Kids Korner

Visit Nashville! Smoky Mountains Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Graceland Want to be a music star? You're in the right place. Thousands of young wannabe singers and songwriters all come to Nashville with their dreams. Of course they move here after they've made it, too—like American Idol Carrie Underwood. Nashville's a great place to visit—hear some music, eat some great fried chicken, get face to face with an ape, race down a giant water slide (in summer), and maybe even create your own painting at a museum. Check out www.musiccity.com to see all there is for kids and their parents in and around Nashville—winter and summer.

Did You Know?

• There's an old worn 6-foot wood circle on the Grand Ole Opry Stage. It was cut from the Opry's former home to remind performers—and the audience—that they're part of a long tradition. The Opry began 80 years ago as a radio show but soon fans wanted to come and watch the performers. Ever since, country music starts have performed here. Check out www.opry.com to see if you can see a show when you're in Nashville.

• Some 1,600 black bears live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southern Appalachian Mountains. It's one of the few places remaining in the eastern United States where black bears can live in wild, natural surroundings. If you love being outdoors, you'll love Great Smoky National Park. You can hike and bike, camp and fish, horseback ride, and more. But if you see a bear, don't approach it! Back away. And never feed a bear. Check out www.nps.gov/grsm for more about the park and bears.

• You're supposed to eat GooGoo in Nashville. It tastes better than it sounds. It's peanuts, caramel, and marshmallow all mixed together. Today, the Standard Candy Company treat is so popular that they need three million pounds of chocolate a year! Visit www.googoo.com to find out where you can get one in Nashville! People have been eating them for more than 90 years but no one is exactly sure how they got their funny name.

• Elvis Presley recorded more than 200 of his songs at RCA's Studio B on Music Row in Nashville. Today you can tour the studio—it's part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum where the windows look like piano keys! Check out the red, blue, and green lights. Elvis put them up one summer when he was trying to finish a Christmas album. You can find out a lot about country music at the museum. Visit www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

• Nashville was founded on Christmas Eve 1779 when two teams of pioneers set forth from the Carolinas and found the new city. Upon arrival, they immediately began building Fort Nashborough. Among them was Rachel Donelson, daughter of Captain John Donelson, who would later become President Andrew Jackson's wife. If you visit their Nashville home, The Hermitage, check out the driveway. It's in the shape of a guitar! Visit www.thehermitage.com.

• You might see some country music stars of tomorrow perform at the little Bluebird Café in Nashville. Garth Brooks played here before he was famous. Go to an early show but get there early! (See www.bluebirdcafe.com). Douglas Corner Café also has live music six nights a week (www.douglascorner.com).

• You can make 22 hair raising turns and plunge 100 feet—all in 2.5 minutes if you ride the Thunderhead Wooden Roller Coaster at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's the state's number one attraction with rides (for little kids, too) a water park, and live shows. There's a special KidFest during the summer. Visit www.dollywood.com.

• You can visit an old-fashioned farmhouse, see African elephants, and play on a giant playground all in one place—at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. The playground was built by volunteers and is so big 1,000 kids can play on it at once! There are lots of other animals, too. Don't miss the apes. Visit www.nashvillezoo.com.

• There's a big birthday party for Elvis Presley every January at his home Graceland in Memphis—even though he died nearly 30 years ago! Fans come from around the world to celebrate. For more on Elvis and Graceland, visit www.elvis.com.

• United Record, a vinyl pressing plant in downtown Nashville, is one of only four remaining vinyl manufacturers in the nation. Operating since 1949, United has pressed millions of records for artists like Elvis Presley, Lionel Richie, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and N'Sync, as well as for numerous hip-hop and reggae musicians (See www.urpressing.com).

• The BellSouth Tower, located in downtown Nashville, is the largest building in Tennessee with 33 stories and a maximum height of 617 feet. It is known as the Batman Building because of the two towers shaped like Batman's ears.

