This week is spring break so today I took the kids to This is the Place Park up in Salt Lake City. Last year we made the mistake of going to the zoo over spring break and there were way too many people. I had never been to This is the Place so we decided to check that out.
I really enjoyed the day and I think my children did too. There were plenty of people there but there were a lot of interactive activities to go around and the crowds didn't feel overwhelming.
First we met at the monument which is just outside the actual park. I dropped the kids off, found parking and then met them at the monument which was erected in 1947, the 100th anniversary of the pioneers entering the valley.
Next, we headed for the petting corral. They had quite a few baby animals plus mothers in the corral for us to pet. My youngest two had never done this so they were pretty scared at first. But they got used to it and enjoyed it. One poor mother goat had a very full udder. I wondered why they were torturing her this way so I asked if they ever milked the goats. The caretaker said no, it was too hard on their bodies. This particular goat had lots of milk because she just had twins 2 1/2 weeks ago and she was used to producing enough milk for quads. So she was just needing to dry up some of that milk. We also watched the two baby lambs drink their bottles which they did with gusto.
Next to the petting corral was a barn with a bunch of baby chicks and baby rabbits that people could hold.
Next stop was the B.F. Johnson Saddlery. The kids got little squares of leather and enjoyed using a mallet to stamp some designs on it. After that we took a train up the hill to an area with some Native American houses. The children made arrowhead necklaces and then walked across the street to pan for gold.
One thing I liked about the park was the trains. There are several train stops throughout the park and when you are tired of walking, you just get on a train and it takes you to a new location. So the park is spread out enough to accommodate lots of people but you don't always have to walk everywhere. We also took a little mini-train ride.
We didn't get to see everything before it was time to go but I got a membership for a reasonable price so we can go back.
And here's a random picture from the day before when I took Camille and her cousins to the Bean Museum at BYU:
I really enjoyed the day and I think my children did too. There were plenty of people there but there were a lot of interactive activities to go around and the crowds didn't feel overwhelming.
First we met at the monument which is just outside the actual park. I dropped the kids off, found parking and then met them at the monument which was erected in 1947, the 100th anniversary of the pioneers entering the valley.
Next, we headed for the petting corral. They had quite a few baby animals plus mothers in the corral for us to pet. My youngest two had never done this so they were pretty scared at first. But they got used to it and enjoyed it. One poor mother goat had a very full udder. I wondered why they were torturing her this way so I asked if they ever milked the goats. The caretaker said no, it was too hard on their bodies. This particular goat had lots of milk because she just had twins 2 1/2 weeks ago and she was used to producing enough milk for quads. So she was just needing to dry up some of that milk. We also watched the two baby lambs drink their bottles which they did with gusto.
Next to the petting corral was a barn with a bunch of baby chicks and baby rabbits that people could hold.
Next stop was the B.F. Johnson Saddlery. The kids got little squares of leather and enjoyed using a mallet to stamp some designs on it. After that we took a train up the hill to an area with some Native American houses. The children made arrowhead necklaces and then walked across the street to pan for gold.
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| This is a replica of the ship "Brooklyn" which carried pioneers around South America and up to San Francisco. They eventually ended up in Utah. |
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| Panning for gold was a very popular activity. They had lots of tiny little "gold" nuggets in the stream. |
One thing I liked about the park was the trains. There are several train stops throughout the park and when you are tired of walking, you just get on a train and it takes you to a new location. So the park is spread out enough to accommodate lots of people but you don't always have to walk everywhere. We also took a little mini-train ride.
We didn't get to see everything before it was time to go but I got a membership for a reasonable price so we can go back.
And here's a random picture from the day before when I took Camille and her cousins to the Bean Museum at BYU:
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