Sawmill Museum

http://www.thesawmillmuseum.org/

Quick Info:
$4 Adult/$3 Ages 4-12; 3 and under FREE
Tues-Sat 10AM-6PM; Sun-Mon 1PM-5PM
2231 Grant Street, Clinton, IA
563.242.0343 

Clinton can boast not just one, but really two children's museums. I argue Clinton County can actually boast three, when you add Turtle Island at the Rock Creek Eco-Center. More on that later. Today, I tell you, you simply MUST visit the Sawmill Museum.

There is a kid-sized lumberjack village, adorably fashioned from landscape timbers into a very convincing series of cabins, where kids can run the camp store, cook up a storm on the potbellied stove, crash out on the bunks, go feed the chickens, then go around back to the blacksmith shed and tinker around, then pet the horse in the stable.

Then kids can go play in the forest playground, climbing through a log tunnel, up a stump staircase to visit a woodpecker, and into a playhouse complete with slide. There are also a bevy of plush forest creature friends, and a great life-size forest photo mural on one wall and a beautiful painted mural of the Mississippi on another.

When the kids are ready to settle down, there's also a train table, giant checkers on a tabletop rug, a ton of Lincoln Logs, and a wooden-track toy train set.

If at all possible, call ahead and make sure you're going on a day when the trackless kiddie train is out for a ride. This outdoor feature is beautifully crafted and delightful for both children and parents--as well as a great photo opportunity. There is a great summer lumberjack festival with historic re-enactments, lumberjack games, and plenty of food.

Throughout the year, the museum offers free or low-cost kids' craft-making events. Our family's favorite by far was the decorate-a-hat fancy tea party. We came home with some impressive bonnets, and brought an older gentleman friend of the family along who so completely enjoyed himself and got into his role that our kids collapsed in giggles.

There's also a quirky cool set of animatronic lumber barons who talk about boon times on the Mississippi, since Clinton was a major milling town on the river--a good spot between the logging sites up north and good for distribution around the Midwest.  A brief DVD with bluegrass music that my kids really enjoy (they played about fifty times each trip) explains the history and background of the museum and milling in the area.

At this point, I want to confess: I avoided this place at first, thinking, "this does not sound like a place for children."  Perhaps a certain horror movie franchise prejudiced my view.  Also, the fact that there is actual saw equipment on-site. Being as my children are rather rambunctious, I was pretty sure this was going to end badly.  So my husband took the kids one day without telling me and came back with a glowing report.  I was still skeptical and grudgingly went along on his next trip, then I was kicking myself for not bringing the kids sooner. My husband was happily vindicated.

Now let me address your safety concerns, dear skeptical parent: there is indeed a fully-functional sawmill on site--safely encased behind a thick glass wall.  The kids can learn all about industry (and they did find it fascinating) while still being well-protected. Also, there's a lot of old sawmill equipment on site. My kids, rascals that they are, did wander over to check them out.  Fortunately, they too have been cleaned up and made quite safe. We've never needed so much as a band-aid in all our visits here.  I would, however, supervise curious kids carefully in this area, as well as the ample museum display about the history of lumber milling and woodwork. That said, our kids were 6, 4, 3, and 1 when we went most, and the museum is still standing.

Bathrooms are great with changing stations, and there's a cute, reasonably priced gift shop. The staff are gentle, friendly folks who will either visit with you happily or let you explore on your own. A renovation is underway, and I can't wait to see what else will be there when we visit next.

If you plan to travel the area more than once a year, get the membership. At just $50 for the year, it's worth every penny, many times over.  Enjoy!

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to take a beautiful, relaxing, family-oriented road trip of the Mississippi River--with your young children?  We're here to help!  We have been there, done that--and changed the diapers.

A little about us: we moved to the Illowa Gateway (the area loosely defined as between Dubuque and the Quad Cities, along both sides of the Mississippi River in Illinois and Iowa) in 2014 and fell in love with the natural beauty, the pace of life, and the overwhelming amount of family-friendly, affordable cultural and recreational opportunities.  When work and family needs called us away in late 2016, we were heartbroken, but we've been able to travel back frequently and intend to do so for many years to come.

During the time we were there, we loaded up our minivan with three, then four, car seats; a lot of bottles, sippy cups and goldfish crackers; and a well-stocked diaper bag that got a workout.  We moved to town with a 9 month old; an almost-2 year old; and a 4 year old. By the time we left, we had a 1 year old, a 3 year old, a 4 year old preschooler, and an almost-7 year old first grader. Many of those early days were spent driving around the countryside, knowing that the kids would take a nap in the car. We covered a lot of territory, and we're listing the can't-miss gems on this site.  We've also had all the mishaps: scraped knees, muddy backroads, and diaper blow-outs; where to find a bathroom in a hurry. We plan to cover that here too.

If you're looking for expensive destinations with lots of dangerous and/or fragile stuff involved, you will not find it here--except perhaps as a warning. When we haven't been so lucky--we'll let you know!

