Thank you to the Strong National Museum of Play and the Rochester Museum & Science Center for hosting our family’s visit. All opinions are my own.
While planning a trip over the Fourth of July to visit my uncle in Amherst, Massachusetts solo with three kids, I knew that I would want to split up the nine hour drive from Cleveland. A few weeks before our trip, I heard an advertisement on a local radio station for the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. I am not one who is easily swayed by advertisements of any sort, but we love museums, and one with the words “strong” and “play” really piqued my interest. Even though I’d never actually been to downtown Rochester, I thought to myself that the next time we drive through New York, we’ll have to check it out. Because Rochester is roughly halfway between Cleveland and Amherst, our visit to the Strong occurred much quicker than I ever imagined. We also planned a stop at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and our five hour visit to Rochester was an ideal pit stop. There are a surprising number of things to do in Rochester with kids for families driving across the New York turnpike or otherwise visiting the city. We would definitely stop in Rochester again.
Museums in Rochester, New York
#1: Strong National Museum of Play
The Strong National Museum of Play is located in downtown Rochester and regularly considered one of the country’s top children’s museums. It’s definitely our favorite. The Strong Museum opened in 1982 and was initially based on the personal collection of Margaret Woodbury Strong, a philanthropist who was an avid collector of toys. The Strong features 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and the most colorful museum exterior that I’ve ever seen. With so many exhibits in this enormous museum, make sure to pick up a Strong Museum map at the front desk.
The Strong National Museum of Play exterior
Field of Play Exhibit at the Strong Museum
We started at the Field of Play exhibit, which includes hundreds of creative play activities and artifacts. The kids particularly enjoyed the drag racer simulator and the rock wall.
Drag racing
My kids really have never met a rock wall they haven’t wanted to climb. We have a tiny one on our back yard playset. The rock wall at the Strong was distinctive because the holds consisted of letters, numbers and animals.
Climbing the Rock Wall
There was also an exaggerated perspective room that made me feel nauseous, but my four year old dragged me back into it several times. Of course, parental supervision in the room was required. My boys have never had more fun with a puff of air than directing one through a cannon at a target. I honestly think my kids could have spent an hour in this exhibit alone. But, we knew we were short on time and had so many other things to see.
Directing a puff of air at the target
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street Exhibit
Although my kids have never been regular Sesame Street watchers, they know all the characters. We were excited for the Sesame Street exhibit, and I couldn’t resist a photo opportunity with the 123 Sesame Street stoop. Even though the doors did not actually open, my four year old daughter was excited to stop by. This exhibit includes many Sesame-themed opportunities for imaginative play, including the Cookie Monster Foodie Truck.
The iconic 123 Sesame Street stoop
Wegmans Super Kids Market Exhibit at the Strong Museum
The Wegmans Super Kids Market exhibit was a realistic grocery store recreation. As we entered, the kids were instructed to get a cart, pretend to be shoppers and pick five items. Then, they transformed into the check out clerks to ring up their items and when they were done, they got to restock their items. While the kids were shopping, I remembered my sister raving about a grocery store exhibit she visited at a children’s museum a few years ago and wondered if it was at the Strong (it was!). I did not remember her museum recommendation and am pretty sure that she did not describe the museum with the words “strong” or “play” like the radio advertisement.
Checking out the produce
While our kids have played at many mini-grocery stores in other children’s museums, botanical gardens and science museums, this Wegmans one upped every other grocery store exhibit due to its realistic size and its cash registers that printed accurate receipts.
Accurate receipt
National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum
The National Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1998 and moved to the Strong in 2002. As we entered the National Toy Hall of Fame, I felt as if I was walking into one of the Toy Story movies. It was hard to pry my daughter away from the Big Wheel-powered ramp. I think the big wheel I had as a small child looked very much like this red and yellow model.
Big wheel at the Strong
The National Toy Hall of Fame inductees include iconic toys like Clue, Jack-in-the-Box, playing cards, hula hoop, LEGO, paper airplane and my favorite, the cardboard box. The exhibited toys on the second floor were more of a walk down memory lane of favorite toys from my childhood and many were foreign to my kids.
World Video Game Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum
The World Video Game Hall of Fame opened at the Strong in 2015, and currently, 24 games have been inducted. The Strong also includes eGameReveolution, a giant video arcade room featuring historic and current video games. I purchased a few dollars’ worth of tokens, and not surprisingly, my kids loved trying out the video games.
Winner!
My daughter’s video game experience is really minimal, but she played several rounds of Space Invaders, each with a little more excitement than the last.
Intense game of Space Invaders
Another walk down memory lane came with the Pong exhibit. Pong was our family’s first video game. My brother bought it at a rummage sale in the mid-1980s, and we connected it to our console television in the center of our living room and played for hours. Pong was one of the earliest video games and simulates table tennis. Players use knobs to move their paddle in a game that reminds me of Brick Breaker that I used to be addicted to on my Blackberry. It’s only a matter of time before my iPhone X looks as much as an antique as Pong does now, right?
Pong
Other Exhibits at the Strong Museum
My kids fully explored the Imagination Destination, and my daughter particularly enjoyed the role playing opportunities. All three got involved with constructing a shingle roof. One History Place gave them an opportunity to step back into the 19th century, and my son played on the parlor piano. Fairy tales and children’s literary classics came alive in Reading Adventureland. My daughter excitedly identified each of the scenes in the Fairy Tale Forest and then took off to explore the shipwreck of Adventure Island. We ended our visit with a ride on the Elaine Wilson Carousel.
Aquarium
The Strong Museum With Older Kids
While much of the Strong Museum is geared for kids eight and under, older children and adults appreciate the National Toy Hall of Fame and World Video Game Hall of Fame. My nine and eleven year old boys would not have spent so long on the first floor if their four year old sister was not with them. They followed her through the museum and played with her, but with slightly less exuberance than she had. My older kids and I thought that the enormous and colorful picture window was pretty impressive, but my daughter was much more interested in playing. We highly recommend a visit to the Strong.
Colorful picture window
The Strong Museum Hours: The Strong Museum is generally open Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. In 2019, the Strong Museum is closed on October 25, November 28 and December 25.
The Strong Museum Tickets: As of July 2019, Strong Museum admission costs $16 for visitors age two and older. Children under age two are free.
The Strong Museum Parking: Free parking is available in an adjacent surface lot.
Time Spent at the Strong Museum: We spent two and a half hours at the Strong Museum and would have stayed longer if we had not planned to visit the Rochester Museum and Science Center on the same day.
#2: Rochester Museum and Science Center
We proceeded from the Strong to the Rochester Museum & Science Center, a science, natural history and local history museum under one roof in downtown Rochester. It was very easy to travel from the Strong to the Rochester Museum and Science Center. Both have free, adjacent parking lots, and the drive between the two museums was only about five minutes. Visiting these two museums on the same day is a great way to combine imaginative and scientific play. We arrived about 90 minutes before closing and made sure to explore as much as we could.
Rochester Museum & Science Center exterior
The Rochester Museum & Science Center is a member of the ASTC Travel Passport Program. Like many science centers, there are many hands-on exhibits that my kids had fun exploring. We started in the AdventureZone exhibit on the ground level. My sons found the second rock wall of the day.
More rock wall fun
My daughter immediately headed to the puppet show area and started planning her performance.
Puppet showWholly Mammoth skeleton
The Rochester Museum and Science Center is unique because it combines a natural history, local history and science. There is not only a taxidermy exhibit featuring a gigantic wholly mammoth skeleton but also several exhibits that focus on the local history of Rochester and Western New York.
While museums often consist of a series of dark and windowless rooms, the Rochester Museum and Science Center has two large exhibit areas, the Patricia F. Hale Hands-On Gallery and the Reidman Gallery. Each gallery features large windows on three sides. The natural sunlight made the space naturally cheerful, and we returned to these exhibit areas several times.
Science fun
The kids gleefully darted from one exhibit to the next, trying to fit in as many science experiments as they could.
STEM learning
The kids’ favorite part of the Rochester Museum and Science Center was the Inventor Center, a hands on “maker space” where my three kids worked together to construct a car to deliver supplies to people trapped in a mountain pass. The kids planned, built and then enhanced the car and managed to pass the challenge just as the Inventor Center was closing.
The finished vehicle
We did not have enough time to visit the adjacent Strasenburgh Planetarium, but definitely have that on the list for our next visit to Rochester. The Rochester Museum and Science Center is a great place for hands on science and history learning.
Strasenburgh Planetarium
Rochester Museum and Science Center Hours: The Rochester Museum and Science Center is generally open on Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on July 4, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Rochester Museum and Science Center Tickets: Rochester Museum and Science Center admission costs $15 for adults, $14 for seniors and college students and $13 for children ages 3 to 18. Kids under three are free.
Rochester Museum and Science Center Parking: Free parking is available in an adjacent surface lot.
Time Spent at the Rochester Museum and Science Center: We spent only about 90 minutes because of closing time.
Where to Eat in Rochester
#1: The French Quarter
We all really worked up an appetite with our museum exploration. We left the Rochester Museum and Science Center when it closed at 5:00 p.m. and headed straight to French Quarter, which was advertised as the best Cajun and Creole food in Rochester. My husband and I have visited New Orleans several times, including an April 2019 trip to Jazz Fest. While my kids have never been, we drag them to Cajun restaurants when we travel, and enjoyed a delicious meal at MudBugs in Sanibel this Spring. It’s no secret that we all love Cajun and Creole cuisine. We also loved the authentic New Orleans architecture and the bright red door.
Arriving at the French Quarter
Because it opened right as the Rochester Museum and Science Center closed, we were the first diners, but four or five other tables filled up while we ate. Our meal was tasty and served quickly. We were back on the road by 6 p.m. headed for our final destination of the evening, a hotel near Oneida, New York.
Traditional New Orleans architecture and art
#2: Tom Wahl’s
On our drive back from Amherst, we stopped again in Rochester for lunch. My parents suggested Tom Wahl’s for wahlburgers, gourmet hamburgers. While I don’t eat beef, my kids almost always enjoy a good cheeseburger but had one too many over our long weekend and opted for chicken instead. It was better than the average food court option! We stopped at the nearby Lands’ End Outlet before getting back on the road for home.
Home of the Wahlberger’s
Rochester With Kids
Our visit to Rochester was planned as a pit stop on our road trip to Amherst, Massachusetts and was an unexpected surprise. The Strong Museum and the Rochester Museum and Science Center both offer fun, hands-on learning enjoyable for both parents and kids. We would definitely recommend a trip to Rochester with kids!
Thank you to Cedar Point for hosting our family’s visit. All opinions are my own.
We are so lucky to have Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio. Cedar Point in Sandusky is consistently recognized as one of the world’s best amusement parks and always winning awards for its roller coasters. It is the only amusement park with six roller coaster that are taller than 200 feet and the only park that features coasters in all four height classifications. On top of that, the classifications of giga and strata were coined during the development of the Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, respectively. When Cedar Point constructs a new coaster, it seems to always break at least one world record. It’s no surprise that Cedar Point, which is located on Lake Erie, is known as “America’s Roller Coast.”
Cedar Point Amusement Park Awards
Cedar Point received Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Award for “Best Amusement Park in the World” every year from 1997-2013. It’s the most visited seasonal amusement park in the nation and boasted about 3.6 million visitors in 2017. And, its historic, too. Cedar Point is the second oldest continuously operated amusement park in the U.S. behind only Lake Compounce in my husband’s former hometown of Bristol, Connecticut. My husband was pleased to know he’s visited the two oldest amusement parks in the U.S., especially considering Cedar Point and Lake Compounce are two of the only seasonal amusement parks he’s visited. Cedar Point also has several buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cedar Point Theme Park – An Ideal Vacation Destination
Cedar Point is a vacation destination that attracts visitors from all over the world. The Sandusky area has many options for accommodation to support Cedar Point, including three hotels with indoor water parks and Cedar Point’s Hotel Breakers. We met one family who was visiting on a five day pass with dining plan. While we generally have to travel to see top tourist spots, we’re able to make a day trip to Cedar Point from the eastern suburbs of Cleveland on about a half a tank of gas. Before school starts each year, we ask the kids about their favorite parts of summer, and Cedar Point always ranks at the top of the list, even the year we took an amazing trip to Iceland.
We scheduled our visit to Cedar Point on what turned out to be the hottest day of the summer. Meteorologists warned of the dangers of the high heat index throughout the entire region. We were glad we planned to visit later in the day, and the souvenir cup with unlimited refills was a non-negotiable necessity. We stayed hydrated and avoided any attractions with long lines and made sure to visit air-conditioned buildings whenever we felt hot. Much to my daughter’s dismay, we also decided to skip one of her favorites, Snoopy Bounce, because it required too much physical exertion on this hot day.
Cedar Point Weather
It’s important to check the weather and be prepared before visiting Cedar Point. Even though rain was not in the forecast when we headed to Cedar Point, we threw a few umbrellas under our stroller to use as shade during this day of extreme heat. We had been fortunate during our recent trips to Cedar Point and visited on only dry days, but at about 9 p.m., an unexpected and ominous storm cloud appeared overhead and significantly darkened the beautiful blue sky we enjoyed the entire day. It brought with it a cooling breeze and then a downpour of rain and consistent lightning. When the unexpected rain shower began, we felt very lucky that we were some of the few prepared Cedar Point visitors. We stopped for dinner hoping the storm would pass, and the rides would reopen, but due to safety concerns and ongoing lightning, most of the rides understandably closed early. Only a few fixed to the ground remained open.
