praisefor3 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I will be doing some training in Birmingham the last week of March. DH and two of the dc (13 and 6) will be coming along. We can do some things on each of the weekends and dh can do things with the dc during the day. I know about Huntsville but other than that...any suggestions for the weekend trips or some day things to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 How far would it be to go see Helen Keller's home? We made a detour to do so and it was well worth it (make sure the kids see The Miracle Worker ahead of time.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Oak Mountain is fun if you want to hike or picnic, though March weather may be iffy. I have not been there in years, so I do not know what amenities are currently available, but you used to be able to rent canoes to row on the lake and hike up the mountain. Atlanta is 3 hours away. Chattanooga is close, and their aquarium is good. The Civil Rights musuem in Birmingham is supposed to be good, though it opened right before I moved from B'ham. The zoo and Botanical Gardens are right across the street from each other. Neither is world-class, but they're fine. Huntsville is worth the drive. It is close to Tuscumbia, Helen Keller's birthplace, so you might be able to combine those on a single day. On the off chance that you are really into NASCAR, the Talladega speedway is less than an hour away, between Atlanta and B'ham. There is a museum there, and you can take tours of the speedway. Rafting on the Ocoee River is convenient to Birmingham, and great fun, but I don't know if you can do that in March. Hope you enjoy your stay. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Birmingham has a nice art museum (free and even free parking behind it) and a great children's museum, the McWane Center. Both are downtown. Oak Mountain State Park is wonderful. They have great hiking, an injured animal (wild of course) sanctuary, canoeing, fishing... Tannehill is another cool park. It is at the site of an old iron works. There is also an iron museum downtown, or used to be, that is neat. I cannot recall what it is called or find it online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeathenMom Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Cloudland Canyon State Park in Rising Fawn, Georgia is one of the most beautiful places i've ever been. it's a little over 2 hours from B'ham and is close to Lookout Mountian/Rock City/Ruby Falls in Tennessee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakarimom5 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Decatur has Cook's museum...and the gift shop is very reasonable. My guys always get rocks for their collections for $.50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Mcwane is the science center here. They have an imax theatre. The space & rocket center is in Huntsville... the B'ham zoo is nice... Oooh, and Tannehill State park is just down the road from me. Very nice park with a Historical flare. Check it out online--they have the ironworks museum from when ammunition was made for the civil war, a slave cemetary, old cabins and things.... They have Tannehill Creek Kids during the spring which is an awesome 1/2 day outdoor in the Creek, learning about microbids and such. :) There is also a natural history museum in Oxford/Anniston. Edited January 29, 2011 by rootsnwings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Moundville, Vulcan Park, Red Mountain Museum, Noccalula Falls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2J112903 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 How far would it be to go see Helen Keller's home? We made a detour to do so and it was well worth it (make sure the kids see The Miracle Worker ahead of time.) Less than 3hrs :D I live 2 blocks away from the Keller home and we travel to B'ham quite often. The McWane center is AMAZING! Parking is $5 and admission is not cheap however, if you have a membership from another museum, chances are you can get into McWane free. Hunstville is a pretty straight shot up the interstate, they have the Space and Rocket Center and also SciQuest (a hands on Science Museum). We frequent SciQuest as well. Cooks Museum in Decatur is pretty cool and cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA6336 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 If you take US-78, Memphis is exactly 4 hours away. LOTS to do here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sands31210 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Shark Tooth Creek. I haven't been here yet, but it was written up in Family Fun magazine last year. A friend of mine went and had a fabulous time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Shark Tooth Creek. I haven't been here yet, but it was written up in Family Fun magazine last year. A friend of mine went and had a fabulous time. Ooooh, do you get to keep the fossils you find? My kids would LOVE going there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Less than 3 hours from Birmingham is Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, which would be a fun day trip. In the same area as Callaway, is a really fun Wild Animal Safari. I've never laughed so hard in my life going through that thing. You can take you're car, but I would highly recommend renting one of their vehicles. My van still has a dent from the ze-donk! http://www.pinemountain.org/2106-1.htm Atlanta is only 2 1/2 hours away. There is a lot to do there. Aquarium, coke museum, six flags, stone mountain, museums, etc. Edited January 29, 2011 by hmsmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffodilDreams Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Burritt on the Mountain is a living history museum in Huntsville. We loved it and wish we lived there so we could participate in the Homeschool classes and camps. My SIL raves about the botanic gardens in Huntsville. The Space center is