What to See and Do with Kids in Samara, Kids-friendly Places of Samara, Russia

01.09.2015 7719


Vacationing with your kids in Samara: our review includes kids theaters, museums, parks, and Samara entertainment centers where you can take you child or your family. 

 

 

You can go straight to the section you are interested in by clicking one of the links below: 

Kids Museums of Samara

Kids Theaters of Samara

Samara Parks for the Whole Family and Attraction Parks in Samara

Samara Zoo

Kids Entertainment Centers in Samara

Victoria Samara Water Park

Kids Car Station in Samara

 

Samara Museums for Kids

In The Alabin Museum, you can find out about the history, nature, and the anthropology of the Samara Region. For schoolchildren, they do interactive thematic tours, for example a dressed-up trip On the Crossroads of Old Samara or mystery game The Mystery of the Millennium. For kids between 3 and 12 years old, a museum game station is open. Also in Alabin museum, they hold temporary historical and art exhibitions and even cat exhibitions.   

The Samara Kids Picture Gallery is located in the Clodt House. Presented in the gallery are works by children in different countries, collections of arts and crafts, and dolls from different people of the world. Open at the museum as well are children’s creative workshops and in the same building they have tours around Clodt the architect’s mansion.   

 

 

In The Museum Estate of Aleksey Tolstoy they have interactive tours about history and literature for schoolchildren. There, they tell you how noble children were brought up and what they studied in school, they tell teach you how to draw a family tree, and they take you on walks around old Samara. For children between 4 and 10 years old, they open a creative workshop there and for preschoolers there are interactive programs “The Escape of Kolobok” and “Magic with Your Own Hands”. 

You can visit exhibition Cultural Exhibition Center Rainbow for free in Samara. Presented in 7 different halls are various collections of well-known pictures, dating from middle age pictures all the way up to contemporary works, a collection of minerals, and objects of Indian culture, such as: statuettes, traditional apparel, and dishes. They also hold photo exhibits in Raduga, tours for schoolchildren, and interactive programs for children between 5 and 7 years old

During the good weather season, you should think about visiting The Railroad Technology Museum. In this open air museum, you can climb up into a driver’s cabin and take a look into the machinery department. Represented there are over 100 different types of steam, heat, and electric trains. Something else you can find there is a semaphore, a Morse telephone apparatus, a model of the very first Russian train, and venture into the Dashkovo station building, recreated according to the project originally completely in 1874. Visiting the museum is free.

 

   

 

Samara Football Museum moved to the team base “Krylia Sovetov” in February of 2013. Now, football fans can take a look at a collection of photographs, posters, awards, and attributes of fans.  After that the tour continues on to the territory of the base of the Samara football club. 

The museum building of Cosmic Samara can be seen from far away: towering directly above it is a real space ship –“Soyuz” rocket carrier. Presented in the museum are models of rocks, a model of the surface of the moon, a space suit, and the capsule that a space man uses to get back to the Earth along with photographs made in space. 

You can get a closer look at the military history of the 20th century in the Privolzhsky Ural Military Okrug Museum. Standing in the museum hall is a real armored car called a Fiat and also there is a panorama of the defense of Stalingrad, a collection of weaponry –from cavalier cartridges to mausers and a stand with Kalashnikov machine guns, military forms of different times, and even a ballistic P-11 rocket directly set up by a flight of stairs.

The Stalin Bunker is located at a depth of 37 meters under the Academy of Culture and the Arts building. After taking an elevator underground, you can take a look into the meeting room, Stalin’s office, service facilities, and warehouses. Tours around the bunker are held only for groups of 20 or more. You will have to wait for a group to get together. 

 

 

You can get a look up close at a giraffe, bear, dolphin, and grey wolf in The Zoological Museum. Included in the exposition is a collection of stuffed animals, birds, insects, and dwellers of the sea. Presented in the “bird” hall are egg replicas –from quail to ostrich types, and on the ceiling of the hall with the shellfish is a giant squid with long tentacles.  

The Frog Museum is located on the sixth floor of “Stroydom” Mall. While on a tour around Frog Kingdom, they tell you about green “queen” from fairy tales and about exhibits made out of pottery, metal, and wool. At the end of the tour, it is tradition to ribbit together in unison. In the museum is a throne where kids can sit down and get their picture taken in a frog costume as well as an aquarium with live toads. They also hold creative workshops in the museum. 

 

Samara Theaters for Kids 

In Samara Youth Theater SamArt, they put on kids shows and school program shows. For kids above 6 years old, they show stories about Brother Rabbit, Chipollino, The Longest Worm, and The Singing Piglet. Older schoolchildren can go check out performances based on productions by Chekhov, Ostrovsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Turgenev, and Tvardovsky.

 

 

Shows at a theater called Vitrazhi are appropriate for the whole family: there they have presentations about folk tales, stories by Chekhov and Teffi, and even the rules of everyday safety. For the smallest children, Vitrazhi puts on shows like The Wheat Spikelet, The Little Fox with the Rolling Pin, Teremok, and Big Crane.   

Samara Puppet Theater is located on Leo Tolstoy Street. There they put on presentations for children of 3 years and up on fairy tales from different countries, such as The Golden Chick, Rainbow Fish, The Onion, Cinderella, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Included in their repertoire are several interactive shows and in the background they hold a game program for kids before the performance starts. 

In The Opera and Ballet Theater they have all kinds of performances –from the classic Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty to the more modern Beatles Forever! The theater has a kids event guide with shows like Flying Ship, Carlson Living on the Roof, The Golden Key, and other shows. They also do drawing competitions for kids. 