Unexpected storm clouds rolling in behind Maverick, Cedar Point’s steepest roller coaster
Cedar PointNights
From July 12 through August 18, the Cedar Point Nights event offers an ultimate nighttime beach party with five hours of live entertainment from local bands at the Lakeside Beach Musical Festival. Visitors can take advantage of Cedar Point’s low priced admission after 5 p.m. and enter the park for only $25 per person. We unfortunately missed the Musical Festival because of the unexpected storm but have enjoyed the evening live entertainment during visits in prior years. In addition to the nightly beach party, the Cedar Point theme park lights up after dark. Giant Wheel, Cedar Point’s Ferris wheel illuminates against the skyline and has more lights than any other ride in the park. While the boys waited in line for the Dodgem cars, we were totally transfixed by the light show. My daughter’s favorite parts were the heart and smiley face.
The illuminated Giant Wheel
The dodgem cars were brightly lit at night, which added to the smash up fun.
Dodgem cars at night
Cedar Point Best Rides
Cedar Point Thrill Rides
Cedar Point’s roller coasters constructed since 2000 are for serious thrill seekers. They include:
Millennium Force, which debuted in 2000 as the original giga roller coaster by exceeding 300 feet;
Top Thrill Dragster, the steel accelerator coaster completed in 2004 as the original strata coaster remains one of only two roller coasters, in the world that exceeds 400 feet;
Maverick; which was completed in 2007 as Cedar Point’s steepest roller coaster;
GateKeeper, which was constructed in 2013 as the world’s highest, fastest and longest wing coaster;
Valravn, which opened in 2016 as the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster; and
Steel Venegance, which was completed in 2018 as a partial reconstruction of the Mean Streak and opened as a hybrid hypercoaster setting 10 world records.
Our boys have yet to attempt any of these these, but maybe next year.
While we did not ride any of Cedar Point’s newest roller coasters on this visit, my boys and husband enjoyed some of the thrill rides, including MaXair, Skyhawk and Ocean Motion. I get nauseous when there’s too much spinning or swaying, so I am happy to wait with my daughter and take pictures, amazed that my family is flying through the air. Skyhawk, the world’s highest swinging thrill ride, had a model seat outside the entrance for riders to test out, and my daughter thought that was the coolest thing ever. She spent a solid 10 minutes opening and closing the lap bar.
Skyhawk, the world’s highest swinging thrill ride
My favorite “thrill ride” is the Wave Swinger, a classic swing ride that is far more mellow than the others in this category. I stored my flip flops in the bin and let my feet dangle in the wind. It was a glorious ride, dampened only slightly by the storm clouds that appeared.
Cedar Point’s Classic Roller Coasters
In my teens and 20s, I was a roller coaster enthusiast. I regularly visited Cedar Point on a May weekday when the park was practically empty and the coasters all had minimal waits. I loved the thrill of my stomach dropping and raced from coaster to coaster trying to ride them all in a single day. I’m not so brave in my “old age” and have been happy to settle for the record-breaking coasters from many years ago. The roller coasters I remember most fondly from childhood are from Cedar Fair’s now defunct Geauga Lake: Double Loop, Big Dipper and Corkscrew. At Cedar Point, Gemini, the Blue Streak, Corkscrew and Iron Dragon fit into this category. We’ve ridden all as a family but didn’t get to all of them on this trip due to the unexpected storm. The great thing about Cedar Point is that the newest coasters draw the biggest crowds, and our wait time for the coasters we wanted to ride rarely exceeded five minutes.
I still have a soft spot for Gemini, the 1978 steel hybrid was one of the tallest, fastest and steepest roller coasters in the world when it was constructed. Two cars run on side by side tracks, which makes this one of the highest capacity rides in the park. There is one main hill and a bunch of smaller hills and various twists and turns, but the highlight for me is the dual tracks and experiencing the coaster as a race with a large group of excited visitors. While steel roller coasters seem to be much more popular, this hybrid wooden coaster with a steel track seems like the perfect compromise. I rode the Gemini with my two sons, and my oldest agreed that it was his favorite, too, which was a proud mama moment.
The Gemini against the bright blue sky
Cedar Point Junior Roller Coasters
Cedar Point truly caters to visitors of all ages and interests and features two junior roller coasters. We decided to ride the Woodstock Express. My four year old daughter wasn’t 100% convinced that she wanted to try a roller coaster, but we encouraged her because the boys both overcame mild fear to ride at about her age. Unfortunately, her least favorite ride turned out to be the Woodstock Express junior roller coaster. This roller coaster is 38 feet high and 25 miles per hour and was a bit too much for her. In hindsight, the Wilderness Run, which was formerly known as the Junior Gemini and has a 19 feet drop and top speed of 6 miles per hour would have probably been a better bet. Even though the Woodstock Express was not even a little bit fun for her, I think she’ll try the Wilderness Run next year.
Waiting for the Woodstock Express
Cedar Point Family Rides
With kids in all three major height categories – under 48 inches, under 54 inches and over 54 inches, we appreciate that there are a number of fun rides that we can enjoy as a family. We typically start and end each day at Cedar Point with a ride on the Midway Carousel. While I took my sons on the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, my husband and daughter rode the Antique Cars together. There are also many rides in Cedar Points three children’s areas that the whole family can ride together. We always make sure to ride the Kiddie Kingdom Carousel and also enjoy the 4x4s, Camp Bus, Snoopy’s Express Railroad and Charlie Brown’s Wind Up. Peanuts 500 was my daughter’s favorite ride.
The Midway Carousel is the perfect way to start and end a day at Cedar Point
Cedar Point Kid Rides
Over the years, many parents have told me that they are putting off a trip to Cedar Point until their kids are older. Even if Cedar Point has a roller coaster reputation, it really does not disappoint when it comes to the youngest visitors. There are three areas with kiddie rides – Kiddie Kingdom, Camp Snoopy and Planet Snoopy, which consists of rides relocated from Geauga Lake after it closed. In most of these kiddie rides, kids spin around an axis on some mode of transportation. The Mustangs, police and motorcycles may seem really similar for adults, but my four year old daughter was delighted running from ride to ride, wanting to try them all. We may not miss the kiddie areas when our daughter outgrows them, but we’re glad that Cedar Point offers so many options for its youngest visitors.
Cedar Point’s Town Hall Museum
My proudest mama moment of our visit may have been when my daughter pointed to the Town Hall Museum and said she wanted to check it out. My kids really appreciate and enjoy museums, but I wouldn’t have expected her to notice the museum at Cedar Point and want to explore when it was surrounded by rides. We not only appreciated the air conditioning but learned about the history of Cedar Point’s roller coasters during our short visit. The model replica of Steel Vengeance was impressive, and we compared the redesigned coaster to the nearby Mean Streak model.
Where to Eat when Visiting Cedar Point
Cedar Point Restaurants
Cedar Point offers many dining options. We often opt for Chick-fil-A or Panda Express and also make sure to purchase a souvenir cup with unlimited refills. It’s so important to stay hydrated.
Restaurants Near Cedar Point
On our way to and from Cedar Point, we regularly stop for a meal at Costa Azul at the Rye Beach Road exit off of OH-2 in Huron, Ohio. Costa Azul serves authentic Mexican cuisine and even accommodated my older son’s entire soccer team after a state championship tournament game at the nearby Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center.
Cedar Point Vacation Logistics
Cedar Point Tickets: As of July 2019, Cedar Point admission is available online starting at $49.99 for adults for weekday passes and $45 for children under 48 inches. Guests who love roller coasters and dislike lines should consider purchasing the Cedar Point fast pass. Tickets for entry after 5:00 p.m. costs $25. Cedar Point discount tickets are available from a number of vendors, including Groupon.
Cedar Point Hours: Check the Cedar Point schedule.
Cedar Point Height Requirements: Each ride has its own posted height requirements.
Cedar Point Park Map: Don’t forget to pick up a map before setting off to explore Cedar Point. Even though we visit almost every year, we always find ourselves referring to the map for important location information.
Cedar Point ParentSwap: We requested a Parent Swap authorization at Guest Services by the Main Entrance. After I rode Iron Dragon with the boys while my husband waited with our daughter, I showed the authorization to the operator. After we reunited, my husband and younger son walked up the exit ramp and got on the next train.
Cedar Point Kidtrack: At Guest Services, we signed up for a Kidtrack wristband for my daughter. I wrote my name and phone number on the inside. If we were ever separated, the contact information would help us reunite faster.
Cedar Point Pre-K Pass: Cedar Point offered free season passes for children ages three to five for the entire 2019 season. Registration closed on June 3, 2019, but make sure to look out for the program in 2020.
A Family Day at Cedar Point
Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio is the perfect location for a family outing because it blends classic carnival rides with world record thrill rides. Our annual trip to Cedar Point is a highlight of the summer because we all love riding rides and sharing quality family time together.
Guest Blogger: Clayton is a writer, editor, and devoted family man. A proud husband, father, and grandfather, Clayton enjoys running and cycling in his spare time and is also devoted to supporting literacy and arts programs in his hometown of Worthington, Ohio. Clayton and his wife enjoy taking trips with their children and grandchildren, including a recent vacation in Perth, Australia. To learn more about Clayton, visit his website, Clay Writes.
Appalachia
By Muriel Miller Dressler
I am Appalachia. In my veins
Runs fierce mountain pride; the hill-fed streams
Of passion; and, stranger, you don’t know me!
You’ve analyzed my every move–you still
Go away shaking your head. I remain
Enigmatic.
These opening lines from Muriel Miller Dressler’s poem “Appalachia” are true in some ways. To people who don’t live there, Appalachia can feel remote, strange, perhaps even sad. But these feelings will be swept away like a leaf in a mountain stream after a visit to Heritage Farm Museum and Village. Nestled in a small valley outside of Huntington, West Virginia, Heritage Farm offers visitors a taste of Appalachian history and culture, fun and education for children and a variety of child-friendly activities.
Heritage Farm dates back to 1973, when avid antiquarians Mike and Henriella Perry moved from Huntington to a farmhouse just outside the city. The Perrys used a nearby barn to house their growing collection of antiques and artifacts. Everything they added to their collection – whether it was an old appliance, a piece of farm equipment, or a vintage motor vehicle – tied in with everyday life in Appalachia from the 19th century to the present. The Farm, which opened to the public in 2006, has added other attractions over the years, including a petting zoo, several museums, cabins that provide overnight accommodations, and authentic period structures that reflect Appalachia’s past. My wife and I have visited Heritage Farm three times, most recently for a weekend in mid-June with our children and grandchildren.
Wall Mural in the MakerSpace Building
Heritage Farm Lodging
There are seven “inns” at the farm (one is actually a barn, another a caboose) with quaint-sounding names. On our first trip, my wife and I stayed with another couple at the Applebutter Inn. This time, we divided our extended family of 16 between the Strawberry and Blackberry Inns. Outside the latter was a small but well-maintained swimming pool with comfortable patio furniture around it. The rules for the pool were simple: no glass, food, running, or diving, and guests swim at their own risk.
Blackberry Inn and pool
The air-conditioned inns themselves are fairly spacious and have all the conveniences of modern living with the exception of television and computers. There are no landline telephones either, but in this age of cell phones, they aren’t likely to be missed. (Cell phone reception is generally good all around the Farm.)
Heritage Farm Petting Zoo
There is so much to see at Heritage Farm that it can be hard to decide what to see first. I would recommend the Petting Zoo as a good place to start, especially for families with children. Some of the zoo’s denizens, like Rainbow the Peacock, are not suitable for direct contact, but others like Moby Duck, Leonard the Turtle, Penelope Pig, Oreo the Rabbit, and Kit Kat the Goat are ready to make friends with visitors. These animals are used to being petted and are not startled when they feel the touch of human hands. Even so, there are volunteers who will bring the animals out of their pens and hold them still while children become better acquainted with them. An aluminum roof covers the petting zoo, so a rainstorm does not have to interrupt the fun.
Moby Duck
Heritage Farm Museums
Once finished with the petting zoo, visitors frequently decide to make their way through the different museums at the Farm. There are no less than seven of them, each housed in a single building and each with a different theme. Four, in particular, will provide both fun and learning opportunities to children.
The Progress Museum highlights inventions, communication devices, and consumer goods that have improved the daily lives of Appalachians since the mid-19th Century. A series of vignettes using mannequins shows the changes that one might see in an Appalachian kitchen from one generation to the next. The Progress Museum also has a 1920s diner, a miniature carnival made out of tin scraps, and an elaborate model railroad with little locomotives chugging around hills and through tunnels.
Historic Model Kitchen in the Progress Museum
The Bowes Doll and Carriage Museum gives visitors much more than just a collection of figurines. The beautifully crafted dolls, which Don and Connie Bowes gifted to the museum, are presented in realistic household surroundings. Look through one window, and see dolls wearing period outfits, seated at a table in an ornate dining room. Look through another and see them playing with their toys in a bedroom complete with a dresser, canopied bed, and pictures on the wall. There are outdoor scenes, too, where dolls stroll down the street and push baby carriages holding dolls of their own.
What was it like to be a kid in Appalachia 100 years ago? Young visitors to Heritage Farm can find out in the Children’s Activity Museum. In this unique setting, children simulate churning butter, pumping water, collecting eggs, and even milking an artificial cow. And if the “work” wears them out, they can sit at a desk in a one-room Schoolhouse Museum and perhaps better appreciate the advantages they enjoy in a modern classroom.
The other museums, although perhaps more oriented to adults, also offer items of interest to children. The Transportation Museum, for example, has an array of old cars as well as an airplane suspended from the ceiling. For its part, the Industry Museum features a walk-through coal mine while the Heritage Museum has an old-time barbershop. We got to watch a shopkeeper sweep his floor with an early model vacuum cleaner in the Country Store Museum.
In addition to the museums, the Farm’s MakerSpace building offers young people a plethora of opportunities for hands-on learning. The MakerSpace is sponsored by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Here, kids and their parents can sit at a variety of tables and try crocheting, drawing, building with Legos, creating electrical circuits, and other self-guided activities. While they work, kids can learn American history from an enormous brightly colored mural that runs around the inside of the MakerSpace building. The mural chronicles key cultural and historical events in the U.S. from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and presents images of key figures who, for better or worse, shaped American life over that time.
