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By Root 833 0

before he left home, and he spent his week at Disney World collecting souvenirs for each page—Goofy’s autograph on the “G” page, a postcard of a Japanese pagoda on the “P” page, and so on. An older child might gather leaves from the various trees and shrubs that were imported to landscape the countries in the World Showcase. Or a young photographer could demonstrate her proficiency with various lighting techniques by photographing Cinderella Castle in early morning, high noon, sunset, and after dark.

You can even work on math. If a car containing six people departs from the Test Track loading area every 20 seconds, how many riders go through in an hour? A day? If the monorail averages 32 mph, how long does it take it to travel the 7 miles from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot? Once you get going on these sorts of questions, they’re addictive. Or give your kids a set amount of mythical money to spend, such as $1,000. Then let them keep track of expenses, deducting purchases from their starting total and making decisions about what they can and cannot afford on their budget.

Animal Kingdom Projects

• The Cretaceous Trail—a path filled with plants that have survived from the Cretaceous period—is an excellent introduction to botanical evolution.

• Rafiki’s Planet Watch is the park’s research-and-education hub, where kids can observe veterinary labs and watch interactive videos about endangered animals.

• It’s always fun to do a report on one of the animals you see on Kilimanjaro Safaris or along one of the exploration trails. Animal-crazy kids who are eight or older will get a lot out of the Wild Animal Trek, a three-hour tour that takes you behind the scenes of the Animal Kingdom.

Other Orlando Educational Programs

Disney World isn’t the only place in Orlando that can be educational. Consider the following:

SeaWorld

SeaWorld offers daily tours as well as weeklong classes and overnight programs in summer and during holidays. Visit www.seaworld.org for information on the extended Adventure Camps. If your kids aren’t up for a full program or you’re visiting at a time of year when they’re not offered, it’s easy to work in one of SeaWorld’s behind-the-scenes tours.

Orlando Science Center

This impressive facility has oodles of hands-on exhibits and programs for kids of all ages. Something is happening all the time—especially in spring and summer when most of the camps are held—and the prices are reasonable.

Admission to the center is $17 for adults, $16 for students, and $12 for kids ages 3 to 11. Classes are individually priced. To see what’s happening during your visit call 888/OSC–4FUN or 407/514–2000 or visit www.osc.org.

Kennedy Space Center

Orlando is only about an hour’s drive from the Kennedy Space Center so it’s an easy day trip. Kids will enjoy seeing the rockets and the IMAX films about space exploration. You can even plan your visit to coincide with a launch. (It’s a strange-but-cool fact that space launches are also visible from Orlando.)

Insider’s Secret

The Kennedy Space Center’s Astronaut Training Experience (ATX) is ideal for science-crazed kids 7 and up. This is a full-immersion experience—you ride in flight simulators, build and launch rockets, and play crew in a mock-up of a shuttle mission. The half-day experience is $145 per person. Make reservations in advance at www.kennedyspacecenter.com.

Crew passes, which include a bus tour of the space center as well as the IMAX film, are $41 for adults and $31 for kids ages 3 to 11. Visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com for details on launch dates and tours.

Should We Buy a Package?

This is a toughie. There are advantages to package trips, most notably that if you play your cards right, you can, indeed, save money. It’s also helpful to know up front exactly what your vacation will cost. Packages often require hefty prepayments, which are painful at the time, but at least you don’t return home with your credit card utterly maxed out. And with the mega-popular Disney Dining Plan package, there’s the convenience of having one card serve as your room