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A tide-pool touch tank and a two-story kinetic ball sculpture are among the 100-plus exhibits at this hands-on museum catering to youngsters. The Sagan Planetwalk, a to-scale solar-system walking tour around the city, honors scientist Carl Sagan, who taught at Cornell University. Outside there's a wooden playground.
Known for its wild surf and for its dunes, this beautiful spot is repeatedly blasted by winter erosion. Restaurants and restrooms are in the nearby village. Amenities: lifeguards. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.
Jointly owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, this preserve offers a chance to slow down from the hubbub of town and experience world-class bird-watching. The 900-acre oasis makes for great strolling while on the lookout for more than 200 species, including great blue herons, sandhill cranes, and a large number of neotropical migratory songbirds, from chats to western tanagers to black-headed grosbeaks. Sightings of deer and wild turkey are fairly common, but there are also rare glimpses of more elusive mammals like beaver and river otters, not to mention mountain lions and bobcats. Always remember to respect the wildlife and keep an appropriate distance.
An information kiosk greets visitors just inside the preserve, and a boardwalk winds through the property to several viewpoints, including the Colorado River, a native fish project area, and a water control structure. If you have a little more time, take the new trail east to the Central Pond for spectacular views of the mountains and opportunities to spot waterfowl and other native species.
More than 130 varieties of heirloom apples and other fruit dot the fields of this 571-acre farm, which has been in production since 1791. It's now managed by the Landmark Trust USA, which also rents nearby Naulakha, Rudyard Kipling’s 1892 home. Depending on the season, visitors can pick their own fruit, shop the farm market, sip cider at the outdoor café, or walk among sculptural walls in Stone Wall Park.
Winemaker Scott Harvey describes the Sierra Foothills appellation as similar to Italy's Piemonte region, where Barbera originated, but with one additional benefit: it's sunnier here, which this grape loves. Barbera, Zinfandel (one from vines planted in 1869), and Syrah are his winery's focus, but you'll also find Cabernet Sauvignon and other reds along with Sauvignon Blanc, a rosé of Barbera, and sparkling wine.
View artifacts from all facets of American life, put in social and political context. Specializing in the history of American Freemasonry and Fraternalism, the changing exhibits and lectures also focus on local events leading up to April 1775 and illustrate Revolutionary-era life through everyday objects such as blacksmithing tools, bloodletting paraphernalia, and dental instruments, including a "tooth key" used to extract teeth. Self-guided tours are free; you can opt for a one-hour guided tour for $6.
SMoCA, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is often referred to as a "museum without walls." There's a good museum store here for unusual jewelry and stationery, posters, and art books. New installations are planned every few months, with an emphasis on contemporary art, architecture, and design.
This outdoor "museum without walls" is a favorite walking spot for locals and visitors. Located in the Newport Beach Civic Center, there is a car-free walking path displaying meaningful and whimsical public art sculptures. Take a self-guided walking tour by downloading the MyNB app in advance of your visit.
Founded by artists in 1928 to exhibit innovative contemporary work, SculptureCenter occupies a former trolley repair shop that was renovated by artist Maya Lin in 2002 and expanded by Andrew Berman Architect in 2014; it's not far from MoMA PS1. Indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces close between shows; see the website for details or call ahead before visiting.
Proximity to the ferry makes this beach fronting the Sea Camp campground the most popular beach among day-trippers, though with only 300 visitors allowed on the island daily, it's never very crowded. Hard-pack trails and a boardwalk allow short nature walks, and the beach has good beachcombing. Amenities: showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; sunrise.
A branch of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the center specializes in Santa Barbara Channel marine life and conservation. Though small compared to aquariums in Monterey and Long Beach, this is a fascinating, hands-on marine science laboratory that lets you participate in experiments, projects, and exhibits, including touch pools. The two-story glass walls here open to stunning ocean, mountain, and city views.
This tiny village 4 mi north of Roslyn is filled with turn-of-the-20th-century homes, most lovingly restored to their original grandeur. Shops and restaurants in the village make it a pleasant destination for an afternoon visit.
At the Sea Cliff Village Museum, displays of documents and photos trace the history of Sea Cliff. A scale model of a village Victorian house is also on exhibit.
On the waterfront and at the edge of Liberty Bay Park, Western Washington University's small but well-designed marine center and aquarium is jam-packed with exhibits of local sea creatures. An intertidal touch tank lets kids feel sea anemones, sea urchins, and starfish, while other displays house crabs, jellyfish, and plants. Puppets, puzzles, murals, and videos help youngsters learn more about what they see.
Offering an educational and interactive underwater experience, the aquarium is home to more than 5,000 creatures from over 350 different species and combines active hands-on learning with educational talks, and chances to come face-to-fin with amazing sea creatures including sharks, octopus, and rays. The walk-through exhibits focus on creatures found in local waters including California lakes and streams and the cold-water marine animals that live along the California coast. Don't miss the newly themed Coral Beach, where guests can explore an underwater ocean tunnel or witness a shark feeding. The aquarium has a separate admission from LEGOLAND, although you can upgrade your LEGOLAND ticket to include the aquarium.
Some 5,000 creatures including sharks, stingrays, eels, and a giant octopus call this underwater menagerie home. A 165,000-gallon tank with a 360-degree viewing tunnel is the first of its kind. Who says there's no water in the desert? Buy a dual ticket with the adjoining LEGOLAND Discovery Center and save on admission.
The non-profit Marine Mammal Stranding Center is on call to rescue stranded dolphins, seals, sea turtles, and whales that travel up this way and into New York Harbor. The Sea Life Museum is the only part of the center that's open to the public. Its exhibits relate to ocean life and showcase bones recovered from the beach and life-size replicas of fish and marine mammals. To get here from Atlantic City, cross the Brigantine Bridge to Atlantic-Brigantine Boulevard.
