Things to do with kids - Ann Arbor

Revision 28 (April 21, 2009, 12:59 p.m. by None)

There are some things I always loved to do as a kid in Ann Arbor...

Work in the garden (or help out at a community garden)
Walk through Fuller Park to Gallup Park past the great play structure.
- Don't feed the geese
- Rent one of those paddle boats
Canoe or kayak down the Huron River (you can start at Bandemer or Argo Dam and go to Barton Dam).
Go out of town to Hudson Mills Metropark and stop at the Dexter A&W on the way back
- Visit the Dexter Cider Mill and have some donuts
Teach knitting
Play at Eberwhite, it has the best playground in the city.
Pick fruit
Go Ice Skating on one of Ann Arbor's Six Ice Rinks
Hike through Black Pond Woods and visit Leslie Science Center
Visit the Hands-on Museum
Build a sandbox
Go to the library
Play Sim City: "Residents demand a dog biscuit bakery!"
Go to Open Swim at the Indoor Pools
Go to Ingalls Mall (not a shopping center, at the base of Burton Memorial Tower) and run around, throw pennies in the fountain, walk in front of Hill Auditorium and try not to step on red, stop at ERC and get a sprinkle doughnut from Washtenaw Dairy and a small milk for the kid, with a tasty caffeinated beverage for the adult.
Go to the AADL downtown and do the current craft project. Choose some books and read them aloud, either in the comfy chairs in the picture book section, or out in the garden if weather permits.
Wander around downtown and look for fairy doors.

There's someone else's ideas of what to do with kids in Detroit you can use for more inspiration.

Seasonal fun

UM sports (don't forget volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, soccer, and field hockey)

Matthaei Botanical Gardens
The Arb
UM Saginaw Forest
The Botsford Recreational Preserve (near Maple and Miller?)
Ride bikes along trans-AA bike trail
Volunteer for a Huron River Watershed Council Adopt-a-Stream event
Any of the downtown festivals
Fish the Huron River
Watch the ducks at Island Park
Watch for deer, squirrels, woodchucks, muskrats, fox, coyotes, wild turkeys, great blue herons, ducks in Scio Township (soon to be beavers and bears?)
Domino's Petting Farm

Blimp spotting in the air or at Ann Arbor Airport (or a ride if you have connections) before home football weekends
Watch the UM Marching Band practice. Check the schedule as times vary.