Ringing Rocks County Park in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

About an hour northwest of Philadelphia, just on the outskirts of Pottstown in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania there is an opportunity to explore an intriguing park known as Ringing Rocks County Park. I just happened to come across it on Google Maps when trying to find an place interesting to take my kids too. 

The park is part of the Lower Pottsgrove Township which provides almost no information of this unique park. The website only lists this park being 38.4 acres with features that includes a pond, stream, trails, water and wooded area. 

At the time of this blog posting, the Montgomery County website had no listing nor information on Ringing Rock park. 

Really, this is just a long preamble to say that I could only find limited information on the park and the history that led to its existence. After some searching, I did come across the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society's short narrative of the park, which dates this park to 1894 with the creation of the "trolley park."

The relative location to the entrance of the park is 40.27013475181138, -75.60613325655089. You can also plug in the Ringing Hill Fire Company, Ringing Rocks Roller Rink or Ringing Rocks Park into your GPS and you'll be taken right to this park. It's a bit deceiving when you are navigating to the park as it's actually nestled inside a neighborhood; trust your GPS! 

Feel free to park by the roller rink and head towards the small and unimpressive red and white sign stating "No Vehicles Beyond This Point By The Order of Ringing Hill Fire Co." The rock formation is located about 125 feet down an unimproved path, from the parking lot. 

Photo Sphere view of the park.

Panoramic view of the park.

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. 

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. 

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. Many of the rocks have graffiti of teenagers memorializing their "eternal love."

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. 

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. 

Various views of the park from the middle of the rocks. 

Metallic sounds of hitting the rocks in the park. Don't forget to bring a hammer or two to have a little fun with the rocks. It is pretty easy to spot the areas where others have banged the rocks - they are worn away and a lighter shade than the rest of the rock formation. 

With my young kids, I was able to keep them entertained for about an hour at this park. It could have been longer but the sun was going down and so was the temperature on this brisk January afternoon.  

US Capital and Library of Congress with Kids?!?!

Let's skip the preamble and get right to the meat of it.  A U.S. Capital tour can be a bit tough with really young kids.  If you don't have a tour reservation before going, you might have some long lines to wait in once you get there.  Even if you have a reservation, there are still lines to wait on for your tour group.  Also, be warned, there are plenty of steps and escalators--so obviously no strollers.  Some of the stairs are narrow and the crowds can be rather large--so I don't recommend letting a toddler navigate them.  If you cannot carry your small child for at least part of the tour--be ready to miss out on some parts of the experience.  But I think as parents, we are used to that aren't we?

That being said, this is an experience worth seeing with or without little kids.  I think a first grader and above would get the most out of it.  While younger kids might find the museum-like tour a bit droll, it can still be a worthwhile experience for the whole family.  There are areas even the smallest children will be impressed by--such as looking up at the huge center dome.

The basic tour meets in the main basement room--where you can find the first of many statues scattered throughout the building.  There are over a hundred statues in the Capital and at least two from each state.  The kids loved the Helen Keller statue as that was a person they recognized from learning about her in school. See the pictures below.

  

There is also a tour desk where you can get a kids activity book (see picture).

 We didn't use the book as an "activity" the way it was meant to be used, instead to keep the kids engaged during the tour we turned it into a "treasure hunt".  The activity book had several statues listed in it and column types.  We checked off each one as we went through the building.  The kids loved searching for the statues and other pictures in the book.  They loved finding statues of recognizable people.  Two of their favorites are shown here, George Washington and Rosa Parks.






Another favorite of the kids was the short movie at the beginning of the tour.  During the movie they explain the meaning and context of the U.S. Capital building as well as the Freedom Statue.   It made for some fun trivia later when we later exited the building and asked the kids questions about what the movie explained just a short while earlier: 'What is Freedom holding in her hands?  What is she wearing on her head?'.

After the tour you can comfortably eat at the cafeteria in the U.S. Capital.  They have everything kids love--even picky ones.  From milk and yogurt to pizza and chicken fingers and fries, you can find something.  They have pretty decent adult food as well--upscale deli sandwiches and an impressive salad bar (as well as the usual burgers, fries and pastas).  They have plenty of seating and checkout lines so I would consider this cafeteria family-friendly.

When you are done, slowly ramble over to the Library of Congress through the underground passage.  You need to exit the cafeteria, go up an escalator and pass the gift store.  The underground passage is long, but the kids likened it to the endless hallway loop Thor was imprisoned in during the Ragnarok movie and the monotony of this endless hallway became very funny.

