5 Rainy Day Indoor Activities For Families in Marion, IL

Summer is the time for spending relaxing days by the pool and enjoying picnics and other outdoor activities. But when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, parents still need something to do with the kids on those rainy days. You might want some suggestions for local indoor summer attractions to entertain kids of all ages, so the team at Ike Honda created this helpful guide of things for families to do on rainy days around Marion, Illinois.

Marion Carnegie Library

Image used with permission via Unsplash by Sigmund

Kids (and parents) will enjoy spending a couple of rainy-day hours at the Marion Carnegie Library. The library offers shelves of books, but it provides much more than just reading material. From summer reading programs to entertaining programs and events, something fun occurs at the library every day for kids of all ages.

Kids ages 8 to 12 can get comfortable in the library’s Tween Zone on gloomy Saturday afternoons and enjoy watching an age-appropriate featured film. If the rainy day falls on a Wednesday or Thursday, younger children will enjoy the library’s weekly story hour at 10:30 a.m. On Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon, the Children’s Department’s Mariella Aikman Playroom hosts “Playroom Playdate” time, where the children can interact with other kids their age.

Older children ages 10 to 18 will enjoy visiting from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, where they can participate in Project Next Generation Open Tech Lab Hours. The laboratory allows kids the opportunity to experiment with various technological tools, including coding, film, digital drawing, and graphic design. They may even get a chance to use the green screen to create captivating videos or learn how to do 3D printing.

Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. also feature the library’s Teen Game Day, where teens can challenge other kids on the library’s gaming system or play board games. Teen Game Day is free and appropriate for children ages 12 to 19.

Pirate Pete’s Family Entertainment Center

Pirate Pete’s Family Entertainment Center is a fun way to keep kids active and entertained during unpleasant weather. Tweens and teens can spend hours playing arcade games in the area’s largest arcade. Children 7 and older can play Laser Tag for $6 for the first game and $3 for any additional games.

While the bigger kids play arcade games or laser tag, children ages 3-7 can play on the huge indoor playground featuring swings, slides, and many climbing obstacles. Unlimited playtime costs $7 in the safely enclosed and cushioned area.

The entertainment complex offers free Wi-Fi and has a food court so families can spend the whole day there. Choices include appetizers like nachos or chicken wings to kids’ meals like hot dogs or chicken nuggets. You can also order pizza whole or by the slice. Available beverages include soda, water, fruit punch, and beer for adults. You can also purchase coffee if you need an energy boost to keep up with the kids.

The Science Center of Southern Illinois

Spend a rainy day exploring hands-on activities and exhibits at The Science Center of Southern Illinois in Carbondale, less than 30 minutes of driving time from Marion. The Science Center offers a variety of interactive experiences, including over 65 exhibits, educational programs, summer camps, and field trips.

Exhibits include a 130-square-foot enclosure where Reptar lives, the center’s male red iguana. Kids enjoy digging in the Excavation Station, a hands-on activity where children can participate in a paleontology dinosaur dig. Children can develop large motor skills as they walk across the suspension bridge or foster creativity by putting on a show in the puppet theater. Musically inclined children will love the music area with a full-size electric piano, a pipe xylophone, and many other musical instruments.

Admission to the Science Center is $7.50 per person, and children 2 and under are free.

Student Center Bowling & Billiards

When the rain looks like it’s never going to stop, take a short road trip to Carbondale and visit the Student Center Bowling and Billiards facility. This bowling alley inside Southern Illinois University is an alcohol- and smoke-free environment open to the community.

Rates are family-friendly, at just $4 a game for the public. Bowling shoes and lockers are available for rental. After bowling a couple of games, stay for a family billiards contest. Billiards table rental is $5.50 per hour.

The student center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The center’s food court is open during the week.

Super Museum

A fascinating excursion for the whole family is the Super Museum in Metropolis, a family-owned and -operated museum housing the world’s most extensive collection of Superman memorabilia. Showcasing over 70,000 items, this intriguing museum features toys, comic books and books, movie props, and other collectibles. This impressive collection is often featured as one of the best American small-town attractions.

At the Super Museum, you can learn about its founder Jim Hambrick, who started collecting Superman materials at 5 years old. You can also check out the most popular item in the museum — the George Reeves colored costume used for the black-and-white TV show. You’ll also see mint copies of many superhero comic books, including three pristine copies of “Action Comics #1,” where Superman first appeared. If you’ve already been to the Super Museum, exhibits change frequently, so look for something new on repeat visits.

The museum is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $8 per person, and children 5 and under are free. If you have a family dog, well-behaved pets are welcome at the museum too. Stop at the gift shop on the way out to bring home souvenirs of your family’s super adventure.

The team at Ike Honda wants to know how we did. Did we give you some great rainy-day ideas? Let us know if you visit any of these local attractions, and share your favorite things to do on a rainy day in Marion.

Photo by Joy Stamp on Unsplash