Things to Do with Kids in Knoxville TN
Knoxville is the city that hosted the World’s Fair in 1982. Its downtown is cute, with plenty of restaurants and shops to visit. Its proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains and the touristy towns near it makes it a good starting or end base for exploring the area. Here is a list of 8 things to do in Knoxville, TN with Kids.
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Address: 12 Market Sq, Knoxville, TN 37902
Hours: Hours Vary depending on whether you’re shopping, dining, or just going to the parks
Price: Varies.
On Wednesdays from 9 am to 12 noon and Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm, there is a Farmers Market on Market Square. Market Square is one of the most captivating places to visit in Knoxville. It was founded in the 19th century as a place where you could sell items such as bread, vegetables, fruits, and more. It was home to a diverse group of people, and even made its way to books written by famous Southern authors like James Agee and Cormac McCarthy.
When you visit Market Square today, you will see locals and tourists walking around all the different stalls, and there is a lively and friendly atmosphere. On the days we visited, we saw the following things being sold: kombucha, honey, soaps, bread and pastries, cookware, clothes, juice, jewelry, woodcraft, and art. All the vendors in Market Square come from within a 150-mile radius and they sell homemade or crafted items from the area.
Aside from the Farmers Market, Market Square is home to restaurants and shops that are open every day of the week. Most of the restaurants we visited in the Where to Eat in Knoxville post are located in Market Square. An indie bookstore is located around the corner from Market Square, and there are a few souvenir shops that are unique to the area. If you’re lucky, you may just encounter a demonstration while there.
For families with little kids, there’s a fountain that doubles as a splash park that you can take the kids to. There’s a park with a waterfall that flows through the park like a river. There’s plenty to keep the children entertained while in Market Square.
Address: 601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
Hours: 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. Sunday 1 pm to 4 pm.
Price: $10 for adults, free for children under 16
This is my husband’s favorite place we visited because of the sheer amount of history and information packed in one building. It has three floors of history, with the first floor dedicated solely to the museum. The museum covers the entire history of East Tennessee, in which Knoxville has played a critical role over the past two centuries.
Another great plus is that there is a big room for children. Since we went on a weekend, there were no school groups, and we had the room to ourselves. Our child loved playing and exploring everything that room had to offer. They had puppets, and lots of toys from the Little People brand, and they could even get a chance to make a quick movie from the toys they had in the center. It’s that engaging and fun for the children, that my kid didn’t want to leave.
My husband and I took turns looking after the child and walking around the museum. This is a tactic we use as a duo whenever we bring a child to museums and need him to be occupied.
The history of the East Tennessee Museum is shown chronologically and begins with the presence of Native Americans in the area, mainly Cherokees. It delves into the lives of the Cherokees, and how they lived off the bountiful land and the river. The name ‘Tennessee’ originated from the Native American town they called ‘Tanasi.’ The story progresses to the eventual arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and, a few centuries later, American settlers and the resulting clashes over land and culture. A large part of the museum covers the Civil War period and explains how East and West Tennessee clashed over the decision to secede from the Union. East Tennessee wanted to remain in the Union, while West Tennessee wanted to align with the Confederacy. Even after the Civil War concluded, these ideological differences remained.
Address: 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920
Hours: Weekdays 9 am to 5 pm, Saturday 9 am to 7 pm, Sunday 11 am to 7 pm
Price: Free entry, $5 parking per car
Located a 15-minute drive east of downtown Knoxville, you’ll need a car to get to Ijams Nature Center. While the hiking trails and nature center are free, there is a $5 charge to park your car, enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The fee is valid the whole day, even if you moved your car to various lots.
The Nature Center is the first place you’ll go to for information. They sell maps of the nature center for $1, or you can take a photo of the non-detailed map from the trailheads. The staff is also a great resource to ask for directions on trails you want to visit.
The gift shop is a good place to get good deals on souvenirs. I got a marble magnet for $4, and toys are available for the little ones at a decent price. The Nature Center also has animal exhibits, like a snapping turtle and fish. The center is free to visit, and the restrooms are located inside the building.
The River Trail is undoubtedly the gem of Ijams Nature Center. A boardwalk trail over the Tennessee River awaits you. The trail is 1.5 miles, and loops to the parking lot. It can be accessible to strollers, although the first part of the trail we took was not accessible.
Within a few steps from the boardwalk over the river is a geological event accessible by a set of stairs. You’ll see how the earth has folded itself and become something like an open cave. It is considered a geological oddity and is a pretty interesting sight.
The River Trail is mostly shaded with trees, so even on a hot summer day, you won’t feel as warm or burnt by the sun, perfect for the little ones.
Address: 810 Clinch Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902
Hours: Weekdays 10 am to 5 pm, Saturday 9 am to 5 pm, Sunday 12nn to 4 pm.