Playing with Legos in the MakerSpace building
Heritage Farm MakerSpace Hours: MakerSpace is open on Saturdays from May through December and on Wednesdays from June through September from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Heritage Farm Historic Buildings
Paralleling the museums are the Farm’s replicas of historic buildings. These include a blacksmith shop and a log church. At most of these places – and in the museums, too – volunteers are ready to answer questions and perform demonstrations. Visitors with good timing can see the blacksmith make a knife in his forge or watch a shopkeeper.
Heritage Farm – Six Simple Machines Discovery Zone
After the museums, the petting zoo, and the historic buildings, children might enjoy some less-structured activities. If so, they can head to the Six Simple Machines Discovery Zone, easily found by the windmill located in the middle. In this discovery zone, kids can perform simple tasks that will clarify the importance of pulleys, levers, inclined planes, and other simple machines. If kids need even more independence, they can grab some nets with handles at the Visitors Center and go hunting for minnows and crayfish in the creek that runs through the farm. It’s okay for these water critters to be caught and put in buckets – as long as they are returned to their habitat when the hunt is over.
At some point during their time at Heritage Farm, visitors might want to get a view of the farm’s outlying areas. If so, they should keep an eye out for Audy Perry and his tractor. Audy, the son of the Farm’s founders, will load people up in one of several wagons and haul them around the Farm’s perimeter. Among other things, they’ll cross a covered bridge and see some larger animals like Marco the Bison who aren’t part of the petting zoo. Be advised that this ride can get pretty bumpy sometimes, especially when the wagons rumble across the bridge. Expectant mothers may want to think twice before climbing on to a wagon. Be advised, too, that Audy may bombard visitors with a series of farm-related puns. So be ready to groan.
Oreo the Rabbit
Heritage Farm Logistics
Heritage Farm Hours: Heritage Farm hours vary by season. Consult their website when planning a visit.
Heritage Farm Tickets: Heritage Farm admission costs $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for children. Visitors two and under are free.
Parking at Heritage Farm: Parking shouldn’t be a problem. There’s a large open-field lot just to the left of the main entrance. If that lot is full, more parking space is available at the western end of the farm.
Dining at Heritage Farm: For dining, Heritage Farm Cafe is located in the Visitors Center. The cafe is open from 11-2, Monday through Saturday and offers an array of sandwiches, side dishes, and beverages at reasonable prices. One of their specialties is lemonade sweetened by brown sugar.
Before leaving Heritage Farm, visitors can comment on their experience in a journal that can be found near the entrance to their Inn. And as they leave, they may find Appalachia to no longer be an enigma, but rather an inviting place they will want to visit again. Heritage Farm Village and Museum is really a gateway to America’s rural past and much more.
Thank you to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art for hosting our family’s visits and to the Inn on Boltwood for providing a media rate. All opinions are my own.
My aunt and uncle live near Amherst, Massachusetts, and I’ve visited them many times over the years since my early childhood. I love the rural beauty of Western Massachusetts and particularly their farm, which abuts Bull Hill in Leverett. While I made solo trips in 2017 and 2018 to visit them, the kids have not been to Western Massachusetts since 2016 when we took a fall getaway trip to New England. With a few days off around the Fourth of July holiday, we decided to plan a trip to Amherst. Unfortunately, my husband was not able to join us due to work conflicts. Because our kids are now 11, 9 and 4, I felt more comfortable taking on the long car journey as a solo parent. In addition to visiting my aunt and uncle, there are many amazing things to do in Western Massachusetts with kids that made the long drive well worth it.
Visit the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
A year ago, I flew into Hartford to visit my aunt and uncle and on my drive between Hartford and Leverett, I passed through the center of Springfield, Massachusetts where a building with a large spherical dome caught my attention. I later discovered that the nine-story dome was the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I couldn’t fit in a visit during that quick one-night trip, but I knew that my two sons would absolutely love to visit the next time we came to Western Massachusetts as a family. When I started planning our 2019 trip to Amherst, the Basketball Hall of Fame was at the top of our must-see list.
Basketball Hall of Fame Dome, currently under renovation
We had started the 575 mile drive the previous day, explored Rochester and stopped for the night near Oneida, New York. We woke up on the Fourth of July and had a three-hour drive to Springfield. Luckily, the Basketball Hall of Fame does not close for Independence Day, and we arrived at about 11 a.m. ready to stretch our legs and check out sports memorabilia. The main lobby had one of our favorite exhibits with players’ favorite quotes and plaques depicting shoe sizes. Shaquille O’Neal, who wore a size 22, had the biggest feet. Here’s the comparison from my daughter’s youth size 11.
Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes compared to my daughter’s
At the information desk, we collected our tickets and learned that the Basketball Hall of Fame was hosting a free throw contest at 2:00 p.m. on Center Court to commemorate the Fourth of July holiday. My two boys immediately looked at me and asked if they could participate. I sent a message to my uncle to let him know we would leave after the contest as we entered the Basketball Hall of Fame theater to watch a 12-minute introductory film that provided an overview of basketball history and highlights, including our favorite basketball memory, the Cavaliers’ 2016 national championship win.
Basketball Hall of Fame theater
As we boarded the elevator, the guide told the kids to look for two gold medals and a golden sneaker. While my boys were most excited to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame, read the mini biographies of the Basketball Hall of Fame inductees and check out basketball memorabilia, my daughter was a bit bored with the Honors Ring, despite the scavenger hunt assignment. She was more interested in what was happening on the court below.
Bob Lainer’s golden sneaker
In the Players’ Gallery on the second level, the boys continued spending time reading and exploring the exhibits, particularly those embedded in a locker room display. They learned a great deal of basketball history.
Checking out the Michael Jordan exhibit
But, all three kids really enjoyed all the interactive exhibits on the second floor. They tested how high they could jump, grab a rebound and tried out a pop-a-shot not unlike the one in our basement.
Pop-a-shot at the Basketball Hall of Fame is so much better than in our basement
My younger son loved the virtual hoops game and took eighth place on the leader board. My older son was wearing a royal blue shirt that was almost the identical color to the game’s green screen. As a result, much of his body was invisible on the television screen. He wasn’t able to dribble or shoot and gave up on the game before his turn was over. Our lesson was not to wear royal blue clothes to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Virtual Hoops leader board
The Media Center was also a big hit. The kids were able to record a live sports news cast and watch it back and also check out the view of Center Court from a sky box. Those are definitely the best seats in the house.
View from the half court sky box at the Basketball Hall of Fame
We finished our tour on Center Court where the kids all shot hoops, tried dunks and checked out the historic hoops, including a peach basket. We decided to eat lunch before the free throw contest. We returned to Center Court about 10 minutes before the contest began. The largest crowd we had seen on Center Court gathered for the contest, and there was a lot of excitement from the participants. The boys took a few warm up shots and lined up.
As the contest began, I turned to the woman next to me and said, “Every one of them thinks they might win.” In round one, each of the 30-40 contestants took a single regulation free throw. Only five made it on to the second round, including my older son. Round two included another single free throw attempt, and my son was one of two contestants who made it to the third and final round. The other finalist was an adult who seemed about twice my son’s height and definitely had basketball experience and skills. It was clear that my son was the underdog but exciting that he made it this far. The host announced that each finalist would take three shots in the final round. The other finalist went first and made one of his three shots. My son missed his first and swished the next two, winning the contest. Check out the video clip of his winning shot below.
His prizes included the basketball used in the contest and a drawstring backpack filled with Basketball Hall of Fame swag, including a t-shirt, hat, basketball cards, net and a miniature basketball. He was elated, and I have to admit that I was both surprised and excited for him. All those hours shooting hoops in the driveway really paid off.
On the way back to our car, we stopped at the Coaches’ Circle Monument, which was sculpted by Brian Hanson and unveiled during the 2015 Hall of Fame Enshrinement. My son was especially excited to be leaving the Hoop Hall with souvenirs.
The Coaches’ Circle Monument at the Basketball Hall of Fame
The Basketball Hall of Fame was all we hoped for and more. Even though the Hall of Fame is currently undergoing a major $22 million renovation that is expected to be completed next year, our visit was truly unforgettable. The boys want to come back every time we visit Western Mass. We definitely recommend a visit to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts for any basketball enthusiast.
Basketball Hall of Fame Hours: The hours for the Basketball Hall of Fame vary by season, but it is generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. and closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.
Basketball Hall of Fame Tickets: As of July 2019, Basketball Hall of Fame admission costs $25 for adults age 16 to 65, $20 for seniors age 65+ and $16 for children age 5 to 15. Children age four and under are free.
Basketball Hall of Fame Parking: Free parking is available in a lot adjacent to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Eat at the Basketball Hall of Fame Restaurants
After we explored the exhibits and did a bit of hoop shooting, we worked up an appetite for lunch. Luckily, the Basketball Hall of Fame includes six restaurants on site that are each open to the public as well as visitors to the Hall of Fame. We headed to the entrance and chose to eat at Max’s Tavern for lunch.
Max’s Tavern served typical American fare and offered a kids’ meal that included several vegetables and reminded me of the food pyramid advocated by Michelle Obama.
My oldest ordered the cheeseburger off of the regular menu, and the burger was at least six inches tall. He has a pretty incredible appetite and polished off the entire burger with no problem. He was completely fueled and ready to compete in the free throw contest. We loved the atmosphere, sports memorabilia and classic tavern decor.
Things to Do in the Amherst Area
We headed from Springfield to the Amherst, Massachusetts area. Amherst is a quintessential Colonial town known as Emily Dickinson’s hometown and the home of Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In addition to visiting my aunt and uncle, we checked out a few of the area’s best attractions as well.
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has been on my list of attractions to visit in Amherst for several years. Eric Carle is an award winning author and illustrator of picture books who is best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is one of our family’s favorite picture books and has been rated the #2 best picture book ever by the School Library Journal.
Four large murals painted by Eric Carle for this Museum dominate the entry way. These murals reminded us of Monet’s large scale paintings but with bolder colors and more abstract style. The paintings were my oldest son’s favorite part of the entire collection.
Eric Carle’s wall murals
Eric Carle lived nearby in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 30 years and founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art with his wife in 2002 to celebrate picture book art. Carle is now 90 years old and resides in Key West, Florida, but continues to collaborate on projects and visits The Carle several times each year. We learned about Eric Carle’s life and his bold, graphic artistic style that unexpectedly led him to picture books.
The Carle’s West, Central and East Galleries all house rotating exhibits that include works both from the Museum’s permanent collection and some that are on loan. The West Gallery currently holds Eric Carle Makes a Book, which explores Carle’s story inspirations. The kids explored this exhibit by completing a scavenger hunt and then working on their own mini-books.
The Central Gallery housed an exhibition honoring the 50th anniversary of William Steig’s Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. My two youngest set to work preparing the most delicious picnic lunch. We weren’t as familiar with William Steig’s books but have already reserved a few from our library.
The East Gallery featured the works of Peter Sis, an author and illustrator who we were also not particularly familiar with but now plan to read his collection. I read Fire Truck to my daughter in the gallery, and the kids used rubbing plates to make labyrinths and also did some maze drawing.
Our favorite part of The Carle was probably the Art Studio. Like many moms, I’m ecstatic when my kids have the opportunity to create art in a bright studio with all the materials already prepared and ready to go. We worked on animal collages. As we worked on our projects, five or six other families came into the studio, and there was plenty of room for everyone.
The Carle’s art studio
For younger kids not yet ready to do cutting and gluing, there were magnets, bright blocks and a host of switches and knobs to explore while other family members worked on their projects.
We are so glad we finally made it to The Carle. With so much of its actual collection rotating and many interactive art projects, we would definitely enjoy returning on our next trip to Western Massachusetts.
The Eric Carle Museum Hours: The Carle is generally open on Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Carle is also open on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in July and August.
The Carle Tickets: As of July 2019, admission to The Carle costs $9 for adults and $6 for youth ages 1-18, students, teachers and seniors. Families can take advantage of a special for admission for two adults and two youth for $22.50.
The Carle Parking: Free parking is available in a lot adjacent to The Carle.
Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens
Magic Wings in South Deerfield, Massachusetts is a truly magical place for families to visit and an ideal way to follow up a visit to The Carle. Magic Wings includes an 8,000 square foot, climate-controlled, glass conservatory filled with about 5,000 absolutely beautiful butterflies. In addition to the conservatory, there are a number of educational exhibits and a cafeteria.
While we often visit butterfly exhibits in botanical gardens and zoos, Magic Wings stands out as exemplary. It is both larger than the average butterfly exhibit and there are so many more butterflies. Visitors are asked not to touch butterflies or hold leaves or twigs as butterfly landing grounds, but those who are patient and stand still are likely to have one of the butterflies land on them at some point.
We purchased a $1 guide to the butterflies in Magic Wings before we left and wish we would have had it with us to help identify the different butterfly species during our visit. We ate lunch at the on site food court and air conditioned eating area. We ordered sandwiches and hot dogs and got soft serve ice cream for dessert. It was the perfect break to butterfly observing, and we were ready to head back into the conservatory for a second visit after our meal.
Magic Wings Hours: Magic Wings is generally open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Magic Wings Tickets: As of July 2019, admission to Magic Wings costs $16 for adults, $14 for seniors age 62 and over and $10 for youth age 3-17 and through 22 with a valid student identification. Children under age three are free.
Magic Wings Parking: Free parking is available adjacent to Magic Wings.
Time Spent at Magic Wings: We spent about two and a half hours at Magic Wings, including lunch.
