Need a spot in Rhode Island where kids can burn off some energy? Try these places

Katie Landeck, The Providence Journal
Updated ·4 min read

There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of energy, but sometimes it needs to be channeled somewhere that isn’t inside your house.

If you’re looking for things to do with your kids — particularly on rainy days or in winter months when just sticking them outside isn’t a great option — there are a lot of things to do in Rhode Island that are fun for the whole family.

Here are some ideas, from rock climbing to bowling to arcades, to get them jumping, playing and climbing. Just not on your furniture.

Go rock climbing in an indoor facility

Rhode Island’s four rock-climbing gyms, Central Rock Gym in Warwick and Rock Spot Climbing in Providence, Lincoln and South Kingstown, offer family-friendly environments and encourage young climbers to try out the sport. All four gyms offer day passes, and a day of climbing is sure to tire out anybody. Young climbers do need to be supervised.

Jump on a trampoline

Bounce around to your heart’s content at one of the trampoline parks in the state. At Aero Trampoline Park in Woonsocket, Launch Trampoline Park in Warwick, or SkyZone in Providence, there are trampolines, foam pits and other features that are great for kids, but also for adults if you want to join in the action.

Knock some pins down at a bowling alley

Legion Bowl and Billiards, pictured and Pub on Park at 661 Park Ave
Legion Bowl and Billiards, pictured and Pub on Park at 661 Park Ave

Whether you are using bumpers or not, the crash of pins falling down is cathartic. And if you’re looking for a place to bowl in Rhode Island, you have two types to chose from – traditional, or the more regional duckpin.

There are too many bowling alleys around Rhode Island to list, but if you’re looking to add something extra to the experience and can go at night, Lang’s Bowlarama in Cranston does Atomic Bowling under black lights on Thursday nights and East Providence Lanes does Cosmic Bowling on Friday nights.

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Duckpin bowling uses a smaller ball and pins than standard bowling, and the bowler gets three tries per frame. You can try it out at:

Play at the Providence Children’s Museum

A huge dragon, "Nori," adorns The Providence Children's Museum that was recently affected by a ransomware attack.
A huge dragon, "Nori," adorns The Providence Children's Museum that was recently affected by a ransomware attack.

No one understands play quite like the Providence Children's Museum. They can tell you all the benefits of play and how it fosters innovative and creative thinking, but more importantly, they’re really good at play. At the museum, kids can create in the innovation lab, work though puzzles in the thinkspace, send objects soaring through air tubes and much more.

Check out some arcade games

Ryan Family Amusement on Thames Street in Newport.
Ryan Family Amusement on Thames Street in Newport.

Yes, these days arcade games do equate to a lot of screen time, but there’s take up a lot of energy. In Providence, there’s Dave and Buster’s, with new games like the Dodgeball Ultimate Arena and virtual reality games. If virtual reality games are your jam, there’s Base Station VR Lounge in Johnston, which is solely virtual reality games.

If you want something more classic, there’s Ryan’s Amusement in Newport, which has new games but a classic feel.

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And if you want to combine an arcade with another experience, there’s R1 Indoor Karting, in Lincoln, which has go-karting and an arcade, plus an activity called time missions where participants have to do a series of challenges to get through portals. They also have darts, which is for 16 years old and up, and ax throwing which is for 18 years old and up.

Get competitive on a whole slate of games

Pick from one of many competitive games at Battlegroundz in Lincoln including dodgeball, laser tag, paintball, archery tag, airsoft, darts and cornhole. Battlegroundz has a 20,000-square-foot indoor area on both turf and concrete that allows the game to go on whatever the weather. The laser tag arena is another 5,000 square feet to play in. There are age restrictions on all the different games, so check the website before making plans.

Go skating – ice skating or roller skating

Depending on how you roll, you can pick from roller skating/blading or ice skating.

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If you love those social-media videos of people skating, United Skates of America in East Providence is the place to be with a 10,000-square-foot rink. And, if you feel like you need a little extra help, they offer lessons without appointments.

If you prefer the ice, the Boss Ice Arena on the University of Rhode Island campus in South Kingstown offers public skating just about every day.

This story was updated in January 2024.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Things to do with kids in RI: Indoor places to go on cold, rainy days