by Athena Garner

Created on: May 24, 2009   Last Updated: May 26, 2009

Raleigh, North Carolina offers a variety of free activities during the summer that you can enjoy with your kids. These range from parks to museums and can be enjoyed year after year as your kids get older, just by taking advantage of the different kinds of activities offered.

Pullen Park was the first public park in North Carolina and offers tons of rolling grass for picnics and outdoor family activities. There's a real Norfolk Southern Railway caboose on the site, which is a delight for younger kids to explore. Stop by the statue of Andy and Opie Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show and tell your kids about Andy and other famous North Carolinians. Feed the ducks with your kids at the pond and bring your kites to fly in the large open areas. If you have older kids, bring a Frisbee or football and get some exercise as a family. Bring some paper and art supplies and get everyone to sit down and try sketching the scenery or someone who's walking past with their dog.

The Farmers' Market is a great destination to teach your kids about farming and produce. Do your fruit and veggie shopping at the Market one week and get some great local deals while introducing your kids to the foods that can be grown in North Carolina.

For a really exciting activity, bring your kids to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. Admission is free and you can enjoy the outdoor Butterfly House where butterflies flutter inches from you on their way to the bright blossoms growing inside. There's also a Discovery Room inside the museum where kids and adults can handle taxidermy specimens and other real items from nature and learn some zoology. In September, not long after school starts back, the museum offers Bugfest in which the entire museum and some of the surrounding grounds are devoted to displays on insects. Admission is still free and includes free stickers and other small souvenirs as well as food made with real bugs. Hush puppies with grubs protruding from them or enchiladas made with ants are among the tasty offerings from Bugfests past.

Artsplosure is an event held downtown in May where kids can make their own art at several different stations called Kidsplosure. All the Artsplosure events are within walking distance of each other and are especially great for younger kids. The stations and theme are new every year.

Finally, for older kids, Historic Oakwood Cemetery is extremely educational. Inside, there is a Confederate Cemetery which holds 1,500 Confederate soldiers. Also buried there are some fascinating people, including Berrien Kinnard Upshaw, first husband of Margaret Mitchell (the author of Gone With the Wind). Upshaw was a scandalous bootlegger who was supposedly the basis for the character of Rhett Butler. Upshaw died under mysterious circumstances in Texas years after the couple divorced. His and other graves can be seen on the free tours offered to groups at the cemetery.

No matter the age of your children, Raleigh provides free activities to last you all summer. Whether you're visiting for a weekend or have lived in Raleigh all your life, make it a point to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities.

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