Favorite cheap places to take the kids in St. Louis
1) The Zoo - An obvious choice, it's good all year round. Educational and free - how could you go wrong.
2) The Science Center - Another obvious choice. That it is all pretty much indoors only adds to the appeal in the winter.
3) Tower Grove Park - There are a lot of play areas and playgrounds. But what makes Tower Grove different for me is the Fountain Square wading pool. Free and open to the public, this area is a lot of fun for the munchkins and easy for the adults. Just remember to bring a dry change of clothes.
4) It's Party Time (on Watson) - They are extremely flexible in terms of what food you can bring in and adults are free. Both of our kids loved it. Just watch out on entrances and exits from the inflatable equipment - I didn't think there was nearly enough padding.
5) The pharmacy - There is a pharmacy right down the street from my house. The attraction of the pharmacy is that we can go and pick up some nickel and dime candy for Oliver and Daddy. Each time he can try something new, so it is always an adventure.
6) The Metrolink station - Oliver loves trains. The nearest Metrolink stop is within walking distance. We can usually see three trains in fifteen minutes. And when we're done, we can walk home.
7) The Mills mall play area - Another indoor play area. This was a godsend last summer when it was too hot to go outside.
8) The library - The library is a great place to go with your kids. They have puzzles and books and movies.
9) The firehouse - Not all firehouses are the same, but if yours is anything like ours, it's a great place to take the kids. When the firefighters are not out fighting fires, they are more than amenable to showing the kids the fire engines and the ambulances. And with each visit, they get a plastic fire helmet (I really need to figure out a way to gracefully refuse them - we are frequent visitors and I'd like to make sure that there is enough for other people).
I'll add more as I think of them. Do you have any that I missed?
2) The Science Center - Another obvious choice. That it is all pretty much indoors only adds to the appeal in the winter.
3) Tower Grove Park - There are a lot of play areas and playgrounds. But what makes Tower Grove different for me is the Fountain Square wading pool. Free and open to the public, this area is a lot of fun for the munchkins and easy for the adults. Just remember to bring a dry change of clothes.
4) It's Party Time (on Watson) - They are extremely flexible in terms of what food you can bring in and adults are free. Both of our kids loved it. Just watch out on entrances and exits from the inflatable equipment - I didn't think there was nearly enough padding.
5) The pharmacy - There is a pharmacy right down the street from my house. The attraction of the pharmacy is that we can go and pick up some nickel and dime candy for Oliver and Daddy. Each time he can try something new, so it is always an adventure.
6) The Metrolink station - Oliver loves trains. The nearest Metrolink stop is within walking distance. We can usually see three trains in fifteen minutes. And when we're done, we can walk home.
7) The Mills mall play area - Another indoor play area. This was a godsend last summer when it was too hot to go outside.
8) The library - The library is a great place to go with your kids. They have puzzles and books and movies.
9) The firehouse - Not all firehouses are the same, but if yours is anything like ours, it's a great place to take the kids. When the firefighters are not out fighting fires, they are more than amenable to showing the kids the fire engines and the ambulances. And with each visit, they get a plastic fire helmet (I really need to figure out a way to gracefully refuse them - we are frequent visitors and I'd like to make sure that there is enough for other people).
I'll add more as I think of them. Do you have any that I missed?
posted by mypetrock at 11:28 PM
2 Comments:
what if you wear the plastic helmet to the station? then they won't need to give you one.
Don't forget Grant's Farm.
McDonald's. One with a play place (there's one on Hampton near the zoo, or Florissant, or Kirkwood near the magic house). I agree that most of the food sucks, but their ice cream cones cost $1, and climbing through the gerbil tubes will thoroughly exhaust the kiddos. We go there for dinner before a road trip (makes for a quiet couple of hours).
The Dairy Queen at Dorsett & McKelvey has a lot of preschooler-sized slides/play equipment, some indoors and some out. Same comments about food & ice cream as McD's.
I consider our neighborhood pool and the Y pool to be "cheap" because I don't have to pay right when I walk in the door (time makes the wallet look fatter).
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