Notice: Undefined offset: 4 in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 92
Notice: Undefined offset: 5 in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 92
Notice: Undefined offset: 6 in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 92
Notice: Undefined offset: 4 in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 98
Notice: Undefined index: pass_through_args in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 158
Notice: Undefined index: wrapper in /nas/content/live/stagingstmllc/wp-content/plugins/smartertravel-shared/includes/ads/includes/api.php on line 159
Teenagers can be tough customers when it comes to choosing attractions to visit on your trip. Technology has become an integral part of the teen lifestyle, and many places, from museums to historic sites, have reacted to the times by incorporating more interactive and digital elements to their offerings.
Inevitably, you will find video arcades and gaming lounges in hotels, resorts and on cruise ships. But we’ve found museums and experiences that take it one step further, by making technology a tool for engagement, education and entertainment.
Written by Traci L. Suppa
Discovery World Science + Technology Center
The touch technology is concentrated in the Techno Jungle, where exhibits allow kids to operate the Metasys building automation system. You can lie on a bed of nails, and get behind the wheel of an electric car. In the Hive 3D Environment, you'll walk through a virtual environment that responds to your actions. A live theater show, TESLA LIVES!, offers demonstrations of light, power and magnetic fields, at times filling the stage with 20 million volts of electricity.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
More than 60 touch-screen experiences simulate the technical challenges and complexity of the space shuttle program, and allow visitors of all ages to play astronaut. Among other activities, teens can conduct a virtual spacewalk; dock to the ISS; create sonic booms; glide down the Re-entry Slide; land the orbiter; and manipulate the robotic Canadarm. For more intense thrills, the Shuttle Launch Experience is a simulator replicating the sights, sounds and sensations of a shuttle launch.
MagiQuest
There are 45 quests, during which you can enchant objects, befriend a pixie, learn from an ancient wizard, battle a goblin or outwit a dragon. In this multi-level, labyrinthine space, nearly every tree, column, cauldron or crystal formation interacts with the chip in your wand, producing sound and special effects. You earn spells and skills in order to complete each adventure, as you work your way to becoming a master.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Strike a Pose touch screen invites visitors to match the pose of a sculpture they see on the screen, while a motion sensor records their pose and determines how well it matches. Build in Clay lets you knead, roll and cut virtual clay. For younger children, Studio Play offers stations with easels and puppet theaters.
Sony Wonder Technology Lab
The Tech Museum of Innovation
The themes range from clean energy to biotechnology. Popular permanent exhibits include Genetics: Technology with a Twist, Earthquake Platform, and Jet Pack Simulator. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is a central feature in the space exploration area. Each year, new traveling exhibitions add to the offerings.
The Computer History Museum
On its website, the museum also presents online-only exhibits, like Visible Storage and Mastering the Game, which complement the facility's physical exhibits.
Discovery Park of America
Other highlights of the museum include an earthquake simulator, 60 years of American automobiles, a 60-foot replica of the human body with a 30-foot slide, gardens, train station and more.
roboworld at Carnegie Science Center
You're greeted by Andy, a life-sized RoboThespian who can be programmed to speak and move via a touch screen. There are interactive exhibits describing, replicating and demonstrating various concepts and technologies, like sonar range finders, radar and "lidar" (long-range distance sensor for robotic vehicles). There are also thermal imaging displays, object-tracking systems, medical bots and a robot mapping exhibit where you program a mobile robot across the floor via a touch screen. Practically every exhibit has some interactive component, so you could spend hours just in roboworld. But leave time for the other Science Center exhibits, especially the adjacent model train village.
RevQuest at Colonial Williamsburg
New chapters in the RevQuest game are introduced periodically for the benefit of repeat visitors.
Gettysburg National Park iPad Tour
Shannon Entin, a mom of two who blogs about her family"s travels at 100 Routes Across America, used this program and her children loved it. "There aren't a lot of kids who love reading every explanation on every historical marker, but InSite Gettysburg turns that concept on its head and makes it engaging and exciting," says Entin. "One of the most striking examples was the Gettysburg Address. Sure, you can stand on the hill overlooking the cemetery and imagine Lincoln giving his historic speech, but we pointed the iPad toward the hill and could actually see and hear Lincoln. It was absolutely amazing."
Urban Adventure Quest Tours
The daylight tours, which average two to three miles and take between two and four hours, lead your team through a city as you solve clues and complete challenges while seeing the sights and learning local history. Points are tallied for correct answers, and ultimately determine which team "wins." Even locals playing in their own hometowns have raved about discovering hidden gems they never knew existed.
Our team of parents and travel experts chooses each product and service we recommend. Anything you purchase through links on our site may earn us a commission.