Catch some fun before school starts!

Neighborhood Arts

Eight weeks of arts performances in your neighborhood 

Through July 29 

Free; all ages welcome 

Events run Monday through Saturday each week at various Metropolitan Library locations across the metro. Featuring various musical styles and performing arts such as rock music, puppet shows, hip-hop demonstrations and opera. The entertainment line-up is full of fun, energetic performances from favorite artists; a new artist will be featured every week. Sponsored by the Arts Council of OKC, National Endowment of the Arts and the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information, log on to metrolibary.org for times and locations. 

National Day of the Cowboy

July 22, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum 

Free with museum admission (adults, $15; children 6-12, $5; children 5 & under, free). A celebration of the classic Western icon – the cowboy. Dress up in your western duds and enjoy performances by Oklahoma Opry, family-friendly activities and crafts while exploring Prosperity Junction and Liichokoshkomo.’ Activities are available while supplies last. Games and activities will include clay horseshoes, pool noodle stick horses, western sun catchers, nerf target practice, tic-tac-toe, giant horseshoes, Connect 4, Jenga, checkers, gallery scavenger hunt and more. Plus, reenactors and storytellers, performances and demonstrations. For more information, log on to nationalcowboymuseum.org 

OKC Zoo

If you are a heat lover, take a trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo. There is always something going on at the zoo … grab a cool soft drink or water and sit back to enjoy the animal antics. Check the website for hours and prices: okczoo.org.

Other indoor activities to beat the heat

Love the outdoors but Oklahoma’s roller coaster summer weather can leave you searching for an escape … a cool escape! Here are some of MetroFamily Magazine’s top indoor play places in the OKC metro. Check websites for cost, hours or specific programs. 

• Unpluggits

575 Enterprise Drive, Suite 110, Edmond 

Art Studio and indoor play place 

A family-friendly ceramic and craft painting studio for all ages plus an indoor playground. Children and adults can explore their artistic side and get rambunctious too. Check out their website for more information: unnpluggits.com 

• Brickopolis

101 S Mickey Mantle Drive, OKC 

Have fun playing laser tag, mining for gemstones, playing mini golf and more. Brickopolis.com 

• HeyDay Entertainment

3201 Market Place, Norman 

A plethora of family fun that includes 24 bowling lanes, laser tag, a high-flying ropes course and more than 50 arcade games. Heydayfun.com 

• Science Museum Oklahoma

2020 Remington Place, OKC 

Explore space, light, motion, aviation and weather in this mecca of indoor fun. Sciencemuseumok.org 

• Topgolf 

13313 Pawnee Drive, OKC 

Activities for children include golfing, pool tables, video games and giant Jenga. Hip with tweens and teens! Topgolf.com 

• Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park

2800 S Telephone Road, Moore 

Race on a two-story go-kart track, climb towering structures, bounce on trampolines, test your agility on a warrior course and be the last man standing in the Wipeout attraction. Urbanair.com 

• Arctic Edge

14613 N Kelly Ave., Edmond 

Hit the ice with public skating and learn-to-skate lessons. Or watch local youth and collegiate teams play hockey. Arctic-edge.com 

• iFLY Indoor Skydiving

13600 Pawnee Drive, OKC 

Find out what it’s like to fly in a vertical wind tunnel that simulates the free-fall conditions of skydiving. iFLYworld.com 

There are also summer movie programs at Harkins Bricktown in OKC and Warren Theatres in Moore. Plus, bowling lanes and roller skating all over the metro, Chicken N Pickle in north Oklahoma City.  

For outdoor enthusiasts who don’t mind a little sweat (or a lot), there’s always Frontier City amusement park off Northeast 122nd Street and I-35, and Hurricane Harbor water park off I-40 and Meridian Ave in OKC. 

These are just a few places where you can entertain yourself or your family this summer. Tons of fun … much of it free … for all ages, so top off your summer with fun your children can talk about when they go back to school. Stay cool and have an ideal summer!