When I visit La Rioja?

Where would be a good place to take a 12 year old?

It would be helpful to know if the twelve year old is a boy or a girl and what they are interested in... possibilities -- visit to a winery, check out the dinosaur tracks at Cornago Enciso which also has a Paleontology Museum, explore the Sierra de la Demanda -- you can visit San Millan de Cogolla which is the site of two ancient monasteries the the place where he Castillian language was first written down -- they have a museum and guided tours ( not sure if they have them in English) it's also an interesting place to drive around and visit the little villages and towns like Najera and LaGuardia -- a walled wine town....

his one province autonomous region lies between the Ebro depression and the Iberian mountain range, and includes the Demanda sierra with its San Lorenzo peaks (2,262 m) and the Cameros Nuevo sierra (1,877 m). Demanda sierra decreases further inland until it merges with the Central Plateau. Bordering with Soria in the south, the Picos de Urbion and the Sierra Cebollera reach heights of over 2,000 metres. The plains stretch over the central part of the region forming the Ebro depression, where the river Ebro flows through the northern reaches of the region. The river continues its route along Conchas de Haro in the west and exits La Rioja through Alfaro in the east. Other rivers that flow from the Ebro basin are the Oja, el Najerilla, el Iregua, el Leza, el Cidacos and el Alhama rivers.

There are several castles to visit... (Castillo de Cornago for example).
There is also a Paleontological Center, where dinosaurs are studied. Children usually enjoy that sort of thing
Also everything concerning the marvelous Rioja wines... including the wineries themselves.
The countryside is quite lovely in itself, the vinyards and general landscape quite impressive.