Why we travel
The world is a huge and amazing place. It makes you feel alive when, through travel, you’re touching as much of it as you can, gaining valuable insight on what’s important to other people and why
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Parks & Outdoors | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
Celebrating Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day — the time to celebrate our beautiful planet, and lend a hand to keep it that way. Especially if you are traveling, there is no better time to teach the kids an environmental lesson while having fun
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Heading to a national park national park week (or any time)
The annual National Park Week offers daily activities and celebrations at parks and monuments around the country. April 20 kicks it off with National Junior Ranger Day & Entrance Fee-Free Day.
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Porto: Booming city in Portugal popular for river cruises
This region has become so popular with Americans that TAP Air Portugal now has several non-stop flights a week from the USA and many daily flights from Lisbon which take under an hour
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A historic Army post transformed — San Francisco’s Presidio
Welcome to San Francisco’s Presidio — nearly 1,500 acres transformed from a bustling army post to a national park, the largest national park in an urban area, drawing 7.5 million visitors a year
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T. rex, ancient queens, the hobbit and more — new museum exhibits
There’s no better time to take an afternoon to visit a museum, including some you never knew existed, with your kids on spring break
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Celebrating Leonardo da Vinci 500 years after his death
Welcome to the new “Leonardo da Vinci’: 500 Years of Genius exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, which runs until Aug. 25
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To Washington, D.C., during the government shutdown
Here’s your chance to explore a famous American city in a new way — and support those there who count on our tourism dollars.
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In Zambia: Empowering women through skills and A&K Philanthropy
This project, one of several here run by Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropies, is designed not only to bring money into the village—the bikes sell from $25 to $120, with people coming from Livingstone to purchase them—but to empower women, explained Mabvuto Phiri, who is showing us around the village
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A special family connection at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa
Jack Prater’s mom offered a trip to each of her three children on their 13th birthdays to the Sanctuary Makanyane Safari Lodge in the huge Madikwe Game Preserve of South Africa
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Not just any park – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
This isn’t just any park. It’s the vast malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, some 185,000 acres in the North West Province bordering Botswana to the North
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A world apart: life in a South African Township
We are outside of Cape Town in Langa, a historic South African Township, just a little more than one square mile but home to more than 60,000 people, many living in abject poverty
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A Sobering History Lesson– Robben Island
Mlilwana “Sparky” Sparks was just 17 when he was sentenced in 1983 to the notorious South African Prison Robben Island, less than five miles west of the Cape Town Coast
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In South Africa’s Winelands: Families welcomed to learn about biodiversity
Welcome to Boschendal, a historic winery in South Africa’s famous Winelands area less than an hour outside of Cape town that is embracing visiting families as well as couples and honeymooners
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Gathering for the holidays
According to AAA, more people will be traveling over Thanksgiving — 54.3 million, the most since 2005. But they aren’t all heading to a relative’s house
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Denver Performing Arts: Roller Skates and 80’s Hits
Xanadu, produced by Denver Center for the Performing Arts Cabaret, captures the spirit of the 1980s while appealing to many generations. The musical is adapted from the cult classic movie with the same title starring Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly
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Learning a little military history this month
World War I was so long ago that as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of armistice of the first global war in which millions died and empires were destroyed, today’s kids never met anyone who fought or lived during that difficult time
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To the National Museum of Play
The prestigious National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play is a top draw for not only visitors to Rochester, N,Y., but for all of upper New York state
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Taking the Kids — on the college tour circuit
To all parents heading out on the Great College Tour this fall, I wish you luck. You are going to need it. Maybe a cocktail or two at the end of the day will help, and so will keeping your sense of humor
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A big lesson in tolerance and humanity — Assisi Italy
Today, six million people a year visit Assisi, a hillside medieval town of 25,000 in Umbria, making it the second most visited religious site in Italy after Rome
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Exploring Leonardo Da Vinci’s Creations in Milan, Italy
Besides the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and other masterpieces, Da Vinci designed a self-supporting bridge, flying bicycle, life sized mechanical lion, musical instruments and much more
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The Curious Theater Company’s The Cake Fosters Conversation in a Sweet Way
Talking about controversial issues doesn’t seem so hard when it’s paired with comedy and confection. That’s why The Cake, a play featured at Denver’s Curious Theater Company, is good for both the mind and the stomach
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The newest revival of Oklahoma! delights Denver audiences
The newest revival of Oklahoma!, which we just saw in Denver, shows that a good theater can produce a beloved musical that not only entertains, but provokes thought and discussion
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Challenging kids to learn nature at Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
At the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), environmental educators including Denali Barron and Bowman Leigh think a grab bag of nature challenges can help kids engage with the outdoors—and get off their devices.
