• Taste beans from mesquite plants at Sibley Nature Center.mesquite image by Robert Freese from Fotolia.com
  
  Located on the Southern Plains of the western United States, the city of Midland is home to the Midland Rockhounds baseball team, children`s museums, nature centers and sports centers. Local and visiting families can play a round of miniature golf, learn about the solar system, and see baby ducks and cottontail rabbits along a nature path.
  
  

Midland Community Theatre

• The Midland Community Theatre is host to five different theatrical productions every year, including performances for children and families. The theater also offers a variety of learning programs that cater to children between three and 17 years of age, and full-day summer and spring break programs. Programs for the youngest children encourage children to develop gross and fine motor skills through movement, music and role-playing, while the Pickwick Players program for youth between grades seven and 12 prepares participants for onstage productions.
  
  

Museum of the Southwest

• The Museum of the Southwest is home to the Fredda Turner Durham Children's Museum, which has ever-changing exhibits, such as "All in a Day's Work," emphasizing the importance of individual and community productivity and education. At the Blakemore Planetarium in the Museum of the Southwest, budding astronomers can learn about the universe through hands-on interaction and exhibits and presentations. Exhibits are designed to teach children about the composition and types of stars, a star's life cycle, solar flares and solar wind. Every month the Planetarium offers evening Star Parties for stargazing and learning.
  
  

Putt Putt Fun Center

• Spend an afternoon at the Putt-Putt Fun Center, which has a miniature golf course, go-kart track and batting cages. Parents can host a child's birthday party at the center or visit for a Family Fun Thursday night, with a round of miniature golf and a pizza dinner. The center offers unlimited go-kart rides every Friday and Sunday, and unlimited golfing every Tuesday and Saturday.
  
  

Sibley Nature Center

• Situated on 49 acres, the Sibley Nature Center offers meandering nature trails and educational programs that introduce visitors to the area's history and plant and animal life. Family walks take place every Monday morning and begin at the "Icons of the Llano Estacado" colonnade. Throughout the tour, participants learn about habitats of the Llano Estacado, see regional fossil finds and taste beans from a mesquite plant. Baby ducks can often be found in the wildlife pond, and visitors usually see jackrabbits and cottontails during the tour.