20 Fun Things to Do With Your Kids in Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is filled with fun attractions for kids of all ages. Here are some of our favorites.

1. Family History Library—Visit the Family History Library and learn about your family tree.

2. Clark Planetarium—You can explore science and space in this downtown attraction.

3. The Leonardo—This museum has interactive exhibits, classes and workshops about science, technology and art.

4. Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum—This downtown museum has interactive fun that the whole family will enjoy.

5. Olympic Snowflake Fountain—The public fountain is the perfect place for kids to cool off and expend energy at the same time.

6. City Creek Center—This downtown mall has shops, restaurants, events and retractable roofs.

7. Liberty Park—Spend time feeding ducks, sledding, swimming and playing volleyball.

8. Tracy Aviary—Here you can see hundreds of birds and many different wildflowers.

9. Salt Palace Convention Center—Many events are held here, like Outdoor Retailer and Comic Con.

10. Abravanel Hall—Take your children to the symphony for a musical treat.

11. Wairhouse Trampoline Park—This park has dodge ball courts, foam pits, basketball lanes and an open jump court.

12. Red Butte Garden—These botanical gardens are home to many workshops and activities for children.

13. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium—This is the ninth biggest aquarium in the United States, with four large exhibits.

14. Utah’s Hogle Zoo—The zoo has a new African Savanna, with animals seen on safari.

15. Wheeler Historic Farm—Kids can ride wagons and milk cows for one to two dollars, or you can walk around and explore free of charge.

16. This Is the Place Heritage Park—Brigham Young and the pioneers first entered Salt Lake City where this park is located. It has activities for kids, like panning for gold, pulling handcarts and making handkerchief pioneers.

17. Lagoon—Visit Lagoon-a-beach, Pioneer Village and partake in fun rides.

18. Snowboard Resort—Ski here in the winter, and hike in the summer. Check out family movies and live concerts in the summer as well.

19. Utah Olympic Park—Home of the 2002 Winter Olympics, this park has a variety of family activities all year.

20. Ice Castles—Check out the magnificent ice castles in Midway. Your children are sure to love this winter wonderland.

These destinations are only the tip of the iceberg. With so many options, you’re sure to have a fun filled day in Salt Lake City.

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Tour the Beautiful Monument Valley

The Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is an expansive and majestic valley in Arizona and Utah, situated inside the Navajo Nation. The naturally formed sandstone towers stand 400 to 1,000 feet tall. The valley is an impressive 91,696 acres and extends into Utah. This historic location is often featured in print and film, including postcards and advertisements.

History

This valley was originally a basin, but over a process of millions of years, sediment formed and was pushed up from pressure below. This sediment formed a plateau, and over the next 50 million years, water and wind eroded the land. What remains are the majestic towers, including the Mitten Buttes and the Merrick Butte. The Monument Valley has been a popular shooting location for films, particularly old Westerns, such as those for which John Wayne became famous.

Tourist Activities

Off US 163 and north of Kayenta is a visitor center where you can book tours, eat in the Navajo restaurant, and peruse the gift shop. Navajo residents who work as tour operators lead Jeep tours inside the park. If you would rather drive yourself, you can follow the 17-mile road that takes between 30 minutes and one hour to traverse. There are also hiking tours, which can be up to several days in length, many of which also incorporate horseback riding. One mile from the visitor center are local vendors who sell arts and crafts, souvenirs, and Navajo food.

Lodging and Accommodations

Camping is available inside the park at the Mitten View Campground. Visitors can also stay in the View Hotel, which has a great view of the Mitten Buttes. In order to ensure lodging, you’ll want to book your room in advance. Options outside the park include hotels and camping in Page, which is three hours away, and Kayenta, one hour away.

How to Get There

Monument Valley is near the southeast corner of Utah, along the Utah/Arizona border. Find the entrance slightly east of Highway 163. There is a five-dollar fee to use the park, and specific tourist activities are dependent upon the time of year.

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You Should Visit The Moab Music Festival 2015

With stunning red rocks, Moab is adventurous paradise, attracting bikers, hikers, river rafters to southeastern Utah. When the heat of summer tapers off around Labor Day, however, Moab becomes an extraordinary concert theatre for world-class musicians. The Moab music festival holds a chain of chamber music concerts, amidst the stunning red rock landscape and along the scenic Colorado River.

Moab Music Festival Background

The Music Festival was founded in 1992 by New York based pianist, Michael Barrett and violist, Leslie Tomkins. The two couples fall in love with the red rock of Moab and were inspired to combine the thrilling landscape with the joy of music making. According the two musicians, starting a music festival was one way of ensuring that they would return to these beautiful landscapes again and again. The festival is famed for its distinctive programming, outstanding performances, great concert experiences of chamber music, jazz, traditional, Latin, and music of living composers.

From its inception, Moab Music Festival has been committed to education provision through music and cultural enrichment in the Moab community. The festival has an annual goal of reaching all the children in the Grand County Schools and providing inspirational assemblies with the attending musicians for the students. There are educational experiences for music lovers of all age as well—through its artist-in-residence program.

