Staycation with the kids this summer
Well, the weather has warmed (finally!), the sun appears to be out for a little while (again…finally!), and the classroom doors are closed for at least a couple of months. With longer days and little more freedom, many families start to get antsy for a vacation, but have you ever considered a ‘staycation’? The Oklahoma City metro area has evolved so much in the past decade that there is no shortage of super fun things to do. Seriously. The first draft of this blog post was so overloaded with ideas that I had to whittle it down to my top seven! In no particular order, here goes….
1) Riversport Adventures: When they say “adventure”, they mean it! Kayaking, dragon-boating, paddle boarding, and cycling are the low-key (relatively speaking) activities. If you really want to get the adrenaline going, try the Sky Trail Adventure Course or hop onto the zip line.
2) Andy Alligators: No reptile wrestling here, but you can spend your day go-carting, at the batting cages, playing miniature golf, or cooling off at the water slides or in the lazy river.
3) White Water Bay: Want all water all day? This is the place to go. With everything from special pools for toddlers to big, bad water slides, everyone in the family can have a day of fun. Bonus for Friday park patrons: At dusk, they show free dive-in movies all summer.
4) Myriad Gardens: And speaking of free movies, every Wednesday night this summer, the Myriad Gardens has family friendly movie nights. Not into movies, pop over on Sunday evenings for live local music on the lawn.
5) Science Museum of Oklahoma: Okay, we know the kids have happily switched from education mode for the time being, this place is so fun and interactive that learning is just a fortunate byproduct. If you want to pick one indoor place to spend your entire day, this could easily be it.
6) Museum of Osteology: Did you know that OKC has the only skeletal museum in the country? Again, its educational, but the kids won’t even realize it’s happening to them! Are your young ones of the sleuthing sort? Definitely check out the Bone Heist events, at which they can solve the mystery of the bone thief.
7) Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum: Last, but most certainly not least, your family can take a self-guided tour through the exhibits that tell the story of that ill-fated day in April 1995. Today’s children weren’t alive to experience the devastation, but the impact of the violence is a lesson not to go unlearned.
As previously stated, this list is nowhere near comprehensive. Our great city is full of beautiful outdoor parks, exciting sporting events, and many more engaging museums. For a more comprehensive resource, visit the Greater OKC Metro Chamber website or Metro Family Magazine's website.