The Move it. Dig it. Do it event is sponsored by the Iowa Children’s Museum and held each fall.

Share your Iowa experiences!

Do you have a list of beautiful vistas, favorite attractions, leaf-hikes with the kids?  Share them! We’re still tweaking the self-submission part of this page, so if you have something to contribute, email content@iowa.com and we’ll add it for you.

Tracy’s favorite Iowa treasures

1. Dunning’s Spring, Decorah – I’m still lobbying my husband to recreate this pretty 200-foot waterfall in our backyard. Until then, I have my photos.
2. Bluffton cliff swallows – We had a spectacular view of the bluffs and its inhabitants while camping at the edge of the Upper Iowa River in Bluffton.
3. Tulip Time  – Pella is the prettiest town on the planet at this time of year. We  enjoy the parade dancing, the flowers, the shops – even the street scrubers.
4. Grant Wood country - The sun setting anywhere in Iowa is as pretty as a picture, but the autumn sunset on the drive between Anamosa and Cedar Rapids is art-inspiring.

 Kylomom’s best kid experiences

1. Move it. Dig it. Do it – My kids dug in piles of sand and corn, pretended to drive big trucks and rescue vehicles and participated in all manner of creative activities. Held in the fall at the Johnson County fairgrounds. Sponsored by the Iowa Children’s Museum.
2. North Pole Express – We boarded a holiday-themed car pulled by an old-fashioned steam engine. The train’s frosted windows disguised the trip to the North Pole, which takes as long as it does to broadcast the story of the Polar Express over the train’s intercom. At the North Pole, we enjoyed cookies and cocoa, activities and a visit with Santa. Great souvenir jingle bell!
3.  Coe College Playground of Science Night – Held usually in October at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Lots of great, interactive demos! My kids loved the ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, lighting steel wool on fire and catapulting a pumpkin.

 Logan’s favorite Iowa things

1. Sloshing down the water slide at Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque.
2. Examining dinosaur poop at the Iowa Fossil Repository at University of Iowa.
3. Visiting the Macbride Raptor Center with my mom. It’s neat seeing those birds close up.
4. The gun that shoots corn at Bloomsbury farm.
5. Noelridge Pool in the summertime.
6. Birdwatching through the patio door. Still trying to spot a goldfinch.

 Kyle’s Iowa stuff

1. Going for a bike ride on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.
2. Leaping into the sky on the slingshot bounce at the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival.
3. Playing at the Iowa Children’s Museum.
4. Apple picking at Wilson’s apple orchard.

Gazette Editor Steve Buttery has also collected some Iowa favorites. Click here to visit his blog post.