Summer is over, but young people are going to be as restless as ever. As the action moves indoors in the winter months, there are countless places all over Nassau County where parents can find fun activities for their children, those that both exercise their minds and bodies and keep them away from the television and computer screens as well.
The most obvious places would be the YMCA in Glen Cove and the Sid Jacobson JCC in East Hills. Both facilities have swimming pool hours for young people, basketball courts and exercise rooms.
Young girls like dance lessons and one of the most venerable studios on Long Island is the Hannah Kroner School of Dance in Albertson. There is also Dance Dimensions in Hicksville and the Music Institute of Long Island in Manhasset. Hannah Kroner’s offerings include dance lessons in ballet, hip hop, jazz and tap.
As a county that marks its birth to before the founding of the United States, museums have always played a major role in Nassau County’s cultural life. The Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor, the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, Garvies Point Museum of Glen Cove and Coe Hall House Museum have activities and exhibits for young people. And don’t forget Sagamore Hill, the home of Theodore Roosevelt, located in Oyster Bay.
The Cradle of Aviation remains a place of real significance. Roosevelt Field was where Charles Lindbergh took off for his famous 1927 flight across the Atlantic. Among the museum’s camp workshops is Living In Space, in which youngsters can learn and experience what life is like in space, right down to the diet and a space suit for them to wear.
Garvies Point has activities that put a young person’s energy to good uses. One annual event is part of the International Coastal Cleanup day, where Long Island youngsters can put on their old clothes, sneakers and boots, while helping to rid Long Island coastal areas of trash and other debris. Garvies Point is also steeped in history. The annual Native American Feast—held this year on Saturday, Nov. 21, and Sunday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—takes local youngsters back to more self-sufficient times. Activities include cooking at the fire, tool making, pottery making, dugout canoes, walking nature trails, face painting and fire making.
The Coe Hall House meanwhile, has an excellent lecture series, “Sherri’s Traveling Classroom.” The series is a walk through American history and geography. Recent lectures have included “Hiking to the Golden Gate Bridge,” “Norman Rockwell: America’s Illustrator,” “Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum,” “The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum,” “Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District and the Rookery,” “New York City’s Most Haunted Neighborhood,” “George Washington: America’s First Spymaster,” “Infinity at NASA Stennis Space Center,” “Wright Brothers National Memorial,” “America’s First Amusement Park: Coney Island,” “The Birthplace of Gone With The Wind,” ‘Exploring the Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln” and “Thirty Reasons to Vacation in Riverhead.”
From activities of the mind to more playful exercises, there are both ActiveKidz in East Hills and Be The Best Sport in Port Washington, the latter designed for children with special needs. ActiveKidz includes rock climbing, laser tag and an inflatable fun zone. For the fall and winter, Be The Best Sport has classes in basketball, rowing, karate, track and field and tennis.
For a listing of places to take your kids year-round, click here.
