Family travel destinations attractions and things to do with kids in key west

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Many people, when thinking about Key West, will bring Ernest Hemingway to mind rather quickly. Since children would probably not be too interested in visiting the Hemingway House and Museum, as well as some other adult oriented attractions in Key West, this article will list some places that will keep the younger members of a family happy on a trip to the Florida Keys.

Children will, however, enjoy visiting the Florida Keys Children's Museum. The museum houses marine life (and other animal life) that resides in the Keys. Children are able to dress up as a pirate and there is a trail outside that is a mile in length. As with any outdoor activity in this area, be sure to use the proper amount of mosquito repellant and good walking shoes are a must if hiking this trail. The museum is open 9 to 5 on weekdays and Saturdays, and noon until 5 on Sundays.

The name of Mel Fisher and stories of shipwrecks are often spoken of at the same time. It was Mr. Fisher who did extensive work with recovering the treasures of the Atocha. The museum is found at 200 Greene Street and is open from 9:30 until 5 every day of the year. Children seem to always enjoy a good story and the intrigue of a shipwreck.

It is difficult to find activities in the Florida Keys and Key West area that will not somehow cross with marine life and themes. The Key West Aquarium is no exception. Visitors are invited to help feed the sharks and turtles and this is always a hit with the younger visitors. The aquarium is found at 1 Whitehead Street.

Dry Tortugas is a National Park and is maintained by the United States National Park Service. Children can join the junior ranger program here. There is a visitor center in Fort Jefferson as well as a walking tour. Dry Tortugas also offers some activities guided by park rangers, bird and animal watching, salt water fishing, and snorkeling. Don't be surprised to hear children talk of legends of sunken treasure of gold and pirates if the child has researched Dry Tortugas! Take one of the ferries to visit the park.

Another thing usually of interest to children is climbing the eighty-eight iron steps of the Key West Lighthouse. The scenic views that await visitors at the top are well worth the climb. The lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum is open every day of the year from 9:30 until 4:30, with the exception of Christmas Day, when it is closed.

Fort Zachary Taylor is a state park that children will enjoy visiting. Find the park on Truman Annex at the end of Southard Street. This is a great place to learn about history, and tours of the historic fort itself are offered at noon and 2 p.m.

Key West has many things for children as well as adults to do. Of interest to travelers of any age is the Discovery Undersea Tour's glass bottom boat named Discovery. If the upper deck is chosen, there are shady and sunny areas, but the lower deck offers an air conditioned section as well as outside seating. The Discovery docks at the Key West Historic Seaport at the corner of Caroline and Margaret Streets.

What child doesn't like the kind of oddities that Ripley collected for many years? The Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium at 108 Duval Street offers more than five hundred exhibits and that is plenty to hold the interest of children and adults of any age.

For a different kind of adventure, try A Key Encounter Nature Theater, located at 291 Front Street (at the Clinton Square Market Mall). The theater is comprised of three large screens showing wildlife footage. Visitors will also find "the jungle walk" here where live exotic birds call home, as well as some other "unlive" animatronic creatures to delight visitors.

Last, but certainly not least in visiting Key West with children is to stop by Harry Truman's "Little White House" at 111 Front Street. President Truman loved this area so much, that in 1949 he wrote to his wife, "I've a notion to move the capitol to Key West and just stay." Not only did this site serve as a fully functional and working White House, but has been a place of historical events before Truman and since. Thomas Edison lived in this house while he was offering services to the Navy in World War I, as one example. Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy also spent some time here. Truman's Little White House continues to see well known visitors with Jimmy Carter holding a reunion with his family here in 1996 and even more recently, Colin Powell held peace talks here in 2001 between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, so the site continues to be rich in history.