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Cincinnati Art Museum - www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org . 953 Eden Park Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513-639-2995). Located in Eden Park, the CAM is FREE for general admissions and is a great place to go to get a bit of culture! They have a cafe onsite if your little ones need some nourishment. You'll need to check out the Family First Saturdays where they offer a lot of fun activities such as scavenger hunts, crafts, & kid friendly performances. We've been to a few of these and I am always amazed that we have such wonderful things to do here. You can also check out their "Wee Wednesday" morning program for parents and their preschoolers - I haven't done this but they have story time and "touchable" objects on the last Wed. of the month. I need to check out my own rec! Parking is now $4 but there aren't many free museums anywhere so I think paying for parking is well worth it.
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Contemporary Arts Center - www.contemporaryartscenter.org. 44
E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513-345-8400). The UnMuseum® is a great space for kids and adults. Their website states, "the UnMuseum is a gallery of participatory art designed
to offer children and parents an enjoyable experience with the most
innovative art of our time". They have FREE admission from 5-9 pm on Monday's. Check out the Museum Tab for more info on the CAC. Read more about our visit on Family Friendly Cincinnati.
****************************************************************************************************************** Crafts & Wooden Toy Building - there are some great free programs at local businesses that you can do with you child.
******************************************************************************************************************* The Dayton Art Institute - www.daytonartinstitute.org - FREE for kids under 17 & college students with ID (some special exhibits may have a charge)
- 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, Ohio. (800) 296-4426 or (937)
223-5277. Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays. Click here for some of their family-friendly programming. Adults: $8 Seniors (60+): $5 Active Military: $5 Groups: $5 College Students (18+ with ID): Free Youth & Children (17 and under): Free Members: Free
******************************************************************************************************************* Hamilton County Park District - www.hamiltoncountyparks.org. Hamilton County has some of the most wonderful parks around from Sharon Woods to Winton Woods to Woodland Mounds - they all have free nature centers & free outdoor playgrounds. Okay, so you do have to pay a $5.00 annual car registration fee but I think that's a very very small price to pay for all the wonderful parks out there. Check out their website for their calendar of events at each park. I'll have more in the Nature section but if you want to see some real gems in Ohio, head to any of these beautiful parks!
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IKEA - www.ikea.com
- If you want to make both Mom and kids happy, head over to large blue
& yellow building in West Chester. Kids can play in Smaland (must
be potty trained and 37" tall) while parents shop. After they play,
stop by the cafe for some affordable kids' meals or head to their Bistro
when you check out for hot dogs, pizza, yummy cinnamin rolls, and ice
cream. My girls love it. 9500 Ikea Way, West Chester, Ohio 45069.
513-779-7100.
******************************************************************************************************************* Krohn Conservatory- www.cincyparks.com. 1501 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio (513-352-4080). If you haven't been to the Krohn, you are missing out. This is a wonderful place and has a 75 year history in Cincinnati. It has wonderful floral exhibits - you can walk through a rain forest, check out the dessert, and go through some of the most outstanding changing exhibits from Bonsai trees to their beautiful holiday displays. They are open 10-5 every day of the year. Great place to bring out of town guests! If you want to get some great family pictures, pack those cameras! The Krohn is FREE but they do take donations and volunteers are always needed. After visiting the Krohn, drive down and check out Eden park and then you can have lunch in Mt. Adams - all very close and easy to do! Read more about The Krohn Conservatory and Eden Park on Family Friendly Cincinnati. They will be having a holiday show this year that does have admission charges: $6 Adults, $5 Seniors, $4 Children. Entrance fees are per person and per visit. Nov. 11 through Jan. 1.
Nov. 11-Jan. 1
******************************************************************************************************************* Libraries & Story Times - check out the Libraries & Story Times tab for more information.
******************************************************************************************************************* MetroParks of Butler County - www.butlercounty.metroparks.org. Okay,
so we need to give a shout out to Butler County now. You really need
to check out the new Voice of America Park and go for a stroll around
their lake. You'll be able to do some nice bird watching. Get those
bikes & helmets out if you want to kick it up a notch. The kids can
also fish (get a license first at the office). They have some fun
events during the year, so check out the website for more details. It
looks like there are plenty of other wonderful parks to check out but
since I've only been to the VOA, I can at least recommend that. While visiting the park is FREE, a valid
parking permit is required to enter the parks - it's transferable.
******************************************************************************************************************* Mt. Airy Forest- www.cincyparks.com. 5083 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio. Take a hike through the woods or check out the huge treehouse there (it's even wheelchair accessible). If you've never been to the "other" side of Cincinnati, take a drive, pack a picnic lunch and get in touch with nature. There's over 1500 acres of natural beauty to check out. You can also check out some of the other parks in the cincyparks.com family - I know I need to get some of them on this list.
******************************************************************************************************************* National Airforce Museum of the United States - www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. 1100 Spaatz Street, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433 (937) 255-3286. So this is techinically in the Dayton area but I wanted to include it here since it's FREE! This is an absolutely wonderful museum and it's huge - you probably won't be able take it all in just one visit but you definitely need a place to start. It is filled with actual airplanes, bombers, Airforce memorabilia from the start of aviation to present day. It even has a cool area dedicated to space shuttles with actual shuttles to see. You can even walk in to some of the planes. There is a big bomber one that is fun to walk inside. They have free guided "Heritage" tours everyday at 1:30 and an additional tour on Sat. at 10:30 a.m. I read that they also have "behind the scenes tours" but you need to sign up for these and be at least 12 years old and have an adult with you. Looks like this could be a great activity for a local Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop. There's also an IMAX theatre (charge for this) and a Cafe onsite. It's open seven days a week from 9-5 but closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
******************************************************************************************************************* Playgrounds & Parks - There are so many wonderful playgrounds and parks in the area. Visit our Playgrounds & Parks tab and you will find plenty of FREE places to play.
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******************************************************************************************************************* Taft Museum of Art - www.taftmuseum.org. 316 Pike St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (513-241-0343). We've been meaning to get here but haven't made it yet but after reviewing their website, I really think I should make it a priority. They have a lot to offer as well as having specific programs for families. One program caught my eye, it's called Families Create and is for ages 5-12. It's held two Saturday's per month, one at the Taft and the other at the Weston Art Gallery (another place I need to check out). This is a smaller, historic museum with many famous works of art. Also, they have Lindner Family Cafe on site that is really good and they actually have a children's menu so this has to be family friendly. I think this would be a great place to do a Mommy/Son or Daddy/Daughter date. Oh, another bonus, the Taft Museum is FREE on Sundays. They're open Tues-Sun. 11-5. Adults are $8.00. Regular admission on other days is $8/adults and $6/students and seniors. FREE for kids under 18.
******************************************************************************************************************* Restaurant Playlands - There are some local fast food restaurants that offer play areas that are FREE to their customers. Here's a listing of some play areas close by:
Note: I only list indoor/outdoor if I know for sure. The rest have play lands or lpay places but I'm just not sure if they are indoor or outdoor.
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Free Publications
If you can pick up one of these great FREE magazines, they are a wonderful resource for family friendly activities in the greater Cincinnati area. They usually have some great articles and parent tips. You can also view their information on line.
Cincinnati Family Magazine - www.cincinnatifamilymagazine.com.
Cincinnati Parent Magazine - www.cincinnatiparent.com.
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Rumpke Sanitary Landfill Tour