Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

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July 15, 2019 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is a great field trip!

We sang Barbara Manatee:

Lioness does the blep:

We were all so tickled watching the baby rhino romp and frolic.

I bet the poor polar bear was awful hot.

I wonder what she’s thinking about?

The viewing area for Baby Fiona was madness, but I snapped a photo!

Visit the Cincinnati Zoo.

Price Ranges

Adults: $15-22 Child: $9-16 Senior: $9-16

Buy tickets online before you go.

Parking is $10.00 and is purchased at the Zoo.

Military discount for all military personnel and their families. This discount is for $3 off adults and $2 off children. Military ID is required to receive discount and may only be obtained at the Cincinnati Zoo ticketing windows and is NOT available online.

Hours

The Zoo is open January 1st – December 31st at 10am. The Zoo is closed on December 25 only.

January 2 – March 8: 10am-5pm
March 9 – May 24: 10am-5pm
May 25 – September 2: 10am-6pm
September 3 – October 31: 10am-5pm
November 1 – November 15: 10am-5pm
November 16 – January 4: PNC Festival of Lights – 10am-9pm (Sundays-Thursdays)/ 10am-10pm (Fridays-Saturdays)

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Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

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July 8, 2019 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

We went to Columbus zoo for their FREE military day over the July 4th holiday weekend.

We arrived at 9 AM opening and went straight for the aquarium and Australia part in the back, took an ice cream break, then worked our way around the front part – North America, Africa, and Asia. We finished by about 2 PM.

We loved the manatee rehabilitation center!

Three kookaburras were in the aviary.

We were able to walk through the kangaroo habitat. We were *this close* to the roos!

We were tickled to see the gibbon baby!

Their fur ranges from white to black and everything in between.

This gorgeous Komodo dragon posed for me!

We were very, very hot by this point. As were the lionesses, apparently.

We really, really love bats.

Red pandas are in fact Pokémon.

We had a great time at the zoo!

Visit Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Summer hours 9-7.

$10 car parking fee.

Adults $21.99 Children 3-9 $16.99 Seniors $16.99 Under 3 FREE

Active and Non-active duty military personnel receive a $2 discount on up to 6 tickets when they show a valid military ID.

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Newport Aquarium

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July 8, 2019 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

We visited Newport Aquarium in July 2018. It’s technically in Kentucky, right over the river.

Read about about the white alligators at Newport Aquarium.

We loved the Ray Tunnel.

We were amazed and fascinated by shark egg cases and baby sharks!

Jellyfish are so beautiful and peaceful.

This is why we came!

The Shark Tank Overlook!

Shark Bridge is the one of the only suspension bridges in North America where guests can walk just inches above over a dozen sharks. This V-shaped rope bridge is 75-feet long and is suspended over the open water of the 385,000 gallon Surrounded by Sharks exhibit. The Shark Bridge experience is included with admission or annual pass.

Visit Newport Aquarium.

There are usually lots of deals and coupons, so be sure to check online before you go! Hours are generally 9-7.

ADULTS – AGES 13+	CHILD – AGES 2-12
^$25⁹⁹	^$17⁹⁹

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Fort Ancient Archaeology Park

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February 11, 2019 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Fort Ancient Archaeology Park offers exploration and learning both indoors and out. Visitors will enjoy watching an introductory film in the indoor theater, viewing artifacts and learning about the history of the Village and its inhabitants in the Interpretive Center, and immersing themselves in the 800-year-old lifestyle by visiting the reconstructed structures, located in their original, exact locations.

The indoor museum teaches about Ohio native peoples and how European white people came for trade and decimated the native populations. It’s very accurate.

There are lots of artifacts that are family-friendly like clothing, musical instruments, and toys.

Native houses and a garden are in the courtyard.

We attended a special event last year to learn about native food.

Our Boonshoft membership is reciprocal.

Guides taught us about native foods – growing, preparing, and preserving.

We tasted some stew with hominy and bear meat.

Native foods and preserving

There are lovely hiking trails along the river.

There are events all year round for families to learn about the area and the native peoples who inhabited this area.

We’re excited for summer field camp!

Fort Ancient Archaeology Park Hours and Admission

April–November
Tuesday-Saturday
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: noon-5:00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays

December–March
Saturday
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: noon-5:00 p.m.
*Closed Monday-Friday, except by appointment

Closed: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Easter

Adults $7.00
Seniors (60+) 6.00
Students (6-17) $6.00
Members are always FREE!

