The Blues and plates of bodacious barbeque are usually the first things to come to mind when thinking of Memphis. Children generally don’t. That’s a shame, because this Tennessee River city really can be kid-friendly, if you know where to look.
Head first to Mud Island, specifically the Riverwalk. It’s an exact-scale replica of the Lower Mississippi as it flows from its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Ill. a serpentine 954 miles south, to the Gulf of Mexico. Kids can shed their shoes and “walk” the length of the river, counting 20 cities mapped along the way. 30 inches equals one mile – such is the scale of your child’s imagination when it comes to this wondrous layout. Along their journey down the Father of Waters they’ll learn about the forces – man-made and otherwise – that have shaped the river. It’s the kind of real-world ecological lesson that sticks in their minds in a way mere textbooks can’t. When you and your kids reach “The Gulf,” take a leisurely pedal-boat ride around the one-acre enclosure. No hurricanes or tropical storms inhabit this 1.3 million gallon enclosure.
Mud Island’s terrific, a Memphis must-see. Lesser-known is My Big Backyard at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The folks who run the garden deem it the perfect place for “jumping, splashing, digging, creating, daydreaming and discovering.” My Big Backyard is precisely that: big. There are more than a dozen unique enclaves within this family-tuned piece of turf. Among the favorites:
- Seedling Circle, a hands-on place where kids explore the shapes, colors and scents of the smallest sprouts out there.
- Leaping Lawn, where they jump, run and follow stepping-stones that look like birds.
- Treetop Adventure, where your children get a bird’s eye view of the garden while learning what makes birds tick.
- Nature Play, where kids build forts, put on puppet shows, fashion natural works of arts and generally exercise their imagination and bodies all at the same time.
Mud Island or My Big Backyard, either one beats cable TV back at the hotel.
(Image: ilovememphis)
