Family Activities

Experience an up-close and personal encounter with a menagerie of musical instruments as Symphony Zookeepers introduce you to different types of instruments and help you figure out how to make some noise!

The Toddler Oasis for our littlest Acorn Oakies includes toys and crafts. Kiddos can enjoy the popular bird seed box while parents lounge in nearby Adirondack chairs.

Tryouts will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 pm on Friday and Saturday at the Children’s Stage. The show will begin at 2:30 pm on Sunday at the Children’s Stage.

Come by to meet a live snake up close, learn about local wildlife, play games enjoyed by Chumash children, and get creative with oak leaf art.

Hang out with friends and play a game of ping pong, frisbee golf, or tetherball. Compete in duck races and corn hole. Or, have fun with hula hoops! Activities will be held in the Children’s Area.

Have you ever gone hunting for Western fence lizards? The Cal Poly PERL team will teach you the fine art of lassoing a lizard! Kids can learn how to safely catch, investigate and then release lizard friends.

John Beccia is a songwriter who has performed on the Central Coast for over 40 years doing children’s concerts and playing with local bands. John taught kindergarten in Paso Robles for 33 years, and he chooses songs that emphasize fun and movement with lots of tunes from the folk tradition. He also mixes in some of his own guitar and banjo compositions that he played regularly in the kindergarten classroom.

Join the SLO Botanical Garden in the creation of nature crowns. These fun, temporal, compostable, and decorative head adornments show off your style. Great for kids ages 5 to 105! Stop by the Botanical Garden’s booth in the Live Oak Art Walk.

Visit the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Children’s Garden throughout the festival for even more fun activities! You’re invited to drop in at any time, or to meet at the Children’s Garden entrance at the times listed. Enjoy a nature walk or test your problem-solving capabilities with a garden scavenger hunt!

Michael and Stella are back by popular demand to share even more sushi-making classes! Families will learn to make a veggie sushi roll in this 45-minute workshop.

Enjoy a bird walk with MCAS guides. Meet at the Learning Among the Oaks (LATO) festival station, and then head off to the SLO Botanical Garden to observe, listen and learn about birds there. Binoculars and a fun learning experience provided.

Get inspired by seemingly gravity-defying aerial performances. See what’s possible with a hanging apparatus and diligent practice. Expansion of consciousness can be exhilarating by falling with grace.

Jen HayHay invites kids of ALL ages to boogie their way into the weekend by shaking off stress and dropping into the groove. Learn a few new moves to get the energy flowing in a positive direction. Parents are welcome to get down with their kids.