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Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

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December 9, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Our favorite event every month is the Boonshoft Homeschool Day.

It’s the first Thursday of the month from September through May.

I purchase a membership each year since we all attend the homeschool days each month and it pays for itself in two sessions.

My middle girls attended invitation only Summer Field Camp and loved it.

There are homeschool science activities all day long. The earlier activities are geared for younger kids.

We like to show up for the 1:30 Do Lab activity.

They usually have stations set up at lab tables around the theme of the day. My kids like to learn together.

Safety first!

We’ve learned about ponds.

They have great equipment we don’t otherwise have access to, like microscopes.

The kids have learned about coding and robotics.

We’ve learned about African American inventors and their inventions.

We’ve learned about Native American history and archaeology.

We like chemistry and physics.

Testing water salinity from the pond.

We all shocked pennies and watched them change color.

Biology is not a favorite.

Bone density day was ok.

We dissected eyeballs and a heart for the last homeschool day last year!

After the 1:30 Do Lab, there are often animal meet and greets at 2:15 and science theatre at 3:30.

Boonshoft offers a small zoo, StarLab, hands-on science exhibits, special exhibits, NOVA weather station, archaeology exhibits, space exhibits, a children’s museum with a fun playground, treehouse birdwatching, pond and walking paths through the woods. There are fun special events throughout the year.

Boonshoft is a fun afternoon for our whole family!

Hours

Monday – Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Admission

Children (3-17) $11.50
Adults $14.50
Seniors (60+) $12.50
Children (under 3) Free
DSNH Members are FREE

Check for discounts and deals or how to become a member.

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Corn Maze

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November 5, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

The kids wanted to do some fun fall activities.

It’s getting harder the older they get. Most of the fun things seem to be for little kids.

We went to the homeschool day at Pot-Luck Greenhouse.

We went for the corn maze. It was ok. It was near our house, and we went through a couple times. There were activity books.

We’re already lost!

I have this same shot when Alex was 18 months old in Utah!

I love this shot of the bridge!

Fun games!

We took a hay ride to choose pumpkins. They were already cut, to my kids’ disappointment.

Our Other Fall Field Trips:

Black Island Farms in Utah

Sunshine Pumpkin Farm in Germany

Appel Happel in Germany

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Dayton Art Institute

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September 24, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

The Dayton Art Institute is a great beginner art museum for people of all ages.

It’s small and doesn’t take long to go through. There are some important examples of art for every era.

For military families, DAI is FREE all summer long. Students and kids are always FREE.

My teen daughter and I visited to check it out.

We were a little silly.

Some of our favorites:

Visit DAI:

REGULAR HOURS
MONDAY	Closed
TUESDAY	Closed
WEDNESDAY	11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
THURSDAY	11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
FRIDAY	11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
SATURDAY	11 a.m. – 5 p.m
SUNDAY	Noon – 5 p.m.

Leo Bistro is now open!

MUSEUM ADMISSION
Suggested general admission to the museum’s collection galleries:

Adults: $8
Seniors, Groups & Active Military: $5
Members, Students, & Youth: FREE

NOTE: Special exhibitions, programs and events may carry an additional admission charge.

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Wright Brothers Unit Study

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July 23, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 10 Comments

One of the first things we wanted to do when we moved to the Dayton, Ohio, area was to visit the Wright Brothers sites.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field is right by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

There are historical plaques and markers explaining the history of the Wright Brothers and aviation in Dayton, Ohio.

This is a little train station platform for supplies.

The storage and repair barn

The launching area where they catapulted the plane into the air

We recently revisited Huffman Prairie to see the flowers.

When we first saw the prairie the end of June 2017, it had been really rainy and the flowers were taller and farther along in their bloom. There were even little toads hopping all around and we saw several deer.

In mid-July 2018, it’s been really hot and dry and the flowers are shorter and not as many are blooming. We saw no toads or deer, but lots of bees and butterflies.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center

This ancient hill was once the burial ground of a Mound Builder Native American culture.

A gorgeous lookout, monument, and another museum.

The kids got a second Junior Ranger badge.

Huffman Dam

You can see Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on the right.

Wright B Flyer

Visit Wright “B” Flyer’s hangar and museum where you can get up close to our aircraft and meet the volunteers who designed, built, operate, and maintain them. It’s all free!

