Free Attractions Lead to Family Fun in Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee is brimming with attractions that are not only fun, but also easy on the wallet! Did you know that East Tennessee offers a variety of free attractions that are sure to spell family fun in Knoxville?

My family recently headed to the Volunteer State to experience some of the fun in Knoxville and this is what we found:

World’s Fair Park                                                                                      1060 World’s Fair Park Drive 

The World’s Fair Park, once the site of  the 1982 World’s Fair, continues to brim with fun and excitement. Not only is this park home to the iconic Sunsphere,

the sprawling lawn and amphitheater are perfect for festivals and concerts,

and the flowing fountains are perfect for cooling young and old alike as the temperatures climb.    

The park is a must stop for anyone driving through Knoxville, and offers a fun look at the city.

The Knoxville Museum of Art                                                                1050 Worlds Fair Park Drive

Located right on the edge of the World’s Fair Park, the art museum offers more free fun in Knoxville. The exhibits offer a range of media, style and technique with a permanent collection and temporary traveling exhibits. Don’t miss a stop in the gift shop where you’ll find a few fun and unique items. Outdoors you can stroll through the courtyard to view the sculpture garden which also offers a peek at the park below.

After exploring the park and art museum you can jump abroad the free trolley to add to your family’s fun in Knoxville where you can hop on and off about anywhere you’d like. Sure beats finding a parking spot!

9-11 Memorial                                                                                                                                     400 Main St.

More solemn than fun, this black granite obelisk stands as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack that shocked our nation on September 11, 2001. The names of those lost on that day are forever etched into the stone.  The memorial is housed under a large wind chime that softly rings as the wind blows. After visiting the memorial, you can travel up the street to so view some historical markers and around the corner on Gay St. to continue your family fun in Knoxville artsy style!

The Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum         2743 Wimpole Avenue

Another stop for fun in Knoxville, the Botanical Garden and Arboretum offer the perfect backdrop for family pictures and apparently weddings.  We didn’t stick around long here because there happened to be a private wedding taking place along the stone terrace. But if you’re in the area and looking for a place to stretch your legs, this could be just the place.

If you find yourself near Knoxville you’ll also want to check out Ijams Nature Center, a 275 acre wildlife sanctuary that has an impressive Visitor Center with museum like exhibits and several biking and hiking trails. My family especially enjoys the trail that runs along the Tennessee River. Ijams is celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year and have some fun events planned throughout the year.

Have you visited any of these attractions? Please share your experience and fee free to add any free attractions that you’re aware of in Knoxville.

SPACES Bienniel Sculpture Trail: Huntsville, Alabama

Recently, while  driving through downtown, I noticed something new.  Someone had erected some pretty cool sculptures and I couldn’t resist stopping to take a closer look. It turns out the pieces are part of a sculpture trail, a collection of 28 pieces from 15 accomplished artists on display at six different locations around Huntsville, Alabama.  

Modeled similarly to Chattanooga, Tennessee’s sculpture trail and public art, SPACES Bienniel  Sculpture Trail will be on display until August 2012.  Installations are located Downtown on the Square, at the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Von Braun Center, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Center and the campuses of  UAHuntsville, and Alabama  A & M University.

Brochures are available at the Huntsville/Madison County Convention Center with maps of the sculpture trail also available for download at the Spaces website. 

There is a GPS tour and a Cell Phone Tour available which you can access by calling 256-489-2088 and entering the number of the sculpture. 

Here are some of the sculptures we saw downtown:

Soft 2 

Celestial Motion

Grouper

And my personal favorite:  

…and this is hope (#1 and #2)

Created by internationally known artist and sculptor, Charles Brouwer, this piece is constructed out of locust wood, a hard wood that holds up to the elements. His sculpture symbolizes the hope that he finds in families that rise to the challenge of raising children in today’s world.

I can’t wait for a nice day so the kids and I can get out of the house and and appreciate some more incredible works of art.

Huntsville

Travel Tips: Finding Free Attractions

When planning a trip, we seek out free attractions or those that charge very low entrance fees. Some of the best attractions we’ve found have been through searching National Park Sites, State Parks, the wacky, fun and free attractions found at Roadside America and museums and zoos we can gain free or reduced admission to with our reciprocal memberships. 

