9 Fun Toddler Activities in Hamilton

Looking for fun toddler activities in Hamilton? Here are some great ideas that will provide educational experiences, teach them about nature and the importance of all living creatures, help them understand their immediate environment and relationships with others, and enable them to build memories to cherish forever.

Providing Quality Childcare Since 2012 • Infants, Toddlers & Preschool • Daycare Centre

Fun activities with your toddlers provide educational experiences, teach them about the beauty of nature and the importance of all living creatures, help them understand their immediate environment and relationships with others, and enable them to build memories to cherish forever. Here is our pick of fun toddler activities in Hamilton that you can enjoy anytime or in selected seasons.

List of Fun Toddler Activities in Hamilton

Meet the friends at Hamilton Zoo

Hamilton Zoo, a more than 25 hectares of open or specially-designed closed spaces, must be your first stop as your child will love meeting the residents here.
From exotic giraffes, “smart” chimpanzees, “serious” tigers, and “smiling” meerkats to cuddly red pandas, phenomenal birds, and impressive rhinos, the Zoo becomes the favourite pass time of many toddlers, curious to explore, learn and have fun as they study various animals. More than 500 animals, including tamarins, spider monkeys, geckos, and lemurs, await their visitors, children and adults alike.

Take a train ride at the Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology

Also known as the “Steam Museum,” this museum provides guided tours that help the little ones learn more about trains, field trips, STE(a)M workshops, and other activities that will keep them “busy” for a while.

The venue organises events like Train Days with the Golden Horseshoe Live Steamers, held on selected summer days, and The Electric City Festival, hosted in September. If your child loves boats, the location organises the Boats in the Park event in partnership with the Confederation Marine Modellers in May.

Have fun on water (and around it) at Lake Rotoroa

Lake Rotoroa, also known as Hamilton Lake domain, provides a beautiful outdoor experience for toddlers. Here they can feed the free-roaming ducklings, explore the treetop playground, ride their bikes in the designated areas, or enjoy a healthy snack at your family picnic. The venue offers dragon boating on the lake for active children, while the older, science-prone children can engage in radio-controlled boat racing.
You can also enjoy a long, healthy walk or play with your family dog in the off-leash location.

More Fun Toddler Activities in Hamilton

Play in the Dominion Park

The Dominion Park, located close to Nawton, West Hamilton, will make your toddlers crawl, jump, run, play, and have so much fun that they will want to return soon.
The climbing towers, slides, swings, and sand and water play will keep the little ones happy for hours while the older children can practice their cricket skills or engage in other sports at the two sports fields nearby.

To conclude a fun day, you can have a BBQ or watch the sunset on the park benches spread around the location.

Enjoy a day in the sun at Waterworld

Splashing in the water is one of the most beloved activities of children, and Waterworld is the perfect place to enjoy a day in the sun with your little one.
With a pool specially designed for toddlers and five others for everybody, this venue has everything a child could want, from hydro-slides to splash pads.
Here you can have a barbeque or a picnic, take swimming lessons and go to the gym.
The venue has showers, changing areas, and lockers so you can spend a carefree day in the hot summer.

Delight your senses at the Hamilton Gardens

The Hamilton Gardens is a rare sight, smell, and touch treat. The collections here, like the greenhouses in the Victorian Flower Garden, the Chinese Scholars’ Gardens, and the Indian Char Bah, offer a spectacle of colours and vivacity and show toddlers a glimpse of nature’s loveliness.

For more active children, the Gardens provide a playground with swings, slides, and a climbing tower to explore while enjoying outdoor playing.
There is a garden discovery activity available that your children can get engaged in if you print the Children’s Discovery Trail before coming to visit, and the centre has a place where you can rest and have something to eat.

But Wait There's More Toddler Activities in Hamilton

Experience the hot air balloons festival

“Balloons over Waikato” is one of the finest toddler activities in Hamilton and a preferred destination for many residents for five days during the autumn season.

Voted six times as the “Best Waikato Event” by the people of Hamilton, this festival will make your toddlers keep their eyes on the sky, scouting the flight of the balloons flown here from around the world.

The event hosts fun activities like carnival rides, live stage entertainment, and spectacular fireworks.
Book the dates into your agenda; your toddler will be delighted you did!
Meet the farm residents at the Taitua Arboretum

Located just outside Hamilton, Taitua Arboretum offers a delightful escape from the city rush.
Here, your toddler can meet the chickens, feed the cows and ducks, play barefoot in the grass, spot birds, discover lakes, or stroll on different trails. The family dog is welcome as long as you keep him on a lead, and you can even have a healthy picnic on location while admiring the landscape.

Have fun picking strawberries

The Strawberry Farm offers children the chance to see how strawberries are grown and how they reach their plates as delicious snacks after being planted in the ground. Moreover, the little ones will be able to pick strawberries by themselves and take them home to prepare a few healthy snacks.

