for children under 2 at set times each week. As well as books, many libraries offer children’s comics and magazines, as well as many kids DVDs, making for a cheap rainy movie night! Many libraries also offer indoor activities and workshops during
school holidays.
Find your local library here.
Story Time Sessions
Thinking of story time, if you’re looking for the best spots for story time that’s maybe not a library, a number of Perth bookstores also offer free story time sessions with kids activities.
Paper Bird, a cute children’s books and art store in Fremantle, is one of the top spots for story time every Sunday morning.
Beaufort Street Books in Mt Lawley, near the Perth City, also offers a story time session every Thursday morning.
Perth Museums
A family trip to a Perth
museum makes a memorable day out for kids of any age. Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge is home to the fantastic Western Australian Museum , The Art Gallery of WA and the State Library of Western Australia (be sure to visit The Story Place!). The area is easily accessible by both car, train and bus. You can easily spend the whole day there.
The DEFS Education and Heritage Museum also located in
Perth City is a great museum for any Fireman Sam fan and best of all it’s FREE! But please note that it’s only open Tuesday through to Thursday.
Read our review.
The
West Australian Maritime Museum will keep kids amused for an hour or two. Here you’ll find plenty of boats to explore including HMAS Ovens, a cold war Submarine. Submarine
tours are available for adults and children aged 5 and over. Just down the road, the
Shipwreck Galleries are also well worth checking out.
Another gem is the
Aviation Heritage Museum of Western Australia. Kids will be able to imagine just what it’s like to be a pilot, getting behind the controls of some fantastic flying machines. There are helicopters, small planes and more.
Shopping Centres
Shopping Centres are another cheap place to entertain the kids when it’s wet outside. Most shopping centres offer kiddy cars which can either be hired for free with a deposit or for a small charge of around $5-$8. Kids love will love being “driven” around the shopping centre. Some malls also offer fun indoor things like indoor playgrounds and cheap rides for example to keep kids amused. Many
fun indoor activities are available in school holiday time if you’re looking for a fun day.
DIY Kids Workshops
Your local
Bunnings has fun things to do with kids in Perth when it rains. On weekends and during school holiday periods, Bunnings hosts a range of free kids workshops suited to children aged five and up. In addition to this,
parents can relax at the Bunnings Cafe while the kids play in the indoor playground either before or afterwards.
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Low to mid Cost Wet Day Activities
If the idea of free libraries, museums and shopping centres is not floating your boat – there are many other low cost indoor activities around Perth to amuse the kids and escape the rainy weather in Perth.
Indoor Play Centers
An indoor play centre is always a popular choice during rainy weather. Pay one admission fee, and kids can spend hours exploring multi-level playgrounds and more. Why not treat yourself to a cheeky coffee and cake – you may even get a moment of relaxation for yourself. Babies aged under 1 are often free and entry fees usually vary from $6-$13.
You can find a full list of Perth’s best play centres here.
Leisure Centres
Many of Perth’s leisure centres have amazing indoor pool areas for kids of all ages. The best thing is entry fees are usually very reasonable.
Cockburn ARC’s state of the art aquatic and recreation centre, with world class water slides, is well worth a visit. HBF at Arena Joondalup has a wonderful pool area for kids, featuring a shallow
toddler pool. There is also a deeper pool which has a lazy river and a
water slide. Other Leisure Centres in Perth which have excellent indoor pools for kids are Beatty Park,
Bayswater Waves,
Balga Leisure Centre and
Belmont Oasis.
Playgroup
If you have a toddler or preschooler, joining a
playgroup is a great investment for fun indoor activities in Perth. Kids get to have fun together, while parents get to enjoy a coffee and make new friendships in their community.
Mid to High Cost Rainy Day Activities
Restaurants with Indoor Playrooms
Cinemas in Perth
There’s no better way of escaping the rain in Perth than with a trip to a cosy cinema! It can be costly, so be sure to look at the benefits in joining up to the respective kids or loyalty club. If you have a
baby the Mother and Baby showings are well worth checking out too.
Pottery Cafes
Pottery Cafes have popped up all over Perth. They’re a fantastic way to get creative on a rainy day. Take the kids along and choose from a selection of interesting ceramics to paint from simple tiles to mugs and money boxes. Some pottery cafes also offer a play area.
