Educational Trips for Kids - Parents Welcome.

Many families opt for vacations with an educational element, which has become a popular option in recent years. Choosing a vacation that everyone in your family will enjoy can be difficult, depending on your children’s interests and ages. Find out what inspires your child and use that as a starting point to plan the perfect educational trip. Let your children have a say in where they go. The fact that you asked them to participate will boost their confidence. Planning a trip is a great family bonding activity. 

Sky Castle, 2018.

It’s Science

• The MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts will spark little curious minds. Journey through the history of artificial intelligence and the research that brought it to life—Marvel at kinetic sculptures and high-tech robots. Take part in an interactive science workshop with topics such as building better bridges taught by students from the institute.

• Children’s Museum of Houston encourages the next generations to protect the virtual universe with math and critical-thinking skills. Specifically, the CyberChase exhibit, where children learn to write code to solve boggling puzzles. 

Photo credit: Wide Open Pets

By Land or By Sea

• Consider a Farm Stay Vacation. Learn what it’s like to care for a working farm like Verdant View Farms in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Each morning begins with a family-style farm breakfast at 7:30 am, then kids will join a farmhand to learn how to milk goats, feed chickens, and claves. Workshops like Artisan Cheesemaking are held every afternoon.

• Kids Sea Camp is about family dive adventures. There is a never-ending number of things to learn both above and below the sea. Kids unplug from the digital world and reconnect to an outdoor world full of life. The La Pacifica Hilton Club Resort in Mexico provides accommodations close to the excursions. And no, you don’t have to own a Hilton timeshare to stay. In fact, learn how to cancel a Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare and save money for even more experiences! 

Photo credit: Baseball Hall of Fame.

Every Kid is Different 

Even within a family, often children have their own, seemingly opposite, personalities. Be sure to consider each child’s interests and plan something for each one.

• National Museum of Computing is in Bletchley Park, United Kingdom, which is home to the famous WWII codebreakers like Alan Turing. This museum offers a virtual tour that takes visitors through the history of computers.

• National Baseball Hall of Fame is a museum in Cooperstown, New York, which has thousands of baseball related artifacts- bonus, they are all three-dimensional. Additionally, you can register for a free live virtual field trip to hear stories of baseball’s past along with video and photos.

Giant totem at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

Cultural Immersion

• The Museum of the Cherokee in Cherokee, North Carolina tells the history of the Cherokee tribe. Learn about the Trail of Tears. Children can sign up for a cultural workshop to learn how to speak Tsalagi Gawonihisdi, the Cherokee people’s language.

Unto These Hills is an incredible dance show performed by a Cherokee dance group where some of the performers are descendants from the ones removed. You can get tickets online at Mountainside Theatre.

• Colorado Indigenous Roots Immersion Experience in Weston, Colorado offers an authentic living history immersion experience. Deepen your understanding of traditional Native American culture. Stay a while! Book a three-day program where you’ll experience the daily life of the Native American culture. Accommodations are at Tipi Village to provide a more authentic experience.

#MetKids.

Virtual Field Trips

There will be times you can’t get away for an epic vacation, but that doesn’t’ mean we stop. We have fun learning. Check out these interactive websites of real places to explore.

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents a virtual experience #MetKids. Little ones will explore a colorful, illustrated map to find treasures in the museum’s collection.

• Stellarium Web is an interactive website where kids can explore the entire galaxy. Watch live sunrises and solar flares. You can even find out what is going on right in your own part of the world by adding your location.

• The National Museum of Natural History’s virtual experiences at the Smithsonian are self-guided, room-by-room tours of permanent, current, and past exhibits. Make sure to visit skeleton hall on the second floor.