Exploring Dallas History with Kids

Dallas isn’t just cowboys, the Cowboys, and Texas BBQ. As one of the oldest cities in the state, Dallas is steeped in local history. Best of all for parents, most exhibits in and around Dallas honoring the region’s history are free or low-cost for all.

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See Founders Plaza: Located downtown in a unassuming park area, Founders Plaza showcases a replica of Dallas founder John Neely Bryan’s original settler’s cabin. Kids can see a map of the county circa the 1800s here, and in Pioneer Plaza, families can view a monument of bronze steer, representing the many animals driven along the Shawnee Trail during the 1850s.

Spend an entire day at Dallas Heritage Village: Located in Old City Park, this 19th-century Texas ‘town’ an historic Main Street surrounded by almost 40 beautifully restored buildings, dating from 1840 to 1910. Families can walk through Heritage Village on their own using self-guided tours, stopping to take in living history presentations by costumed staff. We love the doctor’s office (always interesting to see how injuries and illness used to be treated!), the train depot, and of course, the schoolhouse. Kids can go inside buildings, talk with re-enactors, and even dress up. A petting zoo is included in the ‘local’ farm just outside the town proper, and the general store encourages play, allowing kids to try the cash register (watch out…you’ll need to do calculations in your head instead of on a phone!). Purchases come in brown paper tied with string, and candies and soda pop for sale are all the old-fashioned favorites. While in the village, be sure to stop in at the old Millermore Mansion for a tour. Kids will see how ‘the other half’ lived a century ago.

Learn about Kennedy at Dealey Plaza: For some of us, only one generation stands between us and the event of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. To kids, it’s ancient history, which is one reason to take school-aged kids through this national historic landmark district. Located at the site of the assassination, Dealey Plaza and the rest of this district is home to several sites, including the Texas School Book Depository, Sixth Floor Museum (located within the depository building), and Pillars of Unity. The Sixth Floor Museum tells the story of Kennedy with the most details, but is still appropriate for most kids. There is a fee for the museum, but the district itself, including the park, is free to tour; pick up a self-guided map.

Step inside a cathedral: Teach kids about history and architecture at the same time while touring the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady Guadalupe. This gothic building stands out in Dallas, as one of the last examples of high Victorian gothic design. Admission is free, and tours are self-guided when the cathedral is not in session for worship (this is a working church with congregation).

See a very old cemetery: Not many kids have walked the grounds of a pre-Civil War cemetery. Instead of creepy or disturbing, cemeteries can be good historical tools, if parents present them as such. The Freedman’s Cemetery Memorial, located downtown, pays homage to former freed slaves, buried in what was called a ‘freedman’s town’. Parents can teach kids the ground they stand on was once a community, and explain how this memorial honors the people who did not get the recognition they deserved during their lifetime. Admission is free.

Where do you go in Dallas to learn about history?

Photo credit

Medalta Historic Clay District, Medicine Hat

If you’re traveling through Medicine Hat, Alberta, as we were during Day 2 of the Great Coast Road Trip (in partnership with Coast Hotels…check it out!) make a stop at Medalta. This 150-acre Canadian National Historic Site houses the historic ceramic factory and beehive kilns of Medalta in a one-of-a-kind museum.

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Families can tour the site by guided self-tour: eight galleries take you through the process of ceremics-making (sorry for the unofficial term) from the gathering of clay from the banks of the nearby South Saskatchewan River to the glazing and packaging of finished wares. We entered the museum with no particular interest or knowledge of pottery or ceramics, but it didn’t matter: this museum is well done and drew us in.

The first few galleries explain the history of the building itself, and its glory days as a factory. The exhibits are very kid-friendly and accessible. The next section takes visitors through the old factory interior (you can look at equipment but not touch), and a video describes the entire process followed by factory workers. The last galleries showcase the various wares the factory produced during its heyday, including dinnerware for hotels, restaurants, and the railroad. This was the most interesting section for us: we had no idea Medalta had contracts for POW camps, soldiers on the front line, and baby dinnerware products I remembered from my childhood.

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You can walk inside a kiln, and on select days, watch potters at the wheel. There is a courtyard outside for restless kids or after-visit picnics. The museum isn’t particularly toddler or baby-friendly; we’d recommend this attraction for kids 8 and up. If we were in the area longer (or local), their pottery workshops and summer classes would definitely be on our must-do list.

Date last visited:

May 2014

Distance from the interstate:

About ten minutes from Trans Canada Highway 1.

Admission:

Adults are $12 and kids (6-17) are $10. Their family rate is $30 (for two adults and two kids).

Hours of operation:

Summer hours are 9:30 am to 5 pm daily. Off-season hours vary; check hours of operation before you arrive.

