Things to do with kids in Panama City during the year-end school holidays

Last verified: 4 November 2026. Every schedule and figure links to the official page where it was read.

When children’s year-end holidays begin

Third-term classes end on Friday 11 December 2026, and from 14 to 18 December the calendar provides for assessments and graduations. After that no school activity is scheduled until the new school year. The detail of terms and breaks is in the Panama school calendar, which is based on Executive Decree 49 of 2025.

The month’s public holidays, which change the hours of many sites, are set out in the December holidays guide, and the schedule of lights and parades is in Christmas in Panama.

Places to go with kids, with published hours and fees

Six places in the city publish information for families: the Biomuseo, the Canal Museum, Metropolitan Natural Park, its butterfly house, Parque Omar and the Cinta Costera. The table lists only hours and figures shown on each site’s own page; the entry column shows the resident child’s price, and the other categories are in the source.

The hours in the table are each site’s regular ones; Christmas and New Year hours are best confirmed with each place. The Biomuseo answers inquiries at consultas@biomuseo.org and the Canal Museum at +507 211-1649.

Museums: Biomuseo and Canal Museum

The Biomuseo and the Canal Museum are the two museums in this guide that publish a child fare with an exact figure. The Biomuseo, on the Amador Causeway, opens Tuesday to Sunday; the Canal Museum, on Plaza Catedral, does too. Neither opens on Mondays, according to their pages.

The Biomuseo lists nine permanent exhibitions, among them Panamarama, a ten-screen projection, El Puente Surge, a hands-on space about the isthmus’s geology, and Océanos Divididos, with aquariums and tanks comparing the Pacific and the Caribbean. Its page on permanent exhibitions describes them one by one. The museum offers a B/. 24.00 group package for four resident visitors, and a 50% discount for holders of the SENADIS certificate. Children under 5 enter free, except nursery or school groups.

At the Canal Museum, resident admission is B/. 5.00 for adults and B/. 2.50 for students and children aged 6 to 12; non-residents pay B/. 15.00 and B/. 7.50. The guided visit is priced separately, with a donation of B/. 20.00 for nationals and residents and B/. 25.00 for foreigners, and requires museum admission.

Parks and outdoors: Metropolitano, Omar and Cinta Costera

Metropolitan Natural Park keeps its trails open Monday to Sunday, holidays included, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Resident entry costs B/. 2.00 for adults and B/. 1.00 for children aged 3 to 17. The routes include Dorothy Wilson, Los Momótides, El Roble, Los Caobos and the Camino del Mono Tití, with their lookouts.

The Alas del Bosque butterfly house has separate admission: B/. 4.00 for nationals and residents and B/. 2.00 for minors. The park’s 4 August 2026 note announced its opening for 15 August, and asks visitors not to use repellent before entering, not to touch the butterflies and to keep voices low. Guided tours are booked by email, phone (232-5552) or WhatsApp (6294-8253), Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., according to the tours page.

Parque Omar has more than 55 hectares of green areas, a children’s play area, a children’s bike path and a BMX Race track, according to its official site. The pool closed for repairs on 5 October 2026 and, per TVN, the work could take up to a month; reopening is confirmed at (507) 527-9341. The Cinta Costera, a 7 km route with gardens, bike lanes, courts, lookouts and the Japanese Garden, is a public space; the Recreovía of Sunday 5 July 2026 was scheduled from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., between the McDonald’s Paitilla overpass and the end of the marine section.

How to build a day with kids around the hours

A full day fits between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. if it is ordered by each site’s closing time: first what closes early and last what stays open into the afternoon. The Biomuseo closes at 3:00 p.m., Metropolitano at 4:30 p.m. and the Canal Museum at 6:00 p.m., with the ticket office open until 5:30 p.m.

Myths and facts

• Myth: every museum opens on Mondays during the holidays. Fact: the Biomuseo and the Canal Museum open Tuesday to Sunday, according to their pages.
• Myth: children pay the same everywhere. Fact: ages differ: 5 to 17 at the Biomuseo, 6 to 12 at the Canal Museum and 3 to 17 at Metropolitano.
• Myth: the trails close on holidays. Fact: Metropolitan Natural Park publishes that it opens Monday to Sunday, holidays included.
• Myth: the guided visit comes with the ticket. Fact: the Canal Museum prices it separately and requires general admission.
• Myth: the Cinta Costera is a park with ticket-office hours. Fact: it is a public recreation space, according to the Tourism Authority.

Related articles

• Panama school calendar: terms, breaks and holidays
• Christmas in Panama: parades, lights and events with dates
• New Year’s Eve in Panama: plans, events and what is open
• December holidays in Panama: dates, long weekends and what closes

Sources

Checked on 4 November 2026. The sources are in Spanish.

• Biomuseo, hours and fees on the official page.
• Biomuseo, permanent exhibitions.
• Panama Canal Museum, ticket purchase: hours and fees.
• Metropolitan Natural Park, hours and fees.
• Metropolitan Natural Park, tours.
• Metropolitan Natural Park, Alas del Bosque butterfly house (4 August 2026).
• Parque Omar, official site.
• TVN, Parque Omar pool closes for repairs (5 October 2026).
• Panama Tourism Authority, Cinta Costera.
• TVN, Recreovía returns to the Cinta Costera (30 June 2026).