33 cool things 4 kids (excerpts) By Bruce Adams Stargazing with the BAA The Buffalo Astronomy Association (BAA) has been introducing kids of all ages to the pleasures of stargazing for more than sixty years. This year is the International Year of Astronomy, and on May 2 (International Astronomy Day), the BAA will offer daylong programming at the Buffalo Museum of Science, including solar observations from the rooftop observatory and activities for families and kids in various locations around the museum. At dusk, the festivities will move to Beaver Meadow Observatory (I-90 South to Exit 54, US 400 Aurora Expressway) where the BAA will present nighttime stargazing until midnight. Both programs will be held rain or shine. If you miss this event, no worry, the BAA holds public nights at its Beaver Meadow Observatory (hosted by the Buffalo Audubon Society) every first and third Saturday of the month through October. On these evenings kids will find astronomy hobbyists—telescopes at the ready—eager to share their knowledge of the nighttime skies. Plus there’s the impressive BAA observatory telescope available for public gazing. For more information call 457-3228, or visit the BAA website at www.buffaloastronomy.com. A picnic at Bird Island Pier Fond childhood memories are forged of simple activities ritualized into family traditions. Here’s a summertime activity kids love: grab a take-out lunch or dinner—Wegmans submarine sandwiches come to mind—and drive (or better yet, bike) to the foot of Ferry Street, over the Ferry Street Lift Bridge to Broderick Park on Squaw Island. If you’re lucky, the iron giant will rise while you’re there to allow water vessels safe passage along the historic Black Rock Canal. Wave to the lift operator. Take a blanket or some portable folding chairs onto the narrow mile-long Bird Island Pier, and picnic between the canal and the Niagara River in the shadow of the Peace Bridge. The river breeze provides welcome respite from muggy summer days, and kids love wading in the shallows of the canal. Watch the West Side Rowing Club crews speed by in their racing shells, framed against shoreline abutments sporting colorful graffiti proclamations of past team triumphs. See what the local fishermen are catching. Glimpse seagulls, geese, terns, and Blue Herons, among other indigenous fowl. The pier ends at the mouth of Lake Erie where lighthouses, water intakes, and break walls can be viewed. Do this weekly. Secret gardens, hidden waterfalls, and more Take a kid to a mysterious unnamed location—one with towering boulders, plummeting waterfalls, exotic land formations, or hundreds of horny frogs—and watch what happens. Kids love exploring nature. That’s why no parent should be without the book Secret Places: Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario by Bruce Kershner, a field guide to twenty-five off-the-beaten-path regional scenic wonders. Which is why it’s such a kick in the pants that this indispensible guide to cheap outdoor thrills is out of print—making the book itself something of a secret treasure. Fortunately, used copies are obtainable on amazon.com. Get one while they last, which won’t be long, since Kershner maps out everything from familiar sites like Zoar Valley to exotic locations such as the otherworldly badlands of Lake Ontario. There are even directions to a cacophonous nocturnal frog orgy. Be sure to visit the “world’s most perfect place for skipping rocks,” a secluded wonderland of river-polished stones and migrating birds. Simple pleasures don’t come better than this. The book was published in 1994, so we can’t guarantee that access to all of these attractions remains unchanged. The majority though, are just as they’ve been for hundreds of years. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top