The city of Birmingham, Alabama, is the highest-rated city in the United States for amount of green space. Birmingham has 17.9-acres of green space per 1,000 residents. In addition to this green space, this city offers a variety of child-friendly activities ranging from educational to recreational options. Many of these activities are designed to help children remain active and learn healthy habits.
Parks
There are more than 2,000 acres of public green spaces in Birmingham. These green spaces include over 18 recreation facilities, tennis courts, lakes, softball fields and golf courses. One way for your children to enjoy the outdoors in Birmingham is by having them spend time on the Vulcan Trail. This trail is approximately a mile in length, the perfect distance for small children, and it features views of the Birmingham skyline.
Gardens
Birmingham Botanical Gardens is the largest living museum in the state of Alabama. This 67.5-acre museum features more than 25 gardens, 30 sculptures and miles of paths. The garden offers a variety of children's educational programs throughout the year to encourage children's interest in nature, the outdoors, the environment and cooking. The programs are designed to promote a child's sense of creativity and discovery in a fun environment. Programs include the Scales and Trails program, where kids are encouraged to explore the gardens for creatures with tails or scales.
Zoo
An outing at the zoo is always an educational adventure with your children. Here your children can learn about the habitats and habits of animals from all over the world. At the Birmingham Zoo, your child can discover more than 800 animals from 200 different species. These include mammals, birds and reptiles. Daily child-friendly activities at the zoo include the giraffe encounter, sea lion training demo, aviary walk, butterfly encounter and rhino encounter. Expand your child's zoo experience by signing her up for the Zoo Patch Program. This program is available for kids ages 6 to 12. In the one and a half hour program, kids explore the zoo, are able to meet animals up close and learn about how zookeepers care for the animals.
Aquatic
A popular destination in Birmingham is the Cahaba River. Take a memorable family adventure down the Cahaba River on a canoe with the Cahaba River Society. The society offers several different trips including full-day adventures, moonlight adventures and lily trips. During these adventures, you and your children will canoe down the river and typically get out and explore the wildlife on foot. Canoe trips include canoe rental, a guide, paddle and life jacket. Children of all ages are welcome on the trip, but it is advised to only take children who know how to swim.
Museum
One way to merge educational activities with sheer fun is at the McWane Science Center. This hands-on museum was designed to encourage children to have a lifelong passion for learning. This science-specific museum features interactive exhibits such as dinosaur fossils, aquariums brimming with exotic species and touch shark tanks. To help encourage physical activity, the museum features playgrounds and interactive activities such as the Seismic Jump, where children jump to mimic the vibrations experienced during an earthquake.
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