Dolphins leap and spin, and penguins frolic at this marine-life attraction 15 miles from Waikiki at scenic Makapuu Point. The park has a 300,000-gallon Hawaiian reef aquarium, a breeding sanctuary for Hawaii's endangered honu (sea turtles), penguin and Hawaiian monk seal habitats, an aviary, a seabird sanctuary, and many more marine attractions. Sign up for a dolphin, sea lion, or reef encounter to get up close and personal in the water with these sea creatures. The park also has its own luau show.
A fun and educational adventure for all ages, this aquarium boasts more than 250 species and 3,000 sea creatures in 160,000 gallons of water. It also has the city's only walk-through underwater ocean tunnel, where you can safely get up close and personal with about 500 sea creatures. Stingray Bay has five different species of stingrays, while in the freshwater habitat, you'll see native-to-Texas creatures. One of the best features of Sea Life is the way the exhibits are constructed low enough to the ground so that even small kids can get a good look (and it saves family members from having to hoist them up). The interactive rock-pool is a kid-friendly favorite, with a Sea Life expert giving fun facts about the touchable creatures. The aquarium holds educational talks and feeding demonstrations throughout the day; be sure to ask about them as their timing may vary.
In 1880 a sea captain rowed a small skiff into a fissure in a 300-foot-high sea cliff. Inside, he was startled to discover a 125-foot-high vaulted rock chamber inhabited by hundreds of massive sea lions—the largest bulls weighing 2,000 pounds or more. Now one of the coast's favorite, if quite touristy, attractions, the caves are reached by an elevator near the cliff-top ticket office and kitschy gift shop; viewing is from behind a wire fence. This is the only known hauling-out area and rookery for wild sea lions on the mainland in the Lower 48, and it's an awesome sight and sound when they're in the cave, typically only in fall and winter (in spring and summer the mammals usually stay on the rocky ledges outside the cave).
The Jack Rabbit, a wooden roller coaster built in 1920, is the most famous ride at this park on the Lake Ontario shore. Sampling all the water rides, the log flume, the carousel, the bumper cars, and the midway makes for a very full day.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of modernist architecture, built this boxlike bronze-and-glass tower in 1958, and it remains a must-visit for architecture buffs. The austere facade belies its wit: I-beams, used to hold buildings up, here are merely attached to the surface, representing the idea of structural support. The Seagram Building's innovative ground-level plaza, extending out to the sidewalk, has since become a common element in urban skyscraper design, but at the time it was built, it was a radical announcement of a new, modern era of American architecture. With its two giant fountains and welcoming steps, the plaza also is a popular lunch spot for Midtown workers. Visit late in the afternoon to avoid crowds.
Picnics, a playground, and weddings make this coastal park popular on weekends. For free summer evening concerts (Tuesday 6–9 pm) and beach access, head to Powerhouse Park at the north end of this small stretch of grass overlooking the ocean.
Live music can be heard in the Food Court and Lighthouse District from noon to 3 pm on weekends during the fall and winter and 1 to 4 pm in the spring and summer. The Seaport Village Carousel ( Rides $5) has 54 animals, hand-carved and hand-painted by Charles Looff in 1895. Across the street, the Headquarters at Seaport Village converted the historic police headquarters into several trendsetting shops and restaurants. Every Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm (or until sold out), the adjacent Tuna Harbor Dockside Market offers the freshest fish directly from over a dozen local commercial fishermen.
Searchlight was once the biggest boomtown in southern Nevada, and some of its rich mining and railroad history is now compressed into a one-room museum inside the local community center. Visitors will find an assayer's office, outdoor mining display, and exhibits devoted to notables with ties to the area, including silent-screen star Clara Bow and early aviation heroes such as record-breaking test pilot John Macready.
Hop into a "clamobile" and ride under the sea to look for Nemo, who has wandered off from Mr. Ray's class field trip. This ride adds clever fun to the aquarium attraction—an astonishing animation-projection effect makes it appear as if Nemo and his pals are swimming among the marine life of the actual Seas aquarium. As your ride progresses, Dory, Marlin's spacey sidekick, helps Bruce, Squirt, and other pals find him. After the ride, walk around the tank to Bruce's Shark World for some fun photo ops and shark facts, discover how dolphins communicate, and visit an endangered Florida manatee rehabilitation center. For people with disabilities: Guests in standard wheelchairs can wheel onto an accessible "clamshell" vehicle; those in ECVs must transfer to a standard wheelchair or the ride vehicle. Equipped for audio-description and handheld-captioning devices. Though lines can be long, they move quickly.
This fun, visitor-favorite museum is an homage to transport from years past. Get an up-close look at trolleys from major metropolitan areas worldwide—from Boston to Budapest, New York to Nagasaki, and San Francisco to Sydney—beautifully restored and displayed (and, sometimes, operational). Best of all, you can take a nearly 4-mile ride on the tracks of the former Atlantic Shore Line Railway, with a stop along the way at the museum restoration shop, where trolleys are transformed from worn-out into standout condition. The outdoor museum is self-guided.
The first thing you hear at this small but fun 1930s-era aquarium is the clapping and barking of the dozen-or-so harbor seals just inside the door (which you can feed). Located on the 1½-mile beachfront Promenade, the aquarium has jellyfish, giant king crab, octopus, moray eels, wolf eels, and other sea life swimming in more than 30 tanks. The discovery center draws curious kids and grown-ups alike for its hands-on touch tanks of starfish, anemones, and urchins, as well as for a close-up exploration of the most miniature marine life. No restrooms on-site.
