Triangle family destinations

Families can pan for gems, minerals and fossils at this spot off Highway 55 in Cary.

Nature play is the buzzword among those in the play business and the N.C. Zoo has jumped on the bandwagon with KidZone.

On the third floor of the N.C. Museum of History, there's a place for kids to play a banjo, interview a North Carolinian and learn more about how historians do their jobs.

Now there is a fun way to cool off on those hot summer days. Hill Ridge opened a splash pad last month. The water play area will be open from Memorial Day weekend through the end of September.

Cary Towne Center will unveil its $1 million investment on Saturday - a new indoor playground featuring all manner of soft play toys for young kids to climb all over.

The north Raleigh ice cream shop, which opened earlier this year, offers ice cream, frozen yogurt, frozen ice pops, chocolate, coffee and more.

The 900-square-foot playground replaces the mall's original playground, which opened 12 years ago. It's designed for babies to preschoolers.

The farm in Cary, which features a corn maze, pumpkin patch and other farm fun, opened a new 2,000-square-foot fun house this season.

Yellow Dog Bread Company, which opened a year ago near downtown Raleigh, serves up artisan breads and what it calls Southern-inspired pastries.

Care for a spot of tea? We take a look at several places in the Triangle that offer afternoon tea, including kid-friendly options.

Moneypalooza, the popular second floor exhibit at Marbles Kids Museum with the giant pig that drops balls into a pit, has an updated and refurbished look thanks to continued support from the N.C. Banker's Association.

The exhibit spans 100 years of filmmaking in North Carolina, starting with silent movies and moving on to the blockbusters that have been shot here in recent years.

The Durham museum has unveiled a big makeover of its popular farmyard exhibit. It includes four new residents - alpacas.

Usually I feature a place to take kids in this space every Friday. But I know that most families are probably busy with plans to visit the N.C. State Fair this weekend or celebrate Halloween a little early, so I'm diverting from the usual schedule today.

The recipe for butterbeer at Starbucks is so secret that even the barista slinging the coffee didn't know about it when I went to order a cup with my kids last week.

Thursday was a bittersweet day for Carolyn Johnson and Helen Dawkins as they set up the chairs and decorated the set for their last public performance at Comedy Worx as Kazoom Puppet Theater.

A grant from PNC makes a new series of storytimes possible at Wake County's libraries.

Guasaca, a Raleigh restaurant, is know for its Venezuelan arepas, pita-like breads made of corn and filled with all kinds of foods. It's delicious, affordable and great for families.

Marbles Kids Museum has put its own spin on STEM learning with the new exhibit Stemophere.

Rainforest Adventure opened at the downtown Raleigh museum in late April. The educational maze features questions about the rainforest along with a number of interactive play pieces.

The next time you need to find something to do indoors with the kids, consider the N.C. Museum of Art. Their latest exhibit may be just what you're looking for.

For years, the Vollmer Farm in Bunn has been a destination for families looking for organic strawberries and produce. Here, families could pick berries, spend time on the playground and enjoy some local ice cream before heading home.

The performance center in downtown Wake Forest has been ramping up its offerings for kids and families.

A 900-square-foot outdoor patio was enclosed in December to make way for Kid Grid, which exists thanks to a $1 million grant from ABB, a power and automation technologies firm with North American headquarters in Cary and on the campus of N.C. State's Centennial Campus.

With a large mist dome, a misty mogul field and a rain tree, along with shady spots across the site, there are plenty of spots to beat the heat in Into the Mist.

Launch Lab adds a dozen new interactive pieces to the museum's already popular indoor Aerospace gallery, where you also can see a lunar lander, command nodule and rocket engine, among other displays.

There's no permanent collection here. Instead, the museum's features a steady rotation of new exhibits by emerging artists from around the country. You might see an actual night time rainbow, or at least an artist's version of one, one month, and a collection of photographs the next.

Go Play Outside Now in Garner is big and fun. But owner Ann Vantiflin has a bigger vision for the outdoor playground.

Don't expect windmills and clowns or animatronic alligators gobbling up golf balls when you head to Indoor Greens Mini Golf and Cafe. Do expect an 18-hole green with small hills and undulations that can keep golfers of all ages and abilities occupied.

The downtown Raleigh museum launched free storytimes this summer that are perfect for preschoolers and young grade schoolers.

The Wake County park in Apex features a variety of weekday and weekend programs for kids and families.

Prairie Ridge Ecostation, nicknamed the "backyard of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences," is the latest Triangle spot to offer a regular storytime for preschoolers.

