6 ways to keep kids entertained this spring break
On April 15 and 22, enjoy a campfire before or after your tree-to-tree climb during Firepit Fridays at The Adventure Park at Long Island. Credit: The Adventure Park at Long Island
From learning about the layers of the Earth using pudding and cookies, to creating tigers or frogs by folding paper, to dissecting a squid, plenty of activities are planned for children and families looking to fill spring break with fun.
Here are six such options for children of all ages:
Build a bunny
Pick out a bunny, name it, complete its birth certificate and give it a heart at a Stuff-A-Bunny workshop at Once Upon a Treetop in Plainview. Making the bunny takes about 30 minutes, and then children have an included two hours of open play at the indoor, interactive playground designed to look like a little city. They can enter the firehouse or the Lego Room, for instance, or visit the pizza bakery storefront. Begins at 9:30 a.m. April 18, 19 and 20; preregistration required. $35 per bunny. 151 Dupont St., 516-349-1140, onceuponatreetop.com.
Examine a squid
Each family gets its own squid to dissect at this educator-led Squid Lab program at the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center in Wantagh. Learn about the anatomy and survival adaptations of the squid, with gloves and dissection tools provided. “It’s like a generic bait squid, six to eight inches. No giant squid,” says Matthew Donoghue, assistant to the director. The program is at 10:30 a.m. April 24 and takes place outdoors on tables, so dress for the weather. For ages 6 and older; children younger than 12 must be paired with an adult; $4 per person with preregistration required.
The center also offers two afternoon STEAM workshops about wind on April 20 and 21. From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. April 20, tweens ages 8 to 12 learn about wind turbines and wind power. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. April 21, older children, ages 12 and up, learn about where energy comes from and how electricity is made during the “Wonders of Wind” workshop. Each program is $4 per participant. 150 Bay Pkwy., 516-809-8222, jonesbeachenc.org.
Enjoy a campfire and a climb
The Adventure Park at Long Island in Wheatley Heights has reopened for the season, and from 5 to 9 p.m. April 15 and 22, enjoy a campfire before or after your tree-to-tree climb during Firepit Fridays. “Every Friday night, we have a community campfire we light,” says Candie Fisher, president of the Outdoor Venture Group. There are wood seats or bring your own chairs. “It’s pretty rustic,” Fisher says. Climbing is $49 per person during that time. The park sells s’mores kits for $8 (includes one chocolate bar, six marshmallows and six graham crackers) or $15.50 (three chocolate bars, 12 marshmallows and 12 graham crackers). You can also bring your own, Fisher says.
Through Easter Sunday, the park is also offering an Easter Egg scavenger hunt activity through the trees, included in the price, which varies according to climb day and time. Laminated eggs are spread out across the park's four green and four yellow trails and climbers write down the word on each egg to complete the hunt and win candy prizes. 75 Colonial Springs Rd., 631-983-3844, myadventurepark.com.
Make an origami tiger or frog
This family-friendly Earth Day origami workshop in Bay Shore is geared to children in first to sixth grades. Participants will make origami tigers, frogs, whales, birds, fish or turtles. The projects are “easy success,” says art teacher Missy Longo-Lewis, who will be leading the class at the Islip Arts Council’s Islip Arts Gallery. The class runs from 1 to 3 p.m. April 19. The gallery is at 1701 Sunrise Hghwy., at the Westfield South Shore Mall next to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Preregistration required at 631-888-3525 or isliparts.org.
Edible science and more
The Science Museum of Long Island’s holiday workshops, which include seven days of themes such as "Edible Science" or "Pirates of Manhasset Bay," are drop-off programs similar to the museum’s summer camps, says executive director Kristen Laird. "Edible Science," for instance, may have participants learning about layers of the earth using pudding and cookies, making ice cream from scratch, or making their own pickles. "Pirates of Manhasset Bay" has kids learning to use a compass, creating maps and searching for treasure. Participants in each program are grouped by age, from 4-year-old preschoolers to seventh graders. The cost is $80 per day, and the programs run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays from April 14 to April 22. Participants bring their own lunches. The museum is at 1526 North Plandome Rd., Manhasset, 516-627-9400. Preregistration required at smli.org/holidayworkshops.
Play with Victorian-era toys
It’s “Kids Week” at the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum in Riverhead from April 20 to 23. The museum temporarily reinterprets all the museum signage for school-aged children. Activities in each gallery relate to the exhibit — for instance, the Victorian toy exhibit has a touch table with replicas of Victorian wooden blocks and hoop games. A scavenger hunt to match images to items throughout the museum ends with a token prize. Admission is free for children, $5 per adult; open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 300 W. Main St., 631-727-2881, suffolkcountyhistoricalsociety.org.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