Yankee Candle Village
Yankee Candle is a scented candle manufacturer and retailer that started in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The flagship store opened in 1982 in South Deerfield, and Yankee Candle Village developed around that store to offer New England crafts, toys, a Bavarian Christmas Village and other gifts and collectibles in addition to scented candles.
We last visited the Yankee Candle Village in 2008 and noticed my oldest’s first tooth while he was laughing at the enormous stuffed animals. It’s no surprise that we spent all of our time in the Yankee Candle Village during this visit in the toy shop and viewing the Christmas display. The kids wanted everything but settled for gumballs from the coolest gumball machine we had ever seen.
Yankee Candle Village Hours: Yankee Candle Village is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but hours may vary during holidays.
Yankee Candle Village Parking: Free parking is available adjacent to Yankee Candle Village.
Time Spent at Yankee Candle Village: We spent about 20 minutes in the toy, candy and Christmas sections of the Village.
Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation
I always enjoy going to the highest point in a city or region and getting a birds-eye view of the area. Mount Sugarloaf in South Deerfield is the perfect location for viewing the Connecticut River. Because it is possible to drive to the summit, it is easily accessible for families with young children. Our trip there in 2008 had added excitement as Mel Gibson just finished filming Edge of Darkness at the summit of Mount Sugarloaf. The observation tower had been temporarily renovated and had not yet been returned to its pre-filming state, and the Fall colors were brilliant.
The view from summit is stunning, and the vantage from the top of the observation tower is even better.
Mount Sugarloaf Reservation Hours: The Reservation is open from 9 a.m. to sunset. Summit Road is open from mid-May through mid-October.
Mount Sugarloaf Reservation Admission: There is no admission fee to visit Mount Sugarloaf.
Mount Sugarloaf Reservation Parking: Parking permits can be purchased at the entrance to Mount Sugarloaf. The parking fee is $5 for cars with Massachusetts license plates and $10 for cars with all other license plates.
Time Spent at Mount Sugarloaf: We spent about a half hour at Mount Sugarloaf Reservation.
Hiking in Western Massachusetts
There are also many opportunities for hiking in Western Massachusetts. On our last trip in 2016, my aunt and uncle suggested a family hike at Rattlesnake Gutter, which was a perfect location for us to hike with the kids. It was mostly flat with a clear path and beautiful wooded scenery. We found some of the best Fall colors there and collected a few leaves to iron flat to preserve. My daughter enjoyed the hike from the comfort of her carrier and even took a nap.
Because we live in the suburbs, our kids loved the opportunity to spend a day outside hiking.
Experience Farm Life
There are many working farms in the Amherst area, and my kids were delighted that my aunt and uncle live on one of them. We took a hike around their pond, through their barn and circling their fields and got up close and personal with the Belted Galloway cows living on their land. We affectionately call these “oreo cows” because of the white belt at their middle flanked by black sides.
While my aunt and uncle don’t often have young visitors, they diligently pointed out bull frogs in the pond, explained the hay baling process and many other special features on the farm. My kids loved exploring the farm.
We visited as hay harvesting was being finished up on my uncle’s farm. On the first day of our visit, the hay was neatly arranged into rows. When the work was completed, my kids were offered short ATV rides, which they very willingly accepted.
On the second day, the hay was baled and harvested. I found the harvesting process fascinating. The hay baler was connected to a tractor and created compressed bales that were catapulted into the flatbed trailer for easy transportation. There was something artistic about watching the hay bales gracefully fly through the air.
My aunt and uncle’s farm is not open to the public, and every day is definitely not a harvest day. However, there are many farms to visit in the Amherst area.
Places to Eat in the Amherst Area
Atkins Farms
Nancy went to college in Amherst and suggested that we stop at Atkins Farms. It turned out to be the perfect breakfast stop before our visit to The Carle, which is just down the street. The bakery offers so many options of delicious donuts. We each chose our favorites and then ate at a table in the cafe. My daughter enjoyed her chocolate covered donut so much that much of it ended up on her face. We picked up some staples for our long car ride home before heading to The Carle.
BridgeSide Grille
We eat at the BridgeSide Grille almost every visit. It’s a lovely family restaurant with locally sourced meals. I love the homey atmosphere and tasty meals.
BridgeSide Grille Hours: BridgeSide Grille is generally open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sundays.
BridgeSide Grille Parking: Free parking is available in an adjacent parking lot.
Sugarloaf Frostie
On Independence Day, many area restaurants were closed; however, Sugarloaf Frostie was open. It was the perfect night for outdoor dining, and the sandwiches were surprisingly good. Of course, we followed up our meal with ice cream for dessert.
Western Massachusetts Itinerary
We packed many activities into our two days in Western Massachusetts and still had plenty of time left for exploring my aunt and uncle’s farm.
Day 1:
Basketball Hall of Fame
Fun on my aunt and uncle’s farm
Dinner at the Sugarloaf Frostie
Check in at the Inn on Boltwood
Day 2:
Breakfast at Atkins Farm
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Watching hay baling
Magic Wings
Mount Sugarloaf
Yankee Candle Village
Dinner at BridgeSide Grille
There are so many fun things to do in Western Massachusetts that we recommend this area as an ideal weekend destination. Even though it’s a long drive for us, we’ll most certainly be back sooner rather than later. Planning a trip to Western Massachusetts? Check out our entire series of posts relating to New England.
Thank you to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for hosting my family’s visit. All opinions are my own.
Guest Author: Our kid blogger, Messi Jr. is an eleven year old sixth grader who loves travel, soccer and basketball.
My family and I recently took a fun and exciting road trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Amherst, Massachusetts. Although the focus of the trip was to see our uncle and aunt, we went to many cool places and learned many amazing things as well. My favorite attraction was the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. I faithfully watched the Cavs during their four post-season national championships and played basketball in my church league for at least five years and was ecstatic when my mom told me she would take us to the Hoop Hall. At the Basketball Hall of Fame, we learned about the greatest basketball players and the history of the game and got to shoot around on Center Court trying out old and new hoops. We also competed in a free throw contest.
First, when we entered the Basketball Hall of Fame building, we saw exhibits for 15 of the all-time best basketball players in glass cases. Inside each case, there was the player’s jersey, shoes and a little screen detailing some of their personal highlights and achievements. We also got to compare our shoe sizes to the pros. Shaquille O’Neal wore a size 22!
My sister’s shoe compared to Shaquille O’Neal’s
Once we were done checking in, we watched a 12 minute video about the evolution of basketball and learned that basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield in 1891. The video was the perfect introduction to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
With some background knowledge, we headed to the third floor Honors Ring. As we circled around level three, we read a paragraph about each Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
We next went down to the Players’ Gallery on the second floor where we looked at lockers filled with players’ memorabilia and played some interactive games that compared us to average NBA basketball players. The interactive exhibits measured how high we could jump to catch a rebound or dunk and also included a virtual reality basketball game and pop-a-shot.
After the Player’s Gallery, we went down to Center Court on the first floor where there was a regulation basketball court with two pro-sized hoops and also different hoops lining the walls from a peach barrel to the newest hoop. There was also a dunk zone where almost everyone can find the perfect sized hoop to dunk on.
Finding the perfect hoop to practice my dunks
In the Basketball Hall of Fame complex, there are several restaurants. We had lunch at Max’s Tavern where I ate a huge burger. After we were done, we raced back to Center Court for the free throw competition. All the participants lined up and took a regulation free throw. Those who made the shot stayed on the court while those who missed watched from the sidelines. The sudden death rounds continue until there are two finalists. In the final round, the two finalists then take three free throws each, and the whoever makes more becomes the winner. Out of about 40 participants of all ages, I won! My mom thinks I was lucky, but really, it came down to pure skill. This video shows my winning shot at the Basketball Hall of Fame Free Throw competition.
For winning the Free Throw competition, I received the competition ball, a drawstring backpack, a Basketball Hall of Fame hat and t-shirt, basketball cards, a miniature basketball and a net.
The Basketball Hall of Fame was a very fun place to visit, and I learned about basketball history and have a new appreciation for the sport. I recommend the Basketball Hall of Fame to anyone visiting Springfield, Massachusetts, especially basketball fans.
Thank you to Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection, LEGOLAND Discovery Center, COSI, the Franklin Park Conservatory, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and Zoombezi Bay for hosting our family’s visits. All opinions are my own.
Columbus, Ohio is near and dear to my heart because I lived there for three years as a law student at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. Nancy and I both studied at Moritz and lived in the same apartment complex five years apart. While traveling and blogging may be two of my favorite pastimes, I’m a public finance attorney in the Cleveland office of Bricker & Eckler by day. Because Columbus is the state capital of Ohio and Bricker’s headquarters, I make the journey from our house in the Cleveland suburbs down I-71 to Columbus every few weeks on business. Columbus has grown exponentially since my college and law school years (now the 14th largest city in the U.S.) and is a great family destination. It has been several years since we visited as a family, so I took advantage of an unusually quiet summer weekend while my husband was attending a family wedding in Australia to take the kids (and my daughter’s stuffed monkey, Coconut) on a weekend getaway. Columbus is a city that offers more than meets the eye, and we made sure to pack many of the highlights into our weekend trip.
Where to Stay in Columbus, Ohio
A Review of Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection
We spent two nights at the Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection, which is ideally located at the corner of Broad and Front, just one block from the Capitol Square. We did not need our car between check-in on Friday night and check out on Sunday morning because everything on our itinerary was within walking distance of the Hotel LeVeque. We walked to the Ohio Statehouse, the Bricker & Eckler building, Columbus Commons, COSI, Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral and dinner at Condado. We parked in the adjacent garage and were wowed by the elegant marquee at the entryway before proceeding to the lobby. We immediately noticed the Hotel’s astronomical theme and starry decor. My husband does not yet know that I spent a lot of time coveting the lobby chandelier and wondering if we could find something like it for our front hallway.
Check-in was a breeze with absolutely no wait. Throughout our stay, the entire staff was extremely helpful and attentive, especially to the kids. After we collected our room keys, we headed to our classic double queen room on the eighth floor.
The room was decorated in gray tones. The entryway had laminate wood flooring that was perfect for kicking off our shoes. The closet included the usual hanging space, safe and ironing board and also a large golf umbrella and a coffee maker. The queen beds were dreamily comfortable with plenty of pillows. Gold framed mirrors were a beautiful touch. The kids were ecstatic to find a welcome gift on the desk and immediately set to work with their coloring books.
The luxurious bathroom included a humongous, subway-tiled shower with a rainfall nozzle and separate handheld shower head. I loved the sleek white on white decor and took some notes for my dream bathroom makeover. There was also a separate room for the toilet, which worked great for our family.
The window wells were the perfect vantage point for watching the street below, and the biggest excitement was when the boys spotted a Lamborghini and Ferrari on Broad Street.
The starry decor extends to the guest rooms. The most unique feature was the star projector, which we used both nights so that we felt like we were sleeping under the stars with this view. My son wants a similar projector for his room.
After unpacking and settling into our room, the kids were ready to go explore the hotel. We set off to the Fitness Center on the sixth floor. The Center was equipped with high-end machines and weights and provided earplugs, granola bars and water. The Fitness Center was not designed for kids’ use, but these two jumped on the treadmills for a few seconds before we headed to the lobby to continue our exploring.
There are so many beautiful artworks in the Hotel’s common areas that we felt as if we were in an art gallery.
There is a Starbucks located right outside the lobby lounge and so many comfortable spots to relax with a morning coffee.
Because I travel to Columbus regularly, I’ve stayed in at least a dozen other Columbus-area hotels, including about six other downtown hotels. Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection is easily my new favorite because of its location and amenities.
Best Things to Do in Columbus, Ohio
We could easily spend a week exploring museums and parks in Columbus, but we packed the sights that most appealed to us into our weekend. Here’s our overview of the best things to do in Columbus, Ohio in the order we visited and also a few that are on our family’s list for next time.
Our Weekend in Columbus
#1: LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus
Easton’s LEGOLAND is a Discovery Centers that serves as a miniature amusement park. This 36,000 square foot entertainment center opened in September 2018. At LEGOLAND, there are LEGO-themed rides, opportunities to build with LEGO, LEGO-themed play areas and a 4D movie theater. My kids love LEGO and were especially excited that my friend and her 10-year-old daughter were able to join us. We planned to arrive in Columbus in the late afternoon when most of the museums are closing and were pleased to find that LEGOLAND Discovery Center stays open until 7:00 p.m. We arrived at about 4:30 p.m. and explored this amazing indoor amusement park until closing time.
The kids were excited to ride the Kingdom Quest laser ride located immediately inside the entrance. Each rider has their own laser to zap beastly trolls and sneaky skeletons while collecting points and saving a princess. This ride reminded me of the Toy Story ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – just without the long line. The kids rode on Kingdom Quest several times with absolutely no wait.
Because our kids love to build with LEGO, they were excited about the police car building project in the Creative Workshop. Workshops are held throughout the day, and visitors get the chance to create different models using LEGO kits. The leader provided step by step directions projected onto a big screen. My four year old and I worked together, but she handled the lion’s share of construction.
It was so much fun watching a pile of LEGO bricks take shape into the police car. After playing with our cars for a few minutes, we disassembled our creations and put them back in the kits for the next visitors.
My four-year-old daughter declared the LEGO pool to be her favorite part of the Discovery Center. This tear-dropped shaped “pool” is filled with thousands of LEGO bricks. And, yes, she did dive into the middle.
Miniland was also a big hit. We’ve seen many LEGO exhibits, including Nathan Sawaya’s The Art of the Brick at the Carnegie Science Center last summer. The scale of Miniland’s recreations of Ohio landmarks, including the Ohio Stadium was beyond impressive. And, this room made my heart swell with O-H-I-O pride.
