# Fun stuff for kids in Dayton and Cincinnati? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794 "2012-03-05T06:24:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/1 "2012-03-05T06:24:28Z")
We’re planning a spring trip, and will likely go to one of these cities. We have three boys, ages 15, 12 and 8. Any suggestions for either? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/2 "2012-03-05T06:32:56Z")
King’s Island, in Cincinnati, is a great amusement park, and features the best damn roller coaster you’ll ever ride, The Beast. The first time I ever rode it, I was shaking for a half hour afterwards. In Dayton, the can’t-miss is the Air Force Museum, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. ---
**Author:** ![Gabing\_Gaboing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Gabing\_Gaboing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gabing_Gaboing)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/3 "2012-03-05T11:39:29Z")
Just over the river from Cinci is the Newport Aquarium, and EnterTRAINment Junction, which are both very cool. Cinci also has a Children’s Museum and Zoo and a Creation Museum if you are into that kind of thing. Also in Mason, where King’s Island is, there is a Great Wolf Lodge which is a resport/indoor water park. Ditto on Wright Patt’s Air Force Museum in Dayton. Dayton has it’s own Children’s museum called the Boonscoft which is very interactive. There is also Wegerzyn Garden, an interactive and beautiful garden center. Near to Dayton, in Yellow Springs, there is Young’s Jersey Dairy which has mini golf and a petting zoo and farm-made ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/4 "2012-03-05T13:30:08Z")
Moved to IMHO from Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/5 "2012-03-05T13:55:13Z")
Cincy’s museum center is pretty cool. Although you probably want to do some checking to see if any of the exhibits appeal to the kids at the time of your visit. [http://www.cincymuseum.org/](http://www.cincymuseum.org/) Cincinnati does NOT have a creation museum, unless somebody just built one. There is such a thing not far away in Kentucky, but all you need to know about that is contained here: [http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/your-creation-museum-report/](http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/your-creation-museum-report/). The Cincy Zoo is good, but I think Toledo and Columbus are far better. There is baseball in both Cincy and Dayton. Great American Ballpark is nice and the views are good. If you are going to go, you might look on the Reds website for the “all you can eat” tickets. The food ain’t fancy, but with kids along it makes for a great deal. I have not been to the Dayton ballpark but it is reportedly a very nice new minor league park. In Dayton, as **Chronos** said, the Air Force museum is can’t miss. If the kids are even the slightest bit interested in planes this is worth it. You do have to put your name on a list for the special tour to the hangar with the presidential and experimental aircraft, don’t miss it. Best of all, its free. I took a hyped up 7 year old boy and 5 year old girl and they were fascinated, stayed until they couldn’t walk anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/6 "2012-03-05T14:21:05Z")
Those are all good, thanks - keep 'em coming! ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/7 "2012-03-05T15:10:29Z")
For Dayton, I can’t think of much that hasn’t been mentioned already. The [Air Force Museum](http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/) is the obvious first recommendation (hence it being mentioned like 10 times in a 5-post thread). It’s actually been recently renamed the National Museum of the US Air Force…but no one really calls it that. You can _easily_ kill a whole day there, and still not see everything. Check out a cool IMAX film while you’re there. I’ll second the recommendation for the [Boonshoft Museum of Discovery](http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/) above. It may be a little “young” for the 15-year old, but if he’s science-minded, it won’t matter. I’m a grown up and I can have a blast in a hands-on science museum. The minor-league baseball park here (mentioned above) is Fifth-Third Field, and it’s home to the Dayton Dragons. It’s a fantastic place to watch a game…definitely a top-notch park. Don’t know if they’re still selling out most home games, but consider getting your tickets in advance. I wouldn’t consider a trip to southwest Ohio to be a choice between Dayton and Cincy. They’re only 45 minutes apart (downtown to downtown), so going up and down 75 is doable. Hell, that’s some people’s daily commute…poor bastards. King’s Island is really sort of between Dayton and Cincy, jsut a bit closer to the latter. It’s a good way to spend a day. If adrenaline seeking is your kind of thing, one newly-opened place on the north sice of Cincy might be down your alley. [Full Throttle Indoor Karting](http://www.cincykarting.com) opened in the fall, and it is a top-notch indoor go-karting facility. 1/4 mile of constant high-G turns, karts that average almost 30 mph around the track even without ever really going in a straight line. All three boys could run in the junior karts (ages 8-16), and have a blast. It’s not the cheapest place to spend an afternoon, but the excitement level is HUGE. ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/8 "2012-03-06T20:32:46Z")
