It’s known as “Music City,” but Nashville is all about family too. Options for the little tykes abound. Three favorites allow kids to meet zoo critters face-to-face, stand inside a giant guitar, crawl through a beating heart, and slip, slide and swim their way to an entertaining and enriching experience.
Adventure Science Center Engages Kids in Learning, Fun
For a kid with an aptitude for science, or for the one unconvinced that science can be cool, Nashville’s Adventure Science Center is a must-see. From space exploration to the science of skin, this one-of-a-kind museum has perfected hands-on edutainment. Its centerpiece, the Adventure Tower, is a multi-level journey through six scientific concept areas: earth science, creativity and innovation, sound and light, air and Space and health and energy.
On their way to the top of the tower, kids learn about the concepts of motion and force while designing their own roller coaster at the tower’s Kinetic Wall, remotely maneuvering balls through magnetized and air-powered troughs and. In the Sight & Sound section, kids learn about the science of sound standing inside a giant guitar, plucking the strings and feeling the vibrations, then make music in a big way, running and dancing across a giant piano keyboard.
In the Air & Space section, kids experiment with the principles of physics by designing and testing parachutes. The Energy Section’s Bicycle Elevator challenges them to pedal as fast as they can to power a generator and raise the “Televator” to the next level. Learning about the human body becomes a maze of fun in the Health section. Kids crawl through the four chambers and valves of a giant beating heart and climb the “Skin Wall,” with hair follicles, sweat glands and touch receptors as hand and footholds.
In other exhibits, kids get a glimpse of the astronaut training program in Space Chase; don white coats and try their hands at health professions in Body Quest; and pilot a fighter jet through thrilling aerobatic maneuvers, dog fights and carrier landings in BLUE MAX.
Kids and Critters Get Acquainted at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere
Feeding the family pooch is one thing. Feeding a two-ton pachyderm – well, that’s a whole different story. Kids can learn all about it via the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere’s Jr. Zookeeper program. Participants spend a day experiencing first-hand the day-to-day life of zookeeper, working in various animal areas and performing tasks such as preparing animal meals.
Young visitors also learn about back-in-the-day farm life at the Grassmere Historic Farm, built in 1810. No longer a working farm, the area remains home to a Percheron draft horse (the type used to pull plows), a cow, a steer, a coop full of chickens and a herd of sheep, who get a “haircut” twice a year in an open-to-the-public display that teaches the art of sheep shearing.
For kids who just need to play out some of that energy, the Nashville Zoo’s 66,000-square-foot Jungle Gym features swings, a dancing fountain and climbable animal sculptures.
Nashville Shores Offers Wild, Wet Fun
Summertime in Nashville brings tens of thousands back to Nashville Shores, a water park situated along the 14,000-aqcre J. Percy Priest Lake. The main park features nine water slides, including the popular 350-foot-long Music City Racer, which sends sliders on a 35-mile-per-hour downward thrill ride. Little tykes enjoy the Wacky Pond and Lily Pad Pool.
Out on the lake, features like the Aqua Park offer water trampolines, inflatable climbing walls and slides. Visitors take rides across the lake on the Banana Boat and individual jet skis. And landlubbers have a host of dry activities to choose from, including beach volleyball, basketball, horseshoes and Timber’s Treehouse playground.
Visit Music City, the Nashville convention and visitors’ bureau, offers family package deals.
Devan Stuart - Devan Stuart is a longtime journalist and five-time Florida Press Association Award winner.
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