Category Archives: Museums
Fun and Sun in San Antonio, TX
San Antonio just celebrated their 2013 Fiesta San Antonio, an event that has been taking place since 1891 and started as a simple street parade. Now it is put together with the collaboration of various San Antonio businesses, hosting events for an entire week. The funds from the festival serve to assist communities throughout San Antonio.
This is probably what I loved about San Antonio the most. Its sense of community, its ability and desire to hold on to traditions and culture, while at the same time embracing growth and progress.
An Afternoon at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ
What is so great about NJ, I am finding, is that like NYC, it has a lot of different neighborhoods, each with its own personality. Traveling into a different neighborhood can make for a nice list of varied experiences and opportunities to explore.
This weekend, we headed over to Morristown, known in history mainly for its strong military role in the war of independence from Britain. It has a larger downtown area with plenty of shops, bars, and eateries. Two main points of interest are the Mayo Performing Arts Center in the center of town and the Morristown National Historical Park, a historical site visitors can explore.
Terracotta Warriors at Discovery Times Square
Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor, a new immersive exhibition of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in modern time, is set to make its Northeast U.S. debut in New York City at Discovery Times Square (226 West 44th Street) on April 27. The exhibition features artifacts dating back to 221 BCE, including the world premiere of a set of gates from an ancient Han burial chamber, the U.S. debut of more than 20 artifacts, and an up-close look at 10 of the authentic, life-sized clay soldiers and their armor.
NYC Landmark: City Island Nautical Museum
City Island in the Bronx is a favorite destination for many New Yorkers looking for a beach-side escape where delicious seafood fair can be found. The traffic on the one road into this small neighborhood is not for the faint of heart, or the impatient, but a beautiful summer afternoon spent in City Island is a tradition most New Yorkers can’t go without. We’ve loved visiting the area for years with our kids, and enjoyed this latest visit as we learned more about the area.
Aside from the seafood, and small beach town feel, City Island has a rich maritime history, all of which is recorded and preserved at the City Island Nautical Museum. A former school building till between 1897-1898, this site has survived the test a time, a fire, and even budget cuts.
NYC Landmark: Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NY
I first discovered the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in 2009 when I ventured into Staten Island via the State Island Ferry with my young children. Our goal was to find the Staten Island Children’s Museum but in the process came across a beautiful area past an arch stone entry that united the tall iron fences on both sides in which it was enclosed.
NYC Landmark: Queens County Farm
One of my happiest summer adventure was at the Queens County Farm with my children, during their annual Children’s Carnival.
The carnival has since passed for this year, but they are still hosting some great events well into October. I invite you to read about how the farm was able to bring joy to me family at the Queens County Farm’s Children’s Carnival since we first discovered it in 2009 and why it is such a treasure to New Yorkers and visitors everywhere.
NYC Landmark: Japan Society
In my continued effort to highlight a few of the city’s most historic landmarks, I have been visiting sites to personally experience them and let you know why you should not only visit but also vote for your favorite.
The next site I want to highlight is Japan Society located 33 East 47th Street. It has for its mission statement the following:
Japan Society is the leading U.S. organization committed to deepening mutual understanding between the United States and Japan in a global context. Now in its second century, the Society serves audiences across the United States and abroad through innovative programs in arts and culture, public policy, business, language and education.
NYC Landmark: Museum of The City of New York
If you want to get a taste of NYC and its rich history, to me, there is no better place to start than the Museum of The City of New York. Though the exhibits change and the information display can be different from one installment to another, the essence of the city, of the people who live here, and of the stories to be told is ever-present.
The Topps Co. & Madame Tussaud’s Celebrate The Spirit of New York
The Topps Company, known best for its collectible stickers and sports cards, recently launched the My City New York – a new memory making sticker book with tons of fun tips and riddles that highlight the best NYC has to offer. From landscapes to local heroes, this book is informative and fun to read.
