Rainy Day Indoor Activities for Kids in Melbourne

The dams are filling up and Melbourne's weather has had a few wet turns. This has prompted a few Melbourne Playgrounds users to enquire about wet weather options. When the weather turns nasty we can offer a myriad of activities including:

Put on the wet weather gear and head over to the Indoor menu under "To Do" for indoor activities.
Visit an Aquatic Centre (it is just as wet inside as outside and might even be warmer in the pool)
Release some energy at an Indoor Play Centre. We have a complete listing of all Play Centres in Melbourne.
Release even more energy at a Trampoline Centre. We also have information on all trampoline centres in Melbourne.
Conquer your fears at a Climbing Centre. Melbourne has a huge range of different climbing options including free climbing walls and artificial boulders.
Grab some toys from a Toy Library (after paying for them of course)
Ten pin bowling is a classic activity when the weather is bad. Lane projections, music clips, disco lighting and fun scoreboard animations and sounds to celebrate strikes, spares and great scores all contribute to a fun experience. Many of the centres have additional activities such as laser tag, games arcades, escape rooms, juke boxes, bumper cars, karaoke, virtual reality and pool tables. Check out our Guide to Tenpin Bowling Centres.
Scienceworks is a super destination for kids with a lot of interactive exhibits. It includes the Lightning Room (without the thunderstorm) and Planetarium.
Head to IMAX Melbourne Museum for a massive sized movie or head to a local cinema for a standard sized movie. Check out our Guide to Cinemas in Melbourne.
Be surrounded by water at the Melbourne Aquarium rather than soaked in it.
Head to the local library for a free Storytime Session. Some libraries offer Storytime in languages other than English.
Paint a ceramic piece at All Fired Up Ceramic Cafe in Hampton or Paint a Pot in Narre Warren and take it hope to impress Mum and Dad.
Get the kids on the computer playing some educational games from our Internet Activities selection
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square has a fun and interesting permanent free exhibition, "The Story of the Moving Image", which has plenty of interactive elements.
Marvel Stadium Tour (let's hope the roof is closed)
Do you dream of a dry space surrounded by fluffy pussy cats? If so, head to the Cat Cafe in central Melbourne.
Provided the fire hoses aren't turned on, the Fire Services Museum in East Melbourne will be a dry place to see the largest collection of fire brigade memorabilia in Australia.
Rain doesn't have to mean you have to keep your BMX or skateboard in the garage. There are some brilliant indoor parks such as The Shed Indoor Skatepark in Cranbourne East, Rampfest Indoor Skatepark in Braybrook and Rampit Indoor Skatepark in Bayswater.
The kids seem to fight a bit when they are stuck inside. Why not let them fight it out for real at a laser tag skirmish. Put on the battle camouflage and head to a Laser Tag battleground at a range of locations across Melbourne.
Where did you come from? Find out at the Immigration Museum in central Melbourne.
Have fun with little blocks at the LEGO Educational Centre in the Docklands.
Take a ghost tour of a haunted historic building such as Pentridge Prison, Altona Homestead or Point Cook Homestead with Lantern Ghost Tours. The rain will add to the spooky atmosphere. You'll be dry but very scared.
Get out the flared pants and head to a roller skating or roller blading rink. Check out our Guide to Roller Skating Rinks.
You don't need to be a book worm to enjoy the State Library of Victoria in central Melbourne.
Everyone in the family will be entertained at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton which has a big variety of permanent and temporary exhibits including some especially for kids.
Take a tour of Parliament House in central Melbourne. After recent repairs there should be no more drips from the roof and you will be perfectly dry.
Aviation fans don't need to be grounded due to bad weather because there are a number of indoor aviation themed museums including The RAAF Museum at Point Cook, B24 Liberator Bomber Restoration Project at Werribee, Australian Gliding Museum at Bacchus Marsh, Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin Airport, Trans-Australia Airlines Museum at Airport West and Airways Museum at Essendon Fields.
The National Gallery of Victoria in St Kilda Road has an extensive collection of art including spaces and activities for kids. The nearby Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Federation Square has an interesting collection of Australian art. Culture vultures will be dry and happy, especially since both museums have free entrance to permanent exhibitions.
The National Sports Museum located at the MCG has some interesting exhibitions for sports fan and you can test your skills in a range of sports - maybe even water polo.
Hardened golfers ignore the rain but more precious mini golfers can seek out indoor or covered courses from our reviews of Mini Golf Courses.
Experience what life behind bars was like for some of our most notorious villains, including Ned Kelly, at the Old Melbourne Gaol.
Get acquainted with the darker side of Victorian history at the Victoria Police Museum. To miss it would be a crime especially since entrance is only a gold coin donation!
Be playfully artistic at Artplay in Birrarung Marr.