Finally, we'll offer you an itinerary if you're reading this on your smartphone and need a quick listing of options. We know reading time is a luxury for parents of young children.

Enjoy this site, let us know what you think, and if you find a new spot your little ones enjoy, please share it with us--we'd love to check it out!

peace,

Le Anne

Quick Itinerary

This is a quick itinerary I wrote for a friend with a 4 year old, who had 2-3 days to get away, driving from Des Moines:

In the Quad Cities, there's the Bettendorf Family Museum and Channel Cat river rides; Splash Mountain is a great afternoon break with shade and zero-entry pool as well as a sandbox. Or if you don't have the time but want to cool off, try the free splash pad at Centennial Park just south of the ballpark, along the river. Across the river, you'll find the John Deere Tractor Pavilion in Moline, IL--it's a free one where you get to climb all over the tractors and has a little interactive museum on the side. Also fun gift shop next door. Out by the airport, you'll also find the very walkable and charming Niabi Zoo--which also has an affordable train tour of the zoo and a beautiful carousel. There are several programs and themed days.  Hungry? We loved the farmers' market near the ballpark (complete with eateries and playground); otherwise, our carseat-friendly dining choice is Sonic, which delivers 50's style treats to your car.

Going up to Le Claire, there's the Twilight Riverboat cruises and the Buffalo Bill Museum next door with a kid's room and old river boat to check out. You can also see live buffalo in a pasture at the Buffalo Bill homestead just north of Le Claire. Further up the road, just south of Follets and Camanche, is the Rock Creek Marina and Campground which has an awesome Turtle Island kids' exhibit (crawl under the aquarium!), camping, eco-tours of the river, or overnight in a tree house cabin. In Camanche along the river is a cute library with an observation deck out onto the river; this is a great place in spring to see pelicans. Next door to the library is a train caboose and station which is open in summer.

Then up to Clinton, which has both the Children's Discovery Center (a good place to relax in a one-room children's museum in a converted grocery store), AND the The Sawmill Museum, with a kid-sized indoor lumberjack village; across the river in Fulton is an authentic, working Dutch Windmill and fascinating interpretive center where kids can try on wooden shoes, see a dozen kid-sized windmill models, and a little playroom. (Parents can buy fresh milled flour and there's a gift shop). There's a heritage village up the road a bit from it for excellent hiking and history; and $5 theater for kiddos on Saturdays at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre; and eat on the riverfront at Candlelight Inn - Clinton Iowa next door. Try for a seat out on the deck, or if weather doesn't permit, the large windows inside still give you the beautiful views. Need to burn off energy? The Rotary Park just south of the Showboat and Candlelight Inn has a kid-sized zipline and great playground equipment, as well as a shelter and bathrooms.

Try to go to a Clinton LumberKings game, which also has bounce houses and games and playgrounds in addition to being a really nice, easily navigated (and stroller-friendly) ballpark. Check their schedule for fireworks displays. Drive through Eagle Point Park on the way north out of town, which has incredible views of the widest spot in the Mississippi. Then and enjoy 67/52 which is a beautiful drive. Sabula is an awesome island city for lounging about, camping, and has the incredible dive Bombfire Pizza, where kiddos can play a piano or use sidewalk chalk outside, and a little ice cream stop at the first stop sign. You can also take a loop across the river at Sabula to Savanna, a river bluff town with the beautiful Palisades park to the north, and an enjoyable drive over the water for several miles.  A good napping ride up to Dubuque via 52...

If you're visiting in fall, check out the apple orchard on 52, as well as Papa's Pumpkin Patch just south of Bellevue. Bellevue has a lock and dam with pretty overlooks.

At Dubuque, take the Fenelon Place Elevator (like a cable car up the cliff) and then go to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and plan to stay at least half a day there. The quickest route back to Des Moines is probably via 61-80. There's an old drive-in theater on 61 near Maquoketa that generally plays kid-friendly fare.

What I like about this itinerary is it's super preschooler-friendly and a relaxed but fun pace for parents, and getting from one spot to the next is easy; no traffic once you get off 80; and the activities are fairly inexpensive compared to bigger cities.

Clinton Area Showboat Theater

http://www.clintonshowboat.org/

One of the places that excels in theater for young children (and all audiences) is the Clinton Area Showboat Theater (CAST). Throughout the summer are $5 Saturday performances designed for young children and their caregivers, plus an excellent summer theater camp, and if your child is ready for the full theater experience, CAST has wonderfully affordable seats that are close to stage, a can't-beat venue (an actual riverboat, repurposed for theater), a chance to meet cast members, and lots of little touches that make an evening out educational as well as memorable. Taking my then-kindergartner to CATS probably shaped her love of musical theater for life.

What to know: open during the summer; Saturday matinee performances around $5 for children's theater (recent favorites include Seussical the Musical, and You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown); children's performances allow time for kids to interact with characters in costume on the boardwalk.

