Duckwyn's Travel Blog

Kon-Tiki, a new iOS travel widget, De Haar Castle, Antwerp, and still looking for travel bloggers Issue 7 of the Weekend History Hunt went out Thursday. This one is about exploration, the real kind, before GPS and satellite maps, when crossing an ocean meant trusting stars and ocean swells and the flight path of birds. It starts with Thor Heyerdahl, who in 1947 built a balsa wood raft with five men who had never sailed and crossed 4,300 miles of open Pacific in 101 days to pr

Every parent knows the feeling. You've planned a trip to Washington D.C., or you're halfway through a road trip to the Grand Canyon, and someone hands a phone to the kids. Within minutes, they're deep in YouTube or a game that has nothing to do with where you are. It's a familiar tension. You want them engaged with the world around them, not a screen. But you also know screens are part of life, and fighting them every mile of the trip is exhausting. Here's the thing most pare

In July 1848, about 300 people gathered in a small chapel in upstate New York for the first women's rights convention in American history. In 1903, a woman in Manchester called a meeting in her front parlour and launched a movement that would change voting rights across the British Empire. In the early 1800s, a woman in southern China built the largest pirate fleet in history, negotiated her own retirement with three defeated navies, and died peacefully at 69. Most kids have

My wife reads every plaque. Every single one. She's thorough, she's curious, and honestly she retains an impressive amount of information. My kids experience this as slow torture. I've watched them cycle through all five stages of plaque grief in real time: confusion, mild interest, restlessness, silent suffering, and finally just slumping against the nearest wall while their eyes go completely blank. We've had this exact scene play out at castles, museums, national parks, an

The difference between dragging kids through museums and sparking genuine curiosity We've all seen it. Maybe we've been it. A family shuffling through a museum. The parents are reading every plaque, desperately trying to make this "educational." The kids are somewhere between bored and mutinous. Everyone's tired. Nobody's having fun. Later, at dinner, the parents try: "Wasn't that fascinating? All that history!" The kids shrug. This is what most "educational travel" looks lik

The Discovery Center just got a fresh upgrade. Three new features make it easier to track your family's adventures and keep the learning going between trips. See Your Progress at a Glance Ever wonder how close you are to that next adventure level? Now you don't have to guess. The new progress tracker shows exactly how many Experience Points you need to reach Level 2, Level 3, and beyond. Watch that bar fill up as you explore new places and complete Hidden History Hunts. Daily

Traveling with kids is a wonderful adventure, but it can also be a bit challenging. Keeping everyone organized, entertained, and safe requires some planning. Luckily, technology has your back. Kid-friendly travel apps are designed to make family trips smoother, more fun, and less stressful. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or a long vacation, these apps can help you manage everything from packing lists to finding kid-approved activities. Let’s explore the features th