The other day my family was wanting to do something new and fun. We did not want to travel or anything. So, I started thinking of some places we had wanted to go but had not made the time for yet. One place came to mind that I had placed on my family bucket list a long time ago – The Tennessee State Museum. I got online to check COVID rules and regulations and felt it was safe for the family to social distance and go visit it.
We drove downtown and parked at the Nashville Farmer’s Market. Across the street is the super nice and fairly new Tennessee State Museum. An added bonus is that it is free to park at Farmers Market and it is free to go to the museum. Let’s be real – that is a plus for any family outing. They take your temp when you enter and give you a map to get around. The kids can pick up an activity book and scavenger hunt to do as you explore the exhibits.
We headed upstairs to the exhibit floor and started our tour around. What I loved is that it was easy to access with my daughter in her wheelchair. This is a major plus, so strollers would be easy to use as well. There is a lot to view upstairs. We saw everything from cave men, to present day Dolly Parton, and everything in between. You really cover the history of our great state from start to now. My kids liked seeing some of the things they had learned in school recently. The exhibits are well done and fun to look at and read about. The kids enjoyed following the booklets they got at the start. It also helped to keep them interested as we went along.
We spent a few hours exploring. Then we went to the outside deck and viewed downtown from the rocking chairs. Such a great spot to sit for a few minutes. While we sat out there, we thought about a good lunch idea. Well, hello, we are parked at Farmer’s Market! We decided to go in and eat at some of the amazing food options there. They also require masks. It was clean and all tables spaced out. My kids loved they each got to choose a place to eat based on what they love. It is like a food court if you have never been. We looked around and picked our favorite places. The food was great and came out quick. We sat down at a picnic table and enjoyed our yummy food choices. Afterwards, we went out to see the vendors that are set up during the week, which is when we visited. There was a great pumpkin booth, plant booth, and veggies, too. It was so fun to look around in the open air booths.
We then decided to go outside the gates and walk the Bicentennial Capitol Mall. It was a nice day, so why not. It also continued our history theme to walk the beautiful park. The TN map is our favorite to walk around on and see names of different cities. My kids also love to try to turn the Globe that is on the fountain. I love that it has a wheelchair ramp so Emma can access it easily. They love to try to stop the world. We worked up enough of an appetite to head back into the Famers Market to get some Jeni’s Ice Cream before heading home.
It was a fun ‘So Nashville’ day for all. We wore our mask and had social distance fun at all locations. Go and enjoy a slice of true Nashville.