# Region: Global Gems The world's most incredible family destinations, from the deserts of the UAE to the shores of Denmark. ## Recommended Spots in Global Gems - **Adirondack Extreme** (activity): The first aerial adventure course in the United States and still one of the best. It offers over 1.5... - **Anakeesta** (activity): An award-winning mountaintop adventure park in the heart of Gatlinburg. Accessible by a scenic Chond... - **ARTECHOUSE DC** (activity): A pioneer in digital and experiential art, ARTECHOUSE uses state-of-the-art technology to create lar... - **Atlanta BeltLine: Northeast Trail** (sight): Perhaps the most ambitious rail-to-trail project in the US. By 2026, over 17 miles of the loop are c... - **Coler Mountain Bike Preserve** (activity): A world-class mountain bike preserve in the 'MTB Capital of the World.' It features over 17 miles of... - **Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute** (activity): Hidden in East Boston, this 826 Boston storefront is dedicated to the study of elusive North America... - **Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern** (sight): A former 1920s water reservoir that was 'rediscovered' during park renovations and turned into a wor... - **Burnside Skatepark** (sight): The world's most famous DIY skatepark. Born as an illegal project under the Burnside Bridge in 1990,... - **Carlsbad Caverns: The Big Room** (activity): Carlsbad Caverns is a subterranean masterpiece. The 'Big Room' is a massive 8.2-acre limestone chamb... - **City Museum** (activity): Housed in the former International Shoe Company factory, City Museum is a massive 'play house' made ... - **The Corpus Clock** (sight): A massive, gold-plated mechanical clock featuring the 'Chronophage' (Time-Eater)—a mechanical grassh... - **COSI High-Wire Unicycle** (activity): COSI is a top-ranked science center featuring the world-famous High-Wire Unicycle. Visitors pedal ac... - **Dataland** (activity): Positioned as the world's first museum of AI Arts, Dataland (opening 2026) merges human creativity w... - **Tivoli's Astounding Magic Supply Co.** (activity): 826DC's magical portal in Columbia Heights. Styled like a 19th-century magic shop, it sells illusion... - **Dow Gardens & Whiting Forest** (activity): Dow Gardens is a 110-acre botanical masterpiece featuring the Whiting Forest—home to the nation's lo... - **Exploratorium** (activity): The Exploratorium is more than a museum; it's a public learning laboratory exploring the world throu... - **The Falkirk Wheel** (sight): The world's only rotating boat lift, connecting the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. This 3... - **Findlay Market** (restaurant): Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market. Located in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborho... - **The Franklin Institute** (activity): Philadelphia's premier science museum and a monument to American innovation. Home to the legendary B... - **Freeway Park** (sight): The world's first 'lid' park, built directly over Interstate 5. A brutalist treasure of massive conc... - **Gas Works Park** (sight): A 19-acre public park on the site of a former coal gasification plant. Architect Richard Haag famous... - **Gathering Place** (sight): A 100-acre wonderland that is widely considered the most ambitious urban park in America. Everything... - **Gentle Monster (Beverly Hills)** (sight): While ostensibly an eyewear store, Gentle Monster is famous for its 'High-Concept Retail' strategy. ... - **Grand Central Market** (restaurant): A DTLA institution since 1917, Grand Central Market reflects the city's diverse culinary landscape. ... - **The Greenbrier Bunker** (activity): Hidden beneath the West Virginia wing of The Greenbrier resort is a massive underground bunker desig... - **The Heidelberg Project** (sight): An outdoor art environment created by Tyree Guyton in 1986. Using everyday discarded objects, Guyton... - **Hoover Dam Generator Room** (activity): The beating heart of American industrial engineering. The powerplant tour takes families deep inside... - **KSC Crawler-Transporter** (activity): One of the largest land vehicles ever built, the Crawler-Transporter is a massive mechanical platfor... - **Dinosaur Park (La Laguna)** (activity): A historic 'concrete menagerie' of 14 oversized sculptures. Designed by Benjamin Dominguez in 1965, ... - **Legacy Food Hall** (restaurant): A massive three-story food hall and entertainment venue. It features an array of artisanal food stal... - **Les Machines de l'île** (activity): A high-concept artistic project located in the former shipyards of Nantes. It features a bestiary of... - **Luray Caverns: Stalacpipe Organ** (activity): Luray Caverns is the largest cave system in the Eastern US. Its crown jewel is the Great Stalacpipe ... - **Mammoth Cave National Park** (sight): Mammoth Cave National Park is the ultimate family destination because it protects the world's longes... - **Maunakea Visitor Information Station** (sight): Located at 9,200 feet on the slopes of Hawaii's highest peak, the Visitor Information Station provid... - **Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park** (activity): A 158-acre masterpiece of art and horticulture. Meijer Gardens combines