Mug n Brush in Rockingham has a soft play area with toys which is great for keeping babies and toddlers amused whilst the older children paint.
Find your nearest Pottery Cafe
Drop in Classes
Get out of the house and keep the kids amused with something new at an activity class.
Jungle Gym offer play gym sessions every weekday morning.
Paint and Sip Classes
If you have the opportunity to plan ahead, why not book a family-friendly paint and sip class. Relax and spend a day or a rainy night creating a vibrant artwork. Parents can enjoy a glass of wine while kids enjoy snacks and cordial.
Scitech
Aquarium of Western Australia – AQWA
Discover Western Australia’s favourite indoor aquarium centre on a Perth rainy day. The majority of the exhibits are indoors, and the touch pool where kids can get up close and personal with a selection of sea life is undercover outside. Why not grab lunch at the cafeteria style cafe and make a day of it? Whether you’re a local or just visiting Perth, a visit to AQWA is a great way to spend the day!
Read our AQWA review.
Climbing Centres
Don’t let the kids climb the walls at home on a rainy day. Take them to one of Perth’s many Indoor Climbing Centres where they can literally climb the walls! What better way to keep them busy on a rainy day? Check out Rockface where there is no minimum age for climbers, and have a small dedicated bouldering wall for little kids to scramble around on.
Trampoline Centres
Take the kids to one of Perth’s many
trampoline centres where they can burn off all their energy by bouncing off the walls!
Inflatable World
Inflatable World has locations in Joondalup, Shenton Park, Leeming and Ballajura. You can expect the kids to have a huge adrenaline rush when they see the large inflatables that boast slides, climbing walls, obstacles and more.
Read the Buggybuddys review
Roller Skating
Roller-skating is lots of high energy fun!
Rollerzone is WA’s largest indoor roller skating and blading rink. The large skating rink is lit up with loads of colourful
lights, lasers and shiny disco balls. The
dance music gets everyone involved, from singing along to favourite tunes and dancing to pop one hit wonders like the Macarena and Gangnam Style.
Bowling Centres
Bowling is a great indoor activity to wile away a rainy day. Perth indoor ten pin bowling centres such as
Strike Bowling in Karrinyup or Forrest Chase and
Zone Bowling include other activities including arcade games, lazer tag and karaoke. Most have deals in the school holidays that include a game or two and a
meal. With this in mind, kids of all ages will be kept entertained.
Read the Buggybuddys review.
Gaming
If your kids love gaming, they’ll love a trip to Timezone. The timed play packs offered great value and the kids enjoyed being able to play one game after the next without having to be told they had spent all their money. iPlay is also a super fun arcade for families, some stores also include bumper cars and climbing walls. Another relatively new way to entertain your kids in the gaming world is to head to a Virtual Reality gaming center, like Zero Latency.
Escape Rooms
Perfect for older children, the brain teasing games found in an Escape Room are sure to test the entire family. An Escape Room is a real-life, puzzle-solving adventure game. You and your team are locked into a room, immersed in a fantasy scenario with one aim – to escape working together, using clues and solving puzzles to beat the clock. Perth has a number of escape rooms to choose from.
Indoor Mini golf
Mini golf isn’t just for sunny days! In Perth there are many spots which have indoor mini golf courses too. From the super fun and wacky Holey Moley (currently 4 venues in Perth), to the mind boggling 3D mini golf of
Glowing Rooms in Fremantle to the fun themed
Hi Voltage golf Kids and adults will love to putt putt your way through a rainy day!
Laser Tag in Perth
Laser tag is high-intensity fun that the whole family can enjoy together! Kids will love running around in their gear on special “missions”.
Indoor Go Karting
Why should the little people have all the fast-paced fun? Great fun for older kids, go-karting is popular with grown-ups too. Challenge your family to a Hamilton vs Verstappen style show down – you may even find you have a mini Danny Ric on your hands! Whether you’re north or south of the river, Perth has some great go-karting tracks that are perfect for rainy days.
Indoor Skydiving
And finally, one fun idea is to simply rug up in your waterproof clothes and gumboots and jump in those puddles!
Have we missed any of your favourite things to do on a rainy day in Perth with kids? Let us know in the comments below!
Find more things to do with kids in Perth
- About the Author
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
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