If you are considering a trip that also teaches then these travel tips for educational family vacations will be of interest to you. Educational family vacations often become the source of treasured memories for kids and parents. When a child learns something while traveling it becomes a part of them for life. In the article below several experts reveal their travel tips for educational family vacations.

“Vacations that emphasize learning are one of the biggest trends in family travel,” said Nancy Schretter, managing editor of the Family Travel Network, an online travel site. “We hear from parents and grandparents that this is absolutely a high priority.”

“Such travels can introduce children to foreign cultures, allow them to watch wildlife, learn about history or science, or volunteer and perform community service.”

“Getting the most out of the travel experience begins with “getting yourchildren interested in their destination or an aspect of it before you hit the road,” said Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, editor of travel site wejustgotback.com”

“For her family’s road trip this month to Yellowstone National Park — with stops in South Dakota’s Badlands, Mount Rushmore and Wounded Knee and Montana’s Little Big Horn — Kelleher’s 12-year-old daughter is reading “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” The family is also visiting websites and “loading up the Netflix queue” with films and documentaries that showcase the history and culture of the area.”

“If we show up and just read the plaques and try to compress all of that, it would probably be a little dry,” Kelleher said. “Arriving with some kind of background knowledge helps makes the trip more rewarding.”

“However, it’s important to keep expectations in perspective, says education expert Barbara Wolf, who oversees family learning at The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis. When talking with visitors, Wolf says she never asks, “What did you learn?” but “What did you take away from this experience? What captured your interest? What did you enjoy?”

“Keep in mind that “even the smallest experience can be a learning experience,” Wolf said.”

Think Outside the Box…

“One of the most memorable, says Krista, now 22, was in 2002, when the Dunn Loring, Va., family traveled to Tanzania in East Africa. It included Maasailand, the Ngorongoro volcanic crater and Serengeti National Park.

She recalls the joy of living outdoors in a tent for two weeks, listening to the roar of lions at night, and learning about the region’s rich wildlife.

“Those vacations were always a supplement to what I was learning in school, and they just made learning much more fun,” she said.”

Or Keep it Simple…

“Laying the groundwork for an educational family vacation needn’t focus only on the destination. Learning about the route you’ll travel and how you’ll get there also can be valuable, Kelleher said. “The website howstuffworks.com, for example, has a great travel section that explains how airplane toilets work and how interstate highways are numbered. That’s something my 11-year-old son would really love.”

“Ultimately, she says, anything you can do to “add layers to your trip” will help make it a more educational and memorable experience.”

There is a lot to think about when planning a vacation, but when you realize that the memories will last forever you know that all the effort is worth it. A family vacation is something that requires imagination and patience all rolled up in one experience so we are happy to provide these travel tips for and educational family vacation.

What was your favorite family vacation experience?

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