Disclosure: This guide to Tampa indoor activities contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase a product featured in this post - at no extra cost to you.
Heat advisories and afternoon thunderstorms often have us searching for Tampa Bay indoor activities to fight boredom on summer days. What are some good ways to stay cool and find adventure indoors around Tampa Bay? What are the best things to do in Tampa when it rains? Keep reading for Adventure-Seeking Mom’s guide to Tampa Bay indoor adventures.
When you want to get out of the house but don’t want to sweat or get caught in the rain, check out these top spots for indoor fun in Tampa Bay. From hands-on museums and aquariums to active fun and ways to explore the arts, these are the best places for families to escape the heat or rain in Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay Indoor Activities: Science & Nature
MOSI – Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry
Disclosure: our family received free tickets to experience MOSI. All opinions expressed are my own.
Our family visited Tampa’s hands-on Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) for the first time this summer, and were blown away by all the opportunities for indoor adventure this scientific playground offers. We thought we would spend just a couple hours at MOSI but ended up staying for the entire day exploring MOSI’s more than 100 hands-on STEAM activities.
Highlights of my kids’ new favorite spot for Tampa Bay indoor fun include NASA-funded Mission: Moonbase lunar colony, Tampa Bay Lightning-themed Slippery Science, the Dinovations Lab, a virtual reality simulator and planetarium shows. You can even lie on a bed of nails, fly a drone and explore mind-bending optical illusions.
If you want to brave the Florida heat, you can find even more adventure on MOSI’s shaded Sky Trail Ropes Course open Friday – Sunday. The 36-foot-high structure offers multiple levels and more than 30 different elements that allow people of all ages to choose their own adventure and face their fears.
Zydeco Brew Werks Now Open MOSI
We can’t wait to visit again soon for more Tampa indoor fun and to enjoy a cold one at the new craft brewpub that recently opened at MOSI.
Zydeco Brew Werks, a fun Tampa brewpub with New Orleans-inspired flair, opened a location inside MOSI in summer 2023. Zydeco was recently nominated as one of the Best Brewpubs in the U.S. in the USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards.
The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature
Disclosure: our family received free tickets to experience The Bishop Museum. All opinions expressed are my own.
Want to explore nature without going out in the Florida heat? At the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton, families can see manatees undergoing rehab, explore wonders of the universe and discover Florida natural history. Visiting the Bishop Museum is a fun and educational Tampa Bay indoor activity that’s sure to spark kids’ curiosity.
Included with admission to the Bishop Museum are eye-opening Planetarium shows featuring a full-dome, state-of-the-art projection system.
During summer, the Bishop Planetarium also features after-hours laser light shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Each rock concert-style show features music from a different artist – Queen, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Lady Gaga, Lizzo, *NSYNC with Britney, and more. Tickets are $15. Note the flashing lights and loud music may not be suitable for young children.
For more on family-friendly activities at the Bishop Museum, check out our family adventure guide to the museum.
Florida Aquarium
One of the best indoor things to do in downtown Tampa, the Florida Aquarium helps families connect with a wide variety of animal species and beat the Florida heat. A visit to the Florida Aquarium always leaves us more in awe of nature and more inspired to protect our blue planet.
From sea turtles, sharks and seahorses to lemurs, otters and alligators, there are so many aquatic and terrestrial animals to see. Interactive exhibits allow families to touch moon jellies, cownose stingrays, sea stars, anemones and sea cucumbers.
While most of the Florida Aquarium is indoors, kids are often drawn outside for water play in the aquarium splash pad.
In addition to the Florida Aquarium, downtown Tampa indoor activities include museums, a historic movie palace (featured below) and the Straz Center, one of the largest performing arts complexes in the country.
Tampa Bay Indoor Activities: Arts
Tampa Theatre
Built in 1926 as an atmospheric theatre, the Tampa Theatre transports audiences into a moonlit Mediterranean courtyard. You can see a film under starry skies without actually being outside in the Florida heat.
The popular Summer Classics Movie Series is an annual summer tradition at the beloved downtown Tampa movie palace. On Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m., the summer film series brings all-time favorite movies like The Lion King and Casablanca back to the big screen.
Want to learn more about the history of Tampa’s majestic movie palace? Check out the theatre’s 90-minute “balcony to backstage” tours hosted on select dates.
Fairgrounds St. Pete
Disclosure: our family received free tickets to experience Fairgrounds St. Pete. All opinions expressed are my own.
Want to escape both the heat and reality? Tampa Bay immersive art museum Fairgrounds St. Pete invites people of all ages to explore and play in an indoor, imaginative artist-made world. It’s a vibrant world inspired by weird, wacky, wonderful Florida. Find clues to a mysterious narrative, go on an immersive scavenger hunt and enjoy the work of over 70 local and international artists in this top Tampa Bay indoor activity.
For more details on the experience, check out our full review of the Fairgrounds St. Pete immersive art adventure. From family adventures to date night and girls’ night out, Fairgrounds St. Pete is one of my favorite places to play in Tampa Bay!
