We hadn’t been to the North Carolina Zoo in several years until earlier this week. We live about four hours from the zoo, so it is generally an overnight trip that takes a little more planning and budget.

This time we went with two other homeschooling families and stayed at a local campground. ( I am really enjoying having the flexibility of the camper.) It was a great trip, both for fun and for education.

I am excited to share more about the zoo with you today, as well as some tips and tricks for getting the most from your visit.

Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links; see below for more information. *

A Little About the North Carolina Zoo

The North Carolina Zoo is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. It is divided into two major sections: North America and Africa. As a natural habitat zoo, the animals are given larger habitats to roam. This is great for the animals and the experience, but it does mean more walking because they are spread out.

There are hundreds of different animals, from the large giraffes, elephants, and bison to tiny insects and birds. The zoo does a great job of showcasing each animal in its natural habitat, with lots of information about the animal and various conservation projects.

While some of the animals have lots of room to roam and can be further away, they provide a variety of viewing areas for those animals so that most of the time, you can get a good view from at least one of the animals.

Educational Benefits of a Field Trip to the Zoo

I love that the zoo is an educational trip for all ages. My younger children saw animals they had only read about in books. The older children had seen the animals before but learned more about conservation.

Any trip to the zoo can be educational, but we found that we get the most out of the trip by taking the time to visit the educational carts that are set up throughout the zoo. At these mobile carts, zoo educators have different displays and information to share with visitors.

My younger boys also participated in the free zoo trekker program, a little workbook they could complete while walking around the zoo. Once they had done six of the activities, they were awarded a free zoo pin. (This program was very similar to the Junior Ranger program at national parks.)

Finally, make sure to take time to read some of the displays located with each animal. They share so much wonderful information.

Tips for Families and Small Children

We love going to the North Carolina zoo, but it can be a bit overwhelming for small children and families. So, I have a few tips and tricks to make it more manageable. 

First, it can be really hot and really busy during the summer. I highly recommend going during the off-season. There is a lot of walking, so the cooler weather is much more pleasant.

You can see the whole zoo in a day, but it is a lot of walking and would take pushing really hard. So we split it into two days. We can travel there one morning and see one section of the zoo and the other section the next morning.

We also used a collapsible wagon for this trip, which was a huge help. My four-year-old could ride in it when he was tired or if we had long stretches of walking. We could also carry our umbrellas, water bottles, cameras, etc. in the wagon.

Finally, there is an AMAZING natural play area near the entrance to the North America section. It has a small stream, a mud kitchen, bubbles, a tree house, and so much more. It is a great place to give kids (and parents) a break. To let them just play and relax. Honestly, if we lived closer, I would go to the zoo just to let my kids play there.

Money Saving Tips and Tricks

Looking at the pricing below, you may wonder about my suggestion to split the zoo into two days. We use a family membership to make that an affordable option. In North Carolina, the zoo, all three aquariums, and the bird park all offer reciprocity with their memberships. (There is also reciprocity at numerous other sites.)

Since we are closer to the aquarium, we purchase an aquarium membership yearly, but if you do not already have a membership, you can purchase one when you arrive at the zoo. For our family of 6, entrance to the zoo for one day would cost us $82. An annual membership would be $84. This means that we save $80 just on the second day of our visit.

Also, at the zoo, you can not bring in outside food unless you are a member. There is a members-only picnic area within the zoo and other great money-saving benefits.

Also, bring your water bottles! While they do not allow other outside food, water bottles are welcome, and there are refill stations throughout the park. Purchasing water from restaurants or machines in the park will cost you over $4 per bottle.

Finally, I highly recommend the $15 refillable bottle if you want a soft drink or tea. You pay $15 when you buy it, but then you get unlimited free refills. Otherwise, a cup of soft drink will run you $7. You also get the benefit of a nice souvenir to take home.

Eating at the restaurants inside the zoo can get very expensive. We had four adult meals and two kids meals with one refillable bottle and one regular soft drink and paid a little over $100 for that one lunch. On the second day, we planned to be there in the morning and leave around 1 pm, so we made lunches and ate them in the van when we were finished.

