Trading the same-old-same-old for something 150 million years old makes for a less-expected—and surprisingly doable—celebration. Kids will delight in exploring the cavernous galleries, hands-on displays, and prehistoric giants at a natural-history or science museum. Meanwhile, you'll be grateful for the open space and the education disguised as entertainment.
This birthday party was held at the Science Museum of Minnesota, in St. Paul, for 7-year-old twin sisters, both of whom have soft spots for brontosauruses. After a guided tour of the galleries, the young guests played paleontologist by "excavating" bones and setting casts of mini dinosaur feet, led by the museum's educational coordinators (as a major bonus to this kind of party, the help of expert staffers is sometimes part of the package). The afternoon ended in a private room with a mac-and-cheese lunch, cake, gift opening, and more than a few sugar-fueled games of tag.
If you want to replicate this experience in your own neck of the woods, check our guide to the best museums across the country that host parties. Once you've picked a place, the trick is making the celebration feel like a memorable day for your child, not just a field trip with cake. But don't worry: All you need is a computer, a printer, and your kid's creative input to put a personal stamp on the event and make everyone, especially the guest of honor, feel special. (And those same-old gatherings will be ancient history.)
