Global Classroom: 3 Family Destinations that Spark Ideas and Inspire Learning

An endless world of information and knowledge awaits at our fingertips, across a multitude of devices, still, as much as the digital realm inspires, curiosity is constantly fueled — and imagination sparked — by the physical world around us.

And travel — especially to destinations that foster ideas and interests — offers a treasure-trove of learning for kids (and kids at heart).

Three cities, true innovation hubs, offer dazzling, family-friendly experiences where learning happens in a global classroom — often without you even knowing it. Ideas are exchanged, friendships are made and lifelong passions are born.

As always, check for travel restrictions and closures before planning your trip.

San Francisco and Silicon Valley, California

In San Francisco and Silicon Valley, known as the home of tech and innovation, you’ll find countless places to get inspired and learn. You can visit the home of tech giants like Intel, where you’ll see what life’s like behind the scenes at a silicon chip factory.

Head to Pier 15 in San Francisco to visit the brilliant, hands-on “public learning laboratory” called The Exploratorium. And don’t miss institutions like Stanford University, where you’ll walk in the footsteps of Nobel laureates and famed alumni like Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

One favorite, a family-friendly science and technology center called The Tech Interactive, sits in downtown San Jose. If your kids like to get hands-on, there’s nowhere better than this spot, with its one simple mission: “To inspire the innovator in everyone.”

Bring the littles to check out interactive exhibits like the awesome Bio Design Studio, or even become robotics engineers by working as a family to create a multitasking social robot.

Afterward, don’t miss a show at the IMAX theater, where eye-popping educational films focus on subjects like the Arctic, the rainforest, extreme weather and “engineering our world.” You’ll leave smarter, smiling — and can even take some of their DIY engineering and science knowledge home with you to carry on the learning. Using objects from around the house, you can create a solar oven in the yard, or make your own ink — from a cabbage!

Bangkok, Thailand

Next up is the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, another cultural wonderland of colorful learning.

If you’re lucky, your visit may coincide with one of the nation’s annual festivals, such as Songkran, when the entire country stops to — take part in water fights! The three-day holiday marking the Thai New Year sees people symbolically “wash away” the previous year so they can get ready for the next one.

Another insight into Thai culture is the incredible food scene, and there’s no better place to expand your kids’ tastes than at countless huge food markets with every conceivable fresh ingredient for sale — from exotic fruit like mangosteen or durian to mounds of spices and chilis — that have to be seen to be believed. One particularly fun way to experience them is via the “floating markets” like Damnoen Saduak, where all the buying and selling is done from boats on canals that crisscross the city.

As an Asian tech hub, the city also offers much for curious young minds. The Children’s Discovery Museum in Chatuchak is a huge interactive space where you can excavate dinosaur bones, build a Lego masterpiece or try your hand at dozens of science experiments. It’s where learning is brilliantly disguised as fun!

London, United Kingdom

Finally, to London, a city world-famous for its amazing museums and family-friendly historical sights dating back thousands of years.

Walking around the city you’ll see ancient monuments and royal palaces, vibrant neighborhoods, and beautiful parks begging to be explored by little wanderers.

Check out the legendary Tower of London with its dazzling crown jewels belonging to the royal family, the navy battleship HMS Belfast, and of course, Big Ben, the famous clock tower presiding over the elegant Houses of Parliament, where you can truly feel the extraordinary history that surrounds you.

In the city’s South Kensington neighborhood, two of the world’s finest museums sit handily side-by-side. The Natural History Museum dates back to 1881 and contains a mind-boggling 80 million specimens within its vast collection dealing with botany, entomology (that’s insects!), mineralogy, paleontology and zoology.

And if you’re a fan of dinosaurs, there’s just nowhere better, as the museum is home to dozens of dinosaur skeletons, including a diplodocus and a brilliant, animated Tyrannosaurus rex.

Finally, at the adjacent Science Museum, once again it’s all about hands-on technology for curious minds.

On display are some of the most awe-inspiring and fascinating objects that have helped shape scientific history: astronaut spacesuits, the earliest computers, ancient clocks and telescopes all vie for attention.

But don’t miss exhibitions and interactive installations to really inspire curious minds, like the computer setup that enabled legendary professor Stephen Hawking to create his pioneering, life-changing work.

One of Hawking’s heroes, Albert Einstein, would love it, too!