Kids Korner

Visit Buffalo and Niagara Falls! Martin's Fantasy Island Niagara Falls Buffalo Bills Got your rain jacket? Chances are you’ll need one if you want to get up-close and personal to Niagara Falls! People have been coming here to see the amazing falls for hundreds of years. But there are plenty of other sites to see while in Buffalo – spend the day the day at the zoo or test your fishing skills, check out a WWII submarine or explore a few dinosaur fossils, watch a baseball game, or check out a local amusement park. Visit www.visitbuffalniagra.com to plan your trip.

Did You Know?

• You can see a high wire artist with Niagara Falls as his backdrop all summer long. Jay Cochrane performs free every day at Skylon Tower, walking 1,000 feet between two twenty story towers. Visit www.jaycockrane.com for more information.

• There are fireworks over Niagara Falls all summer every Friday and Sunday. There’s also a nightly illumination and a winter festival of lights (www.niagrafallstourism.com).

• The point of entry into Canada from Buffalo, across the Niagara River, was known as “The Crossing” and was part of the Underground Railroad, a network of people and hiding places that helped slaves get to freedom.

• The water below Niagara Falls is 170 feet—as deep as the gorge banks are high. You can get behind the 13-story falls at Niagara Falls when you take the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Tour. Expect to get wet! Check out www.maidofthemist.com. You can also get up-close and personal with the Falls—and see a rainbow—when you take the Cave of the Winds tour, riding an elevator deep into the Niagara Gorge and then following a guide over wooden walkways to the “Hurricane Deck” where you’re just 20 feet from Bridal Veil Falls (www.caveofthewinds.com).

• The water from the falls travels down the Niagara River to Lake Ontario then to the St. Buffalo – the sunniest and driest city on the East Coast. Visit www.visitbuffaloniagra.com. Buffalo expects more days with temperatures over 75 degrees than days with snow on the ground.

• Buffalo gets an average of 92 inches of snow per year which makes ski areas like Holiday Valley nearby in Ellicottville a great winter bet for fun in the snow. (www.holidayvalley.com)

• There are sports for every season in Buffalo: the NFL’s Buffalo Bills (www.buffalobills.com) , the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres (www.sabres.nhl.com) , the Buffalo Bisons, a farm team for the Cleveland Indians (www.bisons.com), the Buffalo Bandits indoor lacrosse team (www.bandits.com) and NASCAR at Holland International Speedway (www.hollandspeedway.com).

• Chicken wings were invented in buffalo in 1964 when Terressa Bellisimo made a snack for customers at the Anchor Bar and restaurant using left over chicken wings and hot sauce.

• People have been attempting to go over the falls for nearly 200 years. Some have made it; others have died. A teacher, Annie Taylor, was the first person to conquer the falls in a barrel in 1901. You can find out more about these danger seekers at the Free Daredevil Museum. (www.niagarafallslive.com/daredevils_of_niagara_falls)

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Buffalo . . .

Meet: Jacob (age 6), Madison (age 5), and Morgan (age 2) who live in Buffalo, NY. They are the children of Southwest Airlines Buffalo Administrative Coordinator, Ann. They say: “Buffalo is a great place to live because we have all four seasons and we live only 20 minutes from Niagara Falls.” Don't Miss: Niagara Falls, African Lion Safari, Six Flags Darien Lake, Fantasy Island, Marine Land, and the Zoo. Don't go home without stopping at one of our cool amusement parks, seeing Niagara Falls, and playing put putt. The best places to eat are Kostas' Restaurant, Mississippi Mud's, and any place by the Marina. The best places to visit outside of Buffalo are Clifton Hills, Niagara Aquarium, Darien Lake, Holland and Lancaster Speedways, and Bounce Magic (an indoor bounce houses). Feeling a little adventurous? Go on a Scavenger Hunt!

Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .

U.S. citizens traveling to Canada who have applied for, but not yet received passports, can re-enter the United States by air by presentation of a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. Passports are not yet required for travel by car but Canadian authorities will ask for either a birth certificate and photo ID or two forms of photo ID: Kids need their birth certificates. Check www.travel.state.gov for the latest rules.

There is also a lot more to do in this area than tour Niagara Falls. You can:

• Check out the river otters and other creatures at the Buffalo Zoo (www.buffalozoo.org).

• See what kids generations ago played with at the Toy Town Museum (www.toytownusa.com).

• Tour the decks of a guided missile cruiser; destroyer and WWII submarine at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park (www.buffalonavalpark.org).

• Take your pick of dozens of rides, shows and attractions at Martin’s Fantasy Island (www.martinsfantasyisland.com).

• Let the toddlers lead the way at Explore & More…A children’s museum (www.exploreandmore.org).

• Ride an old-fashioned carrousel at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum (www.carrouselmuseum.org).

• Take a Whirlpool Jet Boat tour into the Niagara River Gorge (www.whirlpooljet.com).

• Get up close and personal with dinosaur fossils at the Buffalo Museum of Science (www.sciencebuff.org).

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™