Either stay inside and knit a big woolly jumper or make a visit to the National Wool Museum in Geelong.
The pinnacle for Ninja Warriors, Mount Midoriyama, may be outdoors and very slippery when wet, but there are a number of indoor Ninja centres where you can prepare to be capable of ascending to the heights of Warrior legend status. Check out our Guide to Ninja Activities.
Ice Skating at the O'Brien Group Arena in the Docklands where it might be cold but at least it is dry. Check out our Guide to Ice Skating Rinks for more skating locations.
Totally Game has the latest interactive redemption and video games in the dry confines of Southland in Cheltenham.
The Old Treasury Building in central Melbourne hosts the original gold vaults where gold bullion was stored during the gold rush era. By doing some investigation, the kids can earn a gold license - not bad considering there is free entry.
Go plane spotting from a nice dry car near Tullamarine airport at the Operations Road Viewing Area or Sunbury Road Viewing Area
Don't let the rain spoil the views from Eureka Skydeck 88 and The Edge in Southbank. I'm sure The Edge is just as scary in the rain as in the sun.
Take a ride on the free City Circle Tram and enjoy the city highlights without getting off.
Splat, splat, splat ... Splatball is junior paintball which uses the same game styles and themed fields as adult paintball, just with lower powered equipment and smaller paintballs. World Series Splatball in Oakleigh has a battlefield ready for splatting.
Intencity amusement centre at Sunshine is full of electronic games.
Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in the Docklands has six bowling lanes, 67 arcade and ticket games, XD Theatre and dodgems. With a great full service cocktail bar no-one is going to be close to a drop of water here.
ArtVo in the Docklands is an immersive art gallery or 'trick art' gallery. Visitors are encouraged to touch and interact with the artworks, photographing themselves and becoming part of the art i.e. Insta heaven. Maybe you could take a selfie riding a raft over a waterfall without getting wet?
Head to an indoor go kart track for lots of fast thrills. Check out our Guide to Go Kart Tracks and Activities to find a suitable location.
Enjoy the thrills and spills of slot car racing with your family at King Willys Slot Car Raceway in in Williamstown, Race Party Boutique Slot Car Racing in Hawthorn East or Mr Slotcar in Hallam.
Melbourne has plenty of fun and exciting museums which will educate as well as entertain the whole family and they are all inside where it is nice and dry. You can't have the rain rusting up the interactive exhibits can you. Check out our Guide to the Best Museums for Families and Kids.
Watch the chocolatiers at work and order something yummy at Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. Don't forget the free samples!
The Melbourne Tram Museum in Hawthorn is packed full of vintage trams. Calling all budding tram drivers from the rain.
Prepare to battle the zombies at a totally immersive virtual reality experience. Check out our Guide to Virtual Reality Activities. The zombie apocalypse doesn't get any more real than this.
Chocolate and water don't mix, so head inside and explore the chocolate creations in the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory.
iFly Melbourne at Essendon Fields creates a free-fall experience in a vertical wind tunnel without jumping out of a plane which means no chance of contact with rain.
Bounce along to Inflatable World at a range of locations across Melbourne such as Bundoora, Doncaster East, Oakleigh and Wantirna South. The only water you'll see here are from the water taps to rehydrate after all that jumping over obstacles filled with air.
Holey Moley is Australia's craziest and most unique indoor mini golf venue, par none. There are locations at Frankston, Southbank, Ringwood and Central Melbourne.
Try your hand at some crafts such as making pots from clay at Jumpingcreek Ceramic Design Studio in Langwarrin or Mordialloc or Robert Gordon Pottery Workshops at Pakenham.
Battle with bow and arrows at Archery Attack in Reservoir which is a hybrid between a game of dodgeball and the sport of archery.
Some of the best and most interesting markets are under cover including Queen Victoria Market, Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market. Prahran and South Melbourne markets have regular kids events such as face painting, music and dance classes.
Make fun creative projects such as toolboxes, toy trucks and planter boxes at a free Bunnings Kids D.I.Y Workshop in various locations.
You don't need to run away and join the circus to realise your dream of learning circus acts and run the risk of a leaking circus tent. Star on the trapeze at Little Devils Circus in Moorabbin or Westside Circus in Fitzroy.
Escape the rain in an Escape Room where a group of people go into a room and try and escape within a certain time by solving a series of puzzles.
One of the best things to do when it is wet is to eat and drink. Find a restaurant, cafe or hotel with an indoor playground which will keep the kids well and truly entertained while you eat and drink ...

Web Links

→ Summary of Play Centres in Melbourne and Geelong

→ Indoor Trampoline Centres in Melbourne

→ Comparison of Aquatic Centres in Melbourne and Geelong

→ Climbing Centres in Melbourne

→ List of Escape Rooms in Melbourne

→ List of Mini Golf courses in Melbourne and Victoria

→ Laser Tag / Skirmish Locations in Melbourne

→ The Best Museums for Families and Kids in Melbourne