Who needs a good day trip to do as a family? Who doesn’t mind driving around 2 hours for a fun family outing? I have a great option to share with you. It takes about two hours from Nashville area, it is not a bad drive, and you can spend hours at the location. Head down to Union City and check out the Discovery Park. You will not be sorry you did.
Discovery Park of America has 100,000 square feet of museum space, which houses 10 galleries showcasing science, space, technology, military, natural history, regional history, art, transportation, and more. The big hit was the huge dino fossils for my son! He was thrilled. My daughter enjoyed the science area. There is also a two-story sculpture slide which you can go down but be warned it is super-fast. My son was a little shocked when he did it.
The fun doesn’t end with the building. The Park also has 50 acres of outside exhibits to explore. I would recommend going on a nice day or wearing good coats. You do not want to miss exploring the outside areas. They have a town area, a working watermill, gardens, a church, train station, Liberty Bell replica, an amazing nature inspired play area for kids and so much more. We ran out of time to spend outside. My kids could have spent a few hours playing on the cool play area. A major plus for us there was a handicap friendly zip line chair my daughter could be put in and enjoy the zip line beside her brother. The area is very unique and has lots of fun things for the kids. The other areas outside are really cool to explore as well. Most are wheelchair and stroller friendly. There is a paved path that goes around the whole 50 acres. I would make sure to save an hour or two to spend outside. Make sure you go around the backside and see the space stuff. They have a really cool dome building devoted to space and a rocket you can make blastoff outside. It is tucked kind of behind the building and you access it from inside by the observation tower elevator. It took us a long time to figure out how to get to it so I thought I would save you the time.
They do have a little café onsite to have lunch. It has a wide range of items to choose from and should make everyone pretty happy. They currently have a mask mandate, but check the website for up to date Covid safety rules before going. The bathrooms were nice and clean, as was the rest of the building. My family enjoyed ourselves a lot. There really was something for each of us to view and enjoy. It covers a wide range of ages which is nice when your kids are five years apart in age. Make sure to check the hours because they are closed a few days and open later on Sunday. All in all, it is a great day trip from Nashville.
