( CNN ) -- She 's looking over the boat 's edge to spot a dolphin and record its markings . He 's digging for medieval tools in the fields around an abandoned friary . Or they 're simply hearing their native language spoken a bit differently in a different country , where the food does n't quite taste the same . Travel can introduce kids to the world 's real-life wonders , changing their perspective on topics they may have only read about in books . It can literally change their lives . `` There is a kid 's way of seeing the world , '' says Keith Bellows , editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine and author of National Geographic 's `` 100 Places That Can Change Your Child 's Life . '' `` As an adult , get out of the way , and stop marching them through an experience . When you get them to slow down and experience a place from their perspective , it 's magic . Not just the place itself , but the experience . '' Consider Bellows ' suggestions a step up from simply taking a vacation . He says these places could open your child 's eyes to the diversity of the world , help them learn what interests them and inform how they navigate it as adults . Marco Island , Florida . Of course Walt Disney World is a Florida rite of passage for many children ( and their parents ) but there 's so much to the state that is n't prefabricated . Marco Island is one of those places for Bellows , with beaches showing off the rusticity and charm of old Florida . Kids will love the beach and you can sneak in some science in the spectacular nature surrounding you . To Disney or not to Disney ? Get on board the Dolphin Explorer with your children and turn them into citizen scientists . Capt . Chris Desmond , founder of the 10,000 Islands Dolphins Project , directs children to note the family compositions , behavior and even evidence of shark bites of the dolphins they spot . They give the data to adult biologists onboard who feed it into a computer . The bonus : If a child spots a new dolphin -- most are already known to the crew -- that child gets to name the dolphin . `` Every kid wants to spot a newcomer and it happened on a trip I was on , '' says Bellows . Big Sur , California . The drive from San Francisco into Big Sur may be Bellows ' favorite drive in the world . `` It is one of the most hair-raising drives in the world , and you get the sense of a wild , driving adventure , '' he says . `` I 've done it at least 40 or 50 times , and I never get tired of it . '' He recommends renting a convertible and coming down from San Francisco through the agriculture fields onto the California coast , much of which is protected and can be explored along the way . One highlight : Point Lobos State Natural Reserve , just north of Big Sur . `` It really teaches children that if you really love an area , you can protect it . Most of that coastline is protected , and it shows you what happens when you do n't screw it up. `` Grand Canyon . Nothing makes Bellows feel more humble than standing on the lip of the Grand Canyon , even if he 's standing with thousands of other people . `` It 's a bite out of the Earth , a thrilling glimpse into the inside of the Earth , '' he says . Top U.S. spots for family fun . When children see the canyon layers below , that 's the first step in their understanding of the geology of the Earth , says Bellows . Take an age-appropriate hike so your children can see the layers and wildlife that make up the canyon . `` They can see we did n't just spring from nothing . This is a wafer sandwich of the world , and we 're going to be one of the layers one day . '' Chesapeake Bay , Maryland . The nation 's largest estuary , the Chesapeake Bay is filled with 64,000 square miles of rivers , marshes and bays . `` My kids have grown up there kneeling in grass , looking for tadpoles and pulling up crab pots ... and I love it , '' says Bellows . `` It 's some of the wildest primitive country we have . You can watch the ebb and flow of oysters , crabs and fishes , and it tells you how you 're treating this incredible place . '' It 's the home of the wild ponies children have read about it in Marguerite Henry 's `` Misty of Chincoteague . '' Those ponies of Assateague Island National Seashore live in two herds . You can see the ponies at the park but do n't feed them ( to keep them wild ) . Library of Congress , Washington . It 's OK to tell your children that the movie `` National Treasure : Book of Secrets '' was filmed at the Library of Congress . ( Heck , show them the movie in advance of your trip . ) And yes , that it 's the biggest library in the world with 3,800 staff , 500 miles of shelving and 128 million items ( with about 10,000 items added each day ) . 