Entertaining the family on a road trip can go well beyond handheld video games and car bingo. What’s a road trip without intriguing stops along the way? Here are some fun ways to turn your road trip into an entertaining venture – after all, the journey is half the fun.

Photo via jayRaz/Flickr

Quirky roadside attractions: “World’s Largest” attractions are found all across the United States. Minnesota’s Twine Ball, Denver’s Big Blue Bear and any of the numerous Route 66 highlights are just a few fascinating detours that come to mind, and they’re free!

History: Dotted along US highways are little tidbits of American history from aviation museums, to battle fields, to special monuments. Expand the family’s knowledge by introducing them to the significant and oftentimes poignant landmarks along your route.

Funny Museums: Skip the boring art museums on your next trip and track down some eccentric museums. The Pez Museum in Burlingame, California and the Hat Museum in Portland, Oregon are a few out-of-the-ordinary museums. You might learn something new or at least earn bragging rights for having visited such rare museums.

Famous landmarks: The St. Louis Arch, Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore are some this country’s best known attractions. If you’re in the vicinity, add such monumental spots to your navigation system.

Regional food: If you’re zooming through a city without any plans to stop for sightseeing, consider exposing the family to the region’s culinary specialties. Do you need some ideas? Try Kansas City, Missouri’s bar-b-que, Tucson, Arizona’s Sonoran Hotdogs or the tasty Texas Tex-Mex.

Places you went as a child: Is there a special place your parents took you as a child? Share those happy memories with your own children and explain how the area is different today. The kids might even be inclined to turn the stop into a generational tradition by brining their own children one day.