• Go hiking.  Hiking in almost all places places is free, except for some parks.  The best part about hiking is that there’s such a wide range of hiking trails that you can find one suitable for everybody. Find a local park for a more laid back hike, or if you’re feeling like a challenge, try taking on a mountain.  You can pack a lunch and some waters in a backpack.  Also, bring along a first aid kit with bandages and antiseptic cream just in case.
• Go to the beach.  Who doesn’t love the beach? As far as I know, everyone I know goes to the beach at least one during the summer. Between the nice, warm sands, cool waters, and glorious sun, the beach is a fun place to be.  For those who enjoy a metallic skin tone, tanning is an option, while others can fish.
• Go to see a free movie, show, or event.  Check the newspapers, web, and local magazines for fun, free events happening in your area.  With the summer in full swing, there will be concerts, film festivals, and arts shows all around. Also, on the 4th of July, there will be plenty of fireworks shows.
• Explore a local city.  There is a lot more to do in a local city than you’d think. There are museums, parks, and similar attractions. Your city can be full of fun, so go explore it.

Fuel for drive to the mountain: $20. Packed lunch: $5. First-aid kit: $7. Having fun this summer: Priceless!

• Pack well: Getting there and finding out you lack an important item stinks, to be blunt.  Make sure you pack everything you need, but not too much either.  Only pack what you need and a little extra, not everything you own.
• Bring a good amount of spending money.  Pack more than enough, because running out can put you in  trouble.  Some kids ran out, so they had to borrow money for the meal on the way home.  By the way, the meals at the rest stops cost considerably more (about $9 for a Big Mac meal at a McDonalds).
• Bring a backpack.  When you are traveling around, you will need a way to carry items like a rain slicker, money, a camera, a hat, etc.  These items are important, like if you’re at the zoo and it pours…
• Bring snacks for the room. If it is allowed, bring some snacks and drinks to consume after-hours.  This is fun and will fill you up.  After a day of walking, the limited dinner may not be enough.
• Don’t pack anything inappropriate.  At my trip, the teachers searched the bags to see if we brought anything of the such, and harsh punishment would follow upon discovery.
• Don’t get in trouble.  Allow though it is a fun trip, the teacher will dole out punishment to keep the kiddies in line.  If you are exceptionally bad, they will fly you home. (Horror music plays)
• Finally, bring some books, an iPod, movies, or all three for the ride there and back.  It is long and boring, so get some amusement to keep you sane.

These trips are a ton of fun and safe, just plan before you go and have fun!

A number of restaurants offer free kids meals on certain nights of the week.  In our area, just about every night is covered by at least one restaurant.  Sixty-nine cent cheeseburger Wednesday at McDonald’s is a popular lunch stop. Even though the savings don’t amount to all that much (I think cheeseburgers are ninety-five cents every other day), every Wednesday huge numbers of parents with young children flock to the one local McDonald’s that still has a playland.

Many movie theaters have started showing FREE movies on weekday mornings.  Our Cobb theater has two free kids movies each week, showing at 10AM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  If you can convince your children that they do not need twelve bucks worth of snacks to watch a movie, then free morning movies are a great way to get out of the house without breaking the bank.

Children’s museums are another good activity for summertime.  Many will offer an annual family pass, which is a huge bargain compared to paying single day admission at most other venues.  For $60, our family has unlimited access to the children’s museum, which is good for entertaining once a week all summer without getting dull.

There are always free events being hosted here and there in any given city.  Books-a-Million is currently offering free kids activities on Saturday mornings all summer.  While they haven’t been spectacular, you can’t beat the price and the kids sure seem to have fun.

While these events will help to keep the kids entertained without breaking the bank, mom is sure to be extra weary throughout the summer.  Dad needs to step in and have some extra ‘date nights’ with the kids during the evenings, just to give mom a break.  As the saying goes, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”   It’s a grammatical nightmare, but it’s true.

To read his full review and learn why this is a great place to go with kids, visit our sister site, Good Life Review.

We started outdoors with a live animal show in which the animal to be shown was a surprise.  The kids were excited to see a baby alligator. The presenter did an excellent job, especially considering the thunderstorm that arrived a fourth of the way through her presentation.  We moved to a covered area, where she continued her talk and allowed any interested people to touch the alligator.

From the presentation we walked to view some caged animals, including ravens and a bobcat.  There was a small exploration area that was in a sheltered area outside.  We toured this quickly and continued to the petting zoo.  There was a modest assortment of animals, which could be viewed.  We saw llamas, chickens, donkeys, and tortoises, among other animals.  Some of these animals could be petted or fed.  All were housed in natural environments.

From there, we headed indoors to the aquarium part of the museum.  There were tanks of fish, frogs, and turtles.  There also was a touch tank that had horseshoe crabs, urchins, and other sea creatures.

The Zooquarium was a decent attraction to visit.  The good note is that the Zooquarium did amuse all of our children.  The disappointing part was that even though it was both a zoo and an aquarium, it did not amuse our group for long.  We spent a little more than an hour at the Zooquarium, and we had seen and done everything.  Perhaps, if we had had a group of children under the age of 6 it would have been more fun, but for our group it was a quick visit.