Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center - This is the spot to find out about grizzly and black bears, and gray wolves who live in Yellowstone. Touch a sample of grizzly fur (very wiry), see what grizzly bear feet and teeth look like, learn about what they eat and what they poop. There are movies and children's activities, plus a kid's play area and tipi. Outside the center is an enclosure with live wolves and grizzly bears; here you can see the animals up close (much closer than you'd want to be to grizzly bears in the wild). Open year round.

Yellowstone IMAX Theatre - On the big screen, fly over rushing waters, steaming hot springs and frozen rivers, see herds of bison charging down the hillside and a roaring grizzly bear, watch re-creations of the Native Americans who lived in Yellowstone, early explorers riding their dugouts down the river, and trappers wandering through the frozen wilderness of Yellowstone.

West Yellowstone Visitor Center - Stop into the visitor center to get the daily schedule for ranger-led programs at the Madison Trailside Museum inside the park. Madison has different children's activities that focus on wildlife, geysers, history and lore of the park, May to August.

Town Park (Pioneer Park) - Located at the corner of Canyon St. and Firehole Ave. (Highway 20), this park has a big grassy area, with shaded picnic tables and large playground with swings and slides. In winter, there's a small sledding hill.

Go to a rodeo - At the homey Wild West Yellowstone Rodeo, kids can watch cowboys and cowgirls barrel racing, roping calves, riding bulls and bucking broncos. There's even an event for kids in the audience called the "calf scramble" - kids go down to the arena and run around after a calf, trying to catch the ribbon on its tail. The rodeo is June - August, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, outside of town 4 miles, on Highway 20.

Snowcoach tours - In winter, Yellowstone is covered in snow and it's a very different landscape, but the wildlife is spectacular - herds of elk, bison and wolves, and geysers and hot springs steaming in the cold. Take a snowcoach tour through Yellowstone, December through March, tours depart from West Yellowstone.