When the children are tired of picking, they can take an active break in the playground, where they can play with wooden helicopters and aeroplanes.
This experience will teach the little ones to appreciate better what the earth provides and discover the many ways strawberries are found in our meals.

Another highlight of this visit is the strawberry ice cream tasting offered at the end of the tour, a culinary treat for children and parents!
Punnet café, part of the farm, waits for guests with coffee, tea, cake, and delicious meals, while the Country Providore has gifts for your dear ones and foods provided by local producers.

Spending time with your child by engaging in fun toddler activities in Hamilton is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the bond you share, learn new things, explore new places, and have a few laughs together!

If you are visiting Auckland, check out our suggestions for toddler activities in Auckland.

We've put together some helpful articles about childcare and daycare in New Zealand

Choosing the Right Toys for Toddlers that Are Educational and Fun

Discover how to select toys for toddlers that blend education with playfulness. Our guide helps you find the perfect balance of fun and learning, ensuring your little one enjoys their toys while developing important skills.

Toddler Milestones: What to Expect in the Second Year

Toddler milestones are exciting! Learn what to expect in your child's second year: physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Get tips for parenting a one to two-year-old and when to seek professional advice.

Soothing Separation Anxiety: 6 Tips for Parents

Building a Strong Parent-Toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection is a explores the significance of nurturing relationships between parents and toddlers through meaningful interactions

Building a Strong Parent-toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection

Building a Strong Parent-Toddler Bond: Quality Time and Connection is a explores the significance of nurturing relationships between parents and toddlers through meaningful interactions

How do you Juggle Being a Working from Home Mum?

Many people struggle to juggle work and personal life, especially for mums who want to contribute their best at work and raise their children. The good news is that you can do both, and in this article, we explore how you can juggle being a working-from-home mum.

How to Develop Communication Skills in Preschoolers

Explore practical tips and activities designed to foster effective communication abilities in young children, setting a strong foundation for their future success

Our Early Learning Centres

Our early childhood centre environments strongly reflects our inspiration – The Reggio Emilia philosophy, from Reggio Emilia, Italy.

We provide a creative and open ended environment that encourages infinite learning for the children and strong relationships between teachers, children and families.

The day’s routines are flexible. At the same time, care is taken to recognise and respect each child’s needs.

Why Choose a Bright Beginnings Early Learning Centre?

Encouraging the use of natural materials
A strong transition into school
Teaching team inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach supports your child’s creative potential.
Healthy, tasty hot meals cooked fresh on site
20 ECE hours available/free sessions for 3 year olds
A boutique, homely feel to our centres
Strong connections between teachers and whanau.

Here's what our parents say about our childcare centres

We are so happy that our son is a part of the Bright Beginnings family. The staff have been so welcoming and caring since the day he joined here. He has the freedom to explore and experiment as he learns about the world around him. With each passing day, he is growing into a confident and independent young boy, while building friendships and learning important life skills. We are also especially happy that he gets nutritious meals everyday, an important concern for us as parents. Most importantly, he loves it so much here that he can't wait to be back at the Centre every morning! As parents, we can go about our day with the assurance that our son is in good hands within a safe environment. Thank you to the entire BBELC team for that, Devika.

Bright Beginnings has and is a second home to both my son and now my daughter. Amber loves coming to the centre everyday and to see the relationship she has with the teachers is very special. We love everything Bright Beginnings embodies and are thankful to have found this centre. - Best price - Best service. From Jade Tavita

I was absolutely blown away by the presentation and the effort that went into the parent teacher interviews. I have not seen anything like it before and it made me feel very comfortable and welcome as a parent. From Darren Masters

Super duper loving, caring teachers. Awesome environment where our boy can flourish everyday. Thank you, Brad and Joanna.

Dillon absolutely loves his new big boy class. He even asks us if he can go on a Saturday and Sunday. Thanks all for making going to school so easy for us. Thanks, Anika.

I love and enjoy watching April develop and grow, I am so happy and grateful that she is in an amazing environment filled with people who care and look out for each other. Beautiful Daycare. Thank you all.- Best price from Zara. - Best service

Cherry: Our family is very grateful that we found BBELC. So far it is the best daycare we have seen. We are glad to enrol our kids here. Having peace of mind that our kids are safe, well fed, looked after and enjoy activities with the teachers and other kids is PRICELESS!!! THANK YOU for helping my kids explore new things. You are all amazing. Like what I always say to the teacher, I don't know how you all do it but the teachers here at BBELC are SUPERHEROES! As parents we feel your passion, dedication and love.

Come and visit one of our childcare centres and see for yourself why your child will love it

Talk to the Centre Manager, meet the team, see the natural outdoor play areas and educational rooms, learn about how we develop our programs and find out more about our unique approach to partnering with our families.

