RuthinHolland

Hi

My husband is going to be working in Princeton for 10 days during July and I'm thinking about tagging along with our daughter. We'd hopefully be staying in a suite hotel and would have a car, although would prefer to stay fairly close to town. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do in and around Princeton. My daughter loves rides and playgrounds but also enjoys hands on museums, so I'd especially like suggestions for these things. Also, will attractions be insanely busy (we were at Disney's California adventure at the end of Spring Break, not fun!) and will it be very hot and humid?

Thanks in advance.

bspielman

How close is "close to town"? For example, would you drive to Philadelphia (or, perhaps, take the train) to visit The Franklin Institute? A three-year-old might like some of its hands-on attractions.

Re Princeton playgrounds, here's a link to get you started: http://tinyurl.com/lk8j6x

And re the weather, it can vary. If it's hot, it can be 90˚F with 90% or higher relative humidity. If cooler, it could be 70˚F.

SusieQQ

Sesame Place isn't far from Princeton.
http://www.sesameplace.com/sesame/pa/index.aspx

kmbp

Tots on Tour is a program for 3 to 5 year olds at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ (about 12 miles south of Princeton). On the third Saturday of the month, March through October, children explore the park, learn about sculpture, make an original piece of art, and listen to a story.

http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/workshops.html

I think a three year old would enjoy the grounds and the sculpture, even without a special program.

The weather may well be hot and humid but June has been unusually wet and cool. Who knows what July will bring? It would be best to have both indoor and outdoor activities in mind, and then select according to the day's forecast.

You might also try to find a hotel/lodging that has a swimming pool!

How about a day in New York City? New Jersey Transit trains have a direct run beginning in Trenton, stopping in Princeton Junction, to Penn Ststion in NYC.

bspielman

If you and your husband can get a way for a night out, Grounds for Sculpture is also the site of Rats, a great restaurant.

RuthinHolland

Thanks everyone, those are some great ideas.

I'd already thought of Sesame Place, she loves the characters, although confusingly they all have different names here (and Big Bird is blue - why?!). Would it be very busy?

bspielman - the playground info is just what I was looking for. We'll be pretty jetlagged at the start of the week so it will be good to have somewhere to hang out and get some exercise.

I think I'd be happy to travel 30-45 minutes to get somewhere good, not sure about driving into Philadelphia, is it an easy driving city? I'd heard the Franklin Institute was good, she really enjoys museums, so if the drive wouldn't be too stressful I'd definitely consider it.

kmbp Grounds for Sculpture looks great, there's something silmilar near my mum in the UK and my daughter loves it there. The idea of a workshop would be a hit too, she enjoys making things.

A swimming pool is a must, any hotel suggestions?

We may try to have a weekend in NY at the end of the trip, I'm not sure about doing a day with her on my own. Again, any good child friendly hotel suggestions would be great!

Thanks everyone

MLTimes

I would think Amtrak or NJ Transit from Princeton Junction or Trenton, respectively, to Philadelphia if you prefer not to drive. The Franklin Institute may me a bit too advanced for a 3 year old. The Please Touch Museum and the zoo are a very quick cab ride (and, I'm sure, doable by bus, too) from 30th Street (train) Station.

tchoiniere

What about the Camden Aquarium?

kmbp

And there's a children's garden next to the Camden aquarium.

http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/

colomonica

Please Touch Museum is the better choice for a 3-year-old in Philly. Another good option is the New Jersey Aquarium in Camden.
Philly's an easy train ride from Princeton Junction or Trenton, & you can take cabs when you get here.

RuthinHolland

Wow, Camden children's garden looks fantastic, she'd love it! It would certainly make a good day trip combined with the aquarium. Please Touch also looks good, we went somewhere similar in Monterey CA and she enjoyed that. Would it be possible to combine it with the Franklin? She's quite advanced (starting to read etc) and would really enjoy the geology and cardiac displays they show on their website.

If we take cabs do I need to worry about car seats?

Thanks again everyone, I'm getting quite excited!

cmt

I'm not sure whether it's possible to get a limited 10-visit membership, but if it is, you could go to the Quarry Swim Club on Crusher Rd. in Hopewell (short drive from Princeton). (If you can't get a membership quite that limited, you might find that you know a member and then you can go as a guest.) There's a beautiful, clean, very deep, spring fed swimming area for adults and for children who pass a serious swimming test, and also a large, completely shallow pool for toddlers and children who don't swim well (goes from extremely shallow to fairly shallow). There is a large grassy area for picnicking and lounging and even barbecue grills, changing huts for men and women, toilets, and a small snack bar--just enough amenities, but not too many.

