Children's museums in Austin (http://www.austinkids.org/) and San Antonio (http://www.sakids.org/)

You can also check out the Hill Country Flyer train (http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/) - currently the steam locomotive is undergoing repairs, so they use a diesel-electric locomotive.

A day in downtown San Antonio--Alamo; Alamo IMAX movie, "The Price of Freedom"; lunch on river; boat ride on the river; La Villita. The kids aren't too young for the Alamo or the IMAX movie. We took our son beginning when he was aged 4 or 5 and he was so inspired that he's now a history major at UT.

tubing down the river is big in Austin. It is a blast.

Thanks folks for the great ideas. I've been to the Children's Museum with my son before but maybe we should go again.

Kinda done the San Antonio thing a bit but maybe the Alamo and all may be worth it as I couldn't do it earlier when my son was real young.

I'm thinking it may be too cool to do the tubing in mid March. Water is usually quite cold even in summer, and it's still only in the mid 50's (air temp). Hopefully it will be warmer by then. I'll save that for summer.

I am thinking that:

8. Renting a boat on Lake Travis may sound like a good idea if the weather is nice. The water is finally high after drenching El Nino rains.

Other ideas?

Oh, make sure you have lunch on Lake Travis. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it overlooks all of Lake Travis. It is actually more of a restaurant - it is a place to have weddings, meetings, etc.

JillD--

That is The Oasis, but I'm not sure it is someplace I would take a bunch of children.

What about InnerSpace Cavern in Georgetown?

http://www.myinnerspacecavern.com/

There's also Aquarena Springs in San Marcos (glass-bottom boat rides, aquarium, wetlands boardwalk)

http://www.aquarena.txstate.edu/

And the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/

Check to see if your branch of the Austin Public Library (assuming you are in Austin) has a "Caravan" story hour for elementary-age children.

For that matter, you and the other adults could take turns reading to the children, maybe a chapter a day of a good children's book.

Been to InnerSpace Cavern in Georgetown twice, don't really care to see it again, especially after seeing Carlsbad Caverns. Thanks for the idea though!

Cranachin,

If the weather is rainy we may consider that But seeing as though March is usually the best time weatherwise to do stuff around Austin, outdoorsy activities are probably our best bet. Also, we need to let the kiddos get their energy exerted so they fall fast asleep at night! If we read to them all day we'd never get them down at night...

Cranachin,

Your URL http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/ doesn't work.

JillDavis, thanks but we've been to the Oasis about a thousand times, as have every relative that has ever visited. It is always a great view though.

Something simple like Zilker Park - playground for the kids. If nice weather, pack a lunch or grab a picnic table and grill hotdogs, perhaps an IMAX movie at Bullock.

bk--

The problem was that the ")" got incorporated into the URL in my post.

Try the one in your post - it worked fine for me.

I didn't mean read to them all day - LOL! I doubt they would sit still for it. But I bet they would for a chapter a day. Maybe you could come up with things associated with the book(s) - crafts to make, games to play, foods to prepare, dress up like characters in the book and act out the story, etc. - that would add to the enjoyment.

Why not let them plant a garden? That would be busy outdoors, and it would have a payoff of vegetables and/or flowers down the road.

(By the way, I definitely miss bluebonnet season!)

Cranachin,

Thanks, that train ride looks fantastic! It even includes a Wild West Gun Show. The kids will love it!

Cranachin,

One last question... Do the train rides fill up early?

Should I book now or can I wait a few weeks?

http://www.kidzaustin.com/SpringEventz/index.asp

Google "Austin kids activities" and you will find tons of things to do with your children

Have a great Spring Break!

We liked the Botanical Gardens - it's huge, and they have specialized gardens - one for butterflies, one that's scented, a dinosaur garden, Asian garden, etc. Kids can burn off energy hiking around.

I just thought of another day-trip destination--Fredericksburg. There are several shops along Main Street that the kids would enjoy: 1) Rustlin' Rob's for the free samples of everything they sell--sauces, dips, fudge, etc. and 2)Dooley's Five and Dime store where they will see lots of neat things which you probably remember from your childhood. There are many good, family-friendly restaurants too. If you go on a Saturday or Sunday, you can go to a matinee show at the Rockbox Theatre which has family-friendly music and comedy. Finally, you could go to Enchanted Rock and let the kids run around and see some great views of the countryside.

bk--

I have no idea how quickly tickets sell out for the train. You might want to call them and ask.

Some Austin Attractions...

The Barton Springs Pool is an ideal picnic location

Mount Bonnell is a popular tourist attraction

The Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue

The Texas State Capitol holds the honor of being the tallest building in the country

The Emma Long Metropolitan Park is a haunt for nature lovers

The Pease Park is the favorite haunt of dog lovers

http://www.thingstodoinaustin.com/free-things-to-do-in-austin.html

Thanks folks, keep 'em comin'...

It's a little bit of a drive and I don't know what movie will be showing but there is a drive in Gatesville and that might be unique for the kids. It's called The Last Drive In. You might combine it with a day trip to the zoo in Waco.

Okay, just finished up Spring Break. Almost all of us got food poisoning earlier in the week, so that messed up several days, but we did get to do a few things:

* hiked on local trails in Hill Country, didn't get to go to Enchanted Rock because of above mentioned sickness
* went to the Austin Rodeo and participated in Carnival, etc... Had fun that day
* went on the Hill Country Flyer train - a steam train that is really NOT worth it at all. Were in coach class which is not climate controlled and it was 39 degrees outside with 30 MPH winds. The cars were probably 50 degrees or so, very uncomfortable. Wasn't anticipating this kind of cold in Austin in mid March. Burnett is a very boring town with nothing to do, took a shuttle to the only decent restaurant (The Highlander) just to warm up. That restaurant specialized in fried foods (chicken fried steak being their specialty), but was better than the other options (Whataburger & Pizza Hut). We will NOT be going on this waste of money again.

I can't see why anyone would recommend that train ride to anyone. The scenery is not even that good, was bored after around 10 minutes on the train.

Hi! My husband actually created the KidzAustin.com website to help out with issues like this one. One suggestion that quickly crosses my mind: Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo.

We've also got lots of other things included on our site from indoor places to fun outdoors and even local camping spots.

We invite you to check it all out at: http://www.kidzaustin.com

ha . .that was supposed to say my husband and I. (While I love him, I don't want to give him ALL the credit) : )