Of all the museums and attractions of Cincinnati, we were careful to time our trip to make sure we wouldn’t miss the last weekend of the Butterflies of Ecuador show at Krohn Conservatory. You walk around the conservatory filled with roughly 12,000 butterflies in free flight.

Dakota wasn’t quite sure what to think at first but she warmed up to all the butterflies fluttering about as they landed on her, dada, and mama.

We also carved out some time to swing by the American Sign Museum. It errs on the smaller side but has some really cool vintage and neon signs, a sign restoration shop, event space, and a little kids area with coloring and books (Dakota’s favorite!)

We also checked out the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. We had plans to spend a good amount of time at the Duke Energy Children’s Museum but Dakota was so entranced by the Museum of Natural History & Science, we didn’t make it in time before lunch / nap (flexibility is absolutely required when traveling with toddlers!)

It’s not a museum but perhaps the biggest highlight of our trip was Washington Park. It’s a large park with live music shows, a cafe that offers light snacks, beer and wine, an inventive playground, and an EPIC splash pad. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my sweet Dakota happier (and Nora didn’t mind watching from the sidelines).