Whaling Museum (New Bedford, MA)

The New Bedford Whaling Museum is located in historic downtown New Bedford (right off of route 18) on one of the fun cobblestone roads.  We brought our three year old and one year old without a stroller and had a great time.  The museum itself really doesn't take that long to get through, but there are some cool places in the area like the Celtic Coffee House (that has an awesome "witches brew" organic coffee that is THE BEST).  The kids can enjoy some homemade desserts like blondies and other baked goods or some ice cream after their tour of the Whaling Museum or of course sandwiches if they want some "real" food.  You will definitely have some left over cash after a trip to this museum because adults are only $6 each and children under 12 (or maybe it's 10) are free.  We were given free passes to bring the family back next month because one of the rooms was closed for renovations.  Essentially, it cost us $6 per visit for our family of four.

The kids LOVED the lowest level lobby because there are two gigantic whale skeletons on the upper level ceiling.  We also happened upon "family time", so there were some people there who did a free craft with our son.  He was very proud of his whale magnet that he made.   Our daughter waddled around the rest of the lobby area shouting "whaaaaaaales!  ahhhhhhh! hahahahaha!"  She absolutely loved the huge mural on the wall.  There were no kid haters annoyed with their excitement.  The people who worked there and the people visiting were very welcoming and amused by our happy and loud children.

We ventured our way to the top and there are a few things that the kids can touch like some whale bones and a big fake whale on the wall, but their favorite was the fake boat that they got to climb on and pull some ropes and try out a fisherman's bed.  Our son didn't really understand the difference between pirates and whalers, so he kept shouting about the "pirate ships", and he really didn't like the idea of whales being hunted for their blubber to make oil, so we left it alone.

The museum is short enough to carry a one year old through it, and the kids don't really have enough time to get bored.  Our three year old even wanted to know the names of the men in the portraits by the end of the visit.  We ended the visit by hanging out in the lobby for a few minutes before we went to the Celtic Coffee House.  Because the visit will most likely be pretty short, it's a good idea to plan to go to a second attraction in the area.  We were torn about going to the Ocean Explorium or to the Buttonwood Park Zoo (where we are members, so it's free).

We decided to go to the zoo even though we had no stroller because it was the day before the new carousel grand opening and the weather was cool and misty, so we knew it would not be crowded.  We rented a double stroller for $6 and had a great time because the animals were all very active because of the light rain.  The kids LOVED the wildlife carousel even though it wasn't even running.  The carousel is made up of really cool animals to ride like birds, a tiger, a zebra and other amazing animals.  Someone had FUN designing this carousel that will be open for $2 per ride.  We will definitely head back for a Whaling Museum/zoo visit next month.  Economical and fun.

Chuck E Cheese (Dartmouth, MA)

In short, we spent $29.99 for hours of fun for mom, dad, a one year old, and a three year old, and that included dinner: large pizza and drinks.  Totally worth it!  The pizza reminded me of Elio's pizza (that I haven't had since 1994), but the kids loved it, and the amount of food was perfect for our whole family.  Once you order, you take a number and put it onto your table.  The staff come and deliver it to your table.  My one year old daughter and I were sitting there when the guy came over, and I spilled an ENTIRE fountain drink.  He was super cool and wouldn't let me help clean it up (I felt awful).

After we ate, the kids played and played.  We did use tokens, but there is a maze climber thing with a slide that our three year old son kept going on over and over again.  We didn't bring socks, and the people who worked there said absolutely no problem to go with bare feet if we didn't have a problem with it (we didn't care).  We used our tokens on the toddler sized whack a mole and other VERY easy games that our three year old could play.  Our daughter rode a few of the toddler rides, and she loved the music and going in a circle.

We arrived at 4ish on the first night that the Whaling City Festival opened, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  There were two dads alone with their toddlers and one other family.  It seems like a place that is probably a singles "bar" for people with kids, but there weren't enough people there for us to get to people watch any mingling or pick-ups (bummer).  They have a VERY cool kid check so you leave with your own kids and nobody else leaves with them.  They stamp your hand and their hands with a number that needs to match.  I know it's more for show, but still, it's nice.

As parents, we could have lived without turning in the tickets and getting some fake bugs, but our three year old was pretty thrilled.  It was also obvious that if there had been a birthday party or as many families as there were tables in the place, it would have been WAY to congested to be enjoyable. We will definitely go back at an awkward time for some inexpensive family time that is sure to tucker out the kiddies.