Just 30 minutes from Center City, SESAME PLACE is the only theme park in the world dedicated to the beloved children’s TV show. Wowing crowds with kid-friendly roller coasters, water rides and amusements, the park recently refreshed its “neighborhood” to celebrate the show’s 50 years. Don’t miss photo ops with characters and an all-new live show with Elmo, Abby and Big Bird.

Kids can color their world at the CRAYOLA EXPERIENCE in Easton, Pennsylvania, about an hour from Center City. The crayon-inspired experience has multiple levels of arts and craft fun, including centers where you can melt crayons into sculptures, create spin art designs and make and name your own crayons. New in 2019 is Silly Selfies, where kids can transform photos of themselves into robot unicorns, rockstar parrots and more.

The PHILADELPHIA ZOO, America’s first, offers visitors the chance to see animals from a new perspective thanks to Zoo360, a network of elevated pathways where lions, apes and more can roam above the park. Lego-fans will love the zoo’s latest exhibit Creatures of Habitat: A Gazillion Piece Animal Adventure, where life-size brick animals tell the stories of endangered species (starts April 6, 2019).

Explore the ocean and its inhabitants at ADVENTURE AQUARIUM across the Delaware River on the Camden waterfront. Walk through a glass tunnel as more than 20 sharks swim through 550,000 gallons of water around you, journey to the Amazon through the interactive Piranha Falls exhibit, or spot hippos swimming around in the immersive Hippo Haven.

Make it a day at HERSHEY PARK, a sprawling amusement and water park built around the popular chocolate brand. Just two hours from Center City, the entertainment zone includes thrill rides for all ages, more than 200 animals at ZooAmerica, and Chocolate World, with restaurants, shops and a chocolate-factory ride.

The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) is the official tourism promotion agency for the City of Philadelphia globally and the primary sales and marketing agency for the Pennsylvania Convention Center.