Fun Extras at the North Carolina Zoo

I have just talked about ways to spend money, and now I am going to share some extras that are available. These are optional activities that are not included in the admission fee.

First, there is a butterfly garden. This costs an additional $3 per person. You get a ticket to enter the butterfly garden and could stay as long as you wanted to stay. We chose to try this one since we are studying flying creatures this year in science. Honestly, it was worth the $18 for all of us. There were hundreds of butterflies flying around. We watched them eat from plants, flit from one plant to another, and they would even land on us.

There is also a ropes course in the zoo. My daughter really wanted to do this, and we originally thought it was also $3, but when we got more information, the ropes course was $15 per person. Not necessarily a bad price for a ropes course, but we decided it was not the right choice for this trip.(You do have to have closed-toed shoes to be admitted to the ropes course.)

There is a playground near the ropes course that was $3 per person, but we also decided to pass on that. Additionally, there is a carousel ride that is $3 per person.

The other extra that we chose to participate in was feeding the giraffes. This was hands down, the favorite activity of the whole trip. My husband chose not to go, but the kids and I all went with our friends. We had to pay $5 per person. For that $5, we were given lettuce and instructions on how to feed the giraffes. Then we could step up to the platform and feed the lettuce to the giraffe piece by piece. Being up close and personal with the giraffes was amazing. You could feel the strong and rough tongue and really get a perspective on their heights.

Basic Information for North Carolina Zoo

Where:

North Carolina Zoo

4401 Zoo Pkwy
Asheboro, NC 27205

Hours of Operation:

Costs:

General admission tickets for adults $15 (13-61), seniors $13 (62+) and children $11 (2-12). Children under the age of 2 are free.

Website:

https://www.nczoo.org/

Food:

There are several restaurants as well as snacks available for purchase. Only Members and those with allergies can bring in outside food.

 

 

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Free Homeschooling Summit, focused on family relationships!!

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Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

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Our family had the opportunity to visit Florida last month and we had a wonderful time! The primary purposes of our trip were to visit some family in Daytona Beach and to visit Disney World. However, my husband has always wanted to take the children to visit Kennedy Space Center, and so I purchased tickets to the Space Center for his Christmas gift and worked out an extra day in Florida.  I am so glad that I did, not only did he really appreciate it, the children had a lot of fun and learned so much.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

I am a planner by nature but honestly I did very little planning for this trip because I wanted to allow my husband to show the children the things that were most important to him. When we arrived we looked over the map and schedules and decided to start with the bus tour and a visit to the Apollo/Saturn V center. The bus tour was a really great way to get an idea for the scope and scale of these rockets and the complex. From the bus we were able to see various launch pads, a SpaceX rocket that was going to launch in a couple of weeks, the crawlers that move the rockets, and the enormous building where the rockets are build and stored (with the largest doors in the world).

The tour ended over at the Apollo/Saturn V center. There we were able to to see various memorabilia including space suits worn on the moon, a real piece of moon rock, and more. My children’s favorite was Alan Shepard’s space suit. We also had fun letting the children dress in space suits and take pictures on a green screen. The pictures were then put onto ‘space’ backdrops making them look like they were on the moon or hanging out in space. There was a lunar module and ‘moonscape’ that you could view.  There was also a movie available at this location. There was a restaurant with sandwiches, pizza, and salads.

Next, we caught the bus back over the the main center to check out all of the other buildings and exhibits.  We went over the the Atlantis building where we started with a short video, I don’t want to give too many spoilers but the video was great and ended with a wonderful surprise. Then we had the opportunity to take a good look at the space shuttle Atlantis.  Also located in this building were lots of interactive exhibits. There was a even a slide and a play area modeled after the International Space Station. There were interactive video games and virtual reality stations where you could learn about the space shuttles. There is also a Shuttle Launch Simulator for those that are 44 inches and taller. My son and husband enjoyed this experience. Also located in this building is a beautiful memorial to those that died in the Challenger and Columbia crashes.