Price: $5 per adult, $1 per child under 12 with paying adult
One can easily identify what the Sunsphere is since this is in almost every marketing material for Knoxville. It is a tower with a big yellow sphere on top, originally commissioned for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville.
You can visit one of the top floors of the Sunsphere! Tickets are available online and cost $5 per adult and $1 for children with a paying adult. You can also scan a QR code on the Sunsphere premises and buy your tickets on the spot.
They were in the middle of constructing a welcome center for the Sunsphere when I visited. For now, you will have to wait by the elevators on the lowest floor of the Sunsphere for a guide to take you up to the observation deck. Once on the observation deck, you can take your time and stay as long as you want. The average time to do 2 rounds and see the views of the Sunsphere is around 30 minutes. There are great 360-degree views of Knoxville, where you can see the Tennessee River, the Tennessean Hotel, and part of the University of Tennesee football stadium. There is also a Pacman machine that is pretty fun to play!
They have souvenirs on sale on top of the Sunsphere, most of them are Sunsphere-themed. There are a few kiosks throughout various nooks in the Sunsphere, as well as some memorabilia and displays from the World’s Fair of 1982.
A quick walk from the Sunsphere is the World’s Fair Park. It is a wide-open park with a playground and a splash park for the littles. There is a fountain on site and there are 22 flags. These flags represent the nations that participated in the 1982 World’s Fair. Back then, only 22 nations participated. Compare this to the resurgence of the World’s Fair’s popularity in the 21st century. The 2021 fair in Dubai and 2024 in Osaka, which we are planning to attend, have so many nations participating, that going to the World’s Fair needs booking in advance.
Address: 1050 Worlds Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. Closed Mondays
Price: FREE
The Knoxville Museum of Art is a quick walk from the World’s Fair Park and the Sunsphere. This museum has three floors of art, ranging from contemporary to classical. This museum is free of charge! It would be best if you sign up for the Eventbrite link in advance to save time registering.
The top floor of the museum has rotating exhibits and is also free of charge. The floor where you first enter has classical painters, as well as a children’s play area. The children’s play area is fun: there is interactive art that they can play with, as well as books and other supplies that can keep them busy.
The basement is the jewel of the museum: it’s home to the Thorne Room, which contains 9 miniature rooms, collected over the years by Narcissa Thorne. These miniatures portray interiors that depict what it was like to live in time periods that range from 1500 to 1920. This is the second biggest collection of miniatures, with the biggest located at the Art Institute of Chicago. Even our young child loved seeing the miniatures at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Address: 3500 Knoxville Zoo Dr, Knoxville, TN
Hours: Daily 9 am to 5 pm
Price: $27 for Adults, $22 for children from 3-12, $5 parking
Zoo Knoxville is a mecca for families traveling with young children. Our boy loved seeing the animals up close. There are so many animals in the zoo! Many of them have indoor viewing areas, and some have air conditioning in them. Perfect when visiting on a warm summer’s day! Some attractions are paid on top of the entry fee and usually involve animal feeding. If you have a spare $10, I would highly recommend doing the Turtle Trail. You’ll get to pet a tortoise, feed turtles, and get one-on-one time with their caretaker as they take you through the turtle habitat.
We have prepared a longer post about Zoo Knoxville, so click on the link to read more about the zoo.
Address: 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914
Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm, closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
Price: $10 adults, children 5 and under are free
While the house tour may not exactly appeal to young kids, the events happening at Ramsey House may. The grounds are completely free to visit, and so is parking. If you do want to book a tour inside the Ramsey House, it’s only $10 per person for an hour-long tour. Little children are free, but in our experience, the little boy lost interest after 20 minutes and we had to find ways to keep him occupied. We had to resort to bribing him with snacks and pointing out toys used by little children from over a century ago.
The tour is fantastic, and it takes you through the kitchens in the basement, to the dining room on the first floor, and onto the private rooms of the family on the second floor of Ramsey House. The Ramsey family played a pivotal role in the history of Knoxville. The founder of the Ramsey House, Francis Ramsey, was one of the leaders of the State of Franklin that preceded the state of Tennessee. His eldest son, W.B.A Ramsey, became Knoxville’s mayor, and the younger son, J.G.M. Ramsey, became a leading voice in Knoxville’s growth into a prosperous economy.
Vintage Baseball is completely free of charge to watch. Bring your umbrellas and chairs and watch as two teams play baseball without the mitts and the helmet for batting. As the name suggests, this is vintage baseball: where baseball is played as it was in the 19th century. The uniforms are true to the time, with players donning flat caps and uniforms with suspenders. The bats don’t seem much different than current bats, but the rules are a little bit different.
There are so many things to do in Knoxville TN with young kids. If we had more time, there are a few more museums we could have visited, as well as some breweries my husband would’ve loved to try. Hopefully, this guide helped you in planning your family trip to Knoxville!
A special thank you to Visit Knoxville for hosting us on this trip.
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