7 tips for cherry blossom fun in D.C. `` If you go into the Library of Congress , you 're going to tell them it 's a library but it 's also a treasure trove , '' says Bellows . Whatever your child likes , whether it 's music or maps or sports or humor , it 's likely he or she can find something about it here . Your children also can get a `` Passport to Knowledge '' to guide them to the library 's so-called greatest hits , and they can play at Knowledge Quest kiosks and bookmark places of interest to explore later on a personalized mini-site . New York City . A visit to New York for every child who has not grown up there is also a rite of passage , says Bellows . `` Every kid has to go to New York City , and every adult does , too , '' he says . `` Every time you go back and have n't been there for awhile , it 's a new place . It 's so big and so fast . '' Take the Circle Line boat tour , he suggests , so you can see by sailing around it how small an island Manhattan actually is . You can notice how connected it is to the other islands of Staten Island and Long Island ( where Brooklyn and Queens are ) and the Bronx , which is actually on the U.S mainland . `` Here 's an island in the middle of nowhere but it 's connected to the entire world . '' For children seeing the Statue of Liberty , a Broadway show or the city decorated at Christmas for the first time , `` it gets imprinted on kids ' minds . '' London . London is a starter city for U.S. parents who want to take their kids out of the country , after you 've explored the nearest metropolitan city and your national parks . `` They speak English in London but a child will know just how foreign it is , with things like Marmite , '' says Bellows . `` The wonderful thing about it is , this is a little like Harry Potter world . It 's familiar enough to be safe and foreign enough to be thrilling . '' Older children will love the ghoulish ( and true ) tales of the Tower of London . Begun in the 1070s by William the Conqueror , the tower was Europe 's first fortress . Queen Anne Boleyn was beheaded there in 1536 and is rumored to still haunt the place . Trim , Ireland . How could medieval warriors run in chain mail armor ? How heavy is a stone ax , really ? Head to the ruins of the Dominican Black Friary , a short distance from Trim Castle in the town of Trim , Ireland . Once a home for religious men and women , the friary 's ruins are being excavated in a special way . Visitors can get a crash course in excavation and start digging and recording their findings side-by-side with archaeologists and geologists . Younger children get to play at a camp , where they get to pick up heavy stone axes and run in chain mail . Older children will enjoy a tour of nearby Trim Castle , which starred in the movie `` Braveheart . '' Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter began construction of the castle , the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland , in the 1170s . The castle protected the medieval village , once a commercial and religious powerhouse . `` What amazing architects these people were , and how remarkably old this is , '' says Bellows . `` It 's the quintessential castle . It 's knights , bow and arrows and blood on the ground . '' Muskoka , Canada . Bellows grew up in Muskoka , two hours north of Toronto in Ontario 's cottage country . `` This is where kids can really connect with wilderness , even more so than the Chesapeake , '' he says . `` There are dark lakes and loons at night . You can come out to a fish , flip the canoes and find the air holes underneath . '' Almost anyone can rent a cabin in this area known for its more than 1,600 lakes and leave electronic entertainment behind , he says . `` It is simple , simple living . You can take off your shoes for days '' and simply run around barefoot . Galapagos Islands . There 's no doubt this trip is expensive . People who want to visit the Galapagos Islands have to take approved tours , designed to protect the islands ' fragile ecology . This is where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution , where nearby islands have different ecologies and animals who have adapted differently to their environments . `` There is no place like it in the world , '' says Bellows . `` I 've been twice , and the first time I went , I realized what Darwin was talking about . You see two birds who look the same but they have different vocalizations . It 's like two people speaking English but one person is from Brooklyn and the other is from Boston . '' The animals have no fear of humans , so your children will swim with dolphins and turtles and play near seals . But it 's not all peaceful . `` I saw a seal attacked by a shark and dying , tortoises leaning into each other , both dead , '' he says . `` You 're on a beach and you see crabs hatch prematurely in the middle of the day , slowly breaking down . It 's Darwin 's theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest . '' A tough , but essential , life lesson . Where do you want to take your children before they grow up ? What do you think is important or them to see ? Please share in the comments below .
Introduce your child to marine biology by searching for dolphins . Would-be geologists and anthropologists can be inspired by a Grand Canyon hike . Catch crabs and watch the wild horses run on the banks of the Chesapeake . The best way to teach children about nature is through hands-on activities that are fun, exciting and educational.