We’ve discovered that the more money we pay for admission, the higher our expectations are. Sometimes this leads us to be overly critical, which ultimately leads to disappointment, but who can argue with free? 

When you’re planning to travel with your family, what resource do you use for finding low cost or FREE attractions?

Field Trip Friday: North Alabama Railroad Museum

Well, keeping up our pace, the kids and I headed out to explore yet another local attraction, the North Alabama Railroad Museum. This was the second time we had stopped, but the museum is operated by volunteers and may not always be manned. For that reason, I suggest calling ahead before your visit. The museum grounds are open 7 days a week so you can see the trains, but if you want to see the tiny museum housed in the depot, or hope to get access to the caboose,  you’ll need to do so when volunteers are present.

When you arrive, your first stop should be to the Chase Depot, the yellow and green building shown in the picture. There is a box on the outside of the building that holds brochures and a paper detailing the self-guided tour which includes a map of the grounds.  Inside the depot, you will see a small display of railroad artifacts and displays. The depot was one of the smallest union depots in the country and served the Southern Railway, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railways.  The depot you will see today is the second built on this site. The original depot contained two waiting rooms during the days of segregation, an agent’s office and a freight room. 

We were a little bit confused about where to go from here. Though the map details the buildings, we weren’t entirely sure what was open to the public and what wasn’t. I guess my advice to you would be to wander around, if it’s locked, it’s not open. Lucky for us, there were plenty of volunteers on hand since it was a work day and we were quickly whisked off to get a glimpse of the caboose.  The caboose is part of the display train and though you’ll find a plaque on the bottom of the car telling you what it was used for, this is the only part of the train that you are permitted to tour unless you arrive on a special departure day when the excursion train is running.

One of the volunteers ushered us into the caboose. All I can say is wow, was it hot in there! I really think that the volunteer would have talked more about the train car if it hadn’t been so unbearably hot! We were interested in the commode that seemed to be stuck in the middle of the room. It was explained that men and women didn’t work together at that time so the two men who shared the caboose had less need for privacy. It was really interesting to peek under the lid and see that the toilet drained directly below. See the picture on the right? That’s gravel. Don’t think the EPA would let you get away with that now, would they? Of course if I remember right, this caboose was last used in the 1940’s- things have changed a bit since then.

The guys in the caboose would sit in the bay like window seats in the caboose, which would allow them a clear view of the train. They’d watch intently for axles that appeared to be overheating. We did see one that had overheated and as you can imagine, a broken axle would create a heap of trouble.

We also got to take a peek in the vintage, restored Amtrak train that is still operational. Today it is used on select dates to transport visitors along the 10 –mile Mercury & Chase Railroad.  If you ask my children what they learned on this one, I don’t think they’d be able to tell you much. We discovered that it’s a bit hard to concentrate when you are literally dripping with sweat! My suggestion would be that if you happen to be in the Historic Chase community on a Wednesday, you could stop to stretch your legs and have a quick look around. It won’t take you too long, maybe 30-45 minutes tops. If you’re going to spend any significant amount of time traveling to this attraction, call ahead and see if you can schedule a tour. I really think if you received a tour it would make the difference between this being an okay stop and a gem of a field trip. You can reach the North Alabama Railroad Museum by calling 256-851-6276 or by stopping in at 694 Chase Rd. N.E. Huntsville. You can see more of the pictures from our trip at the Live the Adventure Facebook Fanpage. If you do plan to go you may want to download the free notebooking pages that I created.    Thanks for linking up to Field Trip Friday! Feel free to grab your cute button and once again, it’s not mandatory, but I would love it if you’d help Field Trip Friday to grow by offering a link back here. 

Until next week~ Happy Field Trippin'!

Field Trip Friday: Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives

It was suggested that the kids and I visit the Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives some time ago and to be honest, I drug my feet because I just really didn’t think that it would be very enjoyable. I can’t tell you how wrong I was! From the moment we stepped inside, and I saw my boys’ eyes light up, I knew we were in for a special treat.

The museum is housed in a 100-year-old building along the railroad tracks that was originally used for the transport of cotton and other commodities. Though the tracks are still in use today, the building hasn’t been used as a depot for many years. It  now houses uniforms, artifacts, and memorabilia from each of the wars in United States history,  with the main emphasis on the men and women who have served from the state of Alabama.  