sooooooo worth the drive! Dd had a lot of fun at Sci-quest in Huntsville, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Less than 3 hours from Birmingham is Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, which would be a fun day trip. In the same area as Callaway, is a really fun Wild Animal Safari. I've never laughed so hard in my life going through that thing. You can take you're car, but I would highly recommend renting one of their vehicles. My van still has a dent from the ze-donk! http://www.pinemountain.org/2106-1.htm Atlanta is only 2 1/2 hours away. There is a lot to do there. Aquarium, coke museum, six flags, stone mountain, museums, etc. Ohmygosh. The Wild Animal Safari place is a HOOT. And yes, rent one of their vehicles. And nearby Wild Animal Safari is Warm Springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Less than 3 hours from Birmingham is Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, which would be a fun day trip. In the same area as Callaway, is a really fun Wild Animal Safari. I've never laughed so hard in my life going through that thing. You can take you're car, but I would highly recommend renting one of their vehicles. My van still has a dent from the ze-donk! http://www.pinemountain.org/2106-1.htm Atlanta is only 2 1/2 hours away. There is a lot to do there. Aquarium, coke museum, six flags, stone mountain, museums, etc. Exactly what I was about to write! There are discount coupons for the Wild Animal Safari at HalfOffDepot.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) I believe the McWane Center and Huntsville Space Museum are both on the science museum reciprocal list. You buy a family season pass at one and get in the other free. (I believe the McWane Center is less.) You can also check a science museum near you and purchase a membership there that could get you in free at both. For example, we can join the little science museum an hour from our house (in Oak Ridge) for only $35 for the whole family. That membership will get me into the AL museums. The Space Museum is like $15 for a single day a person. It makes it really cheap to visit science museums! Edited January 29, 2011 by Lolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 If you decide to make the trip to Huntsville, maybe you could also check out Harmony Park. It's a short drive from the Space Center. You get to drive through and feed the animals (emus, zebra,, camels, rams, buffalo, etc.). We loved it. They came right up to the window to eat out of our hand. We all had a good laugh that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sands31210 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Yes, I believe you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2J112903 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I believe the McWane Center and Huntsville Space Museum are both on the science museum reciprocal list. You buy a family season pass at one and get in the other free. (I believe the McWane Center is less.) You can also check a science museum near you and purchase a membership there that could get you in free at both. For example, we can join the little science museum an hour from our house (in Oak Ridge) for only $35 for the whole family. That membership will get me into the AL museums. The Space Museum is like $15 for a single day a person. It makes it really cheap to visit science museums! Yes, the McWane Center is the better place to get the membership thru. You can not get into McWane free if you get it thru the Space and Rocket Center. Even though we are closer to the Space and Rocket Center, we have a membership thru McWane. It is $20 for adults and $15 for children at the Space and Rocket Center and approx the same price for McWane. This does not include IMAX tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 There's a Lego store in one of the malls in Birmingham (which is enough to make DH and DD willing to make an 8 hour round trip from Memphis :). ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2J112903 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 There's a Lego store in one of the malls in Birmingham (which is enough to make DH and DD willing to make an 8 hour round trip from Memphis :). ) There is A LOT in that mall actually! Including a Cheescake Factory :D It is not too far from McWane either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SABE Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 My kids really enjoyed the Museum of Natural History in Anniston. There is also a world history museum on the same property. I haven't been there myself, but I've heard good things about it. http://www.annistonmuseum.org/ http://www.bermanmuseum.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Shark Tooth Creek. I haven't been here yet, but it was written up in Family Fun magazine last year. A friend of mine went and had a fabulous time. FYI, the website for Shark Tooth Creek is a bit wonky- there is text on the pages that appear to be empty, but you have to highlight the page to see the text. Each person gets to keep 15 of the teeth they find, and they get to choose which 15 to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonshine Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham is great - allow 2 - 3 hours. 2 hours to see it all, 3 to linger and dig deeper. I would say it is suitable for ages 7 and up. If you are into music the Alabama Country Music Hall of Fame somewhere in northwest Alabama is interesting. Also, the Pest Control Museum in Decatur, Alabama was interesting. Our car broke down and then we had some more mishaps - we stayed for a week in Decatur, Alabama - a town I had never heard of and never planned on going to. I scoured the area for museums. The space Museum in Huntsville is big and very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Face southwest and wave at my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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