Panama City Beach: Why You Should Add Wonderworks to Your Itinerary!

This post is part of a series about Panama City Beach. You can head here to start reading each post!

On your next Panama City Beach vacation with the family, head to WonderWorks, the upside-down building that’s chock full of fun activities for your entire family to do together! With more than 100 hands-on exhibits and interactive displays, and plenty for both young and the young at heart, plan to spend at least two hours discovering what’s inside.

Part children’s museum, part indoor playland, WonderWorks would make a great spot for a birthday party or just something to do on a rainy day. When you can’t play outside, this is a pretty epic alternative (and with the intense Florida heat and summer rainstorms, that could be any day)!

They’ll learn a thing or two. The museum has six Wonder Zones, or spaces where kids can interact with the displays to explore how things work. There’s the Natural Disasters Zone, the Physical Challenge Zone, the Light & Sound Zone, a zone for Space Discovery, the Imagination Lab, and the Far Out Art Gallery. Each of these areas are bright and visually interesting, making the kids want to get involved and try to figure it all out. They can become human lighting rods, feel hurricane-force winds, lie on a bed of nails, create massive bubbles, try on a replica of a space suit, and feel what it’s like to ride in an Army Black Hawk helicopter! Or maybe they’d rather play with a giant Lite-Brite, stomp out virtual aliens, or make a digital painting. The activities within these zones really seem endless.

They’ll LOVE the ropes course. Once the kids have explored all of the Wonder Zones, they can strap into a harness, soar 36 feet into the air, and experience the Spacewalk Challenge: a glow-in-the-dark indoor ropes course! This three-story playscape has 26 obstacles, suspension bridges, swinging beams and more. (The kiddos have to be at least 42 inches tall to participate, though.)

They’ll burn off some energy in a safe environment. End the day in the Laser Tag Arena, where everyone can chase after each other and engage in a little friendly competition. Or, if you’re kids are at least 7 years old, they can ride Space Fury 360, which is like laser tag and bumper cars combined…but on steroids! Riders control the vehicle while inside of a pod that rolls in every direction as they drive. You really have to see it in person, but I promise it’s like no ride or game you’ve ever experienced!

When it’s time for lunch, you don’t even have to leave. Just take the elevator up to the Snack Shack for New York style pizza, popcorn, hot dogs, soft pretzels, and soft drinks. Admission to WonderWorks starts at $21.99, and if you join the Birthday Club, you’ll get free admission on your birthday and discounts on admission tickets for everyone else in the party. (Heads up: Tickets are always $2.00 less when purchased online.) When you go, make sure everyone in your group is wearing closed-toed shoes, or they might not be allowed on the rides.