Why not bring the whole family along for your next visit to Los Angeles? The city is flush with special events, activities and museums of interest to children.

With your little ones in mind, start at the LA Zoo, which is located in Griffith Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America. It has a children’s zoo where interactive exhibits teach children about animals. Don’t miss the baby animals in the nursery. On March 8, 2012 the zoo introduced its newest exhibit, The LAIR (Living Amphibian, Invertebrates, and Reptiles), which encompasses six diversely themed exhibits, and will house over 60 species from around the globe. Additionally, this new structure will provide a vital establishment for the Zoo’s reptile and amphibian focused conservation initiatives.

Then, onto Museum Row in Los Angeles, let the kids jump, climb, dress up like a princess, put on a show and create artistic masterpieces at the hands-on Zimmer Children’s Museum. The museum hosts ongoing puppet shows, too. Enjoy the nearby Craft and Folk Art Museum, where every exhibit is hand-made. On exhibit through May is “Deconstructing Perestroika,” a collection of hand-painted Soviet-era political posters. The museum also hosts poetry readings and knitting circles.

The next day, head down to Long Beach to enjoy the colorful sea life at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Not only can kids touch sea animals in shallow tide pools and see sharks up close, but the family can hop on a boat to take a whale-watching tour (daily) until mid-April.

Next, head back to Downtown to visit La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, LA’s first museum to focus on the role that Mexican Americans played in shaping the city from 1781 to the present. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, which is near the famous Olvera Street, includes an exhibit that recreates Main Street in the 1920s.