10451 Best Sights in USA

At the The Children's Museum of Memphis youngsters can touch, climb, and explore their way through a child-size city, and delve into the many interactive exhibitions.

A playground for kids of all ages, this museum features hands-on exhibits where children learn by playing. Venture through the "noodle forest," relax in the book loft, or get a crash course in economics by role-playing at the on-site market.

A welcoming, hands-on complex for children and families, this museum is a place to climb, explore, experiment, and play. The museum is divided into sections like Art Studio, Tree Climber, Town Square, and Backyard, each with its own activities. The museum also offers classes in painting and music, and hosts special events on holidays. Exhibits and activities are geared toward younger children. The museum has four locations in the Central Virginia area.

At this museum with hands-on exhibits geared for kids three to ninash in a model diner.

The CMA encourages children ages 1 to 15 to get creative through a variety of mediums. Along with the requisite children's museum offerings like pencils, chalk, and paint, you'll find a clay bar; a media lab with mounted cameras and a recording studio; a small slide and colorful ball pond that kids can play in; an airy exhibition space with rotating exhibits (and workshops inspired by exhibits); a permanent collection of children's art from more than 50 countries; and classes in ceramics, origami, animation, filmmaking, and more. Check the website for a busy calendar of events.

Here, as their motto says, learning begins with play. This is a perfect place to let kids run off some steam on a rainy day, or just to take a break from the beach. There's a fire engine replica, painting room, library, climbing ship, and a separate play area for toddlers. A mini-golf course is open in season, weather permitting. There are plenty of educational and fun classes and events on the calendar too, including the Summer Family Concert Series in August.

Hands-on interactive exhibits at this top-notch museum will keep kids—from infants to 10-year-old children—occupied for hours. They can climb aboard a Lowcountry pirate ship, drive an antique fire truck, race golf balls down a roller coaster, and create masterpieces in the art center.

This 80,000-square-foot facility is packed with hands-on exhibits that cover everything from science and music to construction and race cars. There are also special areas for kids five and younger.

The largest children's museum in the state, the Children's Museum of Virginia has so many hands-on exhibits that teach through activities that kids learn while they "play" with all aspects of life; they can take classes and workshops, participate in interactive story times, race on an obstacle course, do giant floor bowling, rediscover old carnival games, and so much more. You can also book a party, which includes a private room and all-day admission to the museum.

Youngsters are encouraged to touch and explore the science, language, and history exhibits here. They can examine a patient in the Bodyology Center and care for (stuffed) doggies at the PetVet exhibit. Investigation Station has air-pressure tubes where balls and scarves whiz around, and there's a Discovery Garden for all ages to climb, slide, and burn off steam. Admission is free on Thursday evenings from 5 to 7 pm and on second Saturdays.

Due to the groups of harbor seals that have claimed it as their own, this shallow cove, protected by a seawall, is closed to the public for the winter pupping season, December 15 through May 15. People may access its calm, protected waters the other seven months of the year, however, and the beach's small waves make it an ideal place for children to splash and play. Adults will appreciate the view. Because of its location at the tip of La Jolla Peninsula, you can actually look east to get unmatched panoramic views of the coastline and ocean. The area just outside the pool is popular with scuba divers, who explore the offshore reef when the surf is calm. Although you may not be able to go down on the beach during the winter months, it's still worth a peek. It's fun to watch the seals and their pups from above. Limited free parking is available along Coast Boulevard. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; walking.

This hands-on center in Sugar Sand Park has interactive displays designed to enhance 5- to 12-year-olds' understanding of everyday physical sciences. Outside is a reconstructed Science Playground and a classic carousel and tot lot. Day camps are run during school breaks and are open to visitors.

A hidden gem just north of downtown, this garden is a magical place for children and their families. Connect with nature and explore this whimsical world featuring more than 2 acres of gardens, old trees, and imaginative outdoor play structures. The center also regularly presents kid-friendly events—story times, nature walks, arts-and-crafts workshops, and gardening programs—and has a costume room and cottage where children can play dress up.

The state’s largest children’s museum, a two-story brick building, has been keeping kids 12 and under entertained (and educated) since the mid-1990s. Kids love the Bone Dig, Lego Zone, Little Falls Parkour, and Kim’s Crafty Corner (call ahead to make sure Kim is in) where they get to make souvenirs to take home. Parents love the museum’s coffee shop which also sells snacks.

Modeled after an Italian villa, this stately winery provides both an atmosphere and a level of quality on par with vineyards in more lauded wine regions. Created by NASCAR driver and team owner Richard Childress, the winery offers more than 30 varieties, including its popular Reserve Chardonnay and Signature Meritage. Within its opulent 35,000-square-foot building, visitors can witness wine making firsthand or have lunch at the Bistro, which overlooks the vineyards.

This park on Chilkat Inlet has beautiful and accessible viewing of both the Davidson and Rainbow glaciers. The Seduction Point Trail, about 7 miles one way, takes hikers to the very tip of the peninsula upon which Haines sits.