major outdoor works by Ai We... - **Minneapolis Sculpture Garden** (sight): One of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country. A collaboration between the Walker Art Ce... - **National Museum of Mathematics** (activity): MoMath is the only museum in North America dedicated to mathematics. It uses sophisticated kinetic s... - **The Blue Crab** (activity): Standing tall in Elijah's Park at Baltimore Peninsula, 'Big Blue' is a massive wooden Blue Crab. Kid... - **Between the Wildflowers** (activity): Serving as a landmark for the Cedar Park Public Library, this playground features 'Belle,' a giant N... - **Humpback Whale Christie Park** (activity): A striking MONSTRUM installation featuring a massive, 50-foot Humpback Whale emerging from the groun... - **River Giants (Gathering Place)** (activity): The centerpiece of Tulsa's Gathering Place (voted Best New Attraction in America). The MONSTRUM Rive... - **The Space Garden (Hermann Park)** (activity): Located in 'The Commons' at Hermann Park, this MONSTRUM-designed space garden features a custom rock... - **Montgomery Whitewater** (activity): A state-of-the-art man-made whitewater destination right in downtown Montgomery. It offers Olympic-l... - **Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute** (activity): 826 MSP's surreal 'oceanographic' research station in the heart of the Midwest. The shop features de... - **Mural Arts Philadelphia** (sight): Philadelphia is the 'Mural Capital of the World,' with over 4,000 public artworks. The Mural Arts pr... - **Olympic Sculpture Park** (sight): Seattle’s premier outdoor sculpture museum, operated by the Seattle Art Museum. This 9-acre transfor... - **Omega Mart** (activity): Meow Wolf's 'Omega Mart' is the peak of the 'Secret Entrance' retail archetype. What looks like a ps... - **The Original Farmers Market** (restaurant): An LA landmark since 1934, offering a global taste experience under green-and-white striped awnings.... - **Peavey Plaza** (sight): A masterpiece of mid-century modernist architecture. Designed by M. Paul Friedberg in 1975, this 'su... - **Freakybuttrue Peculiarium** (activity): A Portland institution of the 'Weird.' It's a shop/museum hybrid filled with cryptid lore, alien aut... - **Ponce City Market** (restaurant): A massive adaptive reuse project in the historic Sears, Roebuck & Co. building. It features a world-... - **Prague Astronomical Clock** (sight): The world's oldest working astronomical clock, first installed in 1410. Every hour, it performs a me... - **Presidio Tunnel Tops** (sight): Built 'over' the highway tunnels that replaced the old Doyle Drive, this 14-acre park is a mastercla... - **The Rabbit hOle** (activity): The world's first 'Explor-a-Storium'—a massive, immersive museum dedicated to the history of childre... - **Philadelphia Rail Park** (sight): An ongoing transformation of the historic Reading Viaduct into a three-mile linear park. Phase 1 fea... - **Reading Terminal Market** (restaurant): One of America's largest and oldest public markets, housed in a National Historic Landmark building.... - **RIVERSPORT OKC** (activity): A world-class Olympic training site and adventure park. It features a pumped-whitewater rafting and ... - **Seattle Underground** (activity): A network of subterranean passages and basements in Pioneer Square that were once at ground level. A... - **Seven Magic Mountains** (sight): A creative expression of human presence in the desert. Comprised of seven towers of colorful, stacke... - **Strataca: Underground Salt Museum** (activity): Located 650 feet beneath the Kansas prairie, Strataca is a museum built inside an active salt mine. ... - **The 606 (Bloomingdale Trail)** (sight): An elevated rail-to-trail park on Chicago's Northwest Side, built on the former Bloomingdale Line. I... - **The Belt** (sight): A culturally redefined alley in the heart of downtown Detroit. Curated by Library Street Collective,... - **The Caverns: Volcano Room** (activity): The Caverns is a world-renowned subterranean music venue. The Volcano Room, located deep underground... - **The Gorge Zipline** (activity): America's steepest and fastest zipline canopy tour. You'll descend over 1,100 vertical feet through ... - **The Tech Interactive** (activity): A world-class science and technology center in the heart of Silicon Valley. The Tech focuses on hand... - **The Underline** (sight): A 10-mile linear park and urban trail beneath Miami's elevated Metrorail. Phase 3 completes in 2026,... - **The Works Museum** (activity): An engineering-led museum designed for younger children (ages 4-12) to explore how things work. It's... - **U.S. National Whitewater Center** (activity): The world's premier outdoor adventure center. It features the world's largest man-made whitewater ri... - **Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.** (activity): Fronting 826CHI, this store provides everything a budding spy needs: hollowed-out books, disguise ki... - **WNDR Museum** (activity): WNDR Museum is an interactive art and technology experience that features a mix of traditional and d... - **Wynwood Walls** (sight): The world's premier outdoor museum of international street art. Established in 2009, this former war... --- *Source: Outline*