Discovery Park, Union City
What gets your kids excited? If it’s dinosaurs, engines, musical instruments, outer space or motorcycles, they’ll be delighted with an outing to this 70,000-square-foot collection of hands-on exhibits where those topics just skim the surface. Along with areas devoted to nature, technology, history and art, don’t miss the aquarium of lake life and a 60-foot human body with a leg that doubles as a 30-foot slide. Amid the park’s 50 acres, you’ll find restored log cabins and farmhouses in an 1800s village, a barn filled with classic farm equipment, a gristmill, a train depot with antique train and a town square fashioned in the style of the early 1900s.
830 Everett Blvd., Union City, Tenn. 731-885-5455, discoveryparkofamerica.com , @DiscoveryParkUC.
Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium, Kingsport
Nature and science coexist here. Start with the animal habitats where bobcats, owls, wolves and white-tailed deer are among the resident critters. From the planetarium’s 40-foot dome, viewers can get a close-up of heavenly bodies, and a surround-sound system provides the effects for space-themed films about comets, planets and more. An outdoor adventure course features ropes and zip lines. The park hosts a variety of special events throughout the year, and it’s already taking reservations for those who want to watch the August 2017 total solar eclipse.
853 Bays Mountain Park Road, Kingsport, Tenn. 423-229-9447, baysmountain.com.
The Hermitage, Nashville
While the nation’s attention has been riveted by the soon-to-be 45th president, here’s a chance to learn about the seventh, who also captured his share of headlines back in the 1830s. Andrew Jackson, a veteran of the Revolutionary and 1812 wars, won office after a campaign of political smears. He survived an assassination attempt and accusations that he and his wife were not legally married. This white-columned mansion was their home until 1804, and both are buried on the grounds.
4580 Rachel's Lane, Nashville, Tenn. 615-889-2941, thehermitage.com, @7thpresident.
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