Taking toddlers/preschoolers: be advised that for kids' performances, actors may be moving around the theater in the front and side aisles. This is fun, but prepare your kids so they don't trip a cast member. Expect the children's performances to run about an hour. It may be dark for brief moments. My infant sat on my lap fairly comfortably, and my preschoolers varied from mesmerized to squirrelly, depending on the show (we've been to several).

If your child is ready for a full-length production: this theater is great for a season with many family-friendly shows: American favorites, Broadway musicals, classic repertoire. You may opt for a weekend afternoon matinee; otherwise the evening performances can make for a late night for littles. Sit close to the front or in the front box seats for best kid-visibility. CAST also excels in audience engagement; when my kindergartner went to CATS, one of the characters reached out and nuzzled her cheek--she was thrilled! (Note: if your child doesn't like audience engagement, perhaps sit in and back a few rows). The front box seats are also best if you want to learn the most about the production, giving the best 360-degree view of the theater) Over two seasons, my daughter enjoyed South Pacific, Music Man, Grease, CATS, Seussical, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, and more. As an adult, I loved it too.

Make sure you allow time to walk around the boat, which is in permanent dry-dock; and go underneath for restrooms, concessions (freewill donation), and cast photos of prior productions. Make an extra special event of it by having lunch, dinner, or dessert at the Candlelight Inn next door, for the best river views while dining in town. If you buy concessions, plan so that you finish your snack during intermission, or buy something that can be sealed and put in your diaper bag/purse/etc. safely. Snacks are not allowed in the seats.

Most areas accessible with ramps; restrooms on lower level. Purchase tickets in advance or at the box office. Watch kids on the ramps and deck rails on upper floors of the boat; mine didn't try to jump...for the most part.

Felix Adler Children's Discovery Center, Clinton, IA

http://adlerdiscoverycenter.org/

Parents, Grandparents, Caregivers:

This is my number-one, go-to, favorite place to take my young children, year-round. Take note.

Built in a converted grocery store, this interactive children's museum allows your kids to play in one large room, even if they all like different things--and you can see each one of them at all times. I've been to a lot of children's museums, and it's a struggle to keep track of a toddler who darts around a corner, or referee between the room with the airplanes and the room with the dress-up costumes. This layout removes a lot of that stress.

Activity stations include train tables, a kid-sized hospital and ambulance, a grocery store, schoolhouse, RV/campsite, mini-golf, "fishing" for alphabet magnets, a rowboat, lots of dress-up costumes, a farm with wheelbarrows (milk the cow, pet the horse, pick the corn), a model train that's relatively kid-proof; art and music activities; a builder's corner (megablocks/duplos, legos, and the wooden kapla; a NASA exhibit (Clinton is hometown to several astronauts); puppets, and a playhouse with kitchen. There are a couple cozy coupes and other rideable toys.

In addition, there's a secured exit with a button to push at adult eye-level: perfect in case your child likes to run out the door.  Bathrooms in the back are family-friendly with step-stools and changing stations. There's a good water fountain, as well as vending machines and a place to snack. You can have birthday parties there, or just relax and play. When I had an infant, I could sit and hold her or keep her close to me in a stroller or car carrier while watching my older kiddos play.

To be completely honest, when we lived in Clinton, we practically lived here--especially in winter or the heat, or anytime we couldn't be outdoors; it's the kind of place you can play all day, every day, if you needed.

Tickets are reasonable at $4 for ages 2-64, and $3 for seniors.  Infants and 1 year olds are free. If you're going to be around a while, a membership makes sense.

Clinton LumberKings

Clinton LumberKings minor league baseball at Ashford University Field:

http://www.lumberkings.com

When our family moved to Clinton a few years ago, I was not a big fan of baseball. However, as we got acquainted with the Clinton LumberKings, that changed quickly! I might have never considered taking toddlers and preschoolers to a sports event, but Ashford University Field makes it so easy! My kids loved the playground equipment, bounce houses, and baseball themed carnival games on site; the complex is stroller-friendly; and tickets are very affordable either on their own, or through the many community partnerships that offer free tickets. A family can easily enjoy a night out for $20 or less. There are plenty of snack stations and picnic areas, conveniently close to the kid zone as well. The fireworks after several shows throughout summer are a special treat (check the schedule), and we found them not too loud/scary for our young children to enjoy while at the park. With all the community engagement, closeness to the field, and generally family-friendly atmosphere, it makes for a perfect summer evening, 'best of the Midwest' -type of experience.

Tickets (regular price) $5 students/ $6 adults/ $4 seniors

Check at local banks and retailers or ask around town for promotional free tickets

Birthday party packages available ($100/ 10 kids including ticket and kids' meal)

Bring sun protection for afternoon games, possibly bug repellent for evenings.

Games/ bounce houses may have a small cost (around $1/each); it's good to bring cash