Find Your Favorites in Downtown San Diego
Looking for fun things to do with the kids in downtown San Diego? We’ve got you covered with our Downtown Museum Fun Guide featuring ideas for you including amazing events, new exhibitions and the family favorites. You’ll find plenty of FUN destinations within walking distance of downtown hotels and San Diego’s Convention Center.
San Diego’s vibrant downtown is home to an array of world-class museums ready for you to explore. Check out the USS Midway Museum and Maritime Museum of San Diego along the bayfront. Visit the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House, WNDR Museum San Diego, the San Diego International Airport’s Arts Program and the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. You can even spend the day with the kids at The New Children’s Museum.
The USS Midway Museum is one of San Diego’s most popular attractions and offers military themed events throughout the year.EMBARCADERO
USS MIDWAY MUSEUM
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore a historic aircraft carrier. The USS Midway, the longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th Century and one of San Diego’s most popular attractions! The USS Midway Museum has dozens of restored vintage aircraft, including jets and helicopters, on the outside 4-acre flight deck and below in the main hangar. For many, this section is a highlight of visiting the USS Midway Museum.
The Museum’s docents bring the Midway’s history to life, with fascinating accounts of launching and landing naval aircraft aboard the ship, as well as their own stories of adventure on the high seas.
GASLAMP QUARTER
GASLAMP MUSEUM AT THE DAVIS-HORTON HOUSE
Local history buffs will enjoy a trip back in time at this San Diego landmark, built when the Gaslamp Quarter was still known as “New Town.” Take a popular self-guided or guided tour at the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House the oldest building in downtown San Diego. Kids will love the ghostly tours and the statues of “Bum,” San Diego’s first and only town dog, and “Bobby,” another famous local canine.
EMBARCADERO
MARITIME MUSEUM OF SAN DIEGO
Along the Embarcadero, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is every kid’s ship sailing dream. They can explore the world’s oldest sailing ship, Star of India, the Navy frigate replica H.M.S. Surprise, California’s official tall ship schooner Californian, Spanish galleon replica San Salvador, Victorian-era steam ferry boat Berkeley, and the USS Dolphin submarine.
Every ticket purchase includes access to the Museum’s extensive collection of historic vessels, including indoor exhibits and below-deck galleries. If you’re looking to take your maritime adventure up a notch, you can add on a boat tour or sailing adventure on San Diego Bay for an additional fee.
GASLAMP
THE NEW CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
This is the perfect destination for families with little ones to think, play and create. You can experience the backstage world of Teatro Piñata, the interactive three dimensional WHAMMOCK, and the new Octavia E. Butler: Seeding Futures and more. Explore the FUN here.
ASIAN PACIFIC HISTORIC DISTRICT
SAN DIEGO CHINESE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
One of the best ways to understand San Diego’s Chinatown origin story, is to head into the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum on 3rd Avenue. Located in the heart of San Diego’s downtown Asian Pacific Historic District where the historical San Diego Chinatown once stood, SDCHM has been a stalwart defender of San Diego’s API history currently celebrating over 35 years of special events, exhibitions, and programs.
Explore aspects of Chinese history, culture, and arts at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, located among the remnants of the vibrant Chinatown that existed in San Diego a century ago. See the newest exhibition, the Art of Chunming Yu 余春明 and Lan Wang 王藍. The Museum is FREE and open from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
MIDTOWN
SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ARTS PROGRAM
Arrive. Depart. Be Inspired. Did you know the San Diego International Airport is home to a vibrant and expansive public arts program with a permanent collection of art and sculpture and special temporary exhibitions like the new Kaori Fukuyama installation. See the newest exhibit Espacios & Lines. Access is always free for kids and adults although some parts of the airport are for ticketed passengers only.
GASLAMP
WNDR MUSEUM SAN DIEGO
Located in the heart of downtown’s Gaslamp neighborhood, WNDR is a multisensory interactive art and technology experience that is designed to ignite curiosity within each of us.
What makes the WNDR Museum San Diego completely unique is that it is purely immersive. Visitors can engage in more than 20 multi-sensory installations through sight, sound, touch and movement. And each visitor can make it their own. The museum has curated world-class art by provocative artists and continues to lean into cutting-edge technologies to enhance the experience.
