Learning history is not always fun, but field trips are fun. What child would complain about a field trip to a carousel? This week, my homeschool bus visits the St. Louis Carousel.
The St. Louis Carousel at Faust Park, by the Butterfly House, in Creve Coeur, Missouri, is a fun place to visit. Not only will your children feel like they've been treated to a fun carnival ride; but they will be exposed to a huge piece of St. Louis and carousel history.
Though many inventions claim their start at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, this carousel is part of another time in the city's history.
The carousel was part of the Highland amusement park which was located in Forest Park, now home to attractions, like the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, Muny Opera, Boathouse, Art Museum.
It was built by a company in Philadelphia in the 1920s and placed at the small amusement park in St. Louis until a fire burnt the park to the ground in 1963. Amazingly, the carousel was the only thing left in the ashes.
The horse ride now resides inside a building on the grounds of The Butterfly House in Faust Park.
Read more about its history here!
On a personal note, the ride now costs $2 per rider. My family personally once bought a family membership simply because I could not get my two-year-old daughter, at the time, to exit the ride without tears. It was cheaper to purchase the membership than it was to keep buying tickets to ride. Still, I spent each visit pulling a sad, crying toddler from the ride.
In the meantime, visit the carousel on my virtual field trip through the following pictures:
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