20+ Fun Things To Do In and Around Ipswich With Kids
Located just 30 minutes southwest of Brisbane’s CBD, Ipswich is easy to get to and offers so much to do with kids.
Ipswich is a small city, but they definitely do not lag in children’s activities.
My family has taken many day trips to Ipswich and we still haven’t seen most of what the city has to offer. So far, we have loved everything that we have done and seen in Ipswich, and the kids are always ready to head back for another day of play.
Keep reading to find the best things to do in Ipswich with kids.
Things to do in Ipswich with Kids
The Workshops Rail Museum
Originally, the Workshops Rail Museum is what brought us to Ipswich.
With a 5-year-old train-loving son, we had to check out the train museum. The first time we went was on their “Day Out with Thomas Event.”
We actually went back to Day Out with Thomas and also attended their Circus Train and Spy exhibits.
The Workshops Rail Museum has more than enough to do with kids, and we often spend hours here.
There is a science center with 20 hands-on exhibits, a maker space, and a train-themed playground.
Read our full review of The Workshops Rail Museum, and find more places near Brisbane to take train-loving kids.
See a Show at the Ipswich Civic Center
Check the schedule for upcoming shows.
There are kid-friendly shows throughout the year, including popular musicals turned into Junior productions.
Some of these productions are done through the Ipswich Musical Theatre Company.
Attend a Festival
Ipswich Festivals has a variety of festivals all year round. Festivals in Ipswich include cycling, mountain biking, and trail hiking, in addition to family-friendly outdoor events and music festivals.
Check their schedule for details.
Cheap Things to do in Ipswich with Kids
Ipswich Children’s Art Gallery
The Ipswich Art Gallery has a Children’s Section with rotating exhibits.
While the exhibits are not always free, they often are. We have visited multiple times during the 3 exhibits, all of which were free.
Each exhibit is held in a closed space where kids can wander from station to station.
We attended On the Move, where kids could make and test paper airplanes, build cars out of Legos, and sit in play cars, among other things.
Read our review of On the Move.
The next exhibit had to do with Light Play. There were projectors set up, and the kids were able to place items on top of them to see which items light goes through. There was also an area with kinetic sand.
Another favorite with our kids involved building materials and seeing what floats in large tubes. Scarves were also available to fly in the wind tubes.
Sometimes, there are kid-friendly exhibits in the general art museum as well. Our last visit to Ipswich Art Center included a selfie-drawing exhibit and a section with a large Spirograph.
Heading to Ipswich over the school holidays? Make sure to check out the special holiday events that usually take place at Ipswich Children’s Art Gallery.
Find out about current and past exhibits.
Try Unique Ice Cream Flavors at Ungermann Brothers
With usual and unusual ice cream flavors, Ungermann Brothers has something for everyone.
They let you try before you buy, so you can decide if garlic ice cream or blue cheese ice cream is really for you, or if you should stick to the classics.
Since our visit, Ungermann Brothers moved into a larger building, and they now serve meals as well as their unique ice cream flavors.
Everything at Ungermann Brothers is made from scratch and is sourced locally.
Menu items include a unique variety of burgers, waffles, eggs, and other breakfast items.
Free Things to do in Ipswich with Kids
Ipswich Children’s Library
Ipswich is home to the first children’s library in Australia.
While you can not check out books if you do not have a local address, kids can still play and read some of the many kids’ books at Ipswich Children’s Library.
My kids loved the scarf play, where they could put a scarf in a tube, and it would be sucked up and released above them.
There is an area where kids can color in pictures of fish and then scan the fish to see them on the aquarium screen.
The library has puzzles and games and plenty of comfy places for kids to curl up with a book.
There is even a parents’ room with everything that parents with small kids may need.
Ipswich Children’s Library is aimed at kids ages 0-12. Books for young adults and teens are across the path at the Ipswich Library.
There is an area that you can see from the front of the library, where there are fountains of water that kids can run through.
Bob Gamble Park, River Heart Parklands
This area along the river has a shaded splash pad for kids. Playground equipment is available as well, including a flying fox.
Picnic and BBQ facilities are available nearby.
Lobley Park
There is an aviation-themed playground in Lobley Park, about 5 minutes from central Ipswich.
Playworks, the team behind this playground, has come up with creative and exciting playgrounds in the area, and we have loved every one that we have seen so far.
Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve
Nature right in the middle of the city, Denmark Hill Conservation Reserve is a great place for a walk or a picnic.
Walking track circuits vary from 200 to 800 meters long.
Look out for Triassic Park, an area where dinosaur bones have been found.
Queens Park
The first park to be developed in Queensland, Queens Park, is a beautiful place to explore.
From Nerima Gardens, the Japanese gardens, to Ipswich Nature Center, a playground, and plenty of places to picnic, Queens Park offers everything families need to spend a beautiful day outside.
Ipswich Nature Centre at Queens Park
At the Ipswich Nature Centre kids can get close to more than 40 types of animals, which include a petting zoo.
A wheelchair and pram-accessible trail loops around the nature center. There are spots inside where families can stop to enjoy a snack or a picnic, plus there are tables located right outside the nature center.
