Five Fun STE(A)M-y Places to Take the Kids in Winter

Five Fun STE(A)M-y Places to Take the Kids in Winter: Winter is the toughest time of year to keep the kids entertained. So when house-bound cold winter weekends call out for a local day trip check out these five fun STE(A)M Places to Take the Kids in Winter. These children’s museums all offer space for the kids to roam and plenty of stimulating interactive and STE(A)M-y activity. We know them well.

Our kids loved this place! Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk, CT

Put this on your Kids Bucket List! You will keep going back until they age out. Steeping Stones’ entrenched exhibits include the wet and wonderful Energy Lab (pictured here). Our kids literally spent hours here. The sound of the fountained waters is mesmerizing. Not to mention the colored balls, the movement, and you can stick your hands in and get them wet. It’s like cocktail hour for kids. When it’s time for dry land, there’s a Build It construction lab, an Express Yourself art area, music, games and  more!

Current special exhibits include Sun Earth Universe, that offers dazzling images and hands on exhibitions where kids can build a space craft. Spin a tumbler of 10,000 beads representing all the stars visible from earth. Play a board game or pilot rovers across Mars. And Big Adventures Dinosaurs, with an 18-foot animatronic Diloposaurus, and a nest filled with 6 of her eggs. There’s a fossil discovery space with chisels, hammers and brushes and plenty of bones to assemble your own dinosaur. Stepping Stones is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm. They also offer special exhibit-themed activities, creative play, storytimes, sing-a-longs and the Healthyville Cafe. (Matthews Park, 303 West Ave.; www.steppingstones.org)

Must “Sea” TV! Maritime Aquarium Norwalk

The Maritime Aquarium was another annual outing for our family from toddler through the middle stages of little league. It offers 75 live exhibition with 2700 marine animals from 300 species. With an 11,000 gallon shark tank, harbor seals, river otters, sea turtles, a jellyfish dome, (very cool) and a shark and ray touch pool (our kid’s favorite) the Martine Aquarium is Must “Sea” TV. Their newest permanent exhibit, Just Add Water traces a path from desert to rainforest with animals such as tortoises, quail, macaws, tamarins, a porcupine and skunk. And new Digital Exhibits offer the ONLY place in the Northeast with a virtual reality experience featuring humpback whales.

Best of all, the Martine Aquarium has a six story IMAX theater. Here they show up to four nature films daily. Their current lineup includes Great Barrier Reef, Superpower Dogs, Dolphins and Journey to the South Pacific. Between the interactive exhibits, the IMAX movies and their Cascade Cafe you can kill an entire afternoon. We did. The Maritime Aquarium offers a number of camps, scout programs and teen programs. During the spring and summer, you can take educational and recreational cruises on their eco-friendly R/V Spirit of the Sound catamaran. Open 363 days a year from 10am-5pm. (10 N. Water Street, Norwalk; www.maritimeaquaurium.org)

Hudson River Museum Planetarium, Yonkers

The Hudson River Museum of Science & Art new family-friendly exhibition, Francis Hynes Constellations opens on January 17 and will run through January 10, 2021. This collection of nine charcoal and pastel abstract works combines faithfully rendered constellations, such as the Big Dipper, the Northern Cross, Orion, Hercules, and Cassiopeia, with linear outlines that merely suggest New York barns and New England wood frame houses.

Add this exhibition to a must-do trip to their Planetarium. The planetarium presents three weekend shows on a rotating basis from a collection of eighteen live and multi-media programs for kids, pre-k to 12 . No matter what age your child is you will find a show appropriate for them. Begin with One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure produced by Sesame Workshop and the Liberty Science Center for young children. And then move on to The Victorian’s Guide to the Galaxies that explores what 19th century scientists knew about the universe for older kids. All ages can enjoy We Are Aliens, a 360° digital planetarium show narrated by Rupert Grint (Harry Potter). It will take you on an epic search for evidence of alien life. Finally, in The Sky Tonight, planetarium educators lead a live tour of the sky. Every show is unique, with topics ranging from visible planets, bright stars, and the Milky Way, to periodic comets, seasonal constellations, black holes, alien planets, upcoming rocket launches, meteor showers, satellite spotting, and more! (511 Warburton Avenue; www.hrm.org)

Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, CT

Set on a 118 acre campus, the Stamford Museum & Nature Center (SM&NC) is anchored by the Bendel Mansion. Once home to department store mogul Henri Willis Bendel, it now serves as SM&NC’s museum and presents family friendly art exhibitions. Take the kids here this winter for their new exhibit A Life in the Wild. The exhibit features 40 works from nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen – a spiritual descendant of Ansel Adams. The center also has a planetarium and and observatory (that is currently closed).

As spring rolls around you will want to keep the center on your radar screen. They have a farm, (Hecksher Farm), an otter pond and the Overbrook Nature Center with miles of trails and an amazing multi-level playground with stairs, slides and tunnels. Here you can set the kids loose while you kick back on a bench for your own R&R. Year round, SM&NC  presents a host of children’s programs, exhibitions and special events that bring together art, history and the natural and agricultural sciences. Such as maple sugar season, spring’s baby animals and harvest festivals. You can see why SM&NC was a go to place for us to take the kids. Open 362 days a year. (39 Scofieldtown Rd., Stamford, 203.322.1646; www.stamfordmuseum.org)

Massive expansion rolling out! Westchester Children’s Museum, Rye

The Westchester Children’s Museum recently opened 2,000 square feet of new space as part of a phased expansion that will take their initial 6500 square feet of interactive museum space to 16,000 square feet by May. The additions include an expanded experiential gift shop featuring Melissa and Doug toys. Opened in 2016, the Westchester Children’s Museum is located in the historic landmark Hoch Laager Boardwalk Galleries at Rye’s Playland Park. It offers experiences in physics, science, art, technology and design. And it has plenty of  places for kids to climb, build, and explore. The museum’s exhibits are appropriate for children from 0 to 13. And the museum estimates the average stay is 2 1/2 hours.

Start your pre-schoolers out at Toddler Beach, a colorful crawl and climb space overlooking the Long Island Sound and the Playland Boardwalk.  Next, make your way to the Build Your Own Rollercoaster room where kids explore the dynamics of motion, force and speed. Move on to the Wind Tunnel Design Challenge, and make your own hover craft from odd materials. Then see how well it flies in the museum’s wind tunnel. When your kids are ready for the next level of STE(A)M challenges there’s the MakerSpace featuring activities in art, design, technology, and science. Don’t miss the Creativity Table for younger children. Or the Construction and Architecture Design Gallery for serious builders. Finally check out the book nook and art gallery. Open Wed-Sun: 10am-4pm plus most holidays. (100 Playland Park, Rye; www.discoverwcm.org)