Become an Honorary Aviator Member for $100.00 and receive a free orientation flight on Wright “B” Flyer. (We haven’t done that…yet.)

Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center

The museum is extensive. We really enjoyed our time there!

Reading botany notebooks by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Orville Wright – just like our Charlotte Mason nature study notebooking pages! They both were taught botany in 1887 by the same teacher – William Werthner.

The upper level includes a parachute museum.

Great photo ops with a parachute cutout and ejection seat.

The kids got Junior Ranger badges. Aaron got his Passport stamps.

We ate a picnic lunch at a little park outside the center.

The Wright Cycle Company Museum:

Orville’s last workshop façade memorial:

RiverScape Metropark

RiverScape is a gorgeous park in downtown Dayton to picnic, relax, walk, run, or bike.

They have concerts and events throughout the year.

Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum

Founded in 1841, Woodland Cemetery is one of the nation’s five oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical, and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio.

Memorial at the entrance to the Wright Brothers:

Wright Family Graves:

We also visited The National Museum of the Air Force last fall. We couldn’t even see it all. It’s HUGE!

Did you know?

The Wright brothers weren’t the first to earn their wings!
This brother team from Dayton, Ohio, did come up with the first truly controllable aircraft, we’ll give them that, but the real claim for first in flight fame goes to a German immigrant named Gustav Whitehead that occurred in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 2013, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft, which calls itself the world’s foremost authority on aviation history, named the August 1901 flight by Whitehead as the first successful powered flight in history, according to flyingmag.com. Jane reviewed evidence from aviation researcher John Brown that Whitehead may have made one and possibly two flights in a small monoplane of his own design (and powered by a tiny motor also of his own design) as early as 1901—two full years before the Wright Brothers.

Resources:

Simple Living Creative Learning unit
Study on Flight by DIY Homeschooler
More Resources by DIY Homeschooler
Aviation Resources from The Homeschool Mom
Schooling a Monkey Airplane Craft
Webquest by Garden of Praise
Lapbook from Confessions of a Homeschooler $
Lapbook by Knowledge Box Central $
Resources from Homeschool Giveaways
Documentary about the Wright Brothers
Huffman Prairie documentary

ProSchool Membership - Productive Homeschooling

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Best and Worst of Wright-Patterson AFB

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July 3, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

It was rather a shock coming back to the States from Germany.

It’s ok here, but it won’t ever be home for us.

The Best of Wright-Patterson AFB

Central location

It’s kinda halfway between Chicago and Atlanta, where our respective families live. Not that we visit them.

Lots of camping opportunities we may explore.

It’s a good jumping off point to travel by car, I guess. It’s about 12 hours to the east coast or Gulf, and about 6 to the Great Lakes.

Dayton airport goes lots of places.

Lots of outdoorsy stuff to explore

We love the MetroParks and all the wetlands and hiking areas and state parks. We love all the nature!

Boonshoft Museum

We cannot get enough of this place. Great monthly homeschool days and summer camps! Boonshoft is so much more than a kids museum. Reciprocal membership to Fort Ancient and Sunwatch!

Air Museum

It takes a week to see it all! And they have the Memphis Belle now.

Native American history

We love SunWatch, Fort Ancient, the Serpent Mound, Miamisburg Mound. It’s great being able to see Native American sites as we learn about Indigenous Peoples.

Medical facilities

Huge WPAFB hospital and lab. There is a great children’s hospital network. Lots of varied medical specialties, if needed.

The Worst of Wright-Patterson AFB

Landlocked

Yes, I realize there’s a big lake up north, but it’s very polluted. There are lots of lakes, rivers, and wetlands. I miss the ocean. It’s about 12 hours away. It seems so very expensive to fly or even drive anywhere for overnight trips.

Weather

We have the craziest weather I’ve ever seen. Torrential rain, hail, hot and cold, high winds – at the drop of a hat. It’s weird. I have to always be prepared for anything. I don’t like tornado sirens at all. Wind frightens me.

Little diversity

I figure we may have chosen the wrong township, but there is very little diversity here and lots of racism and bigotry. Perhaps we were insulated in Germany, but it seems more pervasive since we’re back in the States and so very obvious to us now. Perhaps it’s the new political climate.

Dayton smells like Jeeps and privilege.