Things to do in Ipswich on a Rainy Day with Kids
The Workshops Rail Museum
You need to bring your umbrellas to get from check-in to the main building and to get from the main building to the cafe, but otherwise, the museum is indoors and out of the rain.
See above for more information
Ipswich Children’s Art Gallery
Be sure to check before you go to see what is currently on at the Ipswich Children’s Art Gallery.
Their exhibits change, and while they are setting up or taking down an exhibit, the Children’s Gallery is closed.
While we have been to 3 free exhibits at the Ipswich Children’s Gallery, they do also have paid exhibits occasionally.
Ipswich Children’s Library
There is more than enough to do inside the Ipswich Children’s Library on a rainy day. Of course, you can spend the day reading, but the Ipswich Children’s Library has so much more than books inside.
See above for more information.
Things to do Near Ipswich with Kids
Yes, there is definitely enough to do in Ipswich with kids, but there are so many fun things to do nearby as well.
From farms to trains and aircraft, these places are all within 30 minutes of Ipswich.
Splash ‘N’ Play Adventures
Both a splash pad and playground, Splash ‘n’ Play Adventure Park is just 10 minutes outside of Ipswich.
There is a flying fox, huge slides, and shade sails.
Naughty Little Kids Goat Farm
About 20 minutes south of Ipswich is a goat farm with tours available.
Each tour has 3 stops, which include feeding baby goats and trying goat milk products.
Read our full review of Naughty Little Kids.
Summerland Camels
About 30 minutes southwest of Ipswich is Summerland Camels.
Summerland Camels offers a tour of their camel farm, which includes tasting camel milk products.
Both children (4 and over) and adults (under 100 kilos) can go on camel rides.
There is a cafe at Summerland Camels that includes both camel food products and other food options as well.
The shop at Summerland Camels sells camel milk, camel milk lotions, and vodka made from camel milk by-products. Stuffed animal camels, t-shirts, and other items are available as well.
Read our review of Summerland Camels.
The Llama Farm
15 minutes north of Ipswich is The Llama Farm, where kids can take a llama for a walk.
At 9 a.m. on weekends and during school holidays, all ages can take a 2-hour farm tour.
Children 8+, along with an adult, can take a llama for a long walk on Saturday afternoons. This experience takes 2 hours.
During school holidays, children (under 18 only) are able to participate in the Little Llama Farmers Program, where they will learn about llamas and other farm animals and help with the chores.
EWE Nique Hobby Farm
15 minutes from Ipswich is a small farm where children can hand-feed the animals. Farm animals include sheep, lambs, goats, alpacas, and chickens.
There is a coffee shed available for drinks and snacks.
RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre
15 minutes southwest of Ipswich is RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre.
They have a variety of aircraft as well as military items.
Tours are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but must be booked in advance.
They have days when they are open to the public (usually the 3rd Sunday of the month). Tickets are free but must be booked in advance.
Food and drinks are available for purchase on Sundays that are open to the public.
Grandchester Model Live Steam Train
If you want to see more trains after visiting the Workshops Rail Museum, there is a model steam train that families can ride on about 30 minutes west of Ipswich.
Grandchester Model Steam Train runs 1 day each month, the first Sunday of the month.
Enclosed shoes must be worn.
Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway
Fifteen minutes southeast of Ipswich is the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway.
Public steam trains run about 3 times each month from April to December and once a month from January to March.
Loop trains (15 minutes) are popular for families with young children, and there are longer rides as well.
Picnic train rides are an hour long.
They also have dinner train rides, murder mystery train rides, and other special events.
Watercress Creek Olives and Limes
Twenty minutes northwest of Ipswich is Watercress Creek Olives and Limes.
While they have events, we visited on a non-event day and were told that we could wander through their property for as long as we would like. The olive trees were not in season, but the kids enjoyed playing outside.
They do have a shop filled with items related to olives and limes. We purchased olives, lime olive oil, and lime jam. They gave us a few limes as well.
They have an annual Watercress Creek Olive Festival, usually held in April. We visited the festival and enjoyed the food trucks, tours, and entertainment.
Visitors can also attend an open day where they have picnics available for purchase.
Robelle Domain Parklands and Orion Lagoon
Twenty-five minutes southeast of Ipswich is Robelle Domain, which is a large park.
Robelle Domain includes boardwalks, walking tracks including a rainforest walk, playgrounds, a water splash park, and Orion Lagoon.
Orion Lagoon is a group of interconnected pools for all ages.
You can pack a picnic, or purchase food at the Orion Lagoon Cafe near the pool or the Robelle Cafe in the park.
At night, there is a light show at The Circle, an amphitheater in the park.
Things to Do in Ipswich Wrap Up
Ipswich doesn’t always have the best reputation, but there are so many fun things to do there with kids.
From a library only for children, a museum about trains, a lagoon, and a children’s art museum to parks, playgrounds, and nature centres, Ipswich makes for a great day trip from Brisbane, especially with kids. Many of the activities are free or extremely budget-friendly.
If you are willing to travel a bit, you will find even more to do within a 30-minute drive.
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