Read our Los Angeles family guide: areas, where to stay and tips
Exposition Park's natural history museum, with a Dinosaur Hall of mounted skeletons including a T. rex growth series, halls of African and North American animal dioramas, a gem and mineral hall, and an outdoor Nature Garden.
The museum building is closed for a two-year rebuild, but select outdoor areas and excavation sites in the surrounding park stay open. You can still see bubbling tar pits outdoors; indoor fossil halls are shut.
A large science museum in Exposition Park, best known as the home of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, with hands-on exhibits on ecosystems and the human body. A good indoor choice for a hot afternoon.
A free public observatory on Mount Hollywood with space and astronomy exhibits, a planetarium theatre and free public telescopes, plus terraces that look straight across to the Hollywood Sign and over the whole city.
A film-themed theme park with rides, shows and the Studio Tour through working backlots, plus the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Plan a full day, with some rides better suited to older kids and teens.
Shaded walk up from the Fern Dell trailhead, where a stream runs under sycamores and ferns, then on dirt trails to Griffith Observatory and its city and Hollywood Sign views. The Observatory recommends the Fern Dell and Greek Theatre trails for walkers.
The original Disney park in Anaheim; arrive at opening and plan a midday rest.
Pixar rides, Cars Land and the Avengers Campus, next door to Disneyland Park.
Sea otters, sharks to touch and a lorikeet aviary in Long Beach.
A big hillside zoo in Griffith Park, with a children's discovery area.