Things to do with kids in Tennessee
Lola and Mia Tanley, sisters from Nashville, have some expert advice for kids planning to visit Safari Park in Alamo, Tenn. When driving around the wildlife attraction, keep the car windows open.
“We had the window rolled down and the ostrich stuck his head right through it,” said 8-year-old Mia. “He tried to peck at us. He was looking for food. We were in the back seat, so we just laughed.”
The girls and their 6-year-old brother, Case, were among more than 200 youngsters recruited by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to critique nearly 30 state attractions. The reviewers used their words, of course, as well as their giggles, which were captured by laugh trackers fastened to their shirts. Over three weeks in May, the devices registered more than 1.6 million seconds of laughter at an average rate of 80 chortles per hour. According to official figures, 97 percent of participants ranging in age from 2 to 16 had a ball.
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“Parents might have a different perspective than kids,” said Lola, 10. “It’s nice to know what kids my age like.”
The idea for the kid commentators sprang from the heads of adults. Brian Wagner, the department’s assistant commissioner, said he noticed travel reviews are mostly written by adults. His team decided to create a platform for young travelers, who know best what delights and what disappoints. For example, when a llama spit on their car at Safari Park, their mom was probably not as amused as the Tanley kids, who cracked up over the episode — a moment caught on their brooch-size trackers.
The kids wore the custom-built gadget that featured a recording device and a transmitter that sent the sounds to the cloud, where they were sampled against 214,000 established laughs. This process helped the team identify the noises as legitimate laughs rather than, say, a snort or hiccup.
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“We compared the real laughs and the recorded laughs,” said Ian Cahill, associate director of the innovation and mobility department at VMLY&R, the company that created the technology.
To measure their excitement, the participants wore arm bands that registered fluctuations in their heart rates. The data analyzers learned that laughs and excitement often move like a seesaw.
“We discovered locations where the excitement was high but the laughter was low,” Wagner said.
For example, Safari Park received 220 laughs per hour but only 69 moments of excitement. Sound waves in Nashville registered 150 LPH and 42 MOE, and the Memphis Zoo logged 42 laughs and 148 moments of excitement. The conclusion: It’s hard to laugh when you are hollering your head off or terrified into silence.
Before hanging up their reviewer’s caps, the kids shared their opinions in a recording booth. The department transcribed their insights and posted many of them on its website.
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“The stingrays felt scratchy like peppercorns,” remarked Olivia, 5, who visited the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. “I sat in an acorn and rode a frog,” said 10-year-old Vivian, a reviewer at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. “The best is to scream super loud when you zip-line in the dark,” said Ella, 11, who visited Navitat in Knoxville. “It’s better than a hot dog and I really love hot dogs,” 9-year-old Bennett said of the Fire Museum in Memphis.
To help families with multiple children, a few attractions broke down the laughs by age bracket. For example, at Dollywood, kids ages 2 to 4 giggle-approved the Piggy Parade and Scrambler rides; guests age 11 and older were enthusiastic over the Whistle Punk Chaser and the Smoky Mountain River Rampage.
Weeks after the study wrapped up, the kid reviewers were still in sharing mode. Jaelynn Fillers, an 8-year-old Dollywood expert, advised an inquiring adult: “If it’s hot, you want to go in the water. If it’s not too hot, then you can go on any ride.” Jaelynn, who visited on a steamy day, cooled off on the Rampage. “I like it when we go falling down and water comes out,” she said, “and it splashes everywhere and gets you soaked.”
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Mia and Lola dispensed some additional wisdom for Safari Parkgoers. Beware of the zebras, which bite. Keep a strong grip on the food bucket whenever the “horses with horns” (official name: eland) are around; one grabbed the receptacle from Case’s hands. And once you are home, you might want to vacuum the car, because ostriches are messy eaters.
When asked who should clean the vehicle, Mia responded, “Your parents.”
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