Farmer Mary of Winterpast Farm has built a petting zoo and hobby farm where kids can get up close with donkeys, goats and llamas, among many other animals, and families can rent a rabbit or guinea pig to see if they're really ready for a pet.

Prairie Ridge Ecostation opens its new nature play space to the public Saturday.

Green Level Gourd Farm near Cary and Apex is about as streamlined as you can get. It's a perfect destination for the younger crowd who might get overwhelmed at a big farm with something new at every turn.

The six acre maze with 2.5 miles of trails in Garner features the likeness of WRAL's Mike Maze this year.

The planetarium shows might garner most of the headlines at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. But, as the name of this Chapel Hill destination suggests, there are more than just shows about the stars and planets here.

Greensboro Science Center has been around since the 1950s, but it's making big strides toward becoming a major family destination in North Carolina.

Marbles Kids Museum unveiled the latest improvement to its Around Town gallery this week: the new Ready, Set, School exhibit.

Stone's Education Superstore moved from its home of 42 years to a new spot of N.C. 54 in Cary last week. It's ready for holiday shoppers!

If Erik Sugg went back in time to tell his 19-year-old self exactly what he'd be doing two decades later - rocking out most weekday mornings with toddlers - Sugg says that young guy would probably be pretty amused.

What's in the Box, a popular preschool program at the N.C. Museum of Art, aims to introduce the museum to kids in a fun and engaging way.

The Carolina Hurricanes' Family Nights offer a decent deal for families and groups who want to see hockey, but don't want to pay the usual ticket and concession prices.

The Nature Research Center's Natural World Investigate Lab lets kids use real research tools to observe and study the natural world.

I'm taking a snow day from our usual destination and playground reviews today since I suspect that many of us will remain neighborhood-bound today.

Here's the deal: If you haven't been, maybe you don't live in Durham or don't find yourself there very often, it's worth the trip for the food and the shop. And it is kid friendly.

Kidzu Children's Museum made a big move this month from University Square on Franklin Street to much bigger digs at University Mall just down the road.

For more than a decade, preschoolers have spent a weekday morning listening to books and making crafts at the Raleigh book store's weekly program.

Learn all about how chocolate is made - from the bean to the bar - then indulge in some delicious treats at this downtown Raleigh shop.

I usually write about Triangle destinations and parks on Fridays, but we're going further afield today with a post about Biltmore in Asheville.

Artspace in downtown Raleigh offers plenty of family-friendly fun. Families can watch artists at work and take in all kinds of art. Kids can take part in the summer programs.

Downtown Raleigh is slated to host three more food truck rodeos this spring, summer and fall. Here's how Sunday's event went and tips if you're taking kids.

What's there to do in Asheville for families? Plenty.

When Marble Kids Museum leaders got the opportunity to update part of the very popular first floor Around Town exhibit, they decided not to mess around.

The Raleigh mall updated its play area with some new equipment.

Three Bears Acre, a wildly fun outdoor play space that spans 50 acres and includes everything from a mud kitchen to a 300-foot slide, opened in October in northern Wake County.

"Flight of the Butterflies 3D," now showing at the IMAX theater at Marbles Kids Museum, is as much science lesson as it is a mystery.

Marbles has made some big changes to its Power2Play exhibit, adding unique equipment thanks to a grant from the Carolina Hurricanes' Kids 'N Community Foundation.

The cafe is as much play space, primarily for preschoolers and under, as it is coffee house. Families can come here for a latte or juice and snack. Or they can just hang out here all day and not buy any food while the kids play with the toys and the adults gather on a couch with friends to chat.

Admission is free to the museum, which is both shrine to Carolina basketball and a unique look at college basketball history.

Ms. Ellen leads the stories and crafts on Monday mornings at the Durham coffee shop.

For six years, the Women's Birth & Wellness Boutique in Chapel Hill has served new and expecting moms and their families with hard-to-find items - form nursing bras, now available in sizes 32C to 40M, to slings to cloth diapers and toys.

On Saturday, Raleigh will reopen the historic carousel that's been a centerpiece of Chavis Park for decades. Officials hope that more families from across the city will flock here as they do nearby Pullen Park.

The Chapel Hill destination reopens for the fall season on Saturday.

Toddler Hollow at Marbles Kids Museum has turned into a quiet little refuge for the downtown Raleigh museum's youngest visitors.

As you follow the trails deeper into Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, it's easy to forget that you're in the middle of Cary.

Hill Ridge Farms, a popular pumpkin patch destination each fall, is gearing up for a new event: Christmas at Hill Ridge.

Karissa Binkley, a doula and mom who started the popular Diapering Doula diaper service, is building a gathering spot for moms. The Family Nest will host the breastfeeding event MilkFest 2012 this Saturday.

