Santiago · With kids

Hands-on science museum at Av. Punta Arenas 6711 in La Granja: Tuesday 09:30–13:30, Wednesday to Friday 09:30–17:30, weekends 10:00–18:00, closed Monday. Tickets go through its own box office and it is far enough out that you should plan a half-day around it.

Free since 2015 and inside Quinta Normal park, beside the metro station of the same name: whale skeleton, Chilean fauna and a big central hall. Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–17:30, Sundays and holidays 11:00–17:30, closed Monday, and the park outside is a picnic in its own right.

At Panamericana Sur km 32, roughly 30 minutes south of the city; Tuesday to Friday 09:30–17:00, weekends and holidays 09:30–18:00, closed Monday, last entry an hour before closing. Adults CLP 15,990, children over 90 cm CLP 13,990, over-60s CLP 6,990, and all tickets are bought online.

The city's amusement park at Av. Beaucheff 938, on the edge of Parque O'Higgins, open in winter on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 18:00. Its own site describes this as its last winter on the Parque O'Higgins site, so check where it is before you set out.

Flat riverside park with lawns, ponds holding black-necked swans, playgrounds and cafes, free and open through the day. The low-effort morning between two museum days.