Family Fun Day at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum–Join bad mom, Melissa, as she tells the story of their Family Fun Day while they experience the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum through fresh (and potentially terrified) eyes! Read more right here at Newsymom!
March 12th was one of the best Saturdays we’ve had in awhile. We woke up (on the right side of the bed), cooked an amazing breakfast at home, and plopped down on the couch thinking to ourselves, “What do we want to do today?”
My husband and I went back and forth with our “normal” festivities (i.e. walking around The Strip, the mall, the park…) but everything had already been done before too many times or it was too cold to be outside.
“Why don’t we go to that museum here in Canton that your mom visited last year?” my husband asked.
DING DING!
We had a winner! I called up my sister to join us, and we all carpooled to the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. (Ahem, have you SEEN the price of gas?)
Fun as soon as you walk in…
We knew walking in that we were going to have a blast! The ladies at the info desk know exactly what they’re doing and let you know about all the wonderful things they’ve got going on, like the next Planetarium show!
Unfortunately since our daughter is only two (turning three soon), she wouldn’t be able to go to the Planetarium. (You’ll need to be at least five years old to enter. It makes sense because you want to be able to enjoy the show without screeching from temper tantrums. And Z has plenty of those…)
So, we rock, paper, scissored who would stay with the baby, and luck would have it: I lost. Natalie and Alex would go to the two o’clock show, and I would wander the museum with Z. It’s fine… really.
First Up, Dinosaurs!
We headed downstairs because the dinosaur display caught my husband’s eye, and I knew he was excited to show Z his favorite thing ever. (He wanted to study Paleontology when we met at seventeen, and still does to this day.)
Okay, for this next part, I might be a bad mom.
potential toddler trigger warning
Now, I didn’t KNOW that by pushing the animatronic dinosaur button, it would ROAR loudly and petrify our toddler for the duration of the trip. It was not my intention to instill fear, but…
I. COULD. NOT. STOP. LAUGHING.
I didn’t expect it to scare her so much, and chuckled throughout the tour downstairs at how many times her eyes darted in the direction of the dinosaur up front, scared it was coming after us.
Aside from the dinosaurs, you’ll see all kinds of fun science fun downstairs. We played with sounds, learned about tornados, saw the coolest solar-powered car from Stark State College, and so much more!
Moving Upstairs for the Stars and Stark County History
Upstairs we found the Planetarium (where Z and I dropped off Natalie and Alex to watch the show without me since I’m the loser) and going up further we got into Stark County history.
There was so much cool stuff up there, like the history of the Hoover vacuum, whose suction is so powerful it could lift a person off the ground. (Imagine how clean your floors are after vacuuming with a Hoover!) Or, the history of Aultman Hospital and how it came to be.
Moving past all that, you come across the Street of Shops! (This was my favorite part of the museum.) You walk along the old cobblestone street through buildings built before any modern construction. The museum actually uses the tools displayed to help them build things needed for their exhibits so everything can remain historically accurate.
History buffs in the family will fall in love with everything that the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum has to offer.
Onward to Shopping!
Since we found President McKinley while we were upstairs, we went to the gift shop before we left to submit our entry for free membership!
We also left with a McKinley Presidential Library & Museum pressed penny and a bracelet to put it in, a t-shirt, and some roll-on scented oils, but almost left with the whole store! They also have cool Ohio merchandise like window decals for your car, mugs, jewelry, and toys and books for the kids. You can go into the gift shop at any time for free, no admission is required!
Highlights for Mom
I could talk all day about why the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum is perfect when you’re having one of those “What you wanna do today?” days, but let’s break it down into some highlights:
- Local to Canton-area residents, but a joy for anyone in Stark County
- Affordable fun (children 2 and under are free!)
- Offers all-day bracelets so you can go in and out as you please (or when you forget the diaper bag)
- Gift shop has toys for everyone to love: mom, dad, and kiddos!
- Enter yourself for a chance at a free membership when you find President McKinley in the Street of Shops Exhibit
- Planetarium shows for those age 5+
- Something perfect to do for a few hours of fun, without interrupting nap time for the littles
Check out the highlights of our trip below and compare them with yours!
Melissa Klatt
Reporting