After playing in the LEGO City Play Area and the DUPLO Farm and riding the Merlin’s Apprentice Ride, we finished our visit to LEGOLAND in the 4D movie theater. The kids laughed nonstop throughout the short film, and they thought the 4D special effects were cool (especially the flying hot dog), even if we did get a bit wet. The LEGOLAND Discovery Center is the “ultimate indoor LEGO Playground.”
LEGOLAND Discovery CenterHours: The LEGOLAND Discovery Center is open every day, and hours vary by day of the week and season. The last entry is two hours before closing.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Admission: Walk up general admission to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center varies by date but generally costs between $24 and $34. Savings are available for visitors who book online in advance.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Parking: The West Parking Garage at Easton is adjacent to LEGOLAND Discovery Center. I parked in a surface lot with a three-hour limit and had to move my car before dinner.
Time Spent at LEGOLAND DiscoveryCenter: We spent about two and a half hours at LEGOLAND Discovery Center.
#2: Easton Town Center
Easton Town Center is an indoor and outdoor shopping complex that opened in the summer of 1999, right before I moved to Columbus to start law school. Easton started as a development by Les Wexner, the owner of Limited Brands, and has had multiple expansions and renovation projects since its opening.
Easton Station includes The Rooms at Easton, presented by COSI. These are themed rooms where visitors can explore science concepts. Our favorite was Community Creations, a room inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s The obliteration room, which we saw in Cleveland last year. We each added a strip of stickers.
Easton is a wonderful family destination, particularly in the summer when it hosts numerous events like the Easton Art Affair, a fine art craft show that was going on during our visit. It reminded me of New Orleans‘ Jackson Park with so many amazing artists exhibiting their pieces. There is also a fountain for kids under eight to splash around in. It was a bit chilly, and our youngest did not have her bathing suit, but she asked many times if she could try out the fountain.
Easton Towne Center Hours: Most retailers are open Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m.
Easton Towne Center Parking: Parking garages at Easton are free, surface lots provide free parking for up to three hours, and metered parking is available throughout the Center.
Time Spent at Easton TowneCenter: After finishing at LEGOLAND, we spent about two hours eating dinner and checking out the Easton Art Affair.
#3: Ohio Statehouse
The Ohio Statehouse is located in the center of downtown Columbus at Capitol Square. Unlike many state capitols inspired by the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the Ohio Statehouse’s Greek revival architecture was influenced by the Parthenon and completed before the Capitol. I am fortunate to attend an annual event inside the Ohio Statehouse, but, unfortunately, we did not have time for a guided tour on this particular visit.
The William McKinley Monument honors the Ohio native who served as the Ohio Governor and 25th President of the United States. The monument was completed in 1906, five years after McKinley’s assassination.
Ohio Statehouse Hours: The Ohio Statehouse is open to the public on Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Ohio Statehouse is closed on public holidays.
Ohio Statehouse Parking: Underground parking is available 24 hours a day.
Time Spent at the Statehouse: We passed by the Ohio Statehouse several times during our weekend and spent about 30 minutes total. The guided tour is definitely on our list for our next visit.
#4: Bricker & Eckler Building
The law firm of Bricker & Eckler purchased the old, old post office in 1984 and restored and renovated the building to use as its headquarters. This is one of the few downtown buildings dating from the 19th century and is located across from Capitol Square at the intersection of South Third and State Street. It was my favorite building in downtown Columbus long before I became an employee. While the Bricker & Eckler building is not open to the public, we were fortunate to be able to stop in and take a break to relax in the lobby before continuing our Saturday morning walking tour.
Bricker & Eckler Building
#5: The John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons
The John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons is a six-acre park in the middle of downtown Columbus that opened in 2011 on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall. I remember when City Center opened as a premier shopping destination and witnessed its decline over my college and law school years as competing malls opened in the suburbs of Columbus. The Columbus Commons utilized the extensive underground parking constructed for City Center and features green space, Columbus Bicentennial Pavilion, a carousel, 12 gardens and open play. The Commons hosts over 200 events each year, and many of the events are free to the public.
Columbus Commons Hours: The Columbus Commons is generally open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily.
Columbus Commons Parking: The Main Garage is located at 55 East Rich Street, and the Underground Garage is located at 191 South Third Street.
Time Spent at Columbus Commons: We spent only a few minutes in the Commons due to our packed schedule and ticketed events occurring both nights.
#6: COSI Columbus
The Center of Science and Industry or COSI, as it is commonly known, is a science museum and research center. COSI opened in its current space in November 1999, just a few months after I started law school. My first visit was five years ago in 2014 when I was eight months pregnant with my daughter. Our family loves science museums, so we were ecstatic to go back to COSI. Just like our first visit (which I coincidentally discovered occurred exactly five years before this visit when I looked at the previous pictures), our visit coincided with the Science of Big Machines event in front of COSI. This is an epic touch a truck opportunity that gives kids the chance to try out operating stationary construction vehicles. This hands-on learning opportunity was a huge hit five years ago when my boys were four and six. This year, my four and nine year olds each tried out a truck before heading back across the bridge to our hotel.
In the entryway, we were greeted by an enormous Foucault pendulum that demonstrates that the Earth is spinning. This may be the largest and most beautiful Foucault pendulum we’ve ever seen.
COSI is much more than a typical science museum. Of course, it has live shows, hands-on science experiments, a planetarium, and permanent and special exhibits. But, it also includes the American Museum of Natural History Dinosaur Gallery, which is larger than dinosaur exhibits at many natural history museums. The full cast of a T-Rex is certainly the highlight here. There is also an outdoor park that is open to the public. In 2017, COSI completed the construction of an underground parking garage to replace its surface lot. Moving parking underground opened up eight acres that are now used as a park, complete with a playground and fountains. This park space is heavily used by families, especially on beautiful summer days.
The exhibit that I was most excited about was The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, which explored Henson’s groundbreaking work and more than 20 historic puppets. Henson died almost 30 years ago at age 53, but his impact on puppetry was unparalleled. It was a thrill to see some of my childhood “friends” up close and personal.
We also explored the Mythic Creatures special exhibit. Unicorns seem to be as popular as princesses these days, and my daughter especially enjoyed this exhibit, but the boys preferred the rat basketball live show. Our visit to COSI was cut short because my oldest wasn’t feeling well, but my friend offered to watch my younger two kids while I took my oldest to the hotel. They made flubber, explored the Ocean exhibit and watched the high-wire unicycle.
Families can easily spend an entire day at COSI exploring the exhibits. Luckily, the Atomic Cafe provides a wide variety of kids’ meals and some healthy options for when kids need refueling. Our kids are already talking about the next trip and plan to prioritize the Planetarium and Giant Screen Theater.
COSI Hours: COSI is generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily and 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the last Friday of each month.
COSI Admission: COSI general admission costs $25 for everyone 13 and over and $20 for kids 2-12. Add on experiences such as the Planetarium, National Geographic Giant Screen Theater films, Motion Simulator rides and some special exhibits are available for additional fees.
COSI Parking: The closest parking is available at the Scioto Peninsula Underground Garage. Visitor parking costs $6 with the discount stamp available at the COSI Box Office.
Time Spent at COSI: My oldest and I spent about two hours at COSI, and my younger two children stayed on with my friend and spent four hours exploring.
#7: Franklin Park Conservatory
Franklin Park Conservatory is a botanical garden located on Broad Street a few miles from Capitol Square. We always enjoy conservatories, but the big draw for us was its signature collection of Dale Chihuly artworks. We have a fondness for Chihuly and have seen his works at the lobby of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh and even MudBugs Cajun Kitchen in Sanibel. None of those exhibits comes close to Franklin Park Conservatory’s Chihuly: Celebrating Nature, the largest Chihuly collection in a botanical garden. This current exhibit, which is on display through March 29, 2020, includes 13 Chihuly works that are part of the Conservatory’s permanent collection, four pieces of the Conservatory’s collection that have been reconfigured and five pieces on loan from Chihuly.
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor who uses vibrant colors in his sculptures that often resemble flowers. The exhibit guide gets high marks for including art label descriptions for each piece and using color-coding to indicate which pieces are from the permanent collection, reconfigured or on loan. After being wowed by Chihuly’s Persian Window, we passed under the Persian Ceiling with layered glass forms.
My oldest son has color vision deficiency and only sees a fraction of the colors that the rest of the family can see. To him, many of Chihuly’s selections do not seem bold or vivid, but he likes the forms. However, this Garden Fiori, on loan for this exhibit, was an exception and looked brilliant to him and easily became his favorite of the exhibition.
The Lime Green Icicle Tower, also on loan, was the focal point of the Sculpture Garden. It reminded me of the taller and skinnier version exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
There is something magical about butterflies, and it is always exciting to see one up close. The Conservatory’s Blooms & Butterflies exhibit is located in the Pacific Island Water Garden.
The Kids Can Design Glass Art Studio gives kids the chance to make their own Chihuly-inspired creations.
Scott’s Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden offers active experiences in nature for children. My daughter splashed in the Headwaters and Sandstone Creek, which were inspired by the nearby Hocking Hills before all three kids headed to the Canopy Walk and Nature Play Zone.
It’s no surprise that the Franklin Park Conservatory was recently named by USA Today as #5 on the 10 most beautiful places list. The combination of Chihuly sculptures and nature exhibited here is nothing short of breathtaking.
Franklin Park Conservatory Hours: The Franklin Park Conservatory is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Franklin Park Conservatory Admission: Franklin Park Conservatory general admission costs $19 for visitors age 13-59, $16 for visitors over age 59 and $12 for children age 3-12.
Franklin Park Conservatory Parking: A free adjacent parking lot is available for visitors.
Time Spent at Franklin Park Conservatory: We spent only about an hour and a half at the Franklin Park Conservatory because our visit was postponed due to my son’s illness. However, we could have easily spent two to three hours exploring the Conservatory and playing in the Children’s Garden.
#8: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has been nationally recognized among the best zoos in the U.S. and was recently named as the country’s #5 zoo by USA Today. The enormous Zoo is organized by regions. As soon as we entered, we hopped on the shuttle to the Heart of Africa exhibit and then weaved our way back to the entrance, saving us a lot of steps. My four year old rarely uses a stroller, but after a few hours in the Franklin Park Conservatory, I was glad that we brought the stroller and comfortable walking shoes. We saw so many animals up close, but those little legs would have struggled with the long walk on a hot day.
The large enclosure housing at least a dozen giraffe and also zebras in the Heart of Africa was so realistic that we felt as if we were on safari in Africa.
As a special treat, our kids took turns feeding a giraffe. They liked getting up close and personal with the giraffe.
The Polar Frontier exhibit features polar bears. My nine-year-old son recently completed a research project on polar bears, and we learned that they can close their ears underwater and many other fascinating facts. The enclosure features a large, chilled pool, and we were excited to see one close up.
The Shores & Aquarium, which featured manatees, sea turtles, stingrays and many other aquatic creatures, was my 11-year-old son’s favorite part of the Zoo.
Elephants are another family favorite. We noticed that the Asian elephants at the Columbus Zoo have much smaller ears than the African elephants at the Cleveland Zoo.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is one of the largest zoos in the United States and offers many shaded areas perfect for viewing animals on sunny days. My daughter liked the dozens of animal sculptures around the zoo for photo opportunities, and we had to take pictures at almost everyone. There is so much to see and do that it’s possible to spend an entire day exploring all the regions and combine a visit to the Zoombezi Bay water park or Jungle Jack’s Landing amusement area.
Columbus ZooHours: The hours of the Columbus Zoo vary by day of the week and season but are typically 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the summer months.
Columbus Zoo Admission: Admission to the Columbus Zoo costs $21.99 for visitors ages 10-59 and $16.99 for visitors ages three to nine and over 59. The Columbus Zoo-It-All experience includes Zoo admission as well as Jungle Jack’s Landing, Dinosaur Landing, the 4D theater, carousel and pony rides cost $36.99 for visitors ages 10-59 and $31.99 for visitors ages three to nine and over 59. All pricing is based on 2019 admission rates.
Columbus Zoo Parking: Parking is available in an adjacent surface lot for $10 per car.
Time Spent at the Columbus Zoo: We spent about two and a half hours at the Columbus Zoo.
#9: Zoombezi Bay
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium owns the adjacent water park, which is one of the most popular water parks in the Midwest. The kids were desperate to dip their toes into the fountains at Easton, COSI and the Franklin Park Conservatory and had been waiting for Zoombezi Bay all weekend. They thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Zoo, but after about two and a half hours were ready to cool off in Zoombezi Bay. We were glad that we brought our pool bag with us to the Zoo and exited directly to Zoombezi Bay without first stopping at our car. The first stop inside the entrance was the bathhouse and then the lockers. The $10 small lockers were sold out for the day, so we rented a medium locker to store our clothes and valuables while we swam. We selected our code and were able to open our locker as many times as we needed during our visit.
We headed to Baboon Lagoon, a multi-level play structure for water exploration. The water sprays and 1,000 gallon bucket that tipped every few minutes was a bit overwhelming for my four year old daughter but perfect for my sons. The kids also liked the Otter Banks play area.
The whole family enjoyed the Roaring Rapids Action River, a lazy river with inner tubes, waterfalls and wave generators that weaves throughout the entire water park.
We also enjoyed the Wild Tides Wave Pool (pictured here below closing for the day). My boys headed straight for the deeper part of the pool while my daughter waded in the pool’s zero-entry edge and jumped over the breaking waves.
The lines for the large slides were quite long, but the boys did wait for Big Boa Falls for the gravity-defying experience of the uphill water slide.
The Tiny Tides area was designed for the youngest visitors. The slides were much smaller, and there was plenty of space to splash around in the wading pool.
The kids’ only other water park experiences have been at Kalahari. Many of the attractions at Zoombezi Bay were similar but on a much larger scale. And, we enjoyed taking advantage of the park on this beautiful summer day. We unexpectedly stayed until closing at 8:00 p.m., and all three kids fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Zoombezi Bay Hours: Zoombezi Bay is open from mid-May to Labor Day. Hours vary throughout the summer.
