After school activities in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is endowed with green spaces, like Barrancas de Belgrano (at the corner of La Palma and Av. 11 de Septiembre) and Bosque de Palermo (between Libertador and Figueroa Alcorta Avenues in Palermo), that have playgrounds, ponds, paddle boats, and even carousels. Any time of the day, all week long, families come to these parks to enjoy some piece and quiet in the middle of the city, and so their kids can play outdoors without the exhaust of buses or street traffic.
Another major attraction for kids is the Parque de la Costa, an amusement park in Tigre, about an hour outside of the city. There are giant roller coasters, a water park, and many shows (all in Spanish), as well as an English-style pub and several parrillas.
If the idea of hauling your little ones to a museum for the day sounds like a dreadful bore, have no fear. The Museo de los Niños in the Abasto Mall (just off the subte B Line at the Carlos Gardel station) has loads of hands-on activities to keep kids busy for hours, as well as classes for kids like tae kwon do or flamenco. You can also organize birthday parties through the museum, have the party there, and include catering and entertainment. Kids will also be touching everything in sight at the Museo Participativo de Ciencias, designed to make the wonders of science fun for everyone, at the Recoleta Cultural Center (Junín 1930). Or they can enjoy the history and variety of puppet displays and some engaging afternoon puppet shows at the Museo Argentino del Títere, located in San Telmo (Piedras 905, Tues-Sun 3-6pm).
Plaza Italia has several things to see and do in one small area of the city (subte D Line, estación Plaza Italia), including the Buenos Aires Zoo, which has free admission for children under 12; the Japanese Garden, where you can wander for hours feeding the ducks and geese, or enjoy the ponds in paddle boats; and the Planetarium, with shows every weekday at 16:00.
All private schools have community and extracurricular activities such as drama, music, journalism, outreach teams and service clubs, so be sure to inquire at the schools you’re scouting to find out what programs they offer.
