field trip!
 

Let's talk about fun places to take our kids.

I love getting my kids psyched up to go somewhere cool. They're so appreciative. Friday we took our 3 & 5 year olds to the Crayola Factory in Easton, Pa. They had a pretty good time. I think it would have been better if we'd gone earlier, cuz the place was pretty messy by the time we got there. They have a bunch of different areas where the employees assist the kids with different projects like finger puppets and imprinting. they have 2 mini animation studios, crayon making demonstrations, and model magic workshops. i'm playing with some of that right now.....

So where have you taken your kids lately that was fun?

When they were younger (ages 2-10 or so) we used to hop on the "water taxi" that moves throughout the Baltimore Harbor. Not to go anyplace in particular -- just to ride around.

This afternoon we're going ice skating. With 20 of my youngest daughter's friends. 12 of whom have never skated before. Film at 11.

These are all places I've gone to with my friend's kids in the last couple years.

The Aquarium ... Camden or Baltimore, depending on the kids' tolerance for rides. It's better if you do the Baltimore thing as an overnight trip.

Franklin Institute

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Elmwood Park Zoo (not as hectic as going to Phila, decent selection of animails)

Pow-Wow. Indians, Dancing, Drumming and Fry Bread. Kids love it. There is a Cherokee Nation Pow-Wow in Ambler over memorial day weekend. It's one of the best in the area. There are others, including on Belmont Plateau in Phila, usually in August. The Lenape Indian Museum in Allentown also has a small pow wow several times a year ... the roasting ears of corn festival is the best one, because of the roasted corn.

Around these parts, its the American Museum of Natural History that is the children's mecca. This place is huge, and it has dinosaurs. From Philli I think New York is about two hours drive.

Simple, but even as an adult (well, I'm still a child mentally) I enjoyed going to the local Krispy Kreme and going on the tour. Yes, most Krispy Kremes offer tours so you can see the frying machine up close and witness the making of all that is unhealthy and tasty.

Ask your local airport if they give tours. Tampa International does if you call them ahead of time and its free -- its part of a "seeing your tax dollars at work" program. They take you along the runways, let you watch the planes, operate the firetruck (lots of buttons! woo!) and explain the general workings of the facility, hangers, etc. Another internal tour that I haven't taken, yet, shows the luggage sorting system and security equipment. These tours still happen despite security elevations with the only change being that they don't take you into the tower, anymore.

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I can't quite explain the awe felt when we got to be directly under a landing plane.

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The "snozzle", which is pushed through the skin of a flaming aircraft to inject water. We were permitted to play with the controls for it.

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Buttons!

Right, Kit.

Free fun in Philly.

skating update
 

40 thumbs up for the skating party, an not a single concussion! LJ, there were kids as young as 3 whizzing around, clutching little walker-like devices made of PVC pipe which skimmed over the ice and kept the kids upright. I, however, was too embarrassed to request one in my size.

I especially enjoy taking my son to the zoo. We have the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo nearby (with a great giraffe exhibit, you can get right up next to them and even feed them!), and the Denver Zoo, which has a great primate exhibit.

The mountains are always a good option. Taking a picnic up there and doing some exploring, though thats best left for warmer wather. Otherwise, we all really enjoy a nice quiet mountain drive.

Target. Jamey loves going to Target with me, It's our "favit store". Mostly because he knows going there usually includes him getting a new hot wheels car.

We went to the Children's Museum a while back. Lots of neat things to see and do. Unfortunately, this was just after Jamey had learned to walk up and down stairs. And they had plenty of stairs.