Many of the exhibits displayed books or pamphlets that offer more in-depth information on the display for those that want to dig further. We didn’t really have time to delve in deeper on this visit, but my boys are looking forward to a return trip so they can read through the information on Sybil Ludington, the female Paul Revere, as well as WWI and WWII Trench Art.   My son remarked that the art created from artillery shells resembled Medieval Art. 

With a son that wants to be a future soldier, and major history buffs in our household, we’ve spent time in many museums that house war memorabilia but we always learn something new.  I hadn’t ever noticed that the Uncle Sam figure in the famous recruiting poster seemed to be looking and pointing directly at you. No matter where you seemed to be standing.  Personally, I also had not realized that thousands of American soldiers who lost their lives during WWI and WWII are buried overseas in military cemeteries in places such as Sicily, North Africa, Luxembourg City, Florence and Normandy. I had no idea.

I didn’t know that WWII pilots had silk maps. Of course, a paper map wouldn’t have held up very well if they were shot down over a body of water. The boys were surprised to learn that dog tags have not always been rectangular. During WWI there were round dog tags that were about the size of a silver dollar. We saw a miniature kit of military ships that the Navy would use to train sailors so they could recognize friendly and enemy ships on the horizon so they wouldn’t mistakenly shoot at their allies.

I think we toured just about every inch of the museum from the gift shop to the bathrooms. Yes, we even went into the bathrooms to see the artwork that a local artist had painted on the walls.  The story goes that a sailor got off the ship and grabbed and kissed the first girl he saw which resulted in a reporter snapping this well known picture. The subjects have never been identified.

The museum currently has over 2,000 pieces of memorabilia on display, but because they accept donations, the displays are always changing. It’s likely that it will not look the same on our next visit. The museum offers a library with books, DVD’s and VHS tapes on the upper floor which is open to the public and is an ideal resource for those working on reports or interested in military history. They also offer a Coffee Call breakfast the 1st Saturday of every month where you can meet and thank veteran’s who have fought for our freedom. The museum is free but donations are welcome. They also sell flags and commemorative bricks that you can honor a loved one with while supporting the museum.

The Alabama Veteran’s Museum and Archives is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00-3:00 and guided tours are available upon request. You’ll find it at 100 West Pryor St. Athens, Alabama.  For more information you can call 256-771-7578 or visit the website.                     

Want to see more pictures from our trip? You can check them out on the Live the Adventure Facebook page.

Don't forget, you can share your own family trips, outings and educational endeavors here on Field Trip Friday. It's not mandatory, but I'd be grateful if you'd include a link back to Live the Adventure from your site and don't forget to grab your cute button letting everyone know that you participated in Field Trip Friday!
Until next week...Happy Field Trippin'!

Cathedral of the Plains: One of the 8 Wonders of Kansas

I notice billboards and advertisements along the road. One of the signs that I saw grabbed my attention as I read “Cathedral of the Plains”. As one that has a keen interest in art and architecture, I was certainly intrigued. After all, I remembered all those art classes that I took in high school where we spent so much time learning about the historic European cathedrals. I couldn’t get enough of the towers and spires, beautiful stained glass windows and Gothic architecture. I made a mental note to visit this cathedral on the way home from Breckenridge, and I did.

The Cathedral of the Plains, known as St. Fidelis Church to the locals, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance. It is a magnificent building, perhaps not as ornate as I had pictured in my mind, but certainly regal for a small prairie town.

The website states that the cathedral welcomes over 16,000 visitors a year. I’m certainly not surprised, as there were two other tourists outside snapping pictures when I was there. Apparently, the church is open for visitors, a fact that alluded me at the time. I certainly would have loved to see the interior of the building. 

St. Fidelis Church is not a true cathedral since a bishop is not seated there, but received the nickname in 1912. It has been designated as one of the religious treasures of the state by the Kansas State Historical Society and was voted as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas in 2008. 

If you happen to be near Victoria, and need to stretch your legs, make sure that you stop… and… go inside! You’ll find the church at 601 10th St., conveniently located minutes off I-70.

Don’t miss out on seeing the inside of this gem like I did! You can find more information about this beauty at the St. Fidelis Website or by calling 785-735-2777.

Want to see more pictures? You can view them at Live the Adventures’ Facebook page.