Princeton itself is very nice. It's a pretty town and the campus is beautiful. It would be very pleasant to walk around there with a young child, and there are lots of benches where you can rest when tired of wandering. Other amusing things to do with your child in the town of Princeton itself or extremely nearby: see and pet the taxidermically stuffed Icelandic sheep in front of Landau's clothing store on Nassau Street, eat something from Bent Spoon on Witherspoon St. which sells store-made ice cream and sorbets in unusual flavors, many of them using local produce, visit Terhune Orchards farm store on Cold Soil Rd. in Lawrenceville just south of Princeton (Cold soil is a right turn off Route 206 southbound, which has pet farm animals that children like to visit.

cmt

P.S. You're also not too far from the Jersey shore. Take 95 north to 195 east. The closest beach towns are Belmar, Avon, Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Bradley Beach, Ocean Grove. Of those, I like Spring Lake best. If you want a town that's more built up with a lot of commercial activity, that would be Belmar. The drive to any of the towns I mentioned would be less than 60 miles from Princeton, most of the ride pretty fast and easy.

All the towns near Princeton have parks. I'm not sure, but I think it's Veterans' Park in Hamilton that has the biggest children's play area with various equipment, but it may be for slightly older children. If you are driving to the beaches in Monmouth County, asnd then want to go to another non-beach place, you could rdrive to Holmdel Park in Holmdel, which has a 19th century tuype farm, with working animals, and you can see the animals up close. I think Allaire Park may also have nice things. I haven't been to Sandy Hook in decades, but it used to have interesting trails and also ranger-led nature walks. However, that may have changed, and it may all be too crowded these days.

zlaor

We took are 2 YO and 4 YO to Grounds for Sculpture. We spent a day there and could have spent another day - they LOVED it.

You could also take a tour of the university and Princeton has a walking tour map on their website which you could do and your daughter would enjoy the walk.

You are about an hour away from the closest point on the Jersey Shore, however your daughter would have a blast at the Jenkinson's boardwalk in Pt. Pleasent Beach

P.S.
I wouldn't go to Camden.
I'd only go on the weekend, with the husband and leave before dark.
Camden is not a nice town (actually it's the Wild West) and you don't want to get lost there. I wouldn't even let my wife go there (she wanted to got the Children's Garden as well).
I know it's not PC and NJ has pumped billions in to this whole "urban renewal" BS but I think you have to know where you're going.

persimmondeb

You are also quite close to Great Adventure, and they do have rides for small children, although it is oriented more towards thrill rides. They also have a drive-through Safari and a water park, and none of these things should be insanely busy on a weekday. The Safari and it's "Exploration Station" should be fairly low-key and pleasant with a young child. Just make sure she can see fairly well out of the windows while in her car seat.

cmt

P.S. If you follow th suggestion above about Great Adventure, note that it's on the way to the shore, so you could possibly go there early and then to the beach.

I agree about Camden, although if you want to go there cautiously as suggested, the aquarium would be nice.

If you have in mind small, non-flashy things to do with a three-year-old, I think you could be quite content spending much of your time in Princeton or very nearby, with a trip or two to the shore (Atlantic ocean beaches) when you want to take a bigger trip (but not too big).

cmt

Another thing I forgot to mention. If you're looking for things close to Princeton, you might consider th historic Old Barracks Museum in Trenton (about 10 miles from Princeton on Route One southbound to Perry St. exit, then left from Perry St. onto Willow St., which becomes Barrack St. after 2 blocks and the museum is right there on the right.). It's not an overwhelmingly important destination, but the people who work there are very child-oriented. There are always costumed guides at the museum, and every summer there are summer day camps for children who seem to love it. Every summer I see them marching around town with their drums and their big colonial hats behind a fully costumed guide/teacher playing a flute. If the guides aren't too busy, one of them might want to show your child some things that are fun. One weekend I went there with a friend and her then-4-year-old son. One of the guides let him hold a musket and showed him various noisy things that the little boy liked,

zlaor

I forgot about Great Adventure, maybe because it's so darn expensive.

Great Adventure is actually three parks - the amusment park, the safari and the water park. The safari is excellent (drive through) and the amusement park does have kiddie rides but not that many.

I wouldn't go there during the summer vacation though.