They’re coming. Those two terrible words that will destroy a
summer vacation faster than Chevy Chase. You
can already hear them in your nightmares, a whisper growing to a whine-infused
scream: “I’m booooooored!”
Don’t panic; you have options. You can always sit the kids
in front of the electronic pacifier. Or you can actually try to do something
with the munchkins. Maybe you just want to have a little fun. Maybe you want
them to learn a little something over their interminable break. Either way,
we’ve got you covered with some safe bets, broken down by age range.
We’re not re-inventing the wheel here — most of this stuff
is pretty obvious, although there are some new attractions that might surprise
you. And there’s most certainly more to do around town than what we’ve listed.
Be sure to check the Family Valued column every week in City Newspaper for more activities as the summer soldiers on. If
you’re lucky, you might hear three other, more welcome, words: “That was fun!”
For the wee ones
(kids 0-5):
The Seneca Park Zoo has plenty planned for summer. In addition to the regular exhibits featuring
polar bears, parrots, alligators, and more, check out the recently expanded
elephant and tiger habitats. Four of the zoo’s Amur tigers — momma Kira and her 11-month-old cubs Katya,
Anastasia, and Ussuri — have moved into a new
exhibit across from the Eurasian Arctic wolves. (Five-year-old Sasha remains at
the front of the zoo.) Meanwhile, New
YorkState’s
only African elephants, Genny C. and Lilac, now have
22,000 square feet of yard to play in (that’s five times the size of their old
stomping grounds) in their new home next to the Rocky Coasts exhibit.
All this shifting is partially to make room for Satchmo, a 2-year-old, 3,000 -pound white rhino on loan
from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
White rhinos are Species Survival Plan animals, so this is a good opportunity
to teach the kids about conservation and preservation. You can catch Satchmo through September (possibly October) in the old
elephant exhibit.
The Seneca Park Zoo, 2222 St. Paul Street., 467-9453, is
open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (grounds close at 6 p.m.). Admission is $8 ages
12-62, $7 for seniors 63 and older, $5 for kids 3-11, and free for 2 and
younger. For more information check out
www.senecaparkzoo.org.
For the preciously
precocious (kids 6-12):
The big news for kids this summer has to be the July
reopening of the StrongMuseum as the Strong — NationalMuseum of Play. Much
more than a name change is at work here. When the doors reopen July 14-16, kids
will find a $37 million expansion that nearly doubles the size of the already
massive premises. All the old favorite exhibitions are still there, including “Sesame Street” and
the Wegmans shopping experience. But walk through
“the caterpillar” — an open atrium shaped like (you guessed it) a caterpillar
— and find three new additions.
“Reading Adventureland” brings to
life five literary landscapes: Mystery Mansion (for Hardy Boy-Nancy
Drew-Sherlock Holmes fans), Adventure Island (pirates, ships and desert isles),
the Upside-Down Nonsense House (shades of Dr. Seuss), Fairy Tale Forest
(everything from Jack and the Beanstalk to Hansel and Gretel), and the Wizard’s
Workshop (think Harry Potter). Each book-inspired section features oodles of
hands-on opportunities: kids can explore a pirate’s cove, solve a mystery, play
with a riddle machine, or interact with a huge, animatronic
giant.
“Field of Play” demonstrates the importance of play on
childhood development (even the room the exhibit is housed in looks like a
stack of building blocks from the outside), with activities like a “jellyfish”
garden, rock-climbing wall, a giant walk-through kaleidoscope, and more.
Perhaps most exciting is the “DancingWingsButterflyGarden,” which will be home to upstate
New York’s
only indoor butterfly garden. Inside the butterfly-shaped glass room you’ll
find literally hundreds of exotic butterflies, which will alight on the
tropical foliage — and you. Kids will also learn about the stages of
development for the delicate organisms, but we beg you to hold off on a rousing
chorus of “The Circle of Life.”
The Strong — NationalMuseum of Play, 1 Manhattan Square,
263-2700, will reopen July 14. Summer hours will be Mondays-Thursdays 10 a.m.-6
p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays noon-6p.m., with extended hours during
the grand reopening July 14-16. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and
students with ID, $7 for kids 2-17, and free for kids 2 and younger; admission
to the butterfly garden is an additional $3. Two-day admission passes can also
be purchased for $11-$14.50. For more information visit
www.strongmuseum.org.
For the
thrill-seekers and the surly (kids 13-18):
The key with teenagers is to take them someplace they can
safely go off and do teen stuff (spend money, feel
awkward, sulk) while you have a good time yourself. Thank god for amusement
parks, and thank god we have two great ones nearby.
Seabreeze is right in your backyard, and in addition to standbys like Jack Rabbit and the
YoYo, two new rides join
the mix this year. The Helix sends innertubers down
four stories of pitch-black tunnel and into a gigantic bowl of water, where
they swirl around until being shot out into a pool below. The Banzai Pipeline
is a revamp of the Banzai Speedslide. Gone is the
open-air slide, now converted into a translucent tube that features an even
steeper profile than the near-vertical Speedslide.
Seabreeze, 4600 Culver Road, 323-1900, is open
Sunday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., water park closes at 8
p.m. Admission is $20.95 for unlimited ride pass for those 48″ or taller,
$16.95 for 48″ or shorter; night passes for unlimited rides after 5 p.m. cost
$13.95. For more information visit www.seabreeze.com.
Head west to SixFlagsDarienLake for the biggest theme park in New
York. Joining the seven rollercoasters
and mammoth waterpark this year is the Big Kahuna, a 700-foot-long water slide in which four people sit in a raft and speed through triple dips and twisty turns
until finally splashing down in a pool. And comic geeks rejoice: The Justice
League is here! Costumed characters representing Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder
Woman and Batman join Bugs Bunny and friends for your capering enjoyment.
Six FlagsDarienLake,
Route 77 east of Buffalo,
599-4641, is open daily 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. (limited hours prior to June 23).
Admission is $34.99 for adults, $24.99 for children 48″ or shorter, and free
for kids 2 and younger. For more information visit www.sixflags.com/parks/darienlake.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2006.