To help celebrate the launch, The Topps Company invited us to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, one of the venues highlighted in their book, to enjoy one of the museum’s new exhibit The Spirit of New York.
Like the My City New York Book, Madame Tussaud’s exhibit celebrates New York, it’s history, icons, and sights. We had a lot of fun walking through the exhibit and viewing all the things that make my city so wonderful and unique.
You can visit Madame Tussaud’s website for more information on this and other exhibits. For more information on The My City New York and any other The Topps Company products, visit their site here.
More photos on the exhibit from Flickr:
Endless Fun at Aviator Sports & Events Center, Brooklyn
Sometimes, my family and I love taking our NY Adventures out of Manhattan. So, when Aviator Sports and Events Center invited us to spend a day touring and enjoying their location, we jumped at the chance.
Aviator Sports and Events Center is located in Floyd Bennett Field at 3159 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn. This 800-acre facility is a decommissioned airport and is inside a former airplane hanger. The feel and look of this is pretty cool and exciting for kids especially.
We arrived around 11:30 on a Saturday morning and already the place was full of activity. Ice-skating, basketball, soccer, gymnastic – you name it, kids and their coaches were busy at work while parents sat on the sidelines talking to one another, reading or drinking coffee.
Being from Manhattan, I of course immediately thought of Chelsea Piers, it’s larger, more expensive counter part in the city. I love Chelsea Piers, don’t get me wrong, but I can rarely afford to sign my kids up for the classes there, and with it being larger, it lacks that more intimate feel I got at Aviator Sports.
In addition to the aforementioned sports, Aviator also has cheer leading, volleyball, flag football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rock climbing up the “Aviator Rock”, a 35-feet tall indoor wall, one of the tallest in NYC. They also have two pools, which we didn’t see but hear are pretty great.
Depending on your children’s passion and focus, Aviator Sports offers different Summer Camp activities that help keep them active and entertained. Groups are divided into that of 3 and 5 year olds, then 5-15 year olds. The prices are reasonable, and discounts are offered to siblings as well as to returning customers.
The center also hosts various families events. During the time of our visit the kids got to enjoy a performance by the children’s musical group The Silly Dilly Band.
Another event which started today and will go till May 30th is the Kings County Fair, which offers visitors rides, games, treats and live performances.
While we were there we were treated to lunch in one of their birthday rooms. Parents can choose different packages to customize the experience for their child and Aviator Sports even takes care of the food.
We did a lot during our visit. The kids got to have a fun hour of gymnastics, which they absolutely loved. The coaches were great will all the kids there and really made the kids get a work out, while having a blast.
My husband and teen loved trying to conquer the wall. It seems that it is a lot harder then it looks, but if you can get to the top it’s a huge rush. I loved taking the pics with both feet on the ground.
We also gave ice skating a try. I am not the best ice skater, and my little ones were a bit too scared to try it for too long, but it’s a nice size rink (one of two), and it was great to have the kids try it out. My family and I really enjoyed our day at Aviator Sports. There are a lot of things we would love to come back and do if it weren’t so far for us.
Truth is, if you have a car, it’s a short drive from Manhattan. However, we don’t and thus took the train in. It was an hour train ride for us (from Upper Manhattan), and then a bus, which we didn’t take cause it took so long, so we took a cab ($15). The cab ride back was more challenging for us. Aviator Sports provided us with a list of car services, but because we are a family of 5, the car company insisted we hire to cabs (at $12 each). Luckily we had a friend take one of our kids in her car while we took a cab back to the train station.
For the camps, Aviator Sports and Events Center does offer bus services for an additional fee. Contact the center to find out where they currently pick up and drop off.
I would visit again, if I had a car. It was tons of fun and affordable.
To see more pictures of our fun day at Aviator Sports and Events Center, please check out our Flickr page:
Disclosure: Admission, meal, concert and activities were complimentary of Aviator Sports and Events. No monetary compensation was received. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