The center, once housed in the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, gets a much bigger home at the new Nature Research Center next door.

The state historic site in Durham was where Washington Duke started growing and process tobacco. It traces the history of tobacco in North Carolina.

Into the Mist combines some classic kids favorites - sand, water, running and climbing - for some great and cooling fun.

Noah's Landing in Coats, about 45 minutes from Raleigh, offers kids a chance to interact with some of the more than 60 species of exotic animals.

Duke Gardens is ramping up its offerings for kids and families for the year. They now include a monthly weekday storytime and more.

I usually write about Triangle family destinations in this space every Friday. But I like to explore this great state of ours. And for spring break this year, I was lucky enough to spend the week in Hatteras, N.C.

Last weekend, a team of volunteers built a teepee and vine tunnel at the north Raleigh preserve.

The N.C. Botanical Garden stretches across 1,000 acres in Chapel Hill, showcasing forested areas, display gardens and paved trails. A new and growing part of this popular destination, part of UNC-Chapel Hill, is the Children's Wonder Garden.

Modeled after The Scrap Exchange in Durham, the Cary Creative Center works to continue the life of items that might get tossed in the landfill.

There's no playground here, but Historic Oak View County Park off Poole Road in Raleigh has pretty much everything else.

The exhibit that focuses on active play and healthy lifestyles now includes basketball hoops, a larger soccer area, a mini-jumbotron over the hockey rink and more.

The Duke Lemur Center in Durham is the world's largest sanctuary for lemurs. Public tours are offered. Reservations are a must.

The N.C. Museum of History's new Story of North Carolina offers plenty of interactive exhibits and kid-friendly activities.

Preschoolers and Pets is offered twice a month for kids 5 and under and their caregivers at the SPCA adoption center in south Raleigh.

Cheerleaders, a dance team, band, mascots, lots of basketball and even Scotty McCreery. You get it all at N.C. State's women's basketball games, but for a fraction of the price compared to other major sports.

Kidzu Children's Museum is settling into its new space in University Square in Chapel Hill and preparing for the construction of a bigger museum.

Let's go ahead and rank White Deer Park as one of the top park and playground destinations in the Triangle.

Melissa Russell, a mom of two, opened Glee Kids in Chapel Hill five years ago. Glee Kids is a destination store for the Tea line of clothing. She also offers regular events.

The indoor play space near Triangle Town Center features an inflatable, a toddler area, games for older kids and more.

Now in its third year, the Western Wake Farmers' Market was started by a group of local moms and has grown each year. It's in Cary.

The American Tobacco Campus features lots of kid-friendly spaces, along with an outdoor concert series. There's a special concert for dads this Sunday.

The free 30-minute tours on the weekends are designed for kids ages 5 to 10 and their parents. It's just one of the many programs the museum offers for tots to teens.

The state historic site in New Bern features a collection of historic buildings along with the new N.C. History Center, which features innovative and interactive exhibits.

The state historic site in Durham was one of the largest plantations in Antebellum North Carolina and was the setting for the American Girl character Addy Walker.

The Conservators' Center in Mebane is home to lions, tigers and a host of other smaller animals that are endangered or have no other place to call home.

N.C. State's arboretum features a variety of garden rooms and nooks. Here are some favorite spots for kids.

I've been on a search for wildcats in the Triangle. The first place I found them was at Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro.

Explore the Durham museum's exhibits and collection with the help of a gallery hunt for kids and families.

Go Bananaz in north Raleigh includes the usual inflatables and arcade games that you'll find at other indoor amusement centers in the area. But it's the fair-style rides that make it stand out.

The state museum in Raleigh offers a storytime at 10:30 a.m. on weekdays.

The second floor of Ray Price Harley-Davidson dealership in Raleigh is a space dedicated to drag racing.

The simple farmhouse played a major role in the end of the Civil War. And it's in Durham.

The Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education explores the creatures of the North Carolina Piedmont.

PlayNation in Morrisville offers open play, birthday parties and more at its indoor space featuring inflatables and play equipment.

Chavis Community Park is home to Raleigh's other carousel. But few people make the trek to ride it. See the park in this video and click on the headline to read more about Chavis Park.

With Pullen Park closed, here's a look at other carousels around the Triangle.

Northgate Mall offers all kinds of amusements for kids, including a carousel. It's the last installment in our series on Triangle carousels.

The kids menu includes an organic beef hot dog, grilled cheese on five-grain bread and homemade chicken fingers. But the kids really like the make-your-own-cupcake kits.

Looking for something to do outside? Check our reviews of local parks and playgrounds.