*Make sure to download the Free PDF Printable with a complete list of Family Friendly Wilmington Attractions at the bottom of this post*

Under threat of Hurricane Joaquin, My youngest son and I boarded a plane to Philadelphia in route to a family gathering near Wilmington Delaware. We scheduled a few extra days to explore Wilmington and the surrounding areas, but we had no idea if our weekend would be cut short by Hurricane Joaquin.

At the time of departure Joaquin’s Hurricane track looked a little like this:

Image Source: reddit.com/u/macgruder1

Joking aside, I was a little nervous (enough to contact the hotel and make sure they had a hurricane plan), but most everyone I spoke with from the coastal area seemed to shrug it off, “Meh.. they never really know.”  The Hurricane did move away from land, our family event went as planned, and although it was raining pretty hard we had a chance to do a little exploring of Wilmington.

Wilmington Delaware is an amazing place to visit for a fall weekend. I was pretty bummed we were there during a torrential downpour, because just driving through the country side would have been picturesque with the fall leaves turning.  I contacted the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau prior to arriving and they provided me with a nice list of Family Friendly activities in and around the area. I was surprised at how many kid-friendly activities are available in Wilmington.  *FREE Printable of Things to do in Wilmington Delaware at the bottom of this post!**

A few of the places we visited:

The Delaware Museum of Natural History:

  
We had originally planned to visit The Winterthur Musuem, Garden, & Library a 175 room mansion that a 60 acre garden that includes “Enchanted Woods,” three acres believed to have been fashioned by fairies.  However, the weather had other plans and we visited The Delaware Museum of Natural History. Located directly across from Winterthur, the Museum is home to a nice collection of Dinosaur fossils, bones, birds, eggs, and shells. We had a lot of fun viewing the exhibits. The most popular being the Nature Nook, a free kids area with a few hands on activities and crafts. The museum also has a small theater and during our visit they were showing a free movie on the Planet Earth. We learned about Dude the Cat, the museum’s resident cat, who has become quite popular as a Mascot for the Museum. Dude was found as a kitten in the dumpster and after no one claimed him, Dude became a fixture mostly hanging out in the employee areas of the Museum. In fact, the gift store offers a few cute children’s books for purchase following the adventures of Dude the Cat at the museum.

The Delaware Children’s Museum

Several of the area attractions are closed on Sundays and we found ourselves at the Delaware Children’s Museum. This was a nice indoor option on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. The Museum offers several large educational play areas throughout the building. They had a few interactive booths set up for kids to explore and learn. On the day we visited they were learning about germs and hand washing. Our favorite activity was the “speedway,” an exhibit area set up like a small race track where kids are able to ride roller racers® around the track.

TIP: Most of the family attractions can be enjoyed in a 1/2 day so if you want to visit more than one place check out the Deals & Discounts page on Visit Wilmington DE. During the spring/summer season they offer a Brandy Wine Treasure Trail Passport that gets you into 11 attractions around Wilmington.

In spite of the weather we had a great time in Wilmington. The family event went off without a hitch, and we were able to visit a few fun kid places throughout the weekend. We look forward to visiting The Brandywine Zoo, The Wilmington & Western Railroad, and the Marshall Steam Museum on a future visit!  Download the FREE PDF at the bottom for list of 12 family friendly attractions in Wilmington Delaware.

I had the Best looking date at the party!

Ready for our big evening out!

We had to make one last stop in Philly on our way to the airport. (I think it is a requirement to eat a Philly cheese steak sandwich if one is even close to Philadelphia.) We stopped by the famous “Pats King of Steaks” and enjoyed a Philly cheese steak sandwich “wit whiz.”

FREE DOWNLOAD FREE Download of Family Friendly Things to do in Wilmington Delaware: *Thanks to the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau for providing this information*

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Plan your trip to Wilmington Delaware! (Flights via Philiadelphia – PHL)

*Disclosure: We were provided with passes to the Delaware Museum of Natural History from Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau. All opinions and reviews expressed within are that of FunFamily.Vacations.

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