The festival is managed by a board of trustees and a group of professional staff supported by enthusiastic community volunteers, donors and advertisers. It is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit organization and is funded by the ticket revenues and contributions from individual stakeholders, foundations, local businessmen, and grants from various local, state, and federal agencies.

2015 Festival

The 17 concerts of the Moab Music Festival 2015 will be held in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues in and around Moab. The Grotto concerts, the Moab Music Festival’s signature events will be taking place in the pristine wilderness of Grotto, 30 miles down the Colorado River, and can be reached by a jet boat.

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Plants And Animals You Will Likely Encounter When Traveling To Utah

Utah is home to many different habitats, including wetlands, forest, and deserts. There are many different plants and animals that live in each of these habitats. In order to survive, these plants and animals must adapt differently to their environments. American Southwest Magazine offers useful and fun information about the different habitats, plants, and animals in Utah.

Desert Habitat

Most people who have traveled to Utah have come across a very large, hot and dry area that probably made their drive seem very long. Desert habitats are extremely hot. In Utah, for example, a high temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in the southern part of the state. However, nights in the deserts are cool. Because of these extreme temperature fluctuations, plants and animals have to adapt and change how they live.

Some of the desert plants and animals in Utah include:
• King birds
• Leopard lizards
• Jack rabbits
• Big brown bats
• Spadefoot toads
• Tarantulas
• Agave plants
• Cactus
• Desert sand verbena
• Ironwood trees
• Mesquite trees

Forest Habitat

Forests cover one third of Utah and have many different plants and animals. The temperate forests of Utah go through all four seasons and the plants and wildlife all have to adapt to survive the challenging weather throughout the year.

Some of the most common forest plants and animals in Utah include:
• Black bears
• Garter snakes
• Honey bees
• Red fox
• Three toed woodpeckers
• Mole
• Quaking aspen trees, which can grow to heights of 40 to 50 feet.
• Blue spruce trees
• Gamble oak trees
• Cottonwood trees
• Currant bush
• Chokecherry trees

Wetlands

Wetlands are habitats saturated with water, which flows from another source, for part of the year. There are seven different types of wetlands, also canned Riparian zones, in Utah. They include mud flats, shrub swamps, wetland, salt marsh, forest wetland, aquatic plant bed, wet meadows, and bog. However, they all have a few characteristics which are the same.

Some of the most common plants and animals in Utah’s wetlands include:
• American beaver
• Tiger salamander
• Mallard duck
• American bullfrog
• Water scorpion
• Tiger trout
• Cattails
• Duckweed
• Arrow grass
• Baltic rush
• Stream orchid
• Southern maidenhair fern

These are the most common plants and animals you will likely encounter when traveling to Utah.

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Salt Lake City: America’s Wonderland

In the past, Utah housed many Native Americans.The Ute Tribe, the Pueblo People, and the Navajo thrived in the region.On July 24, 1847, Salt Lake City established by Mormon pioneers.Being Mormon settlers, Birgham Young and his pioneer crew were the first non-Indians to dwell in Salt Lake Valley.Fleeing persecution, the group of pioneers found Salt Lake Valley enjoyable.Drawing reference from the salty, westward lake, the Mormons drew plans for Great Salt Lake City.

Shortly after, more settlers arrived in 1848.Most of the pioneers that arrived were Mormons that had converted after leaving Europe.In the following decade, different cultures and languages culminated in Salt Lake City.Goods were often traded at Salt Lake with prospectors that were traveling through the area.Prospectors desired the crops and livestock from Salt Lake in return for their goods that they brought with them from the east.

Previously, Salt Lake City was in Mexican territory.After a treaty was signed in the year 1848, it became a part of the United States of America.Salt Lake City became the state capital of Utah on January 4, 1896 when Grover Cleveland and the church came to an agreement, and polygamy was banned. Take a look at Turiya’s Gifts now!

Soldiers were stationed in Utah during the Civil War, creating trade opportunities with the Mormon people.The early 1900s brought many historic buildings such as the State Capitol.For transportation, electric trolleys were used to ride from place to place.Paved roads, street lamps, and parks were commonplace as the town expanded.

In the thirty years following 1900, they population would continue to grow almost three hundred percent!World War II brought large amounts of building construction after the stagnation caused by The Great Depression.Military buildings and industries jump-started the stagnant economy.Both soldiers and citizens alike spent their money at various stores, clubs, and restaurants during war time.Convention centers and parks were erected in the 1980s as Salt Lake City continued to grow. Follow the link to find out how auralite 23 crystal pendants can make a great gift.

Utah is still going strong with a great economy and high employment growth.Software, technology, and bio-medical firms are commonplace in the Salt Lake City area.The hotel industry is booming as a result of the Olympic Winter Games and the success of the area’s many convention centers.Hotels got ready for the Olympic Games by adding in around two thousand rooms to accommodate travelers.Even convention centers were modified to house more participants.Salt Lake City residents now enjoy the re-worked I-15 freeway and several million dollar light-rail system while using public transportation to reach their downtown destinations.After the Olympic Winter Games, Salt Lake City has been opening its doors for more and more events that help its economy and citizens flourish. Learn more about Energy healing techniques here.