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.
- Give helps to your kids to buy essay online.
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)
General Outdoors
- 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
Spring
- Earth Day events
- Huge puppets on Main Street for FestiFools
Summer
- A2 Summer Festival music and movies (mid-June to July 4th or so)
- AA Art Fairs (July)
- West Park Band Shell free summer concerts
- Dexter Daze (August)
- Picking berries, apples, etc.
Fall
- 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.
Winter
- Winter sledding or skating at Vet's Park
- Buhr Park skating
Indoor Activities
- Explore aisles at Stadium Hardware (explain what things are used for)
- the Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair
- The Scrap Box (esp. for Halloween costume materials)
- Yost skating
- All the UM museums (esp. Natural History Museum and Planetarium)
- The Michigan Theater with the pipe organ in full effect
- Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsi
Food Fun
- Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger
- Grand Traverse Pie Co.
- Washtenaw Dairy ice cream or donuts
- Dairy Queen Blizzards to celebrate spring
- Zingerman's Creamery