Well we made it through record-breaking winter weather and now it feels like Spring is all around us!

Your team here at All County Metroplex Property Management is excited for the warmer temps and we have put together a list of fifteen fun family-friendly activities to enjoy all round Dallas Fort Worth. Spring is one of the best times to explore DFW as the temperatures are mild and the parks are blooming with flowers.

We wish you a Happy Spring and we hope you enjoy some of our suggestions!

The Dallas Arboretum is a terrific place to see Spring in all its beauty! During the annual event, “Dallas Blooms,” over half a million flowers are on vibrant display including bright tulip bulbs, azaleas, and pink cherry blossom trees. Each week of the event, the Arboretum focuses on a different region of the U.S. The 2021 Dallas Bloom event takes place from February 21 to April 11, and the event is included with your admission into the Arboretum. Advance tickets are required with a timed entry for all visits through spring 2021. Also the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden is an indoor and outdoor hands-on classroom with 17 galleries focused on science and nature. Outside, kids are immersed in nature as they stroll along the boardwalk, roam through the grass tunnel, explore a full acre of wetlands, cross through the tree canopy along the Texas Skywalk, and explore under a waterfall. Indoors, the Discovery Center introduces technology to enhance a plant and soil lab station and allows children to solve a C.S.I-style mystery in a mini 3-D theater.

The Dallas Museum of Art has a packed calendar of events, many taking place virtually in 2021. The DMA is free to visit for general admission, although some special exhibitions have an additional cost. The museum’s collection includes over 25,000 pieces of art that span 5,000 years, ranging from ancient African art to Renaissance clothing pieces to contemporary photography.

The Dallas Zoo aims to inspire and empower visitors to take action on behalf of wildlife in Texas and around the world. Located three miles south of downtown Dallas, the 106-acre Dallas Zoo is the oldest and largest zoo in Texas. Founded with just two deer and two mountain lions in 1888 as the first zoo in the Southwest, The Dallas Zoo now provides a home for more than 2,000 animals representing over 400 species.

The Fort Worth Zoo was named the Top Zoo in North America in 2020! The oldest continuous zoo site in Texas, The Fort Worth Zoo was founded in 1909 with one lion, two bear cubs, an alligator, a coyote, a peacock and a few rabbits. The Fort Worth Zoo now houses more than 7,000 native and exotic animals.  The Zoo offers a day camp for kids between the ages of 5 and 10 that includes crafts, games, animal presentations, and a daily trip to The Fort Worth Zoo to visit the animals. Scheduled from March 15–19, 2021, campers can choose to join for just one day or go the entire week.

The Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth hosts events about the current exhibitions, ranging from conversations with artists or curators to interactive activities geared toward kids. The museum, which specializes in American art, is free to visit at all times for all visitors.  In 2021, the Amon Carter is open throughout the spring but all of the planned events are taking place virtually. For example, you can learn to create your own flower collage inspired by as installation on display by artist Natasha Bowdoin via Zoom.

At The Grapevine Aquarium you get the full ocean view via the 360-degree underwater tunnel full of sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, and nearly 300 other species of sea life. Kids can play in the touch pools to get an interactive lesson on tide pool creatures and also check out the sea turtles in North Texas’ only sea turtle hospital.

Texas Discovery Gardens and Butterfly House is a year-round organically maintained urban oasis filled with natural wonders. Located in Dallas’ historic Fair Park, Texas Discovery Gardens holds family festivals, workshops, free admission days, and an extensive (and growing) EarthKeepers® student education program introducing children and adults to natural outdoor learning experiences.

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors and celebrates women, past and present, whose lives exemplify the courage, resilience, and independence that helped shape the West. It includes interactive exhibit galleries that feature artifacts of the permanent collection, a traveling exhibit gallery, two theaters, a gift shop, a research library and archives, and a NEW second floor. Currently, the museum’s archives house more than 4000 artifacts and information about more than 750 remarkable women. The 238 National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Honorees include pioneers, artists, writers, entertainers, humanitarians, business women, educators, ranchers and rodeo cowgirls including: Sacagawea, principal guide for the Lewis and Clark expedition; painter Georgia O’Keeffe; potter Maria Martinez; writer Laura Ingalls Wilder; sharpshooter Annie Oakley; Enid Justin, who created the multi-million dollar Nocona Boot Company; Hollywood icon Dale Evans and U. S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is a drive-through interactive wildlife park dedicated to the conservation of species in peril. Visitors can drive their own car through the nature park which has free-roaming giraffes, rhinos, deer, ostrich, cheetahs, and more. You’ll even be given a cup of animal feed that you can throw from the car to attract hungry residents. The animals are especially active and looking for food in the morning, so reserving an early time slot to visit the park is the best time to visit.

Right next to the Dallas Museum of Art, The Nasher Sculpture Center  houses an impressive collection of artwork from artists like Pablo Picasso, Richard Serra, Giacometti, Rodin, Duchamp, among many others. The museum is open in 2021, but the typical programming is taking place virtually.

Benbrook Stables is holding a Spring Break Camp where kids learn about feeding the animals, horsemanship, horse nutrition, grooming, horse safety, tack and equipment, and horse anatomy. Of course, riding is also part of the camp and kids will get to try out Western style, English style, and even bareback. The 2021 camp is from March 15–19, and participants can drop in for a day or take part in the whole week.

The Fort Worth Stockyards tells the true history of Texas’s famous livestock industry. Fort Worth is where the West begins, and nothing embodies Western heritage better than the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. The Fort Worth Herd is the world’s only twice daily cattle drive, held every day at 11:30 AM & 4:00 PM in the Fort Worth Stockyards and The Fort Worth Herd steers can be viewed before and after cattle drives in their pens behind the Livestock Exchange Building on East Exchange Avenue. Drovers are available before each cattle drive for photo ops and questions. Be sure and ask for a Steer Trading Card! The historic Cowtown Coliseum also holds PRCA Rodeo action every weekend year-round.

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is located in Victory Park, near Downtown Dallas. Kids of all ages will enjoy it. Five floors house 11 permanent exhibit halls containing state-of-the-art video and 3-D computer animation with thrilling, life-like simulations where visitors can exercise their brains through hands-on activities, interactive kiosks, and educational games.

Dinosaur Valley State Park is just a short drive from Fort Worth and here you can walk in the tracks of Dinosaurs in the bed of the Paluxy River! With miles of scenic trails, you can spend the day exploring on foot or even get a horse drawn wagon ride from Eagle Eye Carriage Company! The park often reaches capacity; to guarantee entrance, reservations are highly recommended for both camping and day use.

From all of us here at All County Metroplex Property Management, we wish you a Very Happy Spring!