Rainy Day Date Ideas in Dallas

Race a cheetah or a T. rex together in the Ultimate Race at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, an indoor science museum in Victory Park. Dinosaur skeletons greet you at the entrance to the T. Boone Pickens Life Then and Now Hall, and the Tournament of Flight game sends you through a Texas canyon valley with a high score to beat.

One ticket covers all 11 exhibit halls, and entry is timed. Plan on about two to three hours. The museum is closed Tuesdays through April 7, 2027, except for special holiday hours.

Browse indoor galleries of art from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia at the Crow Museum of Asian Art in the Arts District. Exhibitions are permanent and rotating, and the museum offers docent-led tours, gallery talks, and yoga and meditation.

Admission is free. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm and closed Mondays.

Spend a thoughtful afternoon indoors at the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, a history museum in the former Texas School Book Depository building in the West End. The main exhibit, John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation, fills the sixth floor, while special exhibits and programs are on the seventh. A 15-minute gallery talk with staff runs weekly upstairs on seven.

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4:15pm, and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Settle in for a night of bowling at Bowlounge Dallas, an indoor bowling alley on Turtle Creek Blvd. It is open Sunday through Thursday from 11am to 11pm and Friday and Saturday from 11am to midnight. From 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays the venue is 21 and over, and it is cashless.

Pair dinner in the Design District with a show at Kitchen Dog Theater, a company that stages new plays. Season 36 includes The Absentee, Equivocation, and Black Republican, and tickets are on sale on the website.

Rain is no problem at Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park if you stick to the indoor attractions. The two-story Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium has free-flying butterflies, and the visit also includes a snake and reptile building. In the lobby, a 450-gallon tank holds axolotls.

The gardens are open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Wander an indoor rainforest and sea setting at the Dallas World Aquarium in the West End. Exhibits include Cloud Forest Trek, Mundo Maya, Orinoco, Aquarium, South Africa, and Borneo.

Team up on full-body virtual reality inside Sandbox VR Mockingbird, where you explore worlds like Age of Dinosaurs, Squid Game Virtuals, alien battles, and zombie apocalypses. No gaming experience is needed.

Tickets start at $39 per person on weekdays and for matinees, and at $55 on weekends. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10am to 10pm and Friday through Sunday from 10am to 11pm.

Strolling the galleries of the Dallas Museum of Art in the Arts District makes a romantic outing. Adults can also join guided tours or a Late Nights cocktail party. There is a cafe on site for lunch or a coffee.

General admission is free, though special exhibits can cost extra. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm and closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Discover as you go through The Real Unreal, a permanent immersive art installation at Meow Wolf in Grapevine. It sits inside Grapevine Mills near entrance 2, outside Dallas itself. Select evenings are adult-only, with drinks and immersive entertainment for guests 21 and over.