While my son and husband were in the Shuttle Launch Simulator, the rest of decided to take a break with a bit of ice cream and try out the play area. This area was designed for younger children (I believe it was 10 and under) and provided a great place for them to play and explore in the shade.

There was a small building dedicated to the new Mars program which included an interesting live talk, virtual reality, various movies, and a prototype Mars Rover. My daughter also enjoyed the opportunity to meet with real astronaut, Tom Jones, and have him autograph his book, Ask the Astronaut.

Another wonderful exhibit was the Heroes and Legends building. This building had exhibits and interactive displays about various astronauts and the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  My children enjoyed learning more about the astronauts that we had studied prior to our arrival and learned about throughout the day.  Finally, we also walked through a ‘garden’ of shuttles and rockets that showed the progress through the history of the space program. We did not get a chance to see it, but several times a day they do guided tours through the garden.

There is a lot to see at Kennedy Space Center and I would advise you to plan on a full day and possibly two days depending on your level of interest and if you wanted to add on any of the special tours. In addition to the various attractions that we visited there are several movies, including and I-max, that are included with your admission. There is also a small museum related to the national park on which the space center is located.

Overall, we really enjoyed out trip to the Kennedy Space Center and would love to go back in a couple of years and spend a little more time exploring and learning about the space program. Prior to going we listened to Heroes of History: Alan Shepard, and I think that helped my children really make connections to what they were seeing. Since we have returned home, they are independently reading and listening to a variety of books about space.

 

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Where:

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex,

Space Commerce Way, Merritt Island, FL 32953

Hours of Operation:

Costs: $57 adults (12+) Children (3-11) $47 ( I also recommend looking online for discounts, we found several for the dates we were going,)

Website: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Food: There are several restaurants as well as snacks available for purchase.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

 

Little Women is only .99 on kindle right now! (Amazon prices subject to change always check before purchasing.)

FREE Baby Yoda Art Lesson from Nana!

All About Learning has released the best deal of the day: A FREE Snowman Pack with reading and spelling activities for a variety of ages.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Smartick (check out our full review here) is offering a 25% off discount if you use this referral link! Elizabeth is still loving this program.

 

 

 

 

 

I am a big fan of the ocean and will happily accept any opportunity to take a field trip to the beach. Something about that salt air seems to take the stress away.  A few weeks ago we had the benefit of studying about Orville Wright as my son read Orville Wright: The Flyer by YWAM publishing. We decided to finish that study with a quick trip to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

We had been to the Wright Brothers Memorial several years ago but were excited to go back because they recently finished renovating their visitors center. The visitors center is not large but has some really neat information in it along with a replica of the Wright Flyer. The original flyer is actually located in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. There is also a small gift store and rest rooms located at the visitors center.

When we first arrived, we talked to the ranger and two of my children picked up a junior ranger packet. Most of the national and state parks have these programs and we love to utilize them. They are almost always free (one park we went to charged $1.25) and they really help us get the most out of the park. They have various activities that the children have to complete prior to finishing our visit and it helps them to learn more about the nature or history of the park.

I think that one of the coolest parts of this park is that they have marked off the place where the first flights took off and then they have markers showing how far out the flights went. You can run the length of the flights. This is such a great visual and really helps them to better understand the distance and connects you with the history.

Next, we climbed up to the top of the sand dune where the gliders were first flown. There is now a monument to the Wright Brothers that sits atop the hill. It is a steep climb but offers a beautiful view.

Once we had climbed to the monument, it was time for lunch. In keeping with the Wright Brothers theme of our trip, we went over to the Black Pelican for lunch. This modern seafood restaurant is located in what was once the life saving station. The very life saving station where the Wright Brothers sent the famous telegram to their father, telling him of their first successful flights.

While we were in town we decided to take an hour or so and visit Jockey’s Ridge State Park. This park is free to enter and is home to the tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic coast. There is a nice little visitors center that has information about the plants and animals that are native to the dunes and the area around the dunes. My daughter chose to  work on another junior ranger badge at this park.

