Photo by Aaron Wharton
When’s the last time you popped on a school band’s album and grooved out? Or went to their year-end concert even though you don’t have kids at the school? In TSBVI’s Synthesis & Sound Design class, taught by musician Dan Butler, students compose an album over each school year and take it live around town in the spring as electronic/experimental band the Semi-Modulars. These kids dazzle audiences with danceable tunes, record excellent albums, and sell rad merch, making them not only the coolest school band around, but one of the coolest bands, period.
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It takes a lot of work to build the kind of fan base that Emma has. It has to be done brick by brick, locking together all the pieces – just like LEGO, which is lucky because no one knows more about everyone's favorite construction toy. Her endless energy and enthusiasm for those little plastic blocks has earned her 1.7 million followers and LEGO Ambassador status, and turned her into Austin's globe-trotting advocate for building fun.
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via Instagram
courtesy of Nomadic Outpost
"Kids-in-Breweries" hot takes expired back in 2021 when local beermakers were on a push to get people back to the taprooms and beer gardens in order to survive post-pandemic collapse. Breweries continue to progress toward modern-day Vegas, making their spaces communal and accessible to customers of all ages and less toward 21+ exclusivity. We're particularly enamored with Nomadic Beerworks' South Austin beer garden, Nomadic Outpost, for its lively playscape, free live music, rotating food pop-ups, and acres of running room for everyone’s 1.94 children. Oh, and the excellent selection of house beers for the grownups doesn't hurt either.
Nomadic Outpost
505 Country White Ln.
512/762-3994
www.nomadicbeerworks.com/outpost
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Did you know that Ernie Cline got his start here in Austin after moving from Ohio to become a slam poet at the (RIP) Electric Lounge back in the late Nineties? Neither did we, until we repeatedly circled the bestselling author’s DeLorean Time Machine in the loading docks of the old Austin American-Statesman building for the launch of his new children’s book, Bridge to Bat City. Besides driving there in his Back to the Future icon, the Ready Player One author regaled kids and parents alike with bat history just a guano toss from the world-famous spontaneous millions living under the Congress Avenue Bridge. When they say inspiration is all around us, believe it.
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Courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Wildflower Center isn’t just for botanists – it’s a perfectly curated outdoor wonderland. Watch kiddos build muscle constructing wooden wonders in the log area, or explore the cave and search for frogs by the pools. They can wander the butterfly maze, play house in giant bird nests, or dig to their heart’s content in the covered sand area. Got more of an indoor kid? They’ll love resting in Lynda’s Library, an ingenious gazebo stocked with wooden benches and nature books. Make sure to check out the statue scavenger hunt, grab some lemonade in the cafe, and say goodbye to Athena the owl on your way out.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse
512/232-0100
www.wildflower.org
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Co-founded by MacKenzie Price, Alpha School in Austin has taken the century-old model of education and given it a much-needed makeover via Price's 2hr Learning program. Gone are the six- to eight-hour days of sitting in classrooms, basing intelligence on standardized testing. Using AI to meet students at their pace, the Alpha model illustrates how two hours of fundamental learning combined with two hours of experiential learning and focused physical activity (to engage the mind and the body) allow for children to believe in and act on their limitless potential.
Alpha School
1201 Spyglass
www.alpha.school
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via website
photo by Raoul Hernandez
Not fully enrolled yet, Mueller’s new middle school built a "Field of Dreams" populated most afternoons, nights, and weekends by surrounding area parents, kids, adult soccer leagues, Frisbee throwers, you name it. Elevated by a mound some of us climbed with our kid during the pandemic, the view and wind on that plateau will take your breath away. Behold a Sunday evening there when the sky’s streaked hot pink by the great sky tiger while you’re shooting Premier League goals into the wind and back of a regulation net under the great yellow goalposts – futbol meeting football. Dreamy.
Marshall Middle School
4401 Tilley St.
512/414-4163
marshall.austinschools.org
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Indoor play areas are a necessity with summer heat, but aren’t they sort of …stressful? Do you worry you’re going to lose a child to labyrinthine tunnels or Technicolor arcades? Well, at Indigo Play, there’s plenty to discover without wishing you had a million eyes to track your children. With mazes and slides, secret passageways that are still parent-accessible, and a secure toddler area in view of the larger section, Indigo Play lets you actually relax while kids wear themselves out.
Indigo Play
13530 Research #102
512/269-0097
www.indigoplay.com
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