You can attend a classical music concert, if you are so inclined in Samara Philharmonia. At the cash registers, you can get a ticket or a pass for a whole set of concerts. For kids they have a series of performances in philharmonia called Kids Land with a leading lecturer/conductor.  

 

 

Samara Parks for the Whole Family, Theme Parks in Samara 

The biggest park in Samara is Suburban, or The Central Park of Culture and Recreation in the name of Gorky is located on the shore of the Volga. There you can see a century of oak trees as well as monuments of people who lived long ago. In the winter time the park opens skiing tracks with a lift and attractions in the summer: a 27-meter Ferris wheel with closed cabins, merry-go-rounds, bouncy castles, and go carts. On the holidays in Suburban parks they have city walks as well.  

You can ride a Ferris wheel with open cabins in 30 Year Victory Park. There you can go on a walk through an avenue of limes or hang out around the fountain. In the summer you can put your child on one of their attractions. Burning in the park is an Eternal Fire built with monuments around it commemorating the heroes that fought in World War II and there are some images there representing images of military technology –tanks, zap guns, and cars. 

 

 

In Gagarin Park, you can walk into a football stadium, go for a ride on the attractions, or feed some squirrels or swans. In the summer time there, people go roller-skating and ride twin-hull boats. In the winter, people go skiing and ice-skating (they pave out an open air rink in the park). From May to September in Friendship Park, attractions operate and on holidays they set up fun things to do on holidays.

Strukovsky Park is located on the embankment next to The Samara Drama Theater. There is an observation deck with a view of the Volga, a kids playground, and a path to the beach. While walking through the park, you often see sculptures out of plants –for example chess pieces or animals. In the summer there they open up attractions and a skate park with an annual Flower Festival in August. 

Not far from the Metallurg Stadium is The 50 Year Park of October. In the summer, boat and catamaran rental becomes available on the lake and a fountain begins operating in the middle of the lake called “The Swan”. Attractions also operate in the park during the summer and you can go horse-riding too.   

 

 

In Vysotsky Square, there are several playgrounds with swings and sandboxes and adults can have a sit on a bench and then go on a walk toward a monument commemorating the soviet era. It’s not hard to get there: there are two different end bus stops located next to the square and a cable car stop as well. It’s also a good idea to watch your kids as well –there are always a lot of cars on the busy streets surrounding the square.   

Until 5 pm on weekdays, The Botanical Garden is open for visitors. Its avenues are suitable for all preferences of outdoor activity. You can go on a walk there, feed the ducks at the pond, or go on a tour to the green house. 

 

Samara Zoo

You can have a look at Ken the crocodile, Umka the Bear, and funny monkeys at The Samara Zoo. Inhabiting are 250 species of animals and birds. You can see a lion there, a tiger, a lynx, a wolf, an isatis, a peacock, a pheasant, a crocodile, and a snake. You can also have a peek inside the exotic fish aquarium and the bird aviary. In the zoo avenue you can have a ride on a little donkey or a camel.  

They do tours in the zoo on 11 different subjects as well as biology lessons for schoolchildren. Also they run a “Pet me” promotion, during which they let out a python, rabbits, an owl, a little donkey, and other inhabitants of the zoo out of the aviary  for a while and let the gets pet them. You can find out about the next promotion on their site or by calling the zoo. 

 

 

Kids Entertainment Centers in Samara 

Crazy Park is located in Spaceport Mall. For small children they have mini merry-go-rounds, race cars, and a mace with hills and a waterless pool. For a little bit older kids, they have game machines, simulators, air hockey, and other attractions. Finally, Crazy Park has a café open with a kids menu. 

In Park Chaos Mall, you can visit kids entertainment center Dinoplanet with dinosaurs two meters tall and video game machines. There you can meet a dinosaur named Danny, ride an electric motor car, visit an exciting area, jump on the trampoline, and play on the two-floor labyrinth with hills. Then, you can have a bite to eat at the kids Dinocafé.    

 

 

The kids club Kinap Land in Kinap entertainment complex is open for kids between 3 and 12 years old. In Jungle labyrinth, you can jump on the trampoline, climb through a spider web, and go down the slides. It is divided into 2 zones: one for children between 3 and 5 years old and the other for kids between 6 and 12. In Kinap Land, there are 24 video game machines, including racing games, shooting games, dance simulators, table hockey, and air hockey. Kids 7 years and up can try scaling the climbing wall.   

In Limbo family fun center in Viva Land Mall, a two-floor labyrinth is open as well as a little train and merry-go-rounds for kids. A little bit older kids can go play laser tag or ride one of the go carts. The video game machines include racing games and sports games like mini boxing, basketball, and air hockey. 

 

 

Victoria Samara Water Park 

Victoria Water Park in Moscovsky Mall has a tropic theme with exotic trees and artificial cliffs. It has 11 water slides and 9 pools with grottos and waterfalls. You can go swimming there in the wave pool or the jacuzzi and in the summer they let you swim in the open air pool. In the kids zone is a shallow pool with heated water and slides for children. 

 

Kids Car Station in Samara 

In the kids car station, kids between 5 and 14 years old can be either a pedestrian or a driver. After studying the traffic rules with inspector Traffic Light, kids can ride scooters, bikes, and go carts.  Along the road, drivers will run into crosswalks, traffic lights, regulated crossroads, a bus stop, and even a gas station. After getting through the “hurdles” successfully, they give the kids driving licenses or pedestrian licenses. 

 

 

Photo by: kidsreview.ru, chgal.ssu.samara.ru, rzd-expo.ru/museums/kuibyshev_railway_museum, vk.com/samart_ru, vk.com/filarm_ru, parki-samara.ru, maxi-travel.ru/avtogorod.html


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