I concur on all that has been said so far… ALSO, if anyone has any interest in Native American Culture, there’s: [Sunwatch Indian Village](http://www.sunwatch.org/) (Part of the Boonshoft) There’s the [Packard Museum](http://www.americaspackardmuseum.org/) There the [Dayton Art Institute](http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/) which is…relatively kid friendly. OOH this one is NOT to miss! [CARILLON PARK](http://www.daytonhistory.org/destinations/carillon-park.htm), well, any of the Dayton History sites, really, but this one is by far the best. [Carriage Hill](http://www.metroparks.org/Parks/CarriageHill/Home.aspx) is a working 19th century farm, it’s cool. There’s lots of hiking at all the metro parks as well, worth checking out. I’ve not been to the [Peace Museum](http://www.daytonpeacemuseum.org/), but i guess it’s pretty good, don’t know how kid friendly it might be… Speaking of hiking and walking, [Woodland Cemetery](http://www.woodlandcemetery.org/) is great for that. More famous people than you would expect in a small market city like Dayton. that’s all i can think of off the top of my head… yeah, i grew up here, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/9 "2012-03-06T20:39:00Z")
Also, In reference to 5/3 field, Yes, they sell out evey game, but there are always lawn seats available, and they are also grand. reasonably priced, good ball, great park. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/10 "2012-03-07T03:39:37Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > For Dayton, I can’t think of much that hasn’t been mentioned already. The [Air Force Museum](http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/) is the obvious first recommendation (hence it being mentioned like 10 times in a 5-post thread). It’s actually been recently renamed the National Museum of the US Air Force…but no one really calls it that. You can _easily_ kill a whole day there, and still not see everything. Check out a cool IMAX film while you’re there. the AF Museum shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s huge. imagine a B-36 swallowed up in half of one of the 3 hangers (it’s a humongous airplane). There’s also an annex that houses the presidential planes as well as other experimental aircraft. And there is the Wright Memorial and interpretive center overlooking Huffman Prairie Flying Field which is also available to the public. So there are 4 sites close together. The annex requires registering to take a bus because it’s on the military part of the base. you’re limited to a short amount of time visiting the annex. I would spend some time planning out the museum to maximize the experience. > [@aerodave](#): > > I’ll second the recommendation for the [Boonshoft Museum of Discovery](http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/) above. It may be a little “young” for the 15-year old, but if he’s science-minded, it won’t matter. I’m a grown up and I can have a blast in a hands-on science museum. As an adult I’m not impressed with the Boonshoft Museum. The original museum it replaced was far more interesting. I feel like I’m at a McDonalds play area. Great for little kids. Haven’t experienced the Planetarium which is probably more enjoyable for older kids. > [@aerodave](#): > > The minor-league baseball park here (mentioned above) is Fifth-Third Field, and it’s home to the Dayton Dragons. It’s a fantastic place to watch a game…definitely a top-notch park. Don’t know if they’re still selling out most home games, but consider getting your tickets in advance. If you do nothing else, drive through this area. The City went to great efforts to capture it’s history in various monuments. The Ball park is beautiful to drive by and it replaced a blighted brownfield area. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/11 "2012-03-07T03:46:14Z")
I went to Cincinnati for a conference last year. Basically the only fun thing I did there was see the art deco train station. That was really cool. I won’t shit on your thread with my otherwise dreary experience there, since I’m willing to accept it was atypical. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-stuff-for-kids-in-dayton-and-cincinnati/614794/12 "2012-03-08T22:26:44Z")
For fun halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton, you can go fossil-hunting at Caesar’s Creek. If you’re diligent and lucky, you’ll find a trilobite, which is enormously satisfying. But even if you don’t find one, there are a gazillion other fossils. It’s free, too – just get a permit first at the museum, which is worth a visit anyway. Bring sunscreen, by the way. I’m also a fan of Carriage Hill Farm, as mentioned above. But it’s best for kids who are interested in the old days.