The 12th annual Rethinking Education Conference is FIVE FULL DAYS of engrossing, stimulating and powerful exchanges beginning early on Thursday evening the 4th of September and going through Monday, September 8th.

I loved everything about the conference! The people, the workshops - what a great mix of lofty educational/
cutting-edge thinking, hands-on activities, opportunities to express and nurture creativity, fun and wild stuff for all of us, including our kids and teens."

- 2006 Conference Participant

We HIGHLY recommend you check into the hotel during the evening of Wednesday, September 3rd or the afternoon of Thursday, September 4th. NEW this year, we will host several day-long "Inspired Immersions" on Thursday, beginning late morning. See our Program page for details on these. We will have Kid Village open all day for kids 1-6 Thursday and throughout the weekend. Two hour sessions and all day activities for kids, teens and young adults will take place from early to late each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See the Program for details. On Monday we will host an all day, all night (til midnight) Afterglow Gathering, for all those of us who can't quite bear to part yet. Spend Monday in complete bliss and leisure in our fabulous 20th floor space at the Westin, strengthening friendships, sharing stories, getting last minute questions discussed, art and puzzle making, music, dance and movies, or whatever moves you.

If you are like 99% of folks who attend, you will be busy! Plan to be over-stimulated and lose some sleep this weekend. Those who don't are either very careful planners or highly evolved.

Plan to check out of the hotel on either Monday or Tuesday. Check with the hotel about check-out times: if no other group is coming in on our tail, we can check out late.

A NOTE on the full conference program: like last year, we plan to make the entire program available in August as a pdf so everyone can take a full look, print it out if desired, and plan in detail for the weekend.

ON SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Many of us at the RE Conference so enjoy our time with our unschool friends this weekend that we stay up all night, every night, getting very little sleep. Even parents are known to do this! It works for a day or two, but after 3 or 4 days of little sleep..... let's face it, we are human, and sleep deprivation is not a good thing. It's considered torture in POW camps, and not good for a freedom-loving unschool conference... unless of course you are one of those magical alien creatures that never needs sleep.

So... if you or your child/teen are ones who are inclined to get carried away and forget about your need for sleep, we encourage you to RETHINK this... and go to bed! Everyone benefits when you are rested and thinking clearly. You'll probably have more fun too when you're full of the vim and vigor that sleep affords.

If you arrive early or stay late, consider one of the following 'Top-Pick' activities we recommend. We also suggest one of these trips for your first day of Thursday, if one of two parents decide to attend an Inspired Immersion session and the other not. While you still have lots of energy, one of these excursions will be adventurous and fun. You could even go with another RE family!

The following activities are within minutes of the hotel. You may use your own car, take a taxi or use the Dallas Dart bus/train public transportation to get there. We will even have directions for you for the use of public transportation when you arrive!

"If it is not to further enjoyment of life, I wonder what function education has?"

- Matthew Appleton

Visit the Nasher Sculpture Center in the arts district of Dallas, 15 minute drive from the hotel. This brand new indoor/outdoor museum is the private collection of Raymong Nasher and is a rare opportunity to enjoy modern contemporary sculpture. This place gets a 5 star rating from RE planner Barb Lundgren. The Center is across the street from the Dallas Museum of Art, also worth a visit.
nashersculpturecenter.org and dallasmuseumofart.org

The West End (shopping and eating) and The Sixth Floor Museum & The Conspiracy Museum. All 3 located in Dallas, just blocks apart. The Sixth Floor Museum is at the site of the JFK assassination. It is extremely well done and dedicated to the life, death and presidency of JFK. The Conspiracy Museum is run by volunteers and donations and is devoted to the research surrounding the death of JFK and other leaders such as MLK and RFK. You've gotta see both. www.jfk.org and www.conspiracymuseum.com

Dallas World Aquarium: Not your typical aquarium. Visit the Amazon rainforest without leaving Dallas. See giant river otters up close. Count the teeth on a moray eel. Watch the graceful underwater ambulations of a manatee. Maybe the Orinoco crocodile will be nesting. If you're really lucky, you might see how a Pacific Northwest octopus opens a mayonnaise jar. Wear a hat unless you don't mind taking your chances - this is a free flight aviary. www.dwazoo.com/aquarium.html

Fair Park: this is the location of the State Fair of Texas, hence its name. In Fair Park are several wonderful museums:
Science Place/IMAXX Theatre - www.scienceplace.org
Women's Museum - www.thewomensmuseum.org
African American Museum - www.aamdallas.org
Museum of the American Railroad - www.dallasrailwaymuseum.com
History Museum - www.natureandscience.org - whew.

Mockingbird Station (www.mockingbirdstation.com): Beautiful Indy Angelica Theatre (angelikafilmcenter.com), shopping and eating.

Northpark Mall (www.northparkcenter.com) and Galleria Mall (www.galleriadallas.com): more shopping, all in big malls! If you haven't experienced Texas-size shopping, you might not be able to pass up visiting at least one of these.


The following excursions require a car:

Hurricane Harbor, in Arlington, 1/2 hour drive from the hotel. This is the monster water park that can take a whole day to enjoy. If you like water and rides, this works. www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharbordallas

Six Flags Theme Park, in Arlington, 1/2 hour drive from the hotel. Everyone knows what this is. www.sixflags.com/parks/overtexas

Fossil Rim, in Glen Rose, 2 hour drive from the hotel. This gorgeous setting makes you feel like you're not even in Texas! It is not touristy, but set in a wild, African safari-type setting. Spend a few hours in your car, driving (slowly) among zebras, giraffes, rhinos, african and indian animals galore. The animals even come right up to your window and you can feed them. This is worth a whole day and you will never forget it. For a really special treat, stay a night at the Lodge at Fossil Rim - definately worth the price. This whole place also gets a 5 star rating. www.fossilrim.com

Texas Rangers Baseball game, 1/2 hour drive from the hotel. We don't know the baseball schedule yet for 2006, but if your family likes baseball, this is a brand new, architecturally stunning ball park. 5 stars from RE planner Barb. texas.rangers.mlb.com