Inaugurated in 2003 and funded by the World Bank, Chiminike (tel. 504/291-0339, www.chiminike.com, 9 a.m.–noon and 2–5 p.m. Tues.–Fri., 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–5 p.m. Sat.–Sun., US$2.50) is an excellent interactive children’s museum, housed in a bright blue and purple building on Boulevard Fuerzas Armadas, right near the Supreme Court. Displays include large-sized replicas of the human body, the environment, a grocery store, and Honduran culture, among others.

Check out the tilted room, where you can play being a human yo-yo (for an extra charge). Displays are all in Spanish. Each room has people there to help visitors, although their primary purpose is to assist the endless stream of school groups that come through on weekdays. The odd name derives from a well-known Honduran children’s song about a frog; hence all the frog statues and symbols around the museum.

The zoo (9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, US$1) at the Parque Naciones Unidas is another hit with smaller children. There is a depressed jaguar in a heart-rendingly small cage, but the monkeys and peacocks are impressive and, oddly enough, in larger cages. There is also some children’s play equipment and plenty of room to run or bike around in the park.

To cool off on a hot day, head to Aqua Splash (tel. 504/224-1584, US$8) water park, on the way out of town toward San Pedro Sula (visible from the highway, so easy to find). The water is not heated, so the park can get chilly on an overcast day.