Our latest parent reviews from Google

    
 
 
        
   Tanya Vester 
 2023-05-27
 
 
  Our sons attended Bright beginnings early leaning Centre and absolutely loved it.

They attended Manuka and Kowhai rooms, and later also Pohutukawa room. The teachers in all three rooms were just SO lovely, caring, attentive and supported their learning journeys and communicated the children’s achievements with us.
We are so thankful for the time our kids were able to spend there, and the kids made great memories for life. We highly recommend BBELC to anyone looking for a child care center.

We had to leave due to moving overseas and will miss BBELC so much!!!
  
 
       
   Sukhpreet Singh Mediratta 
 2022-10-09
 
 
  "I don't think I can express in words the gratitude I feel towards you all. My child, Amrin have learnt so much in your care that will stay with her for life. I believe their fondest memories of childhood will include many of you - I truly hope you are all extremely proud your efforts with our children. Thank you for all the wonderful support and care you have given to my daughter. This Centre is a very special place and she has grown so much in your nurturing, inspiring and challenging environment. You are  really helping her to prepare for her school foundation."

Actually, this is a second home for Amrin, she started her journey from BBELC, Auckland and will leave for school from here.
Thanks to all the teachers, If I start typing the names, the list will be so long. In last especially I should not forget Nikita, who is so understanding and caring towards kids as well as families.

Thank you with much love."
  
 
       
   Anaru Pui 
 2022-10-06
 
 
  We've had our daughter Waikohu pui in the center for over 1 year now  And she has Developed into such a beautiful kind person and has gained some great life skills and experiences thank you  to all the teachers for there support and care with our baby girl making life alot easier knowing shes getting great education and Aroha (Love) from all the teachers at her Kura ( school ) thanks again ❤️ from the Pui whanau
  
 
       
   Jagroop Kaur 
 2022-10-06
 
 
  Teachers are very kind and patient. Also they encourage children to learn in different indoor and outdoor activities. I am so pleased in POHUTUKAWA room the teacher do the school transition program, which is really helpful to the kids enter the primary school in the future. Thanks all teacher who support VIRASAT and other kids there quite well.
  
 
       
   anne dela cruz 
 2022-10-05
 
 
  We have been with BBELC Hamilton since 2020 during the peak of pandemic and I never doubted to bring my children here knowing that they are on a safe place and the team are all aware of the best health and safety plan to ensure that everyone in the centre are safe. The centre is the BEST for me in terms of CLEANLINESS (the place os very tidy), SAFETY OF CHILDREN (only parents/caregivers can enter the premises on their pin coded door), FRIENDLY STAFF (you will be greeted by a very friendly receptionist, you can talk to the teachers about your concern with your child), OPEN DOOR POLICY (Manager’s door is open all times for parents for any concern or question), NUTRICIOUS FOOD for our kids, SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM (table activities, book reading, sharing with others, simple literacy), MAT TIME IS THE BEST as the kids learn to socialize, listen to teachers, story telling, yoga, dance time, music time,etc. and they also held PARENTS TIME where we can chat with the teacher about our kids, meet other parents, share experiences and strategies, parents gets treat and gift on special occasion like mother’s day and father’s day that will definitely make your day as a parent. And lastly for few years now, my kids have enjoyed their Christmas party where they get gift and enjoy bouncy castle, it’s simple but the experience and memories will be lifetime. THANKS TO ALL THE STAFF AND TEACHERS OF BBELC Hamilton! KUDOS TO ALL YOUR HARDWORK AND DEDICATION. CHEERS TO MANY MORE YEARS OF SUCCESS!

- DELA CRUZ Family ( Robb and Reuben)
  
 
       
   Shirley 
 2022-10-05
 
 
  I love BBELC and my child love it too. As parents ,my husband and I deeply appreciate the staff being friendly ,kind ,patient ,role models and caring .The educators work well with parents to achieve the children’s developmental goals , the manager Leonie and Teachers Mari, Kathryn, Summer and Emma really care about the children and very welcoming. The childcare is secure and this gives us peace of mind in knowing that our little ones are in good hands and safe . The classrooms are clean and nicely decorated. I highly recommend sending your child to this center. It’s become our second home.
  
 
       
   ANN KURIYAN 
 2022-10-05
 
 
  BBELC is an awesome environment for my daughter to learn and grow through different types of activities. All the staffs are friendly, supportive and helpful. Highly recommended to all.
  
 
       
   Neda Bolouri 
 2022-10-05
 
 
  A safe, happy and caring place for our children.

What are the Different Types of Early Childhood Centres?

Selecting the right Early Childhood Centre for your child is very important. As they will spend a lot of their time in these learning spaces, feeling comfortable here is paramount. Read our article to ensure you choose the right one for you and your child.

What are the Core Values of the Reggio Emilia Approach?

The Reggio Emilia Approach sees children as valuable members of communities where they are encouraged to explore, wonder, question and learn to understand the world around them and reach their full potential in the first five years of life.