Suggestions for keeping 10 year old happy!

Are you staying at the Camp Schollar? If so, there is a kids activity area where the kids can do arts & crafts and games. You can drop them off as early as 8am or 9am (you'll have to check the times), but then you have to pick them up for lunch. In the afternoon, they will bus the kids to the local YMCA to go swimming. I used to be able to drop my daughter off, spend a few hours on the field then pick her up for lunch.

There's also another craft tent on the grounds (check the map) where you and she can do arts and crafts together. I believe there is a small fee for those arts and crafts and you would have to stay with her.

KidVenture is all aviation related activities, but you might check that out. She can rivit, sand a propeller, make a few other items that might not be totally boring for a 10-year-old .

Check with the Oshkosh Tourism to find activities in town for you and her. They know lots of people are coming to town and not all the family members being dragged along are aviation fanatics, so the tourism board will list other activities available during the week.

Good luck.

Hi Kathy,

Laura already nailed most of the suggestions I was going to reply with, but I would add one other.  You might want to take your daughter to the Young Eagles Pavilion and sign her up for an airplane ride.  It might be all she needs to catch the aviation bug.  Young Eagle rides during AirVenture are limited, so sign up early.  Another idea would be a ride in one of the Bell 47 helicopters, or the Ford Trimotor.  Either one tends to impart an aviation buzz on the receipient!

Zack

Thanks for the suggestions.  We're not staying at Camp Scholler, so unfortunately that option won't work for us. That was exactly the idea I was looking for though! I did find that there's a small waterpark in Oshkosh, so taking her there for an hour or two around lunchtime may help pacify her for the remainder of the day.

I'm the YE Coordinator for our chapter and my husband has his PPL, so she does get to fly a lot. She enjoys flying; she just doesn't enjoy going to airshows. I'm hoping that the Fly-in theater every evening and the hot air balloon launch on Saturday morning will be fun for her. Unfortunately, she's at that age where if she's bored, she does her best to make sure we know it!

I forgot about the Bell 47. My son did that at Air Academy last summer and loved it. We'll definitely sign her up for that.

Kathy

I'm not certain that Camp Scholler residency is required for your child to participate in the Children's Activity center.  I find it hard to believe that your daughter would be turned away.  There's no mention of such a rule here:

http://www.airventure.org/attractions/youth_activities.html

My family attended the convention every year (usually for a week+ at a time) - I looked forward to that tent every summer

As the convention has crept south and west the Youth Activity center is much less of an "out of the way" trek.  It's basically adjacent the new FlyMarket location.

I'd second the "craft tent" idea, too....I haven't paid much attention in there lately, but when I was younger it was good way to kill a couple hours for nominal cost (I think I still have some of the hand-painted "clothespin airplanes").

If flying is an attraction - I believe the Breezy's offer rides for free (donation probably welcomed).  it's first-come, first served and a line forms....but if you're an early riser that could be an option.

Finally, quick question - how long are you staying?  The risk of boredom is different for one day versus ten