Luxury resorts across the USA are redefining family travel with sophisticated, niche kids clubs tailored for the modern traveler.  Active City Travel visited a few of these to see what’s new. Here’s what we discovered.

STEM and Sea Life: Innovative Kids Programming in Florida Resorts

Just south of Fort Lauderdale in South Florida, the Hilton Diplomat Beach Resort collaborates with the Marine Environmental Education Center to focus on conservation. While kids search for seashells to make beach jewelry, they learn the importance of leaving live shells untouched. At night, the Kids’ Club room glows with re-creations of bioluminescent sea creatures like jellyfish, squids, sea turtles, and angler fish while kids create glow-in-the-dark tie dye, kites, and slime.

At the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, young ones are greeted by a giant lifeguard stand – a symbol of Miami Beach and a nod to the lifeguards who are well-versed in ocean behavior and safety. Young guests learn all about beach ecology and native marine life. On special theme days, including “Under the Sea”, “Mermaids and Pirates”, and “Backyard Blast”, they’ll focus on marine life, treasure hunting, and Florida’s violets and seagrape. Loew’s has partnered with the Miami Children’s Museum and the Frost Science Museum to design kids’ programming and train the Kids Club staff.

Not to be outdone, the new Conrad Orlando hotel guides youngsters as they explore night sky galaxies and learn about the solar system as part of their “Kids Night Out” program. Because the Conrad Orlando is near the Space Coast, the discussion turns to rocket launches and life as an astronaut in the space station. Kids Club activities here focus on ecological concerns while having fun.

The shallow beach at the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa offers STEM activities where kids learn about sea turtle nesting and preservation, view sea life and stars through telescopes, examine native flora under a microscope, and build kinetic sand sculptures. At the Kids Club Hideaway Hangout, kids practice yoga and dance too.

Further south, a fifteen-minute boat ride across Estero Bay to the Hyatt’s Big Hickory Island, introduces young ones to pelicans, cormorants, egrets, ibis, and even bottlenose dolphins. On the soft-sand beach, they collect shark teeth. Camp Coconuts, at The Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, also offers guided nature hikes where kids discover mangroves along the quarter-mile boardwalk.

Interactive Nature Programs: Discovering California’s Resort Wildlife

In the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort’s Serenity Garden, kids craft butterfly sand and spin wheel art while discovering the path of the monarch butterfly migration. On the rooftop garden, they explore native plants and learn how to grow the ingredients they eat in the onsite restaurants. At the Hyatt’s Carmel Valley Ranch in California’s scenic wine country, kids get a taste of real ranch life. Here, they’ll interact with the animals, develop lasso skills, and even complete ranch chores.

Wild West Adventures: Desert-Themed Kids Clubs in Arizona

The biggest draw of The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass is the “Land of the Mustangs,” where kids learn native horse-handling techniques from an Indigenous wrangler and experience the unique horse – human bond. They also discover the history and cultural significance of these wild mustangs that roam the Southern Arizona desert.

The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain, overlooking the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Sonoran Desert, offers a three-hour Kids Ranger program. Tales of Native American and Mexican culture in the Wild West educate and entertain kids on guided walks across the high desert to discover an ecosystem of plants and animals that thrive in the dry heat.

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson partnered with the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, so young ones can view vast constellations at this center of the dark-sky movement, which offers the best stargazing anywhere.

While all kids clubs offer a variation on games, classes, beaches, pools, water slides and climbing walls; it’s important that children enjoy learning about their destinations – all possible with these innovative kids clubs.