Kids Korner

Visit New England! Faneuil Hall Marketplace USS Constitution Boston Zoo Hooray! You don’t have to choose just one thing to do. Visit New England and you can do it all – climb to a mountain peak or time-travel back centuries; pick apples or pick out your favorite picture in a museum; learn a little science or a little American history. Of course, you can also shop (Red Sox hat, anyone?), try new foods (see if your parents will spring for a lobster!) and hit the playground – or the beach. The hard part: Deciding what to do first!

Did You Know?

• The Native Americans were in Plymouth for thousands of years before the first English Colonists arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. If they hadn’t helped them, the settlers wouldn’t have survived. Time-travel back to the 1600s at Plimouth Plantation and see what life was like both for the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Board the reproduction of the Mayflower, and you will be amazed at how small the ship was! Just one thing: Everyone you meet will act and talk as if it’s the 17th Century. Instead of “Hi,” say “How do you fare?” and instead of “Goodbye,” say “Pray remember me!” A lot of families like to visit here around Thanksgiving time. (www.plimoth.org)

• No one drank any tea at The Boston Tea Party. The Colonists were so angry that the British government wanted them to pay more taxes on tea and other things that they snuck onto three British ships and threw more than 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor! When you visit Boston, you can follow the Freedom Trail – it’s marked by red bricks or a red-painted line – around old streets, following the footsteps of colonial Boston to freedom from England. There’s a special area for kids on the Freedom Trail web site www.thefreedomtrail.org where you can print out a map.

• There are still eight – more than anywhere else in the counttry – working lighthouses on Cape Cod. They help guide boats to safety. In the last 300 years, there have been more than 3,000 shipwrecks along Cape shores. You can visit a lighthouse when you’re at the Cape. Even in fall, you’ll want to check out the beaches. There are more than 100 to choose from! (www.capecodchamber.org)

• Many escaped slaves made their way to freedom from the South to the North and Canada through what was called the “Underground Railroad.” It wasn’t underground or a railroad – the escaped slaves mostly traveled on foot. People who were against slavery would help them along their way, giving them food and places to sleep. You can follow the Black Heritage Trail that explores the history of Boston’s African American community before the Civil War. Stop in at the Museum of Afro American History to learn more. (www.afroammuseum.org)

• Cows and sheep used to graze at The Boston Common. Soldiers trained there. Pirates and suspected witches were hanged there. Today, kids and parents come to the common to play or watch concerts. In the winter, you can ice skate on Frog Pond. Just across the street is the Public Garden where in the summer you’ll find the famous Swan Boats that really look like giant swans. Make sure to introduce yourself to the Mallard family that made the Boston Public Garden home. You can jump over them since they’re statues. Have you read the book Make Way for Ducklings that tells their story?

• Chocolate Chip cookies were invented near Boston 75 years ago. Ruth Wakefield ran an inn south of Boston, and one day, when she was making cookies, she cut a bar of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate into tiny bits to add to the dough. Everyone loved those cookies! But chocolate chip cookies weren’t the only ones invented here. Animal cookies and Fig Newtons were first made in Cambridge. You can eat all the chocolate your parents will let you have if you visit the famous Café Fleuri Chocolate Bar open Saturday afternoons at the Langham Hotel in Boston. Yum! (www.langhamhotels.com/langham/boston/)

• Faneuil Hall is known as the “Cradle of Liberty” because so many speeches were made there before the American Revolution by Patriots calling for independence. Today kids love to visit because there are lots of shops to buy souvenirs, good eats (want to try real Boston clam chowder?), and when the weather is good, lots of jugglers, mimes, and clowns outside. Check out www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com to see what will be going on when you visit.
  
• New Hampshire’s Mount Washington is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi – at 6,288 feet. A lot of people like to hike up to the top. In early spring, skiers like to hike up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail carrying their skis and then ski down. The Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center at the base has cool activities for families – even in winter. (www.outdoors.org)

• A bonfire could be a sculpture? Big bonfires are lighted on the three rivers in downtown Providence from the spring through October. There’s music and dancing, and WaterFire Providence has become a gathering place for the entire city. Visit www.waterfire.org for the schedule.

• Vermont has more maple trees than any of the New England states. That’s why so many people go to Vermont in the fall when the leaves turn orange and gold. More than 500,000 gallons of maple syrup are made here each year. But there’s a lot more to do in Vermont in the fall than just look at leaves! You can hike up a mountain, go horseback riding, mountain biking, soaring in a glider, bungee jump on a trampoline at Stowe Mountain Resort, or pick apples. Visit www.Vermontapples.org to find out where to go apple picking or www.vermontvacation.com to find out what else there is to do!

• Rhode Island is the smallest state at only 48 miles long and 37 miles wide, but it has hundreds of miles of shoreline. That’s why there are so many boats and yachts here, especially around Newport. You’ll find lots of other fun facts about Rhode Island in a book called We’re There! Rhode Island. There’s one for Boston and some other cities, too. Visit www.kidquestllc.com to order one.

• Boston has more colleges and universities in one place than any other city. The Boston area is home to Harvard, the country’s oldest. One out of every 10 people who live in Greater Boston is a college student!

