Epic Educational Road Trip Themes for Family Travel

ByCrystal @ Surviving a Teacher's Salary

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Turn an educational road trip into an epic adventure!

Whether you have kids or not you can turn some pretty serious road trips into awesome fun while making them educational at the same time. Here are a few epic adventure ideas with a serious educational twist.
 Independence Hall signing room

Historic America Road Race:

You can hit New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. within just a few hours from each other. From the homes of Lincoln, Edgar Allen Poe, Ford, Babe Ruth, and of course the White House to grave sites of Benjamin Franklin, the Unknown Soldier, and Paul Revere – there is an insane amount of historical value in these areas that you could literally spend weeks or even months at. Not to mention the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, Lincoln Memorial, the US Mint, Smithsonian, and nearby Roanoke, Plimouth, Jamestown and Mount Vernon.

  large orange Philips 66 sign

Good Ole Route 66

Whether you got married on Rt. 66 like we did or you’ve watched Disney’s Cars one too many times, Route 66 is a MUST DRIVE road trip once in your lifetime! Stay at the iconic Wigwam hotel, see volcanoes in Arizona, meteor craters, and snap a photo at the Rainbow trees! Make sure to pick up this book on Route 66 to keep you occupied between stops. Take a slight detour and DON’T MISS the Grand Canyon!

Field Study – National Parks

This trip is a real adventure for the nature lover and travel enthusiast. Although you probably won’t be able to hit all 58 National Parks in one trip you can put a nice dent in that number if you travel in the western half of the USA. Geocache along the way for new experiences, create nature scavenger hunts and try your hand at photography to journal your adventure! From forests to coral reefs, fossils and volcanoes the diversity you’ll find is unforgettable.
 white house from Goonies movie

Movie Film Road Trips

If you are a movie film enthusiast you can follow filming locations all over the country! Above was our pilgrimage to the Goonies film locations. Whether it’s James Bond, Ghostbusters, the Twilight Series, or Little House on the Prairie- you can create some unforgettable experiences traveling around the country taking selfies at popular movie filming locations. Don’t have a particular move that sets your heart high? Check out some filming locations of Academy Award winning films across the US! And don’t forget to read any books the movies were based on as you hit the road!

 alien saucer restaurant

The Hunt for Aliens or Bigfoot

Believe it or not the hunt for aliens or Bigfoot can be spun into a highly educational (and insanely fun) road trip! You’d pretty much get the coolest parent award EVER. From researching military cover ups, weapons of war, the science and DNA of primates and learning to draw your own scientific hypothesis and conclusions these interesting adventures are sure to be the most epic trip your family will ever take. But seriously – don’t forget yourSasquatch Research Team t-shirt for validity.

 Literary Authors & Book Series:

kansas city book library wall

 What’s a better road trip theme than following a favorite author or book series across the country?! You may find yourself in the Ozarks or in Savannah, Georgia – or maybe all the way down in the Keys!

Cave Explorations Extreme:

Cave Painting petroglyphs

From lava tubes in Washington to spelunking through the Midwest, there are all sorts of caves and mining tunnels for the adventurer in you to explore! In fact we’ve been in well over 30 of them! Whether you want to sit in a cart and be driven through a cave like at Fantastic Caverns or you spend the night in a cave, this adventure will take you all over the United States. In fact you can see the final resting place of Squire Boone, Daniel Boone’s brother in Squire Boone Caverns! Nearby Indiana Caverns has a plethora of Ice Age bones too!

Travel the Oregon Trail

Remember that game you played as a kid? OH YES! The Oregon Trail! It makes for a HIGHLY educational trip to take – in REAL LIFE! And you don’t even have to get by a rattlesnake or pick up dysentery to imagine the hardships to might have been like to travel the trail many years ago. Try your hand at gold mining for a whole new experience!

Spooky Ghost Towns

Whether you’re traveling with little ones or not exploring ghost towns throughout the USA doesn’t have to be scary! Check out all of the various Ghost Town books on eBay for some ideas for ghost towns in your region to visit. Remember, every ghost town has a history behind it.

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