Zoombezi Bay Admission: Admission to Zoombezi Bay costs $29.99 for visitors ages 10-59 and $23.99 for visitors ages three to nine and over 59 and includes admission to the Columbus Zoo on the same day. Add-on experiences to Jungle Jack’s Landing, Dinosaur Landing, the 4D theater, carousel and pony rides can be purchased for additional fees. All pricing is based on 2019 admission rates.
Zoombezi Bay Parking: Parking is available in an adjacent surface lot for $10 per car.
Time Spent at the Zoombezi Bay: We spent about three and a half hours at the Zoombezi Bay. It took us about 30 minutes to walk from the Columbus Zoo, enter Zoombezi Bay and get changed into our swimming attire.
Other Great Columbus Family Activities
There are so many more great family-friendly activities in Columbus. While we couldn’t fit them all in during our visit, I’ve had the chance to more fully explore during the three years I lived here and during my frequent visits back. These are still on our list for next time.
#10: Columbus Museum of Art
Columbus Museum of Art features American and European modern and contemporary art along with folk art, glass art, and photography. The Columbus Museum of Art is located downtown, and I’ve been fortunate to visit several times. My favorite artwork is the Chihuly sculpture in the Museum’s Derby Court. We couldn’t fit a trip to the Columbus Museum of Art into our weekend itinerary, but the Museum offers free admission every Sunday.
#11: National Veterans Memorial and Museum
The National Veterans Memorial and Museum opened along the Scioto River in October 2018 on the site of the former Ohio Veterans Memorial, which most attorneys in Ohio remember as the convention center where they sat for three days at folding tables to take the bar exam. The National Veterans Museum is dedicated to the experiences of veterans by incorporating personal stories. Veterans receive free admission and parking.
#12: Grange Insurance Audobon Center
The Grange Insurance Audobon Center is a nature center within the 120-acre Scioto Audubon Metro Park. The Center is a great place for a nature hike, a spectacular view of downtown Columbus, bird watching and rock climbing. I attended a series of meetings in the Center earlier this year and loved watching the seasons change from the wall of windows in the conference room.
#13: Ohio Theatre
The Ohio Theatre in Columbus is located on State Street across from Capitol Square. As a law student, I saw Beauty and the Beast at the Ohio Theatre, and I’ll always remember the Ohio Theatre as the venue for my law school hooding and my swearing-in ceremony. The Ohio Theatre hosts Broadway shows, concerts, live events and movies. Its CAPA Summer Movie Series is the longest-running classic film series in America and currently celebrating its 50th year. Tickets cost only $5 each, and strips of 10 can be purchased for $30.
#14: Palace Theatre
The Palace Theatre in Columbus is a performing arts venue located at the base of the LeVeque Tower next to Hotel LeVeque. Its design was influenced by the Palace of Versailles. As a law student, I saw my all-time favorite Broadway show, Rent, for the first time from the front row of the Palace Theatre. The Palace Theatre hosts many family-friendly events, including Peppa Pig Live andWild Kratts Live 2.0.
Where to Eat in Columbus, Ohio
Cameron Mitchell restaurants were taking off in Columbus when I was in law school, and the brand continues as a dominant force in the local food scene, and there are now restaurants all over the United States. There are so many more restaurant options than there were during my student days, and we chose our dining options based on location and cuisine. We were certainly not disappointed.
Northstar Cafe at Easton Towne Center
Northstar has five Columbus locations that each serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Diners order their food from the counter, pay and then find a seat in the restaurant. I chose the Pad Thai during our meal at the Northstar Cafe at Easton Towne Center and was not disappointed.
Condado
Condado features a build-your-own-taco concept, and we visited its original restaurant for dinner on North High Street. The kids loved all the options to create one-of-a-kind tacos while I chose from the taco suggestions menu. Condado was decorated with Day of the Dead decor and served a tasty margarita.
Wendy’s
Wendy’s was founded in Columbus in 1969 by Dave Thomas and is a Columbus institution. It’s considered the world’s third-largest hamburger chain after McDonald’s and Burger King. We grabbed a tasty but quick lunch between our visits to the Franklin Park Conservatory and Columbus Zoo. The kids even talked me into ordering Frosty’s that they could split.
Our Family’s Columbus Weekend
We had a memorable family weekend in Columbus and didn’t have to pack our passports or book plane tickets. The museums and parks in Columbus make it an ideal family vacation destination for those living in the Midwest and beyond. My kids would certainly go back in a heartbeat and hope that spending a weekend in Columbus becomes an annual tradition. Planning a trip to the Midwest? Check out our series of posts on Ohio.
Kauai has long been high on my list of destinations to visit. Having just moved from the East Coast to the West Coast last summer, a trip to Kauai suddenly became much more feasible for our family of four when it was no longer a 12+ hour journey. When time came to plan our spring break, I did some quick research and within hours had my family of four booked (flights + hotel) for a week long stay in Kauai for next to zero dollars out of pocket. A busy work schedule coupled with two kids in different schools prevented me from doing as much research as I would have liked, prior to our trip to Kauai. Thus, we ended up embarking on a relatively unscheduled and unplanned week in Kauai, with just broad notions as to what we would like to do, but not actually having activities scheduled in prior to departure. We ended up having a ast in Kauai and I would say it is one of my Top 5 Family Vacations – perhaps even Top 3! Here’s my list of things to do in Kauai with kids!
1. Shaka Guide North Shore Kauai Driving Tour
Shaka Guide offers guided GPS tours on four Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Big Island, Maui, and Kauai. In 2013, my family visited Maui with our then 4 year old and did purchase a guided CD tour of the Road to Hana. I don’t believe Shaka Guide was available at the time, but given the rave reviews online, I decided to download the Shaka Guide prior to our trip to Kauai and it turned out to be a great decision. The Shaka Guide North Shore Kauai Driving Tour provides three hours of audio guidance and although my husband was skeptical at first, it ended up introducing us to some of the highlights of our trip, including the “Gilligan’s Island” Beach and our hike down to “Secret Beach,” all of which we likely would not have found had it not been for the Shaka Guide.
Gilligan’s Island Beach; likely my favorite beach on the planet.
The walk down to Secret Beach; we followed a woman carrying a surfboard on her head because, of course we did.Secret Beach
The beaches we experienced as part of the Shaka Guide were so great that we ended up planning a whole day around a return trip to one of the featured beaches, Gilligan’s Island Beach. Our Shaka Guide tour ended up being approximately 3.5 hours, including numerous stops and hikes down to various places, like Secret Beach, so for $10, it was money well spent. Our kids enjoyed it as we were definitely off the beaten path in Kauai.
2. Kayak Hanalei Bay
One of the fun memories I have of my pre-college years is kayaking with my brothers. When I was in high school, we had some crazy kayaking adventures in Catalina Island and San Diego. Suffice it to say, kayaking is high on my list of things to do, anywhere we are, and my husband and kids have become accustomed to my building in kayaking time wherever we are.
Kayaking Hanalei Bay was one of the kayaking adventures I was really hoping to experience in Kauai. Although my four year old has kayaked with us before (usually as the middle person on a two person kayak), I didn’t know if he’d be able to go the distance as part of a larger kayaking excursion. Kayak Hanalei offer double kayak rentals at $60/day for pre-1pm rentals and at a reduced price of $45 for post-1pm rentals. After a morning spent exploring the North Shore, I decided that we might as well see how my four year old would do on the kayak. Given that it was after 1pm, we paid $90 for two, double kayak rentals, which came complete with wet bags.
He was so comfy, he fell asleep on the ride down to the confluence and had to be shaken awake
To my surprise, we had a fabulous time! We barely made it back by closing time, 5pm, as we decided to extend our little kayaking excursion from the bay to the confluence; but long story short, we saw sea turtles, disembarked to enjoy a snack (and beer for the adults), and just overall enjoyed being out on the water. I highly recommend this adventure with kids.
3. Spend the Day at the Beach
My husband and I are busy people who like to be on the go when we are on vacation. Our kids, however, can happily spend the day at the beach. We made sure to build in plenty of beach time and Kauai’s unspoiled beaches were the perfect backdrop.
To get the most of our beach days, we actually spent a few dedicated beach days going from beach to beach. Some beaches offered protected areas for snorkeling and others were just good for general lounging. We simply packed a picnic lunch, stocked up on towels from the hotel, and took off for the day. Apply sunscreen as I definitely got a bit singed one day!
4. Coffee Plantation
Lyndgate Farms chocolate farm on Kauai offers a three hour “branch to bar” tour and tasting. Knowing full well that tour wouldn’t hold my kids’ attention, we skipped right to the important part: the chocolate tasting. Lyndgate Farms offers free tasting of all its chocolates and my kids each got to pick their favorite. We purchased a number of bars and I was glad to see they came with complimentary cooler bags to keep them from melting. My kids also enjoyed swinging on the giant swing in the parking lot, before getting back in the car.
5. Attend a Luau
Although I’ve been to Hawaii a handful of times, I never attended a luau until this trip. Although hokey and probably not worth the money to experience again, I’m glad we did it this time. As an added bonus, my kids loved the fire dance.
6. Take a hike!
There are a number of great hiking opportunities in Kauai and we took full advantage of these great adventures. On a rainy morning, we took a short hike near our hotel in Kapaa, and the boys not only managed the whole thing on their own two legs, but had a great time as well.
Anyone else hearing the Jurassic Park theme song here?
7. Hawaii Shave Ice
No trip to Hawaii is complete without Hawaii Shave Ice. We happened to stumble across Jo Jo’s, a Kauai classic, after a long hike up Waimea Canyon, and were happy to partake.
8. Miniature Golf
Mini-golfing at Kauai Mini Golf, located at Anaina Hou Park is a wonderful way to spend a few hours with kids. Not only is the course littered with native plants, but my kids really enjoy mini golfing, something that we rarely get to do in the hustle and bustle of daily life.
9. Visit Waimea Canyon
We spent a full day hiking Waimea Canyon and absolutely loved the experience even with our four year old in tow. But, for those who aren’t up for the day long hike, know that there are plenty of ways to experience Waimea by car. There’s not only a great lookout near the main parking area, but we took a tour down a road (that ended up leading to a restricted military base) and climbed a random hill (yes! all four of us) where we were treated to some amazing views. Do it. You won’t regret it.
10. Sunset Cruise of the Napali Coast
Experiencing the Napali Coast was a non-negotiable item on my list of things to do in Kauai. I’m glad we were able to find a vehicle in which to do it — Captain Andy’s Na Pali Sunset Cruise. Click here for my review of Captain Andy’s Na Pali Sunset Cruise.
Our family trip to Kauai was such an amazing experience that I really think I’ll be hard pressed to ever be persuaded to go on a beach vacation somewhere else. I hope our list of things to do in Kauai with kids will help inform your trip to Kauai!
Spanning 17 miles along the North Shore of Kauai, the Napali Coast of Kauai was high on my list of things to experience. There are many ways to experience the Napali Coast, but simply driving up to it is not one of them. There are air and sea options, of course, as well as the Kalalau Trail hike, which runs along the Napali Coast and is a rough 11 mile hike. In April 2018, a massive flash flood incident resulted in the closure of many roads on the North Shore of Kauai. The roads were just beginning to open up during our visit in April 2019, but I was glad that hiking the Kalalau Trail was not an option due to road closures as the thought of even attempting an 11 mile hike with young children is not something I’m eager to do. Having done a bit of internet research, however, I quickly decided that our best bet for experiencing the Napali Coast was to book a sunset cruise. Given that one member of our party of four is not only four years old but also prone to sea sickness, I did quite a bit of internet sleuthing before deciding on Captain Andy’s. Here is my review of Captain Andy’s Na Pali Coast Sunset Cruise!
Booking:
Online booking is the easiest option and as an added bonus, the website show very clearly the number of spots left on any given day so even though I was a bit worried things would book up if I delayed too long in booking, I just simply logged in every day or so and checked to make sure there were ample tickets. I was mostly concerned about weather/rain, but about a week prior to our trip, the forecast looked clear for our first full day in Kauai so I decided to go ahead and book the trip. At $135/adult and $105/child, tickets are not cheap, but given that our hotel and flights were essentially free, I felt like we could splurge a bit on this boating excursion, despite having my concerns about how my four year old would respond to being contained on a boat for hours.
The Experience:
We arrived at the harbor at 2pm on the day of our excursion and were able to quickly check in. Each group was given a card upon check in with their boat information written on it. It turns out that Captain Andy’s has the ability to run multiple boats each evening (I believe there were four going out that evening), so we all sat around waiting for our boarding assignment to be called.
As our Captain introduced himself and walked us down to the dock, we were reminded that shoes are not permitted on board. We all took off our shoes and loaded them onto a wheeled shoe rack, before walking onto the boat. After the basic instructions were given (where to stand, where to sit, bathrooms, no picking children up, etc), the boat took off and, well, my four year old loved it.
The boat ride out to the Napali Coast took a while and we mostly just enjoyed the sea water. Once we got close to the Coast, however, the water was definitely choppy and people got wet. It’s no surprise then that alcohol and dinner is not served until the ride back to shore.
My nine year old absolutely loved the experience and stayed out front nearly the entire time. He got sprayed by water on numerous occasions, but thoroughly enjoyed being able to wander around himself. My four year old, husband, and I mostly hung out near the back of the boat as it was much calmer there, and although I did experience some motion sickness myself, my four year old was fine the entire time.
The Napali Coast itself is gorgeous and we ooohed and aaahed the entire time.
The Captain did a fantastic job of explaining various features along the coast, including where old fishing villages had been located and pointing out small waterfalls that we likely would not have noticed on our own. Once we reached the end of the coastline, we turned back for the smooth ride home.