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What’s new at museums for families
Whether you have an end-of-summer trip planned or just a few days before the school year gets into full swing, consider checking out a new museum exhibit or two
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Getting fit at the world’s biggest children’s museum
Welcome to the new outdoor 7.5-acre Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world’s largest children’s museum, which welcomes 1.5 million visitors annually
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Families together at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The world’s biggest and best children’s museum, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, has got it right: Families can play together—and learn together—at the same time
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To Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation
“Many children were swept up in the drama of the American Revolution,” explained Dr. Elizabeth Grant, the director of education at the immersive the Museum of the American Revolution
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In Kansas City, everything is up to date for the visitors and their dogs
We are in the midst of a cross-country road trip to our new home in Denver and a Kansas City stop is welcome—especially on a Saturday night when the hotel restaurant, the Reserve, presents Jazz all evening.
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Kids become revolutionaries in Philadelphia this summer
The kids who visit the new Revolution Place, opening June 9, in the year-old Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia can do laundry in an army camp as well as get news just like from the “internet”
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Traveling greener in honor of Earth Day
In honor of Earth Day (Sunday, April 22), let’s remember how easy it is to do your bit to help end plastic pollution when you are traveling — and teach the kids a lesson in the process
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Making the most of visiting the Smithsonian with kids this spring
The Smithsonian Museums, particularly Air and Space, Natural History, American History, the African American Museum and the National Zoo are on every family’s must-see list when visiting Washington, D.C.
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Seeing the Unseen Oceans at the American Museum of Natural History
It was a behind-the- scenes tour of their rapidly growing collections of marine and freshwater fishes, comprised of more than 2 million specimens
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Taking the Kids — to Berlin
There’s no better place to see reconciliation at work that than in Berlin where the Berlin Wall, as of last month, has been down longer than it was up
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Channeling your inner-Olympian
Why not take a trip to the snow where everyone can indulge their Olympic fantasies and dreams? If you have a spring break coming up or a long weekend, consider some fun in the snow
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The whole gang on a cruise, but not necessarily a big ship
Cruises are a great bet for extended families as everyone, if they’d like, can go in different directions and meet up for dinner.
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Belize is home to more than 600 Maya sites and much more
Belize, with more than 600 Maya sites, the largest concentration of Maya sites in all of Central America, is known as the Maya Heartland.
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Celebrating women’s accomplishments on your next trip
There is another important cue we can take from Oprah Winfrey’s words when we travel — show our kids the ways women have contributed and made a difference in our history.
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Celebrating Martin Luther King Day
As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday this month, and African American History Month in February, there’s probably no better time to start that conversation with the kids. They’re likely studying Martin Luther King’s accomplishments in school — 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination on April 4, 1968.
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A Kids’s Perspective: Living on Antigua in the Caribbean West Indies
Katherine Woodhouse, 10, has lived her entire life on the Caribbean island of Antigua where her mom is the resident manager of the Curtain Bluff Resort
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Peru: Person-To-Person Culinary Experiences In The Inca World
Peru is the latest “it” culinary destination. Peruvian cuisine is a fusion of flavors. The melting pot of indigenous and migrant people is reflected in its kitchen.
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More than one Dolphin Tale at the Clearwater (FL) Marine Aquarium
Winter has inspired the hit movie Dolphin Tale (2011) and attendance at the small aquarium has jumped from 76,000 to over 600,000 a year, many with physical challenges.
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To the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture
Since the museum opened Sept. 24, 2016 on the National Mall, next to the Washington Monument, nearly 3 million people have visited the 12 inaugural exhibitions
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Talking to Children about Hurricanes, Floods and Other Natural Disasters
Once again, parents and teachers are faced with the challenge of discussing an overwhelming natural disaster with children. Although these may be difficult conversations, they are also important. There are no “right” or “wrong” ways to talk with children about such tragic events. However, here are some suggestions that you may find helpful
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A Context Tour of the Berlin Wall (July 2017)
Read more in our Travel Diary: Walking the Berlin Wall – Reconciliation Matters
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Excursions offer river cruisers history and culture
Wolfe chose a river cruise because friends at home in Salt Lake City raved about their experiences with their kids and all were having a fun week
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A tasty tour of the historic Jewish quarter in Budapest
Our 30-year-old Taste Hungary guide and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, explains that not only has food always been an important part of the culture here
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Touring the Sites of Rememberance of the Holocaust in Berlin
“There were many unsung heroes,” said Nadav Jakobovitch, our Tours by Locals guide on our second day in Berlin. He comes from a family of Holocaust survivors by way of Israel
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Walking the Berlin Wall – Reconciliation Matters
We had just walked between what had once been called “the death strip,” the area between West Berlin and East Berlin, between the wall and safety of the West
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Learning a little history on July 4th
if you play your cards right, you’ll all have fun celebrating the nation’s birthday — and learning something about American history at the same time.
