You can become tourists in your own town by uncovering local gems and taking advantage of the burgeoning number of children’s activities offered by state and county cultural and environmental organizations. Contrary to what the kids may want you to believe, the true definition of vacation is to abandon your normal routine of life. Do everything differently, and you’re on vacation.

Travel Guides

Get the American Automobile Association TourBook for your town. These books are free to AAA members and contain exhaustive tourist information about possible attractions in every city, town, and burg in the nation.

Tourist Brochures

Stop by the lobby of the nicest hotel in your city and pick up tourist brochures. Don’t assume you already know about everything there is to do in your city. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Local Events

Start paying attention to the calendar of events in your local newspaper. Summer is the time for festivals, shows, county fairs, and concerts in the park.

Children’s Museums

There are hundreds of children’s museums in the United States, and most of them offer free admission on a certain day of each week or month. The Association of Children’s Museums will give you information on a museum in your area. Make plans to visit, even if you’re not a kid.

Field Trips

Every city has some kind of post office, firehouse, police station, factory, or manufacturing business that offers tours. If you call ahead, most of these community facilities will be thrilled to take your family for a tour. Many of these kinds of tours will send you home with samples or other souvenirs. Check the Factory Tours USA website to see what’s available in your area.

Libraries

Some of kids’ best summer memories are of long, lazy days with a stack of books. Librarians can guide kids anywhere in the universe through books. Libraries are a gold mine of children’s activities, and they frequently offer reading programs, story hours, and movies.

Get Creative

There’s no doubt the parents’ attitudes and moods set the tone for the family. Your excitement about new kinds of adventures and entertainment can become infectious. Camp in the backyard for a few nights while taking a special local outing each day. Sleep out under the stars or in a tent and tell stories around the barbecue. Roast marshmallows, and drink hot chocolate. Turn your home into a hotel. Offer room service complete with menus. Have an all-night movie extravaganza. Unplug the phones. Take lots of pictures and put together a vacation photo album. The possibilities are endless.

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