Family programs abound at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West all summer long! Find art and games in the gardens, chuckwagon cooking out front, “family fun days” and more!

Family Programs

At the Buffalo Bill Center of the West we know how to have fun with a variety of family programs! For more information on all family-friendly programs and activities, e-mail Emily Buckles or call her at 307.578.4110.

Family Fun Days, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Included in regular admission!

• June 28: Colorful Characters of the West Family Fun Day, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Come and meet some of the most interesting people of the West, old and new. Learn about the lives led by these westerners, from homesteaders to cavalrymen, and enjoy activities based on their experiences.
• July 27: National Day of the American Cowboy Family Fun Day, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Join us for an action packed day including music, presentations, and activities that celebrate cowboy heritage. Activities include stick-horse barrel racing, “calf-in-a-bale” roping, and various other rodeo games.
• August 24: Family fun celebrating Cody’s Wild West River Fest. This community event is free to the public, and will take place at City Park and the Paul Stock Nature Trail. The Center collaborates with many local organizations to help create an event that will be fun for the whole family! Paddlers can show their stuff in the Stinking Water Sprint race and the Stinking Water Slalom kayak event. Anglers can compete for bragging rights and cool prizes in the “On the Fly” fishing tournament. And people of all ages can play games, eat food, try out a river sport, enjoy a bluegrass concert, and learn how healthy rivers and healthy communities go hand-in-hand. Visit www.codyriverfest.com for more information.

Family Fun Days are made possible through a grant from the R. Harold Burton Foundation.

At a recent Family Fun Friday, Where’s Stanley at the Museum? kids had a great time with an activity that combined elements of the well-known book series Where’s Waldo and Flat Stanley. Click here to check out some of stories and pictures they created, and download an activity to do yourself!

Family activities in the gardens

Join us in our gardens weekday afternoons, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., through August 9.

• Mondays and Wednesdays: Games in the Garden. Learn to play historic games like marbles, grace hoops, and tiddlywinks, and you can decide whether you would have like to live in the West a hundred years ago. Was it fun or just hard work?
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Art in the Garden. Enjoy our gardens while painting, sketching, or coloring with the guidance of an art educator. Experiment with a variety of materials and learn something new about your artistic abilities.
• Fridays: Educator’s Choice. On Fridays, we surprise you with a new craft or activity chosen by the educators. Something fun is always happening at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West!

Chuckwagon cooking demonstrations

Visit our cooks at the chuckwagon in the front garden area of the Center. Try some Dutch oven biscuits and fire-roasted beans. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Saturday through the end of August.

Guided gallery tours

Seven days a week! Want to catch the highlights and learn about the people, places, and wildlife of the West? Take a guided tour this summer:

• Wildlife in the West, 10:30 a.m.
• People in the West, 1 p.m.
• Yellowstone National Park—Yesterday and Today, 2:30 p.m.

For more information on these and all of our family programs, e-mail Emily Buckles or call 307.578.4110.

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To find out about other upcoming events at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, click here.