The Dalí Museum
Did you know you can introduce your kids to one of the most interesting museums and renowned artists in the world this summer without leaving the Tampa Bay area?
St. Petersburg is home to one of the most acclaimed collections of a single modern artist in the world. The Dalí Museum features over 2,400 works representing every moment and medium of Salvador Dalí’s creative life.
On the first Sunday of each month, The Dalí invites families with kids ages 4-11 years old to join a Little Surrealist Tour of the museum’s permanent collection.
On the third Sunday of the month, The Dalí hosts free monthly storytime events on the museum’s ground floor featuring books from The Dalí’s library and store. Families with children of all ages are invited to listen to museum volunteers read surreal stories related to the museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions.
On select Sunday afternoons kids ages 6-11 can also get creative with DillyDally with Dalí. A free arts and crafts program, DillyDally with Dalí introduces kids to the creative world of Salvador Dalí. Through the arts and crafts activities, kids explore artistic processes and learn about the exceptional art of Salvador Dalí.
Summer Art Classes and Activities
Summer is a great time for kids to get creative with art classes and activities. From painting and drawing classes and art summer camps to paint-your-own pottery studios, there are a variety of art classes for kids in Tampa Bay.
One of the best Tampa Bay indoor activities for young artists is Artschooled, an educational program from the Tampa Museum of Art. In this art-venture designed for kids in grades K-5, young artists create projects inspired by art currently on view at the museum. Each class costs $20 and all materials are provided.
ArtSchooled events are hosted at offsite partner locations, Golding Art Studio in the Bryan Glazer Family JCC in Tampa and Firehouse Cultural Center in Ruskin.
The Tampa Museum of Art also offers all-day and half-day summer art camps in its newly constructed on-site education center.
Tampa Bay Indoor Adventures: Active Fun
Get Some Air at a Trampoline Park
Keeping kids active in summer while avoiding the heat can be a challenge in Florida. That’s why bouncing around at a trampoline park is one of our favorite Tampa Bay indoor activities. There are a variety of trampoline and indoor adventure parks around Tampa Bay.
Flying Squirrel Lutz is my kids’ favorite. My daughter loves to soar on the zip line, rope swing and aerial silks while my son gets his heart pumping on the trampoline dodgeball court.
Race Go-Karts at Tampa Bay Grand Prix
An indoor go-kart racing center with two locations in Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Grand Prix is the place for big kids, teens and adults to satisfy the need for speed.
With electric karts that can go as fast as 50 mph, Tampa Bay Grand Prix is popular with adult and teen racers. Kids can experience a racing adventure too with Tampa Bay Grand Prix’s junior karts. Kids must be at least 48″ tall to drive junior go-karts.
Tampa Bay Grand Prix has two indoor go-kart racing locations in the Tampa Bay area – East Tampa and Clearwater.
Go Ice Skating
Bundling up in winter clothes and getting on the ice can be so refreshing when temperatures reach the mid-90s in Florida. Ice skating is one Tampa Bay indoor activity that will really cool you off. My Florida kids love to skate and we’re glad to have several Tampa Bay ice rinks that offer skating lessons, camps, hockey leagues and public skating sessions.
Ice rinks offering indoor summer activities around Tampa Bay include TGH Ice Plex in Tampa, Advent Health Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Tampa Bay Skating Academy & Clearwater Ice Arena, and Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex.
Visit an Indoor Family Fun Center – Elev8 Fun Tampa is Now Open!
New for summer 2023, Elev8 Fun Tampa, a 125,000-square-foot, two-story family entertainment center is now open at Citrus Park Town Center mall. Attractions inside this Tampa Bay indoor family fun center include arcade games, bowling, a multi-level indoor go-kart track, blacklight mini-golf, a ropes course, laser tag, axe throwing and more.
Most Underrated Tampa Bay Summer Activity
Find Adventure at Your Local Library
Looking for free indoor things to do in Tampa Bay? Don’t overlook the library. There are so many amazing adventures waiting to be discovered for free on Tampa Bay public library shelves. You never know when you’ll find the perfect book to ignite or rekindle your love for reading.
“I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure.”
Virginia Woolf
For me, exploring the library has always felt like a treasure hunt. I love to slowly browse the shelves, quietly considering titles until one speaks to me. I’ll never forget the moment Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine first spoke to me from a middle school library shelf as a preteen. I want my kids to experience that special connection with a book too.
Florida Summer Adventures Around Tampa Bay
Want more Tampa Bay summer activities? Looking for Tampa Bay outdoor adventures?
Check out Adventure-Seeking Mom’s guide to Florida Summer Adventures Around Tampa Bay for more ideas to help you get out and explore.
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I love seeing some of my favorite places I have been at, thanks to your page. I can’t wait to check out Mosi ❤️
I think you will love exploring MOSI! Check out the events on their website too – sometimes they have adults-only evening events.