By Suzanne Miller
InterExchange Au Pair USA

Summer is officially here and the kids are out of school.  If your family is like mine, you are looking for fun things to do during the day to stay busy and have fun on these summer days. The au pairs I work with through InterExchange Au Pair USA are also looking for things to do with their host children this summer. Thus I put together our Summer Bucket List to help us remember the fun ideas my family has come up with to do this summer, and I thought it might be helpful for au pairs or others in our Greater Raleigh, NC community to see our list and use it to spark your own ideas.

You might make a huge list on the door like we did or write down your ideas on a scrap of paper to put on the refrigerator. However you keep up with your list is fine. The important thing is to have fun, explore our area, and learn something new occasionally too! Here are the things we are looking forward to doing this summer in no particular order.  What would you add to this list?

Free Raleigh Area Museums & Parks

• North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences – The Science Museum explores North Carolina’s diverse animals, plants, and environment. Fish, turtles, snakes, and more await visitors. Storytime is Monday-Friday at 10:30, and you can “Meet The Animals” throughout the day.
• North Carolina Museum of History – Explore North Carolina’s rich and fascinating history. The NC Museum of History has pirates, cars, sports, dresses, dolls, and more!  There is something for everyone to enjoy.
• North Carolina Museum of Art & Art Park  – Pack a picnic and enjoy the beautiful outdoor Art Park at the Museum. It is part of the Raleigh Greenway system and includes a big pedestrian bridge across I-440 where kids can watch and wave to the traffic below.
• Prairie Ridge Eco Station – This 45 acre park a part of the NC Natural Science Museum, though it is located at 1671 Gold Star Drive off Edwards Mill Road (near the RBC Center). It includes a natural playground, prairie, forest, pond, and more environments to explore.
• Cedar Hills Park Disc Golf – Cedar Hills has a nice Disc Golf course in addition to a playground. The day we went, we enjoyed a picnic with our cousins and then some of the family disc golfed while the others played on the playground equipment.

{Read the rest of Suzanne’s must see places in her blog post}

About Suzanne

Suzanne Miller is the Raleigh Local Coordinator for InterExchange Au Pair USA, a non-profit Cultural Exchange agency based in New York City. She and her husband have a 3.5 year old son and an infant daughter. She spends her time trying to find fun things to do to entertain her crew.