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We're moving to Chapel Hill on Monday. We have a 1 year old and a 5 year old, and I'm looking for some activities and parks to keep the 5 year old interested and happy in his new home while we meet new friends and settle in. Can you tell me your favorite family/kid activities for younger children? 5 yo is very into dinosaurs and typical boy stuff, the baby will go anywhere and be happy. I know I can find lists in guidebooks etc, but what are your favorite activities? What parks and attractiions do your kids really like? Thanks!
I second Marbles. My son is three years old and everytime we visit, he finds a new exhibit to love. If you can, visit during the week to beat the crowds (they ar close on Monday, though). Admission is $5 a person, but you can spend the entire day there. It's a lovely place!
Hands down, the Museum of Life & Science in Durham! I signed up for membership my first visit there when I moved here a year and a half ago. Dinosaurs? It has a whole dinosaur trail with life size models and a gigantic sand box made out like a fossil dig site. My daughter proudly keeps the "T-Rex tooth" she found there in her treasure chest. It also has bears, wolves, lemurs, and other live animals as well as a big butterfly and bug house. It has an outdoor playground for nice days and an indoor play area for not-so-nice days. The place is huge and you can never see it all in one visit. I've been there dozens of times, and we do different combinations of activities everytime so that it's always fresh. The membership is totally worth it!
I don't venture into Chapel Hill too often, but we do like to visit the Botanical Garden there too. Duke Garden in Durham is a great place to run around and burn some energy outside. The Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh is also a fun place and has lots of great events going on.
Marbles, Durham science museum, Raleigh science museum, Paperhand puppet Intervention, The Scrap Exchange, Kazoom kid's theater, various story times at local libraries, various bounce houses like Monkey Joe's (although I hate those places!), The Polar Ice House ice skating, Jellybeans roller skating, movies on the lawn at regency park in the summer, Pullen Park (it's closed right for remodeling), festival for the Eno, Mapleview Dairy Farm, the NC zoo, the state Farmer's market
Oh, and also, I recommend joining a moms group. I did that, and not only did I get to meet a lot of other families, but I also got to explore a lot of places in the area that I would not have discovered on my own. I know there is a Chapel Hill moms group on meetup.com, and there is TriangleMommies.com as well.
On Franklin St., there's Kidzu Children's Museum, which has free admission on Sundays. I put my son in the padded baby playpen there and watch him crawl around with the other babies. There's a bunch of things to do for the older kids as well. We also go to the Chapel Hill Library for their children's programs.
we love the NC Botanical Gardens - the chess board has been the backdrop for each of my kids birthday pictures ; watching them grow up alongside the pieces has been really fun. We love Marbles - probably a decent idea for you to do a membership if you like it - and your admission price that day is deducted from the family membership. We LOVE Pullen park, it's closed presently for renovations - I believe it will open late this spring. Raleigh Farmers Market off Lake Wheeler Road. (pullen park is also right around the corner from it.) The Museum of natural History in Raleigh is free admission, is totally perfect for a 1 yo and a 5 yo. The History museum across the street is cool for the 5 yo and for you to check out the area and learn about what's here. We love Hockey - and love to go see the hurricanes practice (up close and personal, free, fun!) at the Reczone on Hodges St in Raleigh. There are so many parks it's hard to identify our favorites- we love the park in Rolesville - great for meeting other moms, too. If your neighborhood has bunco - I would highly recommend going- you'll meet the neighbors and may meet other moms there, too.
We are in the process of moving, we'll miss this area like crazy. very family friendly! (I have an almost 2 yo, a 4 yo, and a 7 1/2 yo.)
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