Directions:

Located at 713 Medalta Ave SE. This site is very well marked; signs will point the way from the highway!

Read more about our road trip through the Wild West of Alberta!

Winsport Calgary Olympic Park and Sports Hall of Fame

During the winter and summer months, the Calgary Olympic Park is the place to be for outdoor sports and recreation. Winter is the park’s main season with skiing and snowboarding, cross country skiing, hockey and skating. Visitors can even try a bobsled ride. In summer, the park transforms into a playground with ropes courses, zip lines, mountain biking, mini golf, and tours from the ski jump towers (for amazing views).

olympic-park

But what if you visit during the fall or spring? We stopped by in May, during which the snow was melting and the summer activities hadn’t ramped up yet. We spent our time in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, located adjacent to the park. This large indoor museum houses exhibits on all the inductees to Canada’s sporting hall of fame, but even if you’re not very knowledgeable about Canadian athletics, it’s worth the price of admission.

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There are galleries within the hall celebrating many sports: hockey is represented of course, as are other Canadian favorites like curling, downhill skiing, and Canadian football, but so are baseball, rowing, cycling, basketball, and boxing. In each gallery, interactive exhibits offer either a film, a chance to demo equipment (try your hand at rowing!), or a simulator (learn how to curl).

My kids spent the most time at the multi-sports simulator, which let them hit real hockey pucks, soccer balls, and footballs at a screen that tested their accuracy, speed, and the like. A movie plays regularly in the theater, giving an overview on Canadian sports achievements. The Calgary Games are featured prominently throughout the hall, of course. There’s a particularly great short film on Canadian hockey.

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You’ll need about an hour to tour the museum. On fair-weather days when the attractions at the park are open, it may not be worth your time, but for the shoulder seasons or during poor weather, this is definitely a place to check out.

Admission:

We opted for a family admission of $30 (two adults and two kids). Otherwise, admission is $12 for adults and $8 for kids.

sports-hall-of-fame

Hours:

The hall is closed Mondays, and open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Directions:

The hall is located at 169 Canada Olympic Road SW, next to the Canada Olympic Park. It’s about 20 minutes from downtown Calgary.

We toured Sports Hall of Fame on our Great Coast Road Trip with Coast Hotels. Read more about our road trip through the Wild West of Alberta!

Photo credit: Amy Whitley and Flickr/DavidWilson

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

Located in scenic Balboa park San Diego, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center offers hands-on science fun in a open-layout, easy-to-navigate facility. The museum is actually smaller than it looks on the outside, and for our family, that was just fine by us. With four kids in tow from age 4-14, we were thankful for the manageable size and open layout of the space. There are two floors: downstairs houses exhibits with live demonstrations, such as the popular drone exhibit, hands-on mind games and machine-based science, plus a great exhibit on the human body. There’s a great ‘Tinkering Lab’ where older kids can create projects of their own as well.

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Upstairs is the ‘Play City’ for kids five and under, which is a full room of imaginative play pieces such as a grocery store, fire truck, and the like. Older kids can enter if playing and interacting with younger siblings or friends (in our experience). The upstairs section also features an interesting exhibit on the history and physics of the guitar, which older kids especially will enjoy. For an admission add-on, there’s an IMAX theater on-site.

Tip: Combine a visit with a stop at the Natural History Museum, located directly adjacent. Start your day at either museum, and eat a picnic lunch at the fountain between the two as a break. Each museum can be toured in about two hours.

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Date last visited:

April 2, 2014

Distance from the interstate:

Balboa Park is an easy drive from I-5 or I-805.

Hours and admission:

The museum is generally open 10 am to 5 pm (but hours alter slightly during school holidays, etc). Admission is only $13 for adults and $11 for children (3-12).

Directions:

The museum is located at 1875 El Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego.

Photo credit: Pit Stops for Kids and Port of San Diego

Beyond the San Diego Zoo: three Balboa Park museums you’ve overlooked

Over 20 museums and family attractions await kids at Balboa Park in San Diego, but I bet you’ve only heard of a few of them, the famous San Diego Zoo most likely one of them. While families need days to see them all (and hours to see some), the following three Balboa Park museums for kids you’ve overlooked include:

Museum of Man:

Museum of Man

Before touring the Museum of Man, I didn’t have a clear concept of what this museum contains. Since many families might feel the same, here’s my unofficial take: the Museum of Man is one part archeology museum and one part natural history museum. Plus, it has an excellent (though small) children’s section off the upper floor. This set of rooms have space with marketplaces and household items for kids to play in and dress up with.

museum of man

The main floor of the museum currently houses an exhibit on ancient Mayans, and upstairs is space for a primate exhibit, plus a wing on ancient Egypt, complete with mummies and naturally preserved remains (parents are warned at the door). A temporary exhibit space is across the street; at the time of my visit, it housed a fascinating–though not for kids–exhibit on the history of torture.

