Results tagged “Kids” from Intelligent Travel Blog

For the past year, Rainer Jenss and his family have been traveling around the world and blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. This post marks the last dispatch from their journey, and the end to an incredible year. You can see where they've traveled by going back through the archive of their posts, or look to the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids. If you have questions for the Jensses, they'll be writing a few follow up posts in the coming weeks about the transition back home. Email questions here, or leave them in the comments below.

Flashback to April 2007 - I'm staring out into the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, perched on a large piece of driftwood that washed up on a desolate strip of beach off the northwestern coast of Bocas del Toro, Panama. In my meditative state, I envision the end our pending yearlong trip around the world finishing up right here on the unspoiled island of Bastimentos. I'm with my friend Greg who claimed this piece of tropical paradise for himself when he bought some property on this archipelago back in 1996.

Now I'm with my family at the last stop of our incredible 52-week adventure, and my premonition proved spot on. I really couldn't think of a more fitting place to conclude our journey and put this whole trip into perspective. Since we set out last July, we have been housed by people we'd never met before, lived in a camper van, slept in tents, overnighted on trains, and stayed in some of the nicest hotels on the planet. I figured spending our last few days in a hut with pretty much no creature comforts - not even a bathroom (au natural was the only way to go) - would be a perfect setting for us to reflect on the events of the past year and start thinking about a re-entry strategy.

In preparation for our time on the island, we had the assistance of one of the local Ngobe Indians who I had met when I was last here. Joey--his nickname--helped Greg secure his land purchase in the first place and now acts as the caretaker of his property. Without him, there's almost no way we could have pulled this off. Firstly, Joey lent us a hand in buying all the food and rations we'd need for the week. More importantly, he transported us and all our provisions to the island with his dugout canoe. Then after the 45-minute motor across the Bastimentos Marine Park, he and his wife Maria helped set up all the essentials, including four hammocks. For refrigeration, we used three big blocks of ice in an extra-large cooler which would last us about 4-5 days, while two five-gallon jugs provided us with our fresh water (showers were taken from rainwater collected by a water tower in the backyard).

We've often delved into the nostalgia of children's literature as inspiration for this blog, so children's book illustration fits right into that vein of thinking. Or at least that was my original rationale when I ducked in to see "From Bugs to Beasts: Storytelling Through Collage by Eric Carle" at the Stanford in Washington Art Gallery in D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood, where a collection of lithographs and torn paper works by the artist are on display. But it turns out that the exhibit, which runs through September 1 and features huge versions of Carle's classic tissue-paper illustrations of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and other works, only scratched the surface. Carle, a commercial artist who ventured into children's books -- illustrating over 70 -- and never went back, dreamed of a place where the art featured in classic storybooks could be appreciated beyond the page. So in 2001, he opened the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in his hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts.

The museum now hosts a series of rotating and permanent exhibits; the two currently on display feature the works of E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh books, and a retrospective of writer and illustrator Tomie dePaola, who celebrates his 75th birthday this year. And The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is perhaps Carle's most famous book, is observing a birthday of its own, with 40th anniversary parties being held across the country (check out these listings for events near you). Carle himself turned 80 this year, but is still busy blogging, and will be making his annual visit to the Picture Book Museum for a book signing this August 23.

The Carle seems like a perfect gateway museum for parents who are looking to move their kids beyond the children's museum circuit and have them begin to appreciate fine art. Not only will they recognize many of the illustrations from their own book collections, but they'll have the chance to make their own in the massive artist's studio on site. They can also take in a story hour in the museum's library, or watch some of the stories come to life in the theater. And then of course there's another charming touch for the Very Hungry museumgoer- the signature snack in the museum cafeteria is the caterpillar cookie... with a hole in the center. 

["From Bugs to Beasts: Storytelling Through Collage by Eric Carle"]
[The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art]
[The Official Eric Carle Web Site]

It's going to be a busy summer for Curious George. Fans of the little fellow, who makes getting into trouble look like more fun than a barrel of monkeys, will be delighted to learn that events celebrating learning, literature, and a little bit of mischief are scheduled every month from now through September.

On July 25, the new visitor center at the Curious George Cottage in New Hampshire will be dedicated just in time for the third annual Curious George Cottage Family Festival. The festival, which runs from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9, will celebrate the famous children's book character with loads of educational, kid-friendly events to entertain all ages.

From a banana pancake breakfast, story hour, a nature discovery walk, and the chance to learn to draw in the style of illustrator H.A. Rey, the weekend is full of hands-on opportunities for monkeying around. In fact, George and his friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat, will be visiting to check out the festival and meet with young fans.

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they're blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys' Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

"Welcome back" were not the words we wanted to hear with six weeks left on our year-long journey, but there was no avoiding it unless we didn't tell anyone about the forty-hour layover we had in New York before flying on to Peru. "We're not finished yet," we had to say again and again. Carol and I were actually quite apprehensive at the thought of breaking up the flow of our trip to spend two nights back where we started last July. The benefits of doing this, besides seeing some family and friends, were that the boys could play with their long-lost buddies while Carol and I seriously downsized our luggage for the trip's final leg that would be spent mostly in tropical climates.  

