Known as the "Birthplace of Aviation," Dayton was the hometown of Wilbur and Orville Wright, who researched and built their first airplanes in the Ohio city. Several attractions celebrate the famed brothers and their landmark invention, but Dayton also has plenty of other draws for children and families, including a science museum with a zoo, children's gardens, farm fun and parks with an abundance of outdoor recreational activities.
Many kids like planes, trains and cars, and Dayton has its share of transportation-themed attractions. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has more than 360 planes, spacecraft and missiles scattered throughout several galleries, ranging from early airplanes through the precision aircraft of the modern era. At Carillon Historical Park, a major attraction is the Wright Brothers' 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world's first practical airplane. However, the park also is home to an 1835 B&O steam locomotive, interpreters dressed in period costumes and 25 buildings that provide a glimpse into Dayton's pioneer past. For a treasure trove of automobiles, America’s Packard Museum has about 50 vehicles built in the early 20th century by the Packard Motor Car Company. The cars are set in a circa-1917 building that housed a Packard dealership.
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is an interactive children's museum that includes a science and technology center, a pioneer cabin, planetarium, observatory and Explorer's Crossing, which is full of hands-on educational displays. The museum's Discovery Zoo houses more than 100 live animals and insects, including a skunk, meerkats, porcupines and river otters. Other attractions include a toddler play area, a three-story climbing tower and slide, a treehouse and tidal pool. In the Children's Discovery Garden at the city-owned Wegerzyn Gardens, youngsters can learn how to grow backyard vegetables, sprinkle plants with water drawn from an old-fashioned hand pump and view Ohio habitats such as woods, prairie and wetlands. Other possibilities include crawling through a limestone cave with fossils and a waterfall, finding their way through a musical maze or going on a scavenger hunt.
Aullwood Audubon Society & Farm is home to a 200-acre nature sanctuary where children can enjoy exhibits on native animals, play interactive games and solve educational puzzles. Families also can walk the sanctuary's 6 miles of trails through prairies, forests, ponds and meadows. At Aullwood's educational farm and discovery center, youngsters can tour a children's garden with themed educational displays and visit a circa-1880s barn that's home to cows, draft horses, sheep, goats, hogs and barn cats. Possum Creek, a city-owned park set on the site of the namesake working farm that was established in the 1880s, attracts children with historic farm buildings, barnyard animals, Polly Possum's play area, nature trails and fishing ponds stocked with bass and catfish.
Dayton has a thriving city parks system, and two downtown parks provide the perfect spot to pack a picnic lunch and spend a few hours of recreation and relaxation with your children. RiverScape MetroPark, set along the banks of the Great Miami River in the heart of downtown Dayton, has an interactive fountain, a water play area, reflection pools and the Inventors River Walk, where children can learn about Dayton's tradition of innovation through a series of invention stations. Other family-friendly activities include bicycle, pedal-boat and canoe rentals. In the winter, RiverScape has an ice rink and cross-country skiing trails. Island MetroPark, set near the spot where the Great Miami River and Stillwater River converge, has hiking and biking paths, a water play area, playground and river access for fishing, canoeing and kayaking.