This Wawona-area trail runs 4 miles one-way to the top of the falls, then leads into the backcountry, connecting with other trails. This is one of the park's most inspiring and secluded—albeit strenuous—hikes. Past the tumbling cascade, and up through forests, you'll emerge before a panorama at the top. Difficult.

This was once the Confederacy's largest and best-equipped hospital. Chimborazo opened in 1861 and treated more than 76,000 Confederate soldiers between 1862 and 1865. This site—once more than 40 acres—now contains a National Park Service visitor center and a small medical museum that tells the story of the patients, hospital, caregivers, and physicians through uniforms, documents, and other artifacts.

Even in a landscape of spires, cliffs, and knobs, this deep-red landform, 3 miles west of the visitor center, is unmistakable.

About 16 miles west of Pagosa Springs, Route 151 heads south to Chimney Rock National Monument. Twin spires of rock loom over the ruins of more than 100 homes and ceremonial buildings built about 1,000 years ago on a high mesa. The area offers self-guided walking tours of the two trails affording access to the archaeological sites. The Great House Pueblo Trail is short, but steep and exposed, so bring plenty of water. The Mesa Village Trail loop is paved and mostly level.

From any of the three overlooks grouped together on Newfound Gap Road, you'll have a good view of the Chimney Tops—twin peaks that cap 2,000-foot-high cliffs. Sadly, you'll also see dozens of dead fir and spruce trees, victims of the invasive woolly adelgids.

Since the Naval Air Warfare Station is now closed to the public, this museum—opened in 2018—gives an alternative glimpse into the history, technology, and weaponry at China Lake. More than 20 exhibits display missiles, aircraft, rockets, and other full-spectrum weapons. There is no charge to visit the gift shop and exterior fighter jets.

Smaller than San Francisco's Chinatown, this neighborhood near Union Station still represents a slice of East Asian life. Sidewalks are usually jammed with tourists, locals, and residents hustling from shop to shop picking up goods, spices, and trinkets from small shops and mini-plazas that line the street. Although some longtime establishments have closed in recent years, the area still pulses with its founding culture. During Chinese New Year, giant dragons snake down the street. And, of course, there are the many restaurants and quick-bite cafés specializing in Chinese feasts. In recent years, a slew of hip eateries like Howlin' Ray's and Majordomo have injected the area with vibrancy.

An influx of local artists has added a spark to the neighborhood by taking up empty spaces and opening galleries along Chung King Road, a faded pedestrian passage behind the West Plaza shopping center between Hill and Yale. Also look for galleries along a little side street called Gin Ling Way on the east side of Broadway. Chinatown has its main action on North Broadway. There are several garages available for parking here that range from $15 to $25 per day.

Conceptualized by the late Sabrina Soong, a Chinese-American architect/artist and Philadelphia resident, the 40-foot-tall, 88-ton “China Gate” has welcomed visitors to historic Chinatown since its introduction in 1984. Designed in a manner reminiscent of China’s Qing dynasty, it features materials and cultural flourishes fabricated by artisans from Philadelphia’s sister city of Tianjin, China. The Chinese characters emblazoned on the “Friendship Arch” translate simply to “Philadelphia Chinatown,” a paean to the neighborhood’s historic importance and resilience.

Two foo lions ward off evil for those who pass through the massive, traditional paifang gate that signals your entrance to Chinatown. It was donated to the Asian residents of Boston by Taiwan, in the early 1980s. You'll likely see red lanterns hanging from it; they signify good luck. The main square around the gate acts as a gathering place for the neighborhood's residents, who meet to socialize or play games. The gate is situated at Beach Street, and it also marks the end of the Greenway.

This large square is punctuated by animal sculptures, each representing one of the 12 symbols of the Chinese zodiac. Below the sculptures is a plaque explaining the personalities of those born during each year.

Virginia's Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge occupies the southern third of Assateague Island, directly off Chincoteague Island. (The northern two-thirds, part of Maryland, comprise the Assateague Island National Seashore.) Created in 1943 as a resting and breeding area for the imperiled greater snow goose as well as other birds, this refuge's location makes it a prime place for birding. It also protects native and migratory non-avian wildlife, including the Delmarva fox squirrel, which inhabits its interior pine forests. A 3.2-mile self-guided wildlife loop is a great introduction to the refuge. Bike or walk it; it's open to vehicles only between 3 pm and dusk.

The famed Chincoteague ponies occupy a section of the refuge isolated from the public, but they may still be seen in the distance from a number of spots. Swimming, surf fishing, picnicking, and bicycling are all available on the island.

Near the north entrance, this small spot has tables and restrooms.

Because it's in El Pueblo Plaza, you might assume that this museum features Mexican American art, but it's actually the last surviving structure of L.A.'s original Chinatown. Three floors of exhibits reveal the different cultures that have called this area home, as well as how the original residents paved the way for what is now a vibrant and varied Chinatown. Rotating exhibits feature the work of Chinese American artists.