As far as how it felt to be home for the first time in ten months, it was actually quite revealing. If there's one thing I've realized throughout all my travels, it's that your senses are elevated. Food, fashion, architecture, language, landscapes, wildlife, smells--you are much more aware of everyday details whenever you leave the familiar surroundings of home. Since I've been in this heightened state of awareness for almost a year, it didn't go away when we landed in the U.S. Just the opposite. I seemed to walk around in an "all that's old is new again" frame of mind.

Meanwhile, our trip to Peru would also be a sort of homecoming, for we were joining up with the winners of the National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge, which would reunite me with fellow staff members and other colleagues from The Society.  It also meant that Tyler and Stefan would have plenty of peers to share the experience with, a huge bonus for two boys who only had sporadic interaction with other kids their age in the last year.

It's summertime and the living's easy. Why not spend the night at the zoo, drifting off to sleep to the hoots of owls and the growls of lions? Zoos across the country host overnight sleepover events where kids and their families, Scout troops, and school groups can pitch their tents, snuggle in their sleeping bags, and get a behind-the-scenes look at zoos after hours when the crowds have gone home.

Visitors pitch tents at the Houston Zoo

Most zoo overnights are aimed at a local audience; oriented toward kids; typically provide dinner, a late-night snack, and light breakfast the following morning. Some may focus on a particular theme or animal (conservation, adaptation, African elephants, animals of the Bible, for example), and range and price between $30 and $139.

As I compiled this list of U.S. zoos putting on such fun events, I discovered, to my delight, that a lot of U.S. zoos organize overnights and put their own spin on them. To make sense of things, I contacted Allen Nyhuis, co-author with Jon Wassner, of America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide (The Intrepid Traveler, 2008) to get a feel for some of the best zoo overnights. Here are his top five picks:

1) Probably the most attractive-looking program has to be at the San Diego Wild Animal Park's Roar & Snore Camp (in Escondido, CA). They have a camp of tents set up overlooking SDWAP's gorgeous East Africa Savanna, with its many antelope, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and more. The rows of perfect tents look authentically like one of those tent camps you've seen in the real African safari camping resorts in South Africa or Tanzania. This camp is near the park's Lion Camp exhibit, so campers usually wake up to lions roaring.

2) A lower-budget ($35/person) option would be the Binder Park Zoo's Overnight Safari (in Battle Creek, MI). The safari is entirely in the zoo's Wild Africa section, which we find amazing in its African realism. This zoo exhibit is modeled after an African national park, so I can imagine that sleeping there would have the same feeling.

 3) Some zoos have overnight programs with a chance to sleep in some very interesting buildings. At the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, you can sleep in the Manatee Springs building and fall asleep watching the peaceful creatures. At the Minnesota Zoo, overnighters tuck in at their Discovery Bay building and doze off watching either dolphins or sharks. Here in my hometown, the Indianapolis Zoo offers the same -- a chance to sleep within view of dolphins, sharks, or even jellyfish.
 
4) At the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, you can fall asleep watching gray wolves in their rustic Wolf Lodge, a replica of a 19th-century trapper's cabin. You might also get the thrill of hearing them howl at night.

5) At the Fort Worth Zoo, their Outdoor Explorers Overnight program includes using a compass to find your way around the zoo and fishing in a stream early in the morning. You'll likely stay in the excellent Texas Wild! exhibit area, learning about the animals and habitats of the Lone Star State.

Six more fun overnights await after the jump!

IT contributing writer Andrew Evans sends along a carbon footprint-free blog post after spending this afternoon at the Centre for Alternative Technology in northern Wales.

We'd like to welcome Traveler Intern Giovanna Palatucci, who is getting her sea legs on the blog with this, her first post. 

Picture this: cows grazing on Beacon Hill, burlesque theaters in Government Center, and waves crashing at the Old State House doorstep. Certainly this is not what Boston looks like today. As modern architecture and planning quickly propel the design of our cities into the future, one group pauses to map out Boston's beginnings and transformation into a major urban center.

The Walk to the Sea, entering its first spring and summer seasons, is the latest walking tour to hit Boston. The route highlights the evolution of the city over four centuries, focusing on Boston's ties to the sea and covering ground that was once part of an active harbor.

The trail follows a one-mile route, descending 100 feet from Beacon Hill to the Long Wharf, passing historic landmarks and modern skyscrapers. Ten glass and stainless steel informational panels mark the path and explain Boston and American history through images and maps. Beginning in May, visitors can log on to the website to download an audio tour for the walk right to their iPods. And we like this eco-friendly feature: a small wind turbine on the top of the last panel keeps the signs illuminated for nighttime tours.

Walk to the Sea intersects two of Boston's famous walking trails: The Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail. For those who can't get enough of walking tours through historic Boston, check out the Fairmont Copley Plaza's Freedom Trail Discovery Package, available this year from April 1 through December 31 for $349. The package includes a one-night stay in one of the Fairmont's elegant guestrooms, two tickets to the Walk Into History tour with 18th-century costumed guides, two tickets to the three Freedom Trail historic museums, and a copy of The Freedom Trail: An Artist's View.