The Library of Congress was a bit less interesting for the kids.  Aside from the impressive main room (see picture above) the rest of the building is basically a museum.  We did manage to corral the kids through almost all of it, but were not able to read through the bulk of the displays.

Of all the displays, the Gutenberg Bible display did generate some interesting conversations.  We talked to the kids about printing presses and how books were hand copied prior to the invention of the printing press.  They were pretty impressed by that.  But I suppose any child of this modern tech era would be.



To conclude, the basic tour is very doable with young kids.  I am not too picky, just clean bathrooms and a cafeteria and I am pretty much sold.  And let's not forget the free tour part!

Delaware Children's Museum

Delaware Children's Museum is located in Wilmington's Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. Great place to take the kids with more than enough activities to keep them busy for hours on end. 

Delaware Children's Museum (image taken from Museum's Website)

This 37,000 square foot museum is divided into a number of exhibits, Stratosphere, The Power of Me, Structures, Tree Pavilion, ECOnnect, Training Wheels, Bank on It and a rotation exhibit section. 

Floor Plan of Museum (image taken from the Museum's website)

As you first walk into the museum you are greeted by the first exhibit, the Stratosphere, which is a 30-foot diameter climbing structure. It has multiple entrances and a staircase that allows you follow your children as they make their way up and about the exhibit. 

Stratosphere (image taken from the Museum's website)

The second floor platform, primarily for parents, circles around the structure and allows you to watch/follow them around. For those that opt for my laziness, there are a number of benches at the base of the structure. 

View of the exhibit from the second floor platform

Once you are able to pry the kids out of the Stratosphere, you can head to your left, which is the location of the rotating exhibit. During our visit, the exhibit was a cardboard box maze. This massive maze was constructed by cardboard boxes. The boxes were about 4 feet high, just high enough to hide the kids but short enough where adults can peer over cheat... I mean, keep an eye on where the kids are running off too. 

At the center of the maze is the main structure which has a bench located at it's center. 

Continuing in my clockwise direction takes you to the Power of Me exhibit, which focuses on a number of interactive and hand-on activities. There is a chin-up bar that counts how long you can hold on, a balancing board that tracks how well you can balance, a giant table that replicates the board game Operation, a baseball pitching trainer lane, a number of basketball hops at varying heights and a multitude of other stations.  

Balancing Board - I couldn't beat 1.2 seconds.... 

Hang on! 

Slam Dunk!

Adjacent to Power of Me exhibit is the Construction exhibit that, as it's name suggestions focuses on construction and engineering. There is a light table where kids can trace architectural drawing, an area where they can don a hardhat and personal protective equipment an begin constructing a building or an arch, and K'nex and pop-cycle building areas.

Learn about shapes

Build an arch bridge

Or build a draw bridge

After the Construction exhibit, stop by and climb through a tree in the Tree Pavilion. The tree is a 350-year old Sycamore tree that measures both seven and a half feet wide and tall and 21 feet long; large enough for daring parents. The tree is preserved for a smooth feel so no worries of splinters on the exhibit. 

or find your way to the tree house...

ECOnnect is where you really appreciate in having brought along a change for clothes. There is a mock house that shows ways to power the home through sustainable and clean energy but the more popular part of this exhibit for the kids is the stream/water table that allows a whirlpool to be created, manipulating pipes to start a rain storm or work locks and channels for boats to traverse along the water table. 

Creating a whirlpool

 There is also an aquarium where kids will have an opportunity to see fishes, shrimps and even touch sea anemone and star fishes. 

Across the hallway is the Training Wheels exhibit which showcases various transportation vehicles from trains, cars to bicycles. Kids can climb through the train or work on a race car in the auto shop.

Training Wheels (image taken from Museum's Website)

Bicycle hanging over the entrance to Training Wheels

The final exhibit is Bank on It, which allows kids to explore local and foreign currency. They can also have the opportunity to work on budget, learn to save and how to spend appropriately. There is a STEM lab within this area which offers structured activities which are led by staff members during certain times of the day. 

Map of the World's Money

Bank on It

Panorama view of one side of the Museum, going left to right is Training Wheels, Bank on It, and Stratosphere. 

There are many number of items that I failed to touch on but this is a great place to bring the kids for an hour or for a full day of fun. The only downside that I was able to find is that there is no cafeteria to purchase food so if you plan on staying for more than a couple of hours, expect to pack some food/snacks. There are a number of restaurants within walking distance but they are more of a sit-down restaurant versus a quick grab-n-go venue.  

For latest news and events, please visit their website at: Delaware Children's Museum