Just have one day with active boys--Gateway and what else?

I feel bad to say we just have less than 24 hours in St. Luois, but we are doing a road trip from Atlanta to Colorado. My husband is driving in one day from Atlanta to St. Louis for first night (I join them in Colorado via a plane). Looks like it is about a 9 hour drive. Trying to decide if husband should stop short of St. Louis and spend the night (if so, where), or get to St. Louis and see anything/do anything there at night? Will get in toward late afternoon. The boys are ages 8, 11 and 13 and very active, psyched up about this road trip with their dad. They leave Sunday, May 31st from Atlanta and will do the Gateway Arch Monday morning. Am thinking of getting tickets online for about 9:00 a.m. What to do after the arch? They have food to picnic for lunch. They love skateboarding and have hopes to find skateparks in the cities they visit. After lunch they will start to head to Kansas for the next leg of the trip. Thanks!

Just have one day with active boys--Gateway and what else?

If they%26#39;re planning on a picnic, I suggest they eat in Forest Park …missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/

After lunch, they can go to the FREE zoo www.stlzoo.org/ and/or Science Center www.slsc.org/.

Just have one day with active boys--Gateway and what else?

Also check out the City Museum - pretty cool place for those ages. If the Cardinals are in town, a ball game would be fun, too.

We do have one of the nicest zoos in the country and it%26#39;s free. I also second the City Museum and the Science Center. Although the names sound boring, they are perfect for kids that age (I have three boys, now teens, but not far removed from where your boys are.

They would also probably enjoy a stop for ice cream at Crown Candy Kitchens on St. Louis avenue. On a nice day there will be a big line, so timing is important.

I think City Museum would be the perfect choice.

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! They will be staying at the Drury and will do the Arch in the a.m. and then one of these other suggestions.

Take all the advice for the City Museum. It is perfect for them. It even has an old skate park to run all over on the 3rd floor. (I have not seen anyone skate on it though. Just running and jumping off.)

Don%26#39;t miss it. They will talk about it for a long time to come.

I agree - City Museum. At their ages it will be fantastic (fun for adults too!!). The only drawback is that they will probably want to spend a lot longer there than your timeframe allows.

pink blush