• Fenway Park is the smallest ballpark in both the American and National Leagues. Before the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, they hadn’t won since 1918. Find out more about the Red Sox at www.redsox.com. You can also watch the Boston Red Sox farm team in Pawtucket, RI. (www.pawsox.com) The players might even talk to you! Catch the Fisher Cats, a farm team for the Toronto Blue Jays, in Manchester, NH. (www.nhfishercats.com) And, if you’re visiting Cape Cod over the summer, be sure to catch a Cape Cod League game. College players come from all over the country to play in the league and stay with local families. The games are free! (www.capecodbaseball.org)

• If you order a “Cabinet” in Rhode Island, you’ll get a coffee flavored milk shake. Coffee milk is like chocolate milk but made with coffee syrup, and is so popular in Rhode Island it’s the official state drink.

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In New England . . .

Meet: Jonah LaPorte (age 10) and his sister, Spencer LaPorte (age 6). They live in New Hampshire. They are the children of Southwest’s Manchester Station Manager, Dave LaPorte. Don’t Miss: The New England Aquarium in Boston where you’ll see sharks. There’s also an Imax Theater. Camping – If you’re in New England in the summer. We love to go camping in the White Mountains in New Hampshire and at Acadia National Park in Maine. A Manchester, NH minor league game. Depending on the season, you can see the Fisher Cats play baseball (www.nhfishercats.com), the Monarchs play hockey (www.monarchshockey.com), or the Wolves play football (www.manchesterwolves.com). Eat: Sal’s Pizza. You’ll find them all around New England. (www.sals-pizza.com) Don’t Go Home Without: A Boston Red Sox hat or a New England Patriots hat. Best Thing to Do with Mom and Dad: Hit the beach. We’ve got the ocean as well as lots of fresh water lakes! Best Trip Out of Boston: Go to Salem, MA, where witches lived long ago. Legend says some still do! (www.salem.org)

Meet: Timothy Torres (age 12), son of Anna Torres, a Ramp Agent for Southwest Airlines in Providence, Rhode Island. Where to Go: Located in the heart of New England, Rhode Island offers 400 miles of winding coastline, sandy beaches, and 2,300 acres of cool parks. Rhode Island is a great place to visit, from Blackstone River Valley and Greater Providence to Newport and the coastal resorts of South County and Block Island. All of this is within a short drive. There is so much history here that Rhode Island is known as a living museum. Best Fact to Share with your Parents: While Rhode Island is the smallest state, it has one of the nation's largest collection of historical landmarks. The most famous is the Newport mansions. They were once the summer cottages of New York's richest families. Favorite Things to Do: There is always so much to do like sailing, boating, fishing, kayaking, cruising, swimming, and seal watching. Rhode Island has 21 lighthouses which you could visit with your parents. I like to visit a real pirate's cave, which is located in Newport.

Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .

• Boston’s free Family Friendly ValuePass can be printed out from the www.BostonUSA.com web site (just type in “family friendly” on the home page). It offers 81 different discounts at museums, restaurants, shops and more. On the website, you’ll also find more than 20 family packages from many Boston-area hotels and later this fall, you can order a free Kids Love Boston guide.

• If you’re going to hit a lot of area attractions, the Go Boston Card offers unlimited admission to more than 60 of them and includes a two-day trolley pass, hotel, and restaurant discounts. (www.gobostoncard.com). You can also save money and time by purchasing a Boston CityPass (www.citypass.com) which allows you to tour six top attractions including the Museum of Science, New England Aquarium, and Skywalk Observatory at a significant discount – and bypass the lines as well. You can take a tour in a Boston Duck that splashes in and out of the water (www.bostonducktours.com).

• Because the New England states are small, you can easily visit more than one state. Plan your trip on the web:
  • Rhode Island (www.visitrhodeisland.com)
  • New Hampshire - where you’ll find Mount Washington. (www.visitnh.gov)
  • Vermont (www.travel-vermont.com)
  • Maine - where you’re find L.L. Bean and all the rest of the Freeport, Maine, outlet stores. (www.visitmaine.com)
  • Connecticut - where you’ll find the living history museum Mystic Seaport. (www.Ctvisit.com)

• No matter what age the kids, there are terrific zoos as well as science, art, living history, and children’s museums throughout the region. Here’s just a sampling of what there is to choose from:
  
  
1. The Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont, with dozens of hands-on exhibits and outdoor observation areas. (www.montshire.org)
2. Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass., the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast where you can time travel back to the 1830s. (www.osv.org)
3. The New England Aquarium where besides looking at all of the sea creatures, you can join a play session with harbor seals, take a Turtle Trek, arrange a sleep over, or go out on a whale watch. (www.neaq.org)
4. The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston is home to nearly 1,000 animals. (www.zoonewngland.com)
5. The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston where there are special family guides available and a new exhibit on JFK’s Naval service in the South Pacific. (www.jfklibrary.org)
6. The Museum of Science in Boston where a new exhibit opening the end of October uses the Star Wars saga as a way to explain the science behind robots and other evolving new technologies. (www.mos.org)
7. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where there are many special family activities and workshops. (www.mfa.org)
8. Boston Children’s Museum where you’ll find a nine-foot Clifford as part of the new “Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog” exhibit or visit the world of the popular character, Arthur. (www.bostonkids.org)
9. The Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, one of the oldest zoos in the country. (www.rwpzoo.org)
10. Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT, where you can explore a 19th century seafaring village and climb aboard historic ships. (www.mysticseaport.org)

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™