The museum is smaller than most, but what exhibits it does have are very well done.

Museum of Photographic Arts:

Sometimes, kids will rebel against a traditional art museum, but love photography galleries. If this might be the case with your children, consider a stop at the Museum of Photographic Arts. We loved that the manageable galleries showcased only a handful of photographers, and that each introduced the artist and his or her take on the subject. There’s a great social photography experiment with abandoned or discarded instant photo prints stretching across one wall, and at the time of our visit, a wonderful exhibit by San Diego’s kids showcased what youth in the city deem ‘their San Diego’. You can tour the museum in just about an hour.

Museum of Art:

We love a museum with lots of family free days and art activities, and the San Diego Museum of Art has both. When you enter, look for the kids activity books just past the front desk; kids can go on a scavenger hunt around the museum, which makes their visit instantly more fun.

A kids’ art studio is located downstairs across from the stairwell, staffed most days by artists who help kids make creations of their own. Upstairs, collections of European and American art from realists to impressionists reign, with Baroque among the most prominent. Like the other museums on this list, the Museum of Art is not overwhelmingly large by any means, and can be toured by most families in under one hour.

If you have more time:

Botanical building

The San Diego Air and Space Museum is a solid pick for a half-day excursion, and the San Diego Natural History Museum is the place to be with animal-loving kids.

Have just a few extra minutes?

botanicals
A great place to head before catching a cab or trolley, or for a picnic lunch is the free Botanical Building and lily ponds. Located adjacent to the Museum of Art, this building is open to the Southern California air and a welcome escape from the bustle of the museums.

Getting around:
Park the car and forget about it! Once in the park, access everything via the free tram. Balboa Park’s tram system operates daily 8:30 am to 6 pm. The second stop is the Visitor’s Center, a good starting point to head out on foot.

How to get to Balboa Park:
Driving, park in Inspiration Point lot. As an alternative to hunting down parking, consider getting to the park via the Old Town Trolley tour. You’ll want to plan to spend the whole day hopping on and off this sightseeing trolley to get your money’s worth, but it’s time well-spent in parts of the city you’ll want to visit anyway.

Educational Travel for kids: Orlando beyond the theme parks

When most families think of Orlando, two words come to mind: theme parks. We understand; after all, we offer Disney World tips for families and reviews of Disney attractions. However, families looking for educational travel ideas,  whether as pit stops en route elsewhere on Florida vacations, or during an Orlando vacation, will find much to engage kids’ minds. At the following Orlando attractions, Mickey may be absent, but fun is present and accounted for.

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Orlando Wonderworks:

The building of the Orlando location for the Wonderworks chain of kid zones is upside-down…a sure sign that kids rule at this indoor play-and-imagination-mecca. Kids will immediately think Wonderworks is all about fun, but with over 100 interactive exhibits on science, perspective, and technology, they’re learning more than is let on. When they do catch on that lessons are being imparted, there’s always laser tag for ‘recess’. Admission is $24 ($19 for kids) but is not all-inclusive…be prepared to spend more. Located centrally on International Drive.

Orlando Science Center:

It’s tough being a science center in the theme park capital of the world…Orlando Science Center has steep competition for kids’ attention. However, once here, yours will most likely not want to leave. With an interactive Sesame Street exhibit for toddlers and preschoolers and science labs and a science ‘park’ for older kids, everyone will be occupied. Located on 777 E. Princeton Street, admission is $19 for adults and $13 for kids…a tad lower than your standard theme park admission costs. Read reviews of the Orlando Science Center.

Orange Country Regional History Center:

Need a new perspective on Orlando after too much stimulation, creative landscaping, and ‘experiences’? The History Center shows kids what Orlando looked like before Disney, starting with natural history and native plants and animals, then progressing through First People, First Contact, and pioneering history. And yes, there’s a permanent exhibit on Walt, too. The building is big and bright, and families get the feeling of being out-of-doors while still enjoying the A/C. Located at 65 East Central Blvd, the museum does close at 5 pm daily. General admission is $12 for adults and $9 for kids.

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Gatorland:

Orlando’s Gatorland is more than just a thrill for families who like to get up-close and personal with huge reptiles. Kids learn about swamps, alligator breeding programs, and alligator habits. Their Adventure Hour takes kids even closer to the action, and is only $10 per person more. Yes, there are also zip lines, making Gatorland more like a theme park than a zoo, but families spending a half-day here will come away with a decent education. Admission is $27 for adults (13 and up) and $19 for kids, and the park closes at 5 pm. Parking is free. Read reviews of Gatorland.

Not staying on theme park property? Find Orlando accommodations at Trivago.com.

Photo credit: Brian Marshall and Jim Moore