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| TOP NASHVILLE AREA ATTRACTIONS |
| Nashville Superspeedway |
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee (though the track has a Lebanon address), United States, about 48 km (30 miles) east of Nashville. It is a concrete oval track 2.145 km (1.333 miles) in length. Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Dover Motorsports, which owns Dover International Speedway.
The track was built in 2001 and currently hosts four major races: two NASCAR Nationwide Series races, an Indy Racing League event, and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Current permanent seating capacity is approximately 50,000. Additional portable seats are brought in for some events, and seating capacity can be expanded to 150,000. As of 2005, NASCAR has shown little interest in staging a Sprint Cup race or other major event at the track, though NASCAR would likely not object if track ownership moved one of its races from Dover International Speedway to Nashville. Management has shown no inclination to move either of its two successful races away from Dover. Nashville Superspeedway is the only track to host two NASCAR Nationwide Series races without hosting a Sprint Cup event.
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| Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |
| Here you can learn about country music's roots in folk and gospel songs, find out such things as how the back porch banjo morphed into the ditties of the Dixie Chicks, and listen to interviews and original recordings. The place is also stuffed with memorabilia, from photos of the genre's biggest stars to stage costumes to one of Elvis' Cadillacs. |
| Grand Ole Opry |
| The Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest-running live radio show, is an American classic that began in 1925. Along with such country music legends as Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff, whom kids can learn more about at the Opry's museum, more recognizable names like Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, and Garth Brooks have belted out their best from the stage. Performances are held on weekends; reserve tickets ahead of time. |
| Frist Center for the Visual Arts |
O| ffering an array of changing exhibits, this museum entices families with its permanent ArtQuest Gallery, a hands-on activity center. At interactive stations parents and kids learn how to look at artworks by focusing on color, line, and texture as well as create their own watercolors, prints, and sculptures. "The Splendid Palette: Painting in France from Monet to Bonnard," runs May 20, 2005, to April 30, 2006. |
| Nashville Zoo at Grassmere |
| The African Elephant Savannah debuted April 9, 2005, at the 200-acre Nashville Zoo. On these simulated African plains, Hadari, Sukari, and Kiba like to roll in the mud hole and splash themselves in the 150,000-gallon wading pool. Other zoo highlights include the Bamboo Trail, home to cloud leopards, red pandas, and ring-tail lemurs, and the jungle gym, where kids can climb like monkeys. |
| Nashville Shores |
| Cool off at Nashville Shores, an outdoor water park bordering 14,000-acre J. Percy Priest Lake. There are beaches for family sandcastle building, a Wacky Pond for little kids, with twisting slides, and a splash pool. At the park's Water Ski and Stunt Show, daredevil tricksters perform high-speed boat spins, flips, and long-distance jumps. Nashville Shores offers a nice change of pace from summer city tours, especially for young kids and grade-schoolers. |
| Adventure Science Center |
| This scientific playland for children is a remarkable way to blend learning with excitement. It's signature structure is Adventure Tower, where inside, kids push, pull, press, and climb to learn about science. A $1.3-million addition to BodyQuest, the popular hands-on exploration of the human body debuted in May 2005. Kids can manipulate a giant robotic hand and arm to catch food, follow it down a mega-sized mouth into the stomach and through the intestines, and see their "thoughts" by watching different areas of a huge brain light up. |
| Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park & Old Hickory Lake |
| When in doubt, always go for the green spaces. The downtown 19-acre Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park captures kids' attention with 31 fountains and a 200-foot granite map of the Tennessee embedded in a plaza. Old Hickory Lake lies northeast of Nashville and offers a bit more running room. Join the locals who come for boating, strolling, and fishing. |
| Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art |
| Even though its historic mansion presents some noted works by 19th- and 20th-century American artists, kids often prefer the 55 acres of grounds—home to wildflowers and water and herb and Japanese gardens. Sculptures sit along the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail. Seeing the giant "Crawling Lady Hare" and the branch-like patterns of "Tree Poem" set among the red cedar and black locust trees affords kids a new perspective on sculpture. |
| General Jackson Showboat |
| Turn lunch into an event by boarding the General Jackson , a riverboat-style paddle-wheeler, for a 2.5-hour cruise on the Cumberland River. Lunch while gazing upon the greenery and toe-tapping along to country tunes. Gospel music takes over for brunch outings on the third Sunday of every month from April 17 to August 21. The showboat also offers more expensive dinner cruises, but lunch and a water view may be all your kids crave. |
| The Hermitage |
| Pay tribute to Andrew Jackson at the Hermitage, home of the seventh president of the United States. A film at the visitor center acquaints you with Jackson's life and costumed interpreters guide you through the mansion, restored to its 1837 appearance. The 30-minute horse-drawn wagon ride through the grounds, available April through October, makes history palatable for the youngsters. On the Work Yard and Farm Tour, available May through October, learn about the enslaved Africans who operated the farm. |
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