You’re finally in college. You’ve gotten a taste of that
independence you’ve been craving your entire teenaged life. Feels good, huh?
Well, most of the time it does. Sometimes all the stress of college exams,
being away from home, and making new friends makes you wish you were a kid
again. While City Newspaper hasn’t yet discovered the secret to time travel, we
have come up with a list of fun, care-free things to do that will make you feel
like you’ve turned back the clock a bit. Sometimes we all need to just go out
and play. Whenever you get that itch for adventure, try these 10 ways to have
childlike fun in Rochester.
1) Rochester has
one of the only museums in the country that is completely dedicated to play.
The Strong National Museum of Play (1 Manhattan
Square, 263-2700, museumofplay.org, $11-$13) has
collections of toys, creative play areas, and even a carousel on which you can
ride. If you feel a little too old to ride the choo-choo train, you can check
out the video-game and comic-book exhibits (the video-game one even includes a
bevy of working, coin-operated arcade games from the 1980’s). The museum has
extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays (until 8
p.m.), so you can even play at night. There is also a butterfly
garden (additional $4 charge) and a food court in case you’re sick of campus
food.
2) If you want to unwind but still feel guilty doing
something completely un-educational, try the Rochester Museum and Science
Center (657 East Ave.,
271-4320, rmsc.org, $11 with student ID). The museum has an optics exhibit , a
“how things work” exhibit, and an exhibit that’s sole purpose is to let you
build stuff with K’nex. You can also see Saturday-night laser shows or science
movies on the enormous domed screen at the Strasenburgh Planetarium (an
additional $6 with student ID).
3) Leaving campus to feel like a kid again can also be a good
excuse to get some exercise. If you’re tired of the treadmill, try rock
climbing; it’s a great full-body workout. You’re so determined to get to the
top of that wall you don’t even realize how hard your arms and legs are
working. Rochester Institute of Technology has a 32′ high rock wall at the Red
Barn (1 Lomb Memorial Drive, 292-6571, rit.edu, $20-$55). Rock Ventures (1044 University Ave.,
442-5462, rockventures.net, $12) has some great walls as well. Note that most
rock climbing places require that you do a short training session on your
visit, and an additional fee may be involved.
4) There’s nothing like staring up at an elephant to make you
feel incredibly small. Ooohing and aaahing at a lion could also make you forget
about exams for a while. Rochester’s
Seneca Park Zoo (2222 St. Paul St.,
336-7200, senecaparkzoo.org, $8-$10) has lions, rhinos, baboons, polar bears,
and pretty much any other favorite animal you could have. Never heard of an
ocelot or a white-handed gibbon? Go see them at the zoo. See? Now you can say
it’s educational.
5) What’s better than bowling? Discounted bowling! Many of Rochester’s
bowling alleys have discounted college nights for students. Bowl-a-Roll (1560 Jefferson Road, 427-7250, bowl-a-roll.com) offers students from MCC,
Nazareth, RIT, U of R, St. John Fisher, and Roberts Wesleyan $1 bowling games
on Sunday and Monday nights 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Clover Lanes (2750 Monroe Ave.,
244-1484, cloverlanes.com) also has late-night bowling deals on Fridays and
Saturdays.
6) Remember all of those violent video games you weren’t
allowed to play as a kid? You probably played them anyway, right? That makes
our generation experts at things like paintball and laser tag. Put some of that
practiced hand-eye coordination to use (and by use I mean shooting at your
buddies). For some painless fun try laser tag at Laser Quest (2833 Ridge
Road, 225-0505, laserquest.com, $8.50 per game). Or if you’re feeling more
courageous, try paintball at N’Vasion (1046 University Ave., 473-7529,
nvp-paintball, $20 per player) or Performance Paintball (1250
Scottsville Road, 328-0250, reaperpb.com, $20-$60).
7) Take it from a 90’s kid: roller-blading used to be a big
thing. Yes, it’s dorky. Yes, it’s difficult to look attractive while wearing
giant wheeled shoes on your feet. But it’s also fun. Although rollerblading is
not as popular as it used to be, there are still a couple of places you can go
in Rochester. At Horizon Fun FX (675
Ling Road, 865-0493, horizonfunfx.com, $4 blade
rental, $3 to skate) you can skate around a rink to music. There is also an
arcade and laser-tag arena on premises. N’Vasion (see above) also has a
roller-skating rink.
8) Winter is coming — it will last for most of your school
year in Rochester — and that means
ice skating. Bundling up in scarves and jackets to wobble around an ice rink
can be a fun day with friends, or a romantic date with that cute guy/girl down
the hall. Many local colleges open their skating rinks to the public during the
semester. If you’re itching to get off campus, try the ManhattanSquarePark rink (428-7541, cityofrochester.gov/manhattansquarepark, $5, $3 skate rental) or
the Genesee Valley Park Sports Complex (131
Elmwood Ave., 428-7888, cityofrochester.gov/GVPSC).
9) You may not have enough time to sit around and play video
games anymore now that you’re in college. But what you have lost in quantity
you can make up for with quality at the Cyberstorm Lounge (3047
West Henrietta Road, 287-6287,
cyberstormgaming.com). You can play PC and console games on giant flat-screen
TVs, right next to your friends. A $20 year-long membership let’s you game for
$1 per hour. Playing your favorite video game in a nice leather chair in front
of a giant screen will make you grin like an 8 year old.
10) Alright, these are some pretty fun ideas. But by now your
wallet may be a bit too light. No one wants to go back to the moneyless aspect
of being a kid. Rochester has a ton
of parks, and you can use them to run around and play some freeze tag or just
lay in the grass for free.Highland Park (corner of Elmwood and Highland), EllisonPark (395
Richs Dugway Road), and Genesee Valley Park (131 Elmwood) are all good options. But those are only three of
more than a dozen parks in the MonroeCounty parks system. Visit
monroecounty.gov/parks for more park info.
How do you blow off steam (legally) in Rochester? Tell us by commenting, below!
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2012.