Dinner was served buffet style and the drinks flowed readily. The crew was really top notch and my notoriously picky eater of a husband even said that the food was “not bad,” which is high praise coming from him. The crew was really great about bringing out more food when the supply got low, and they also came around and made sure to refill drinks. All in all, it was a pleasant experience and despite my concerns, we had a great time.
Final Thoughts?
I am definitely glad we experienced the Napali Coast and Captain Andy’s Na Pali Sunset Dinner Cruise was a great way to do it, given our kids. Had they been older, I likely would have explored a snorkeling or kayaking day long adventure, but there was simply no way of guaranteeing that we would be able to be on board for that long a time with our four year old (not to mention many activities have age limits that he would not have qualified for). The Sunset Dinner Cruise is advertised to last four hours and indeed, it lasted every minute of the four hours. I felt bad for one woman who had a horrible case of motion sickness and spent three of the four hours with her head in a bucket. My four year old definitely got tired and the waves helped lull him to sleep after dinner. In fact, I even found myself lying down to enjoy a little bit of shut eye on the ride back, having gotten up at 4am for conference call that morning!
Paris is often considered as one of the world’s art capitals. Not only is the Louvre located along the Seine River, but Impressionism originated with a group of Paris-based artists during the late 19th century. It is generally quite affordable for families to visit art museums in Paris because kids under 18 are almost always free. It astounded me that our admissions fees to these world-renowned museums was a fraction of what our family pays to attend local museums. As a family of art lovers, our three children have been visiting art museums since birth and love exploring galleries. Several of Paris’ art museums were on our must-see list during our last visit, but we were only able to visit three. We reached out to fellow bloggers to get the inside scoop on the ones we missed so that we could create this comprehensive guide to the best Paris art museums for kids.
#1: Louvre
The Louvre is the largest and most visited art museum in the world. As the world’s premier art museum housed in the Louvre Palace that dates back to the 12th century, it and may not seem likely to be child-friendly, but it is actually one of the most stroller-friendly museums we have ever visited. Families with strollers automatically skip the often long entry line and are ushered directly to an elevator and are permitted to use elevators throughout the Louvre that are reserved only for disabled visitors and their accompanying parties.
The building could be considered a work of art in its own right. In addition to the Louvre Palace and all of its additions, Louvre Pyramid is an iconic glass and metal pyramid that was designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and completed in 1989. The Louvre collection includes over 400,000 works and could take months to closely examine even the works currently on display. During our lovely visit with our three children last summer, we prioritized the most famous three works, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace and spent about three hours meandering through the Louvre’s highlights. Mona Lisa is much smaller than anyone expects (only about 21 inches by 30 inches!), and her paparazzi was overwhelming. Nevertheless, we still all wanted to get as up close to her famous smile as we could.
I think it’s safe to say that no visit to Paris would be complete for me without a visit to the Louvre. While I would aim to get in as soon as it opens next time and beeline for the Mona Lisa gallery first, I would never hesitate to bring kids.
Louvre Hours: The Louvre is generally open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except that it is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and closed on Mondays, May 1 and December 25.
Louvre Admission: Pre-booked time-entry tickets cost €17 or adults, and general adult admission costs €15 at the door. Kids under 18 are free.
Closest Metro Station: Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre and Pyramides
Recommended by Catherine D’Cruz from We Go With Kids. Find out more from Catherine about visiting the Louvre with kids.
#2: Musée d’Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay houses an impressive Impressionist collection of French art featuring Manet, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh Degas, Cezanne and many more. Paris was the birthplace of impressionism, and impressionist artists regularly gathered in Montmartre during the late 19th century. I sure would love to have been a fly on the wall of one of these meetings, and I felt privileged to grace the halls of these magnificent art works.
The Museum opened in 1986 in the former Gare d’Orsay, which was constructed for the 1900 World’s Fair, and the station’s three enormous clocks are spectacular works of art in their own right. Our family really loves Impressionism, and my personal favorite painter is the brilliant but troubled Vincent van Gogh, and my kids share my appreciation of his paintings. The d’Orsay was a particularly treat because it houses one of the largest collections of Van Gogh’s works outside of the Van Gogh Museum with 24 paintings. Our favorite was Starry Night Over the Rhone.
Edouard Manet, who was one of the first to incorporate blurred backgrounds and contrasting colors into his painting, is often credited as the first Impressionist artist. Several of his seminal paintings are exhibited at the d’Orsay, including Olympia and Luncheon on the Grass. Other favorites impressionist artists include Edgar Degas, who known for his focus on dance and theater. The Dance Class was a favorite of my budding ballerina.
The d’Orsay features more than 80 paintings by Claude Monet and Pierre-August Renoir each. Many are recognizable, and I can’t pass one without smiling. Both were very talented and prolific artists, so most major art museums around the world feature a handful of paintings by each, and including variations of similar paintings. While we focused on the paintings, there is also quite a significant sculpture exhibition. With such an extensive collection, it’s no surprise that the Musee d’Orsay is the 10th most visited art museum in the world with about 3.5 million visitors annually.
Musee D’Orsay Hours: The d’Orsay is generally open from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except that it is open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Thursdays and closed on Mondays, May 1 and December 25.
Musee D’OrsayAdmission: General admission costs €14 for adults, €18 if purchasing a combined admission to Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie or €21 if purchasing a combined admission to Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin. Kids under 18 are free, and the d’Orsay is free on the first Sunday of each month.
Closest Metro Station: Solferino
Recommended by Catherine D’Cruz from We Go With Kids. Find out more from Catherine about visiting the Musée d’Orsay.
#3: Musée de l’Orangerie
Musée de l’Orangerie is located between Place de la Concorde and Tulleries Gardens, just a short walk from the Louvre. The l’Orangerie features impressionist and post-impressionist art. The main attraction is unquestionably the two oval shaped rooms featuring Monet’s Nymphéas (Water Lilies). Monet helped design these two rooms in the 1920s but unfortunately died before the installation was completed. In the 1960s, a second floor was added above these galleries and obstructed natural light. Fifty years later, the l’Orangerie spent over $36 million to construct a lower level to move the exhibits on the upper floor below ground and add skylights to these ground floor galleries.
The eight curved panels built into the walls of these two galleries pop from the crisp, white walls. As a viewer, I truly felt as if I was part of the installation. My ten year old announced that these were his two “favorite rooms of art in the world.”
After exploring the Water Lilies galleries, we spent about an hour and a half exploring the other impressionist works, including works by Cézanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso and Renoir. Renoir’s Jeunes Filles au Piano reminds me of my sister and me, and I was thrilled to find one of the variations on display. The l’Orangerie might be a bit of a hidden gem, but it is definitely at the top of our must-see list for Paris.
Musée de l’Orangerie Hours: Musée de l’Orangerie is generally open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, except that it is closed on Tuesdays, May 1, the morning of July 14 and December 25.
Musée de l’OrangerieAdmission: Admission costs €9 for adults or €18 if purchasing a combined admission to Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie within three months of first entry. We purchased a combination ticket and visited the two museums on separate days. Kids under 18 are free.
Closest Metro to Musée de l’Orangerie: Concorde
Recommended by Catherine D’Cruz from We Go With Kids. Find out more from Catherine about visiting the Musée de l’Orangerie.
#4: The Centre Pompidou
With an entire floor dedicated entirely to kids, the Pompidou Center is one of our favorite museums for kids in Paris. The Pompidou Center houses France’s national library and the museum of modern art and provides an introduction for children to the works of artists from the 20th and 21st centuries including Matisse, Picasso and Warhol. In the Galeries des Enfants special trails, workshops and exhibitions aim to bring the art alive for children with creative use of digital and hands on activities. And, it is not just the kids galleries that make the Pompi (as it is affectionately called) worthwhile. The building itself is fun to explore thanks to the iconic exterior escalators and modern architecture. Outside in the Place Stravinsky families can explore the fountains and watch performances by street artists.
Pompidou Center Hours: The Pompidou Center is generally open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, except that it is closed on Tuesdays and May 1. Certain exhibits are open until 11:00 p.m. on Thursdays.
Pompidou CenterAdmission: General admission costs €14 for adults. Kids under 18 are free, and the Center is free on the first Sunday of each month.
Pompidou Center Visitor Tip: There are strollers available for young children to use during their visit, which makes it easy to wheel around tired little legs.
Closest Metro Stops to the Pompidou Center: Rambuteau Hotel de Ville or Chatelet
Recommended by Katy Clarke from Untold Morsels. Find out more about Paris from Katy.
#5: The Rodin Museum
Our first visit to Europe included a fantastic five days in Paris. Our three kids were young at the time, just 5, 7 and 10. We had no idea that those little ones would love the museums of Paris. Each day, we’d visit one, sometimes large, sometimes small, and each time, they found something special to enjoy. Their favorite was a museum that I hadn’t heard much about before researching our visit: The Rodin Museum. We only visited the Sculpture Garden, but it remains one of their favorite European museums. With incredible sculptures intermixed in beautiful rose gardens, this park-like setting turned into a mini photo shoot of our three little one’s trying to recreate Rodin’s creations with their little bodies. It started on arrival as our three littles sat in front of The Thinker and recreated the famous pose. It continued as we wandered through the beautiful gardens with each and every life-size sculpture. Incredibly, many of Rodin’s pieces include three people, just like them! It was so much fun that we spent hours there, moving from one new piece of art to another, enjoying time on a bench or roaming the gardens along our way. For families looking for a relaxing few hours where the kids, of any age, can learn to enjoy and interact with artistic works, this is an ideal place. Just don’t forget a camera!!
Rodin Museum Hours: The Rodin Museum is generally open on daily from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. except that it is closed on Mondays, January 1, May 1 and December 25.
Rodin Museum Admission: General admission costs €12 for adults. A combined ticket with the Musee d’Orsay costs €21. Kids under 18 are free, and the Center is free on the first Sunday of each month.
Closest Metro Stops to the Rodin Museum: Varenne or Invalides
#6: Musée de Cluny – The National Museum of the Middle Ages
The Cluny Museum in Paris is one of the most underrated museums in the city. Also known as the Musée de Cluny – The National Museum of the Middle Ages, this museum has everything from Roman artifacts to Medieval tapestries. The collection is housed inside a 15th century mansion in the Latin Quarter and the building itself is as much of an attraction as the relic inside.
We visited with our three kids as part of a Context Travel Paris tour uncovering Roman history in Paris. Inside the Cluny Museum are the most magnificent Roman baths and frigidarium dating to the 2nd century. The collection also includes the famous tapestry “The Lady and the Unicorn”, Gothic Rooms, the Abbot’s Chapel, a treasury, and beautiful outdoor gardens to explore. I would highly recommend booking a family friendly tour at the Cluny as there is a ton to take in, but it is definitely worth a stop on a family visit to Paris.
Cluny Museum Hours: The Cluny Museum is generally open from 9:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. daily, except that it is closed on Tuesdays, January 1, May 1 and December 25.
Cluny MuseumAdmission: Admission costs €9 during temporary exhibitions €5 outside of temporary exhibitions. Kids under 18 are free, and the Cluny Museum is also free on the first Sunday of each month.
Closest Metros to the Cluny Museum: Cluny-La Sorbonne, Saint-Michel or Odeon
Recommended by Kirsten Maxwell from Kids Are A Trip. Find out more from Kirsten about Context Tours in Paris.
#7: Musée du quai Branly
Quai Branly Museum in Paris is a space dedicated to arts of non-Western civilizations. Designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel, it displays artifacts, costumes and precious handcraft objects of the main civilizations divided by continents. Quai Branly Museum also has a theater, a reading room, a cinema, two restaurants, and a bookstore. It also proposes interesting temporary exhibitions regularly. This museum is great for families because of the exciting design of the building and the surrounding spaces and also for its educational side. After crossing its famous vegetal wall facing the Seine River, the building is located in the heart of a wooded savanna. From there, visitors have a great perspective of Haussmannian apartments, and kids can explore the hidden treasures of the garden. The spaces inside are linked by a spectacular ramp, a kind of spine for the building, which makes the arrival to the main exhibition space very exciting. The collections are very interactive and utilize different media, which is great for keeping the kids interested and entertained at the same time.
Quai Branly Museum Hours: The Quai Branly Museum is generally open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m and generally closed on Mondays.
Quai Branly Museum Admission: General admission costs €10 for adults. Kids under 18 are free, and the Center is free on the first Sunday of each month.
Closest Metro to the Quai Branly Museum: Alma-Marceau
Paris Atelier des Lumières is one of the most kid-friendly museums in Paris. It offers a very creative way to appreciate the art masterpieces from famous artists like Van Gogh, Monet and others. The whole museum spreads over with over 30,000 square feet of gallery space equipped with modern multimedia tools to create the stunning effects on the way artworks appear to the stage. Once stepping into this museum, kids do not only feel movement of the painting but also indulge in the sounds of nature like they are witnessing the real landscape.
From one corner to another, all the changes are carefully designed to make sure even the less artistic-genre person still feel attracted. Atelier des Lumières is simply a perfect choice for an educational visit. Families will not feel regret with their dedicated exhibition!
I remember the huge impression that l’Espace Dalí made on me when I visited at the age of 15, but I was easy game. I was already in love with Salvador Dalí’s quirky paintings and sculpture at that time. Some 25 years later, I brought my girls to the recently refurbished and renamed Dalí Paris, and sure enough, they loved it too, just as I had. The Dali Museum houses the biggest collection of his work in Paris, including some fabulous bronzes with my favorite Space Elephant and of course his melting clocks.
Dalí Paris is located on Montmartre, just a few steps from the main square with its open air displays of paintings. We recommend visiting Sacré Coeur Basilica first, then wander the Montmartre streets and save Dalí for the climax.
Dali Museum Hours: The Dali Museum is generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during June, July and August.
