Why I Love My Town

I love the town that I live in. There really are many reasons for this, in particular all the activities and events that I can do with my family. I have been here for four years, and I’m pretty sure I have not seen everything this town has to offer yet. Between museums, plays, parks, trails, activities put on by the town, and more, this town is a fantastic place to raise your family.

WonderLab Children’s Museum

There is a small “museum” for children called WonderLab. It’s two floors of fun. There is a whole room for bubbles, a huge water table section, multiple reptiles, and many hands-on activities. The activities change up often, so every time you go it’s something different. They have a variety of stations to work on experiments and to see how gears and such work. It is always a hit for any child who enters!

Playgrounds and Splash Pads

Bloomington, Indiana has many public playgrounds, and they are all different! (Don’t pay attention to my big belly in the picture, I was pregnant with my youngest.) My daughters both love to go to any of the playgrounds. Whenever my youngest sees one, she goes crazy in the car, pointing and shouting because she wants to go have fun! There is even a playground that has a splash pad attached to it, where the children can run around in basically big sprinklers!

Monroe County Public Library

The Monroe County Public Library is awesome. I actually haven’t seen the whole library. Whenever we go, it’s with the kids, so I’ve probably only gone in the rest of the library maybe a handful of times. The children’s section is definitely something to be excited about though.

They have kid-friendly computers where they can play learning games or watch educational short movies. There is usually a line waiting for a turn! There is also a room for kids ages 6 and under to play in. A small section of this room is divided off for just the non-walking babies.

Then there is a letter station, kitchen station, puzzle station, puppet station, post office station, and multiple areas just to sit and read. The rest of the children’s section outside of that room has puzzles and train tables to play with as well. Of course there are books too. They have a huge variety of board books, fiction and nonfiction for older children, plus rows and rows of DVDs to borrow. It’s a great place, and my girls love to go there.

A Shaded Trail to a Waterfall

Across the street from one of the parks, they have this amazing wooded path that leads to a waterfall. It’s a great place to go in the warm weather. It’s completely shaded and on a hot day, it’s a great place to cool down.

The walk to either the top or the bottom is not long at all. It gives my children a chance to have a hike without them getting tired or bored. Ashley loves putting her feet in the water and walking around. Lilly, on the other hand, is not a big fan of the gooey mud underneath going between her toes. They both love to come out here though, since it’s an adventure for them!

Public Pools and Summer Fun

There are a few outside public pools in town. They all have baby/toddler/kid sections for the little ones to play, and then the regular pool area for older children and adults. There are waterslides and diving boards.

For a small fee you can buy daily passes, or even punch cards which make it even cheaper. We love going here in the summer for swim lessons, and a fun place to play and cool off on hot days.

Town Events and Festivals

There are many activities that the town puts on as well that are always fun to attend. Pictured are the hot air balloon festival and the Monroe County Fair. They also have many other things to do.

There are way too many to list, but most likely, especially in the summer, you can find some kind of free event going on. Some other big events are the Lotus Festival, Little 500, the Farmer’s Market every weekend, and the Festival of Lights for Christmas!

We don’t plan on making this our forever home, but we absolutely love it here. When we do decide to move, our next town will definitely have some big shoes to fill!