Where should we go? (Carnegie, Manor: appointed, theatre, living)

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

Now I'm not sure what to do. I didn't know Pittsburgh had a Conservatory. Our kids favorite place to go is Longwood Gardens
The Gardens - Longwood Gardens

My wife grew up near Wilmington, so she is quite familiar with Longwood (and I know a little).

Phipps is a different experience, being more indoors, but it is a really cool place if you are into that sort of thing. It is very well done, and evokes a bit of the old Victorian/Robber-Baron/Gilded-Age era in Pittsburgh.

Not to keep confusing you, but if you wanted to do Phipps, there are some other things a bit closer than the Zoo, and frankly I think doing the Zoo and Phipps in one day would be a real trial, particularly for your ages. I already mentioned the Natural History museum, but another really cool and manageable place is the Frick Art & Historical Center. It is made up of the former estate of Henry Clay Frick, and includes its own little greenhouse, a small fine arts museum, the playhouse (which is now the gift shop), a carriage and vintage car museum, and the main house (Clayton). Everything but Clayton is free.

Frick Art & Historical Center | Welcome

There is a great cafe on the grounds, and it is the kind of place you can visit for a shorter or a longer time as you see fit.

Or if the weather is nice, you could just go to one of the great playgrounds nearby. What we call "the dinosaur playground", officially the Anderson Playground, is just across a bridge from Phipps in Schenley Park:



One of the all time great playgrounds for kids (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, but we have been to playgrounds in a lot of countries at this point) is what is known as the Blue Slide playground in Frick Park (the Frick Art & Historical center is at the top of this map, the Blue Side playground on the lower-left):

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7168/frickmapmk3.png (broken link)

I know this is information-overload, but there really are a lot of great options.

[KatieNK]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

We will be visiting the Pittsburgh area this weekend with two toddlers, age 6 & 4.

Not to be snarky (really) but since when is age 6 and 4 a toddler? You have yourself some big kids now!

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Maybe they're just fat?

[Burghgirl17]

The Children's Museum gets my vote - your kids are the perfect age for it. The Aviary is close by, but I haven't been there since I was 6 years old myself, so I can't give much of an opinion. The zoo is nice, too, but perhaps the Children's Museum might be more of a unique experience.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by KatieNK

Not to be snarky (really) but since when is age 6 and 4 a toddler? You have yourself some big kids now!

True, old habits die hard. Although, they have a 12 year old brother. He is the big kid on the block.

[robrobrob]

I would do Phipps, since that this what your daughters like the most, and then head to the Natural History Museum. They are close together so that is doable.

[Scientist Mom]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I would do Phipps, since that this what your daughters like the most, and then head to the Natural History Museum. They are close together so that is doable.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Not to keep confusing you, but if you wanted to do Phipps, there are some other things a bit closer than the Zoo, and frankly I think doing the Zoo and Phipps in one day would be a real trial, particularly for your ages. I already mentioned the Natural History museum, but another really cool and manageable place is the Frick Art & Historical Center. It is made up of the former estate of Henry Clay Frick, and includes its own little greenhouse, a small fine arts museum, the playhouse (which is now the gift shop), a carriage and vintage car museum, and the main house (Clayton). Everything but Clayton is free.

Frick Art & Historical Center | Welcome

There is a great cafe on the grounds, and it is the kind of place you can visit for a shorter or a longer time as you see fit.

Or if the weather is nice, you could just go to one of the great playgrounds nearby. What we call "the dinosaur playground", officially the Anderson Playground, is just across a bridge from Phipps in Schenley Park:



.

Agree that a day consisting of Phipps, Carnegie Art and Natural Science Museum and Anderson Playground (if it is nice out) is a good plan. Plus that gives lots of options in Oakland, including the Cafe at the Museum, for lunch.

The Children's Museum and Aviary would also make a very nice day.

I diagree that Frick Art and Historial Center is good for children younger than 7 or 8 years old. They can't tour Clayton, the car and carriage museum is very no-touch and the art museum won't hold the interest of most kids.


Unless you love zoos, I would not make ours a priority. Our zoo is nice but IMO the big escalator at the entry is the only thing that makes it distinct from other nice zoos. and perhaps the baby elephants.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Scientist Mom

I diagree that Frick Art and Historial Center is good for children younger than 7 or 8 years old. They can't tour Clayton, the car and carriage museum is very no-touch and the art museum won't hold the interest of most kids.

Our then-four-year-old really liked it. They have stuff in the car and carriage museum kids can play with, like old horns they can honk.

I've never heard of an age restriction for Clayton tours, and I could swear I have seen young kids on them (although we didn't try with our kid--after looking at the other stuff on the grounds, he wanted to go back to see the cars again).

[Scientist Mom]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Our then-four-year-old really liked it. They have stuff in the car and carriage museum kids can play with, like old horns they can honk.

I've never heard of an age restriction for Clayton tours, and I could swear I have seen young kids on them (although we didn't try with our kid--after looking at the other stuff on the grounds, he wanted to go back to see the cars again).

I seem to recall an age restriction but can't find it on their website- so perhaps you are correct.

Definitely recall that our kids (probably 5 and 2 at the time) were not that into it. It was okay because it was close and free. From the website, it looks like they regularly have special things for kids, which may be worth it. But on a normal day, I would still be reluctant to take my son (just turned 4).

[Hopes]

The Children's Museum and the Science Center are your best choices because the weather probably won't be good for the zoo.

Either one would be great, but if you have chose one, go with the Science Center.

The Children's Museum is cute but it's not big enough to spend a significant amount of time.

Since both are very close to one another, you could easily do the both since the Children's Museum won't take much of your time.