120916 Newport Aquarium Shark Sign

Newport Aquarium Winter Family Day Tickets

Absolutely, one of our families favorite aquariums that we have visited to date is the Newport Aquarium located along the Kentucky/Ohio border. The aquarium is very well themed, substantial in size to feel like your family gets their money worth, and our kids loved it!

120916 Newport Aquarium Panoramic

For families looking to experience the Newport Aquarium this winter, there is a limited time promotion going on from January 7 to March 1, 2015 that will make it worth while. For each paid adult (age 13+) ticket ($23 each), guests will now receive two (2) free child (ages 2-12) admissions ($15 each).

In addition, the Newport Aquarium will be open an hour earlier than normal, at 9:00 AM on Saturdays and holidays.

When visiting the Newport Aquarium, be sure to stop across the street at the Hofbräuhaus House Newport for an authentic German meal and experience.

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Source: Newport Aquarium Facebook

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

A Review of Dinosaur World, Kentucky with Kids

DINOSAUR WORLD KENTUCKY KIDS- Lions, and Tigers, and Dinosaurs, Oh My! When staying at the Mammoth Caves area, I had the opportunity to surprise my family with a visit to Dinosaur World before we headed on to Florida.

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

We were able to visit the Kentucky Dinosaur World right at opening, making it an excellent opportunity to experience the theme park without any interaction from other guests.

Our family has seen the dinosaurs of Disney, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and even those at Cedar Point. So we were not too sure what to expect. Surprisingly, we really had a great time enjoying the property and the 150 plus life-sized dinosaurs around the park.

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

Note, the dinosaurs are not audioanimatronic like those at many other places. They are stationary statues of the dinosaurs. Guests go on a nice hike through the woods on paved paths to experience the dinosaurs. The really nice thing about Dinosaur World is there were 1) dinosaurs I had never heard of prior to our visit, and 2) each exhibit included detailed plaques that talk about various details of each species.

Following our extensive nature walk, we were invited to the Fossil Dig. Kids aged 3-12 get access to the Fossil Dig area with their admission ticket. After a brief educational briefing by the attendant, kids were encouraged to search the area for fossils of their own. Once they filled their cups, they were allowed to keep any 3 of the fossils in their containers.

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

In addition to the Fossil Dig, our kids were invited to the Dino Gem Excavation area. Here, guests purchase a bag of gems intermixed with sand. They then pan for their gems in a gold mine style wash. Our boys really enjoyed this part, as any time you add water to the mix, the event gets more interesting for them.

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

140609 Dinosaur World Kentucky

Our boys were able to take home a large back of unique gem stones, which was really neat to do, as well as identify the collection later on.

Dinosaur World also had a small museum, extensive gift shop, really nice playground for the kids, and themed restrooms.

My only complaint about visiting Dinosaur World is I fear they may go extinct due to lack of staying up with the times. The downside of stationary dinosaurs that do not move nor make sound is that people these days expect more. While I had an appreciation for the artistry that went into creating the dinosaurs, other may not. Having seen life sized dinosaurs at other parks that move and make sound, I could imagine some may be bored by the less than exciting immersive recreations.

Have you visited Dinosaur World? What did you think?

Dinosaur World Kentucky is located at 711 Mammoth Cave Road, Cave City, KY 42127, with additional locations in Florida and Texas. Admission is $12.75 for adults, $10.75 for seniors, $9.75 for kids aged 3-12, and those under 3 are free.

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Source: InACents

Note: Our family was provided passes to Dinosaur World, as well as access to Fossil Dig and Dino Gem Excavation. All opinions are those of the author.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara (6)

A Review of Mammoth Caves Tour for Kids

MAMMOTH CAVES TOUR KIDS – Driving across country from Cleveland, Ohio to Orland, Florida meant several stops on the way down to try and break up the drive. So our family’s first stop following Maker’s Mark, was to visit the Mammoth Caves region.

Our family elected to go on the Frozen Niagara tour due to its late start time (4:20 PM EST) and ease for navigating with small children.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara

The Frozen Niagara tour lasts for an hour and a half, adults cost $10 each, and children under 5 are free.

Guests take a bus to the entry of the cave, which is secured by a locked door. Park rangers let you into the cave, and the last person in is required to close the door, which automatically locks.

Then we were escorted down into the cave, where we stopped at several locations along the way.

Our tour guide was also an area resident, as was his family since the slave days. So he was able to provide a lot of interesting information associated with the area and how it impacted his ancestry.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara

We learned how the cave used to be privately owned, and was named Frozen Niagara because of the final area of the tour. The then owner was a clever business person, coining the phrase to drum up business for the caves.

Eventually, the United States government came in took over all the property surrounding the caves by eminent domain.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara

The Frozen Niagara tour was perfectly timed to give little ones just enough interaction with the caves to learn from the experience. Our boys were even enticed to climb the 45 stairs down (and then back up) to the base of the Frozen Niagara room. However, unfortunately, you can not wear toddlers in backpacks any longer in the caves. Therefore, the caves may not be the best atmosphere for those around 1 year of age. Our one year old is at the age of wanting to explore, and typically not liking to be held. So it was a little bit of a struggle to entertain him in an environment of “do not touch” and large falloffs into caverns.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara

Do note, the area is undergoing a large tick problem, and at least one person from our party had one crawling on his hand during the visit. Be prepared to either dress appropriately and/or try and stay away from the grass to avoid interaction and possible contamination from the ticks.

140608 Mammoth Caves Frozen Niagara

No one told us Barbosa would be hanging out in the cave.

Someday when our boys are older, I would enjoy revisiting and doing some of the more adventuresome tours when time would permit.

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Source: InACents