Once we looked around the visitor’s center it was time to take a walk in the sand. While the baby and I did not go all the way to the top of the dune, the older children and my husband climbed to the top. The views are beautiful and the children enjoyed rolling back down the dune!

This was a wonderful day of family fun! We were able to visit a site where history was made, learn more about nature, and overall just really enjoy spending time together as a family. On our way home, I found out that Nana over at You Are An Artist had a cute art lesson that we could use to go along with our trip and studies. This chalk pastel lesson of the Wright Brothers airplane is included with our Clubhouse subscription or in the Inventors History Course.  This was a great way to extend what we had already done.

If you get a chance to visit, let me know how you like it and don’t forget to take your parks passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial purchase of the passport. North Carolina State Parks also offer a passport program. You can get those passports for free at any state park.

 

 

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Where:

Wright Brothers National Memorial
1401 National Park Drive
Manteo, NC 27954

Hours of Operation:

Costs: $10 adults (16+) Children Free (If you have a 4th grader you can use the Every Kid in a Park Pass for free admission)

Homeschool Discount: You can apply 4 weeks ahead of time for an educational fee waiver.

Website: https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm

Food: There are drinks available for purchase and space for picnics outside.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a great sale! If you want to give it a try, your first month is only $1 or you can get an entire year for $111. My daughter is getting ready to use a photography class from our subscription to help her learn more about her new (to her) camera.

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

FREE Writing About Books: Book Reports and Beyond from Write Shop!

FREE: Check out this great new FREE resource for classical and Charlotte Mason education! Classical Christian Education & Charlotte Mason. Great for folks already homeschooling or if you have friends that are looking into it!

 

Are you ready for some spring cleaning? Need to do a little decluttering?

What is your scariest place to declutter?

There is a great FREE Decluttering Challenge going on right now.  If you are looking for some help or encouragement join this FREE declutter challenge. Saturday is the last day to sign up so hurry!

 

 

 

 

We recently had the opportunity to visit the Neuseway Nature Park and Planetarium in Kinston, NC with some friends. We have been several times in the past but it had been quite awhile because they had been closed due to flooding from Hurricane Florence. This is a great field trip for all ages because they have a variety of options and exhibits.

We started the afternoon with a few minutes of free play on the playground while waiting for everyone to arrive. Once we were all present, we ventured into the science and planetarium building. There are multiple exhibits that you can explore at your own pace, including a giant model of the stomach that you can walk through, vision goggles that help you understand what it is like to have vision problems, a farm to table exhibit, building blocks, a hospital center, and even a tunnel.

Upstairs there are space themed exhibits, science books, and even a scale to see what you would weigh on different planets. This is also where the planetarium is located. They offer shows in the planetarium twice a day. You can also schedule a private planetarium show for your group for a small fee.

Once we had explored the science building and watched a planetarium showing, we ventured over to the nature building. This building houses both live animals and taxidermy exhibits, and had been badly damaged during the flooding. We were able to see a singing bird, who regaled everyone with ‘Happy Birthday’, turtles, alligators, and a tarantula. There were also some snakes on the other side of the room, but I decided I would skip that experience.

This is not a large center, but they have a variety of great exhibits and knowledgeable staff that are happy to answer questions. Admission is free unless you need special group accommodations. This is a fun half-day field trip for all ages.

 

 

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Where: 401 W Caswell Street Kinston, NC 28501

Hours of Operation:

Costs: Free (unless you want to schedule a separate Planetarium show)

Homeschool Discount: n/a

Website: http://www.neusewaypark.com/454/Neuseway-Nature-Park

Food: There are drinks available for purchase and space for picnics outside.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies!

 

FREE Writing About Books: Book Reports and Beyond from Write Shop!

FREE: Check out this great new FREE resource for classical and Charlotte Mason education! Classical Christian Education & Charlotte Mason. Great for folks already homeschooling or if you have friends that are looking into it!