• John Lewis, a student at Nashville's American Baptist Theological Seminary, helped spark a successful sit-in movement in February 1960 at segregated lunch counters in Nashville. Today, black and white granite stools in Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park mark the event.

• Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union during the Civil War and the first state to be readmitted after the war. East Tennesseans were strongly pro-Union, while West and Middle Tennesseans were primarily on the side of the Confederacy. Tennessee's Capitol still has bullet holes in the banisters from when Tennessee was admitted to the Union.

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Nashville . . .

Meet: Quincy Yarbrough (age 8) and one of her dogs, Shela, who live in Goodlettsville, a suburb just north of Nashville. She is the daughter of Southwest Airlines' Nashville Station Manager Dave Yarbrough. She Says: Downtown Nashville is a great place to hear live music. Go to any of the state or city parks—they're all kid friendly. If you time it right the leaves changing colors are beautiful. Visit historic Civil War sights. Go watch the Titans play football, or my favorite is going to a Predator's hockey game! Don't Miss: "Dog Day in the Park" at Centennial Park where you can also see the "Parthenon of the South." Go to OpryMills Mall, which is next to the Grande Ol' Opry House. The Cumberland Children's Science Museum is great! Rent a boat and take it out on any of the lakes. Visit the Nashville Zoo. Go to Portland, Tenn., and pick fresh strawberries. Don't Go Home Without: Walking around downtown and visiting all the shops, or, go to the Opryland Hotel and see the Christmas decorations. Best Places to Eat: Longhorn Steakhouse Mason's - in Goodlettsville - it's a "meat-and-three" and has great breakfast. The Catfish House in Springfield. Get a burger at Fat Mo's Best Places to Visit Outside of Nashville: The aquarium and Rock City in Chattanooga The Dollywood Theme Park in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge Go visit Elvis' Graceland home in Memphis, and be sure to get some BBQ while you're there.

Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .

• Get ready for some old fashioned southern cooking in Nashville—at prices that won't bust the budget.

• Many locals converge on 8th Avenue at Arnold's Country Kitchen. Open for breakfast and lunch, Arnold's serves a “meat-and-three,” which is a choice of meat plus three vegetables. Proprietor Jack Arnold stands behind the buffet counter and barks your order as you slide through the long line for macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and fried chicken. The seating is old-style, so you may have to share a table with strangers. Get there early for lunch, as the line tends to wrap around the outside of the building. (605 8TH Ave S, Nashville, 615-256-4455).

• Families also head to Monell's for bottomless bowls of fried chicken and hot rolls, big bowls of vegetables, and old-fashioned deserts. Since you sit at big tables, here's your chance to talk to some locals. Kids under 10 eat for half price. Again, get there early because Monell's doesn't take reservations. (1235 6th Ave North, Nashville, 615-248-4747).

• Elliston Place Soda Shop—a neighborhood institution for 70 years—is known as much for its milkshakes and banana splits as its fried chicken and homemade biscuits. (2111 Elliston Place, Nashville, 615-327-1090).

• Besides Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are lots of Tennessee state parks where you can go for outdoor fun, even staying in an inexpensive cabin. Visit www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/. For more Tennessee travel information, visit www.tnvacation.com.

• Besides music and food, there are lots more for families in Nashville including:
  • Adventure Science Center (www.adventuresci.com)
  • Frist Center for the Visual Arts (www.fristcenter.org) - It has an ArtQuest area where kids can make their own art.
  • Nashville Children's Theater (www.nashvillechildrenstheatre.org) - TIME magazine recently ranked NCT one of the top five children's theatres in the country.
  • Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art (www.cheekwood.org) - Every summer Cheekwood has a special interactive exhibit for kids throughout the gardens.
  • Lane Motor Museum (www.lanemotormuseum.org)
  • The Parthenon/Centennial Park (www.parthenon.org) - It has a giant statue of the goddess Athena.
  • Nashville Shores (www.nashvilleshores.com) - The attraction has the seven largest waterslides in Tennessee.

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™