- Ontario Science Centre: You don’t have to be a tyke to appreciate the impressive interactive displays here, which take in the realm of science disciplines, from biology to technology, and make them fun and interactive.
- Toronto Islands: Toronto is blessed with a chain of leafy, mostly residential islands just a brief ferry ride away that offer a pretty, quiet, car-free spot for a stroll or a bike ride (you can rent regular tandem bikes, as well as quadracycles on Centre Island). The petting zoo and amusement park are geared towards the preschool set.
- Wandering through Riverdale Farm: In case you need more proof that Toronto is a very green city, its downtown area holds a 7.5-acre farm. Cows, sheep, pigs, goats, and other critters call it home—but this is no petting zoo; Riverdale is a working farm, where visitors can accompany farmers as they milk goats, collect eggs, and groom horses. Plus, it’s free.
- Toronto Zoo: Some 5,000 animals call the zoo’s seven geographic zones (Africa, Americas, Australasia, Canada, Eurasia, Indo-Malaya and Tundra Trek) home. Canada’s largest zoo has everything from nearly invisible stick insects to unmissable rhinos and polar bears. Feel good about the price of admission; a portion of every ticket sale helps the zoo’s conservation efforts, which include captive breeding and release programs.
- Ripley's Aquarium of Canada: Adults and children alike will be mesmerized by the exhibits at this aquarium adjacent to the CN Tower. Of the 10 galleries, the Dangerous Lagoon—an underwater tunnel with a moving sidewalk that invites fish fanatics to stand in awe as snaggle-toothed sharks sail overhead—is the most buzzed-about. Planet Jellies, a giant color-changing tank of aimlessly floating stingers, brings a Zen-like calm to visitors, while Ray Bay evokes excited squeals from youngsters as divers hand-feed elegant rays.