 

 

 

 

 

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Last week I shared with you about our little mini vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC and our visit to Medieval Times for a history experience. Today I want to share about our visit to WonderWorks. With its creative architecture it is hard not to notice this venue as you drive through Myrtle Beach. We had seen it several times on past visits but never had the opportunity to visit. Thankfully we had done some research before this visit and realized that it was home school days and the perfect time to check it out.

When I told the children (and my parents) that we would be going to WonderWorks I called it a science museum. While this is a true statement it is more than just a science museum. I would say it is a cross between an amusement park and a science museum. They call it ‘edu-tainment’ for educational entertainment. There is lots to learn but most of it is very hands on and often active.

It would take a small book and not a blog post to do justice to all of the various exhibits but I will give you an overview and tell you more about some of our favorite exhibits. We spent between 3 and 4 hours there and easily could have spent a whole day if we had the time.  They have a cafe where we ate a late lunch, but you can also leave and come back with your ticket and hand stamp.

The first room included a Titanic exhibit in which you could put your hand into the freezing water, a hurricane exhibit where you could feel the hurricane force winds, and a computerized display and game about other weather disasters. We were having fun and enjoying our visit in this room, but soon learned that most of WonderWorks was even more interactive. For example, in the next room, you could use a pulley system to pull yourself up a tower, play various ball games (football, baseball, etc) by throwing the ball against an interactive video screen to see how well you played, and if you were brave enough even peddle a bicycle upside down and in a 360 degree turn.

In one room they had a bed of nails that you could lay on. This really interested my older children because they had recently seen a performance where the guy laid on a bed of nails. They enjoyed trying for themselves and learning about the science behind why it works. My daughter said this was her favorite exhibit, but she also spent quite a bit of time on the glow in the dark ropes course that was hanging above the top floor. She spent almost 30 minutes just climbing/walking around on the various obstacles that were suspended above the over exhibits.

The baby really enjoyed the bubble exhibit where we were able to make giant bubbles and pull the bubbles over ourselves. He also enjoyed the giant piano. He may not have understood how to really play it, but he enjoyed hearing it make noise as he crawled over the keys.

My four year old loved the giant 8 foot tall pin art wonder wall. Many of us had a small pin art toy growing up, but I had never seen one this large. Instead of just your hand or nose you could press your whole face and body into this pin art board. We had a great time making impressions, taking pictures, and then starting it over. The baby even got involved with his hands and feet.

My oldest enjoyed the 6D motion theater. They had multiple movies that you could watch in 6D with 3D glasses and lots of movement. Personally, it was a little much for my stomach and I’ll fully admit to closing my eyes but my son and husband really enjoyed it and watched several of the options.

You can check out this educators guide for more information on all of the exhibits that they offer. You can learn about space, light and sound, weather, robotics, gears and more in a hands on way. They even offer laser tag (included in regular admission and a $3 charge with home school tickets). I highly recommend this trip for a fun science adventure. If you are not near or planning to visit Myrtle Beach, check out the website to see if they have another location near you. Also, for more great ideas in Myrtle Beach check out this great idea from my friend Jennifer over at Homeschool Fanatic.

 

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Where: 1313 Celebrity Circle Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Hours of Operation:

Costs: Adults (13+): $28.99  Children (4-12): 18.99  Children Under 4: Free

Homeschool Discount: If you go during home school days the price is $12 per person (an additional $3 if you want to play laser tag)

Website: https://www.wonderworksonline.com/myrtle-beach/

Food: There are drink machines inside as well as a cafe in the gift shop. You cannot bring food into the museum but you can come and go throughout the day if you wanted to leave for lunch.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies!

Starting August 31st all of Evan Moor’s Daily Practice titles will be on sale 20% off!

The NEW color edition of All About Reading is ready to order!

 

FREE Writing About Books: Book Reports and Beyond from Write Shop!

FREE: Check out this great new FREE resource for classical and Charlotte Mason education! Classical Christian Education & Charlotte Mason. Great for folks already homeschooling or if you have friends that are looking into it!