Dali Museum Admission: General admission costs €12 for adults and €9 for visitors age 9-26. Kids under 8 are free.
Closest Metro Stations to the Dali Museum: Anvers, Abbesses or Lamarck-Caulaincourt
Paris is an art-lover’s dream with so many art museums. These museums may not seem child-friendly, but kids are truly welcome and find delight in the beauty of some of the world’s most famous masterpieces that span from antiquities to impressionism to contemporary art. As an added bonus, kids are free at almost all of these museums. Find out more about visiting Paris with kids.
London may not be known as a budget city for travelers but offers seemingly infinite free attractions. In addition to iconic landmarks like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Nelson’s Column, Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace, there are many free museums, including four that are among the world’s top ten most visited museums each year. Exhibits in these museums include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon frieze, Apollo 10, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Darwin’s specimens, the world’s largest portrait collection and the remains of the London Wall from about 200 A.D. With so much variety, there really are free museums in London for everyone. Our family barely scratched the surface of London’s museums during our three trips there with kids but have been lucky to visit a few of London’s amazing museums as a family without paying any admissions fees. To round out our list, we asked some fellow travel bloggers for recommendations for the best free London museums for kids:
Free Museums in South Kensington
#1: London’s Natural History Museum
My kids really enjoy natural history and have visited natural history museums in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.London’s Natural History Museum definitely did not disappoint. The cathedral-like building in South Kensington is stunning, and we were greeted by Dippy, a diplodocus skeleton featured in Hitze Hall, the main hall of the museum. This dinosaur reminded us of Sue, the T-Rex featured in the Field Museum’s main hall. We were excited to learn that the cast of Dippy was a gift from Andrew Carnegie at the request of Edward VII. Since our visit to London, we’ve seen the original skeleton on display at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Replacing iconic main hall dinosaurs seems to be a recent trend in natural history museums. Just as Sue was replaced at the Field Museum with a cast of Maximo, a titanosaur, and the world’s largest dinosaur skeleton in 2018, Dippy was replaced with Hope, a blue whale’s skeleton in 2017. While Dippy was quite a centerpiece, one of the biggest takeaways from our trip to London’s Natural History Museum was that the blue whale is the world’s largest animal. So, my boys would probably approve of the change. Admittedly, it must be easier to photograph Hope, who is suspended from the ceiling, without getting scores of other visitors in the shot as we found when trying to photograph Dilly. We can’t wait to see Hope, whose installation is shown on this time-lapse video.
The Dinosaur Gallery one-ups the other dinosaur exhibits we have visited by adding animatronics. The enormous animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex is the highlight of the exhibit. Visitors stand in a line (which is known as a queue in London) that eventually inches past the T-Rex.
The Natural History Museum was originally designed to house the British Museum’s natural history collection, particularly Charles Darwin’s samples, so there are plenty of animal specimens. My younger son got up close and personal with the lion exhibit. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and highly recommend London’s Natural History Museum for kids of all ages.
London’s Natural History Museum Admission: There is no general admission to visit London’s Natural History Museum, but some temporary exhibits do require an admission fee.
London’s Natural History Museum Hours: London’s Natural History Museum is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Closest Underground Stop to London’s Natural History Museum: South Kensington
#2: London’s Science Museum
Kids who have a passing interest in space travel, experiments, technology or transport would love London’s Science Museum. It’s the best London museum for kids, and visitors can explore free exhibits including some of the most iconic objects created over the past 250 years – from Apollo 10 to the first Apple computer as well as the first submarine. While the Museum is free, visitors can also purchase tickets for the WonderLab to take part in live experiments at the Chemistry Bar or watch 3D IMAX movie features on space travel and natural phenomena. The Science Museum is a great place to visit on a cold and rainy day thanks to the play area for smaller kids on the lower level.
London’s Science Museum Admission: There is no general admission to visit London’s Science Museum, but donations are welcome, and tickets are required for special exhibits and the IMAX cinema.
London’s Science Museum Hours: The Science Museum is generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily and closed December 24-26.
Closest Underground Stop to London’s Science Museum: South Kensington
Recommended by Katy Clarke from Untold Morsels. Find out more from Katy about 3 days in London.
#3: Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum, one of South Kensington’s Big Three free museums, is purely dedicated to art and design. It’s not as immediately child-friendly as its neighbors, the Natural History Museum and Science Museum. There are no dinosaurs or flight simulators here, but it does have daily free activities and events for children. Kids age 5 to 12 can borrow a backpack of activities to help them explore the Museum’s while paper trails and hands-on discovery areas help to bring the exhibits to life. Pop-up performances and making sessions appear on weekends and school holidays, too. But another important feature is the John Madejski Garden, an outdoor courtyard in the heart of the Museum. On sunny days, families gather around the pond to eat packed lunches and relax or purchase ice-cream and refreshments in the Garden Café. If it’s a less sunny day, the V&A’s main café is a historic work of art in its own right!
Victoria and Albert Museum Admission: There is no general admission to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, but there is a separate admission charge for some exhibitions and events, which may require advance booking.
Victoria and Albert Museum Hours: The Victoria & Albert Museum is generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Fridays. The Victoria & Albert is closed December 24-26.
Closest Underground Stop to the Victoria and Albert Museum: South Kensington
London’s National Gallery is located in Trafalgar Square and houses a relatively small collection of about 2,300 paintings, almost all are world-famous and on permanent display. The National Gallery is the fourth most visited art museum in the world with over six million visitors annually. The Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum are the only more popular art museums.
The Gallery’s entrances are located off of Trafalgar Square. We used the side entrance, which is more stroller friendly than the beautiful main entrance. Our focus was the Impressionist Gallery that holds some of the world’s most famous paintings by Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh. Monet’s paintings on exhibit here include Gare St. Lazare and The Water-Lily Pond. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers is one of the most recognizable paintings on exhibit. Van Gogh only created about 800 oil paintings in his life, including several variations of these sunflowers. Similar versions are displayed in the Van Gogh Museum and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, which purchased Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers for about $40 million in 1987, which was a record at the time. When considering those amounts, it’s hard to believe that Van Gogh relied on his brother for financial support during his lifetime.
Our budding artist was very interested in Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Our boys were particularly fascinated by Georges Seurat’s massive Bathers at Asnières. Seurat masterfully uses pointillism, a painting technique that uses small, distinct dots of varying colors to form an image. It’s much harder to see how the patterns of dots form an image when observing the painting up close, and the boys learned to step back to see the image more clearly. While we were not able to explore the entire National Gallery, this is definitely a museum that we could visit again and again.
London’s National Gallery Admission: There is no general admission to visit the National Gallery, but some temporary exhibits do require an admissions fee.
London’s National Gallery Hours: London’s National Gallery is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily and from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Fridays. The National Gallery is closed on January 1 and December 24-26.
Closest Underground Stops to London’s National Gallery: Charing Cross and Leicester Square
#5: London’s National Portrait Gallery
When London’s National Portrait Gallery opened in 1856, it was the world’s first portrait gallery. The National Portrait Gallery now contains the world’s most extensive portrait collection with approximately 200,000 works. The collection most notably includes portraits of important, famous and royal Brits, including members of the royal family, celebrities, politicians, artists and writers. Visitors have the chance to view history through portraits, photographs and sculptures arranged chronologically from 1500s to modern-day.
King Henry VIII is one of the most infamous Brits and is featured in the center of the bottom row below. After their visit to the Tower of London, our boys were particularly excited to check out this royal portrait wall.
We loved learning about history and art at London’s National Portrait Gallery and recommend it for all family travelers.
London’s National Portrait Gallery Admission: There is no general admission fee to visit London’s National Portrait Gallery, but some temporary exhibits do require an admissions fee.
London’s National Portrait Gallery Hours: London’s National Portrait Gallery is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Fridays. The National Gallery is closed on December 24-26.
Closest Underground Stops to London’s National Portrait Gallery: Charing Cross and Leicester Square
Free Museums in Bloomsbury
#6: British Museum
The British Museum allows visitors to journey through time and around the world, without leaving London. While most people visit for the Ancient Egyptian exhibit and to see the Rosetta stone, there’s much more. Visitors can use the regular audio-guide for a more formal experience or the interactive family guide to play games throughout the Museum. With either guide, everyone will love learning about the burial rituals of Egypt, seeing hundreds of natural history specimens in the library and looking up at the Maori from the mysterious Easter Island. This is a museum where visitors could spend days properly discovering it all or skim the surface in only a few hours.
British Museum Admission: There is no admission charge for the British Museum.
British Museum Hours: The British Museum is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The British Museum is closed on January 1 and December 24-26.
Closest Underground Stations to the British Museum: Barbican and St. Paul’s
The Museum of London is a fascinating and beautifully presented introduction to the city itself. It is located north of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and its permanent galleries describe a timeline from prehistory to the present day, and special temporary exhibitions take angles – recent and current examples range from the story of London’s secret rivers to the impact that animals from lions to bees have had in the city’s story. We learned that London was the richest and most populous city in the world one century ago.
My kids were of course fascinated by the disgusting “Fatberg!” story of London’s sewer blockage, and my husband loves the Museum mostly because it is in the Barbican, which is either a wonderful icon of architectural history or the most repugnant set of concrete tower-blocks on the planet, depending on the viewer.
Museum of London Admission: There is no admission charge for the Museum of London.
Museum of London Hours: The Museum of London is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Closest Underground Stations to the Museum of London: Barbican and St. Paul’s
The Tate Modern is the sixth most visited art museum in the world and houses modern and contemporary art from the 20th and 21st centuries in a former power station. Unlike most art museums, which are presented chronologically, the Tate Modern is organized by themes. We last visited in 2015, and a 10-story addition opened two years later in 2017.
Displays change frequently, and many exhibits come from the Tate Collection, which includes the United Kingdom’s national collection of British Art. The expansive Turbine Hall can showcase large-scale work. London’s Tate Modern is an extremely kid-friendly art museum. The website has a special page dedicated to visiting families that explicitly states that women are welcome to nurse wherever they feel comfortable – which is exactly what I did while the boys explored the interactive building area.
Amazing interactive building exhibit
The view of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Thames and the Millennium Bridge from the balcony should not be missed. The Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that was completed in 2000 to connect the Tate Modern to St. Paul’s Cathedral, but an unexpected sway required it to close almost as soon as it was opened and undergo almost two more years of additional modifications.
Tate Modern Admission: There is no general admission to the Tate Modern, but donations are welcome.
Tate Modern Hours: The Tate Modern is generally open Sundays through Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily and Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Closest Underground Stop to the Tate Modern: Southwark and St Paul’s
Free Museum in Forest City
#9: Horniman Museum and Gardens
Opened in 1901, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in Southeast London is a brilliant free and child-friendly museum. The Horniman houses artifacts procured by Frederick John Horniman on his world travels in the 19th century. Aside from the aquarium and special exhibitions, all galleries and parks are free to enter.
Toddlers will love the music room where they can beat African drums and experiment with unusual Asian instruments. The main gallery contains hundreds of taxidermy animals from across the world. Children especially adore the famous gigantic stuffed walrus. It’s an amazing place to learn about other cultures and to inspire a love of nature.
Every day, free workshops for children are offered to those who register at the front desk. The attached Horniman Gardens are beautiful with views over London, farm animals, a music laboratory for children and a stunning conservatory. In the summer, it’s easy to spend a whole day in the museum and gardens.
Horniman Museum and Gardens Admission: There is no admission charge for the Horniman Museum and Gardens.
Horniman Museum and Gardens Hours: The Horniman Museum is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and closed December 24-26. The Horniman Garden closing times vary by season.
My favorite place to visit whenever we’re in London is the Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road. This area is great with its many restaurants and upscale shopping, and it’s the perfect place to house a contemporary art gallery. I find that modern art is easier to keep the kids’ attention than the more traditional galleries, it’s bigger, brighter and sometimes they can touch it! My daughter loves visiting the Saatchi as much as I do to see its ever-changing exhibits.
The Saatchi sometimes holds child friendly workshops and talks, their ethos is to make modern art accessible to all so children are very welcome. Previous exhibits have included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, and the Saatchi in constantly showcasing, new, little known artists. Just think, it’s possible to introduce kids to the next big thing in the art world! Some exhibits are not so child friendly so I would check the website before visiting and avoid these areas. Most exhibits are not roped off so keep an eye on young children to ensure they’re not touching the artwork although some pieces are interactive such as the multimedia installations.
Because the rooms are spacious and clean, it’s easy to get around the Saatchi with a stroller. There’s also a lovely open space at the front of the Gallery for the kids to burn off some energy either before or after a visit.
Saatchi Gallery Admission: There is no general admission to the Tate Modern, but donations are welcome.
Saatchi Gallery Hours: Generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closest Underground Stop to the Saatchi Gallery: Sloan Square
Our favorite part of The Carle was probably the Art Studio. Like many moms, I’m ecstatic when my kids have the opportunity to create art in a bright studio with all the materials already prepared and ready to go. We worked on animal collages. As we worked on our projects, five or six other families came into the studio, and there was plenty of room for everyone.
Because we live in the suburbs, our kids loved the opportunity to spend a day outside hiking.
We also enjoyed the 
Anyone else hearing the Jurassic Park theme song here?
9. Visit Waimea Canyon
I think it’s safe to say that no visit to Paris would be complete for me without a visit to the Louvre. While I would aim to get in as soon as it opens next time and beeline for the Mona Lisa gallery first, I would never hesitate to bring kids.
After exploring the Water Lilies galleries, we spent about an hour and a half exploring the other impressionist works, including works by Cézanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso and Renoir. Renoir’s Jeunes Filles au Piano reminds me of my sister and me, and I was thrilled to find one of the variations on display. The l’Orangerie might be a bit of a hidden gem, but it is definitely at the top of our must-see list for Paris.
