Affordable Educational Kid-Friendly Activities

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

02 May 2009 11:22 AM

The learning doesn't have to end just because your kids aren't in the classroom. If your children are on temporary hiatus from school because of the swine flu scare, then consider using the time to participate in educational activities as a family.

Here are some low-cost learning opportunities:

Tour the nation's only frozen cemetery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is where Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams is cryogenically preserved. Tours are free.

Bird-watch at the Great Dismal Swamp Birding Festival, May 7-9, in southeastern Virginia. The event includes demonstrations, guided bird walks, bus tours to Lake Drummond, photography workshops, paddling tours, and nighttime walks like an "Owl Prowl" and "Sounds of the Night."

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Great Dismal Swamp, the wetland preserve is famous for its wildlife and giant bald cypress trees. However, it also has historical significance. The area was created by George Washington, who brought in slaves to dig the 22 mile-long canal by hand. Slaves used the swampy area to hide, and it later served as a north-south route on the Underground Railroad.

If you live near Pasadena, California, consider visiting NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The tourist attraction is open to the public and offers free tours of its lab, including a Space Simulator and a Marscape where prototype rovers practice maneuvers.

For families, who enjoy shaking things up a bit, consider visiting Earthquake Engineering Simulation facilities at the University of California-San Diego, the University of Buffalo, and the University of Nevada at Reno. All offer opportunities for members of the public to experience what's it's like to be caught in the middle of a major quake.

"CSI" fans will love the chance to visit body farms at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; Texas State University-San Marcos; and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Each facility offers the chance for super sleuth wannabes to learn forensic-anthropology skills.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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