George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas
Located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, the George W Bush Presidential Center opened in May 2013 and offers many hands on opportunities to learn about American (and world!) history at the start of the 21st century, Bush’s presidency. The museum is designed around four principles that President and Mrs. Bush valued: freedom, responsibility, opportunity, and compassion. The archives include over 70 million pages of documents and 4 million photographs. Individuals may make appointments for research room access.
Year in Review: Highlights of 2018
2018 was an exciting, adventure filled year for my family. We started a bit early by purchasing a new 2018 Chevy Equinox, and to date-exactly 54 weeks later- we have over 26,000 miles on the odometer. We’ve been as far west as Texas, as far south as Florida, and as far north as Maine. We’re explored over a dozen states, over twenty National Parks Service locations, over two dozen museums, two baseball parks (that brings our total count to 24 out of the 30 MLB parks), and created countless memories.
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station, Texas
The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center, located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, is one of the most popular sites in Texas since it opened in 1997. My family found it to be one of more child friendly presidential libraries of the 13 libraries and museums overseen by the US National Archives. (Check out our tips for visiting the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas and the FRD Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York). The Center has frequent family friendly events, ranging from book signings and guest lecturers to film screenings and, most recently, a visit from the World Series Trophy (the nearby Astros won the World Series in 2017). Check here for for updates.
William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library & Museum in Little Rock, AR
In addition to a bucket list to see all 30 Major League Ballparks, my family also has a goal to see each presidential library in the country (the National Archives oversees 13 libraries). On a recent trip to Little Rock (such a family friendly city- read about our adventures in Little Rock here), we spent the morning at the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library & Museum. The Clinton Center opened in 2004 to both showcase the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton and as an educational venue for exhibitions, lectures, and programs. It’s the top rated place to visit in Little Rock, Arkansas and the Center provides living history for all ages.
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County, located in southeastern New York, spans from Fishkill and Beacon to Rhinebeck and Red Hook covering (in total) thirty cities, towns, and villages. There are literally hundreds of ways to explore the area, but I thought I would share twelve ways families can enjoy all that Dutchess County has to offer together. The county borders western Connecticut and is about 90 minutes from Manhattan. Driving from the north end of Red Hook south to Beacon takes less than an hour, so you won’t spend days in the car exploring the area.
Start your planning by checking out DutchessTourism.com, which is a well organized, well informed network of suggestions for eating, staying, and exploring the county. They have a section dedicated to family fun and even have itineraries broken up in one, three, and five day stays (in additional to organizing suggestions for shopping, craft beer, spa, LGBT and other themed trips).
FDR Presidential Library, Museum, and NHS, Hyde Park, New York
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Dutchess County, New York. Less than two hours from Manhattan, Dutchess County is filled with hundreds of ways to learn about American history, agriculture, and the arts. Check out dutchesstourism.com for advice, suggestions, itineraries, and maps. I’ll have a full write up of our travels in two weeks.
Whenever we travel, we always check our National Parks Passport and our Presidential Library Passport to see if there are any locations near our destination. We hit a double when we found The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, both located on the same property in Hyde Park, New York. We love the National Park Service (read about why here) and our son is quickly becoming a presidential scholar, so we had to spend the morning exploring the complex. America’s first presidential library and museum was designed by FDR himself and opened to the public in 1941. The museum has over 400 collections, including 51,00 volumes and 150,000 photographs, negatives and audiovisual items, as well as plenty of research and meeting spaces.