All Over The Map Destinations, JOurneys, and Diversions
Philadelphia
Just For Kids
by JoAnn Greco
Please Touch Museum reopens this month at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. Now a National Historic Landmark, the building was constructed in 1876 as part of America’s Centennial Exposition, the first world’s fair held in the U.S. Its meticulously restored spaces now host classic children’s museum exhibits, including a real city bus where little ones can jump into the driver’s seat and a kid-size supermarket where they can practice shopping.
With triple the space of its old location, the museum has added new exhibits. One teaches kids about inventions like the telephone and the typewriter, both of which were introduced at the exposition. There’s also a 20-by-30-foot model from 1889 of the entire exposition site, and a refurbished 1924 Philadelphia-style carousel, which features larger and more realistic animals than other carousels. No kid can resist a whirl on one of the 52 hand-carved ponies and other animals prancing amid beveled mirrors and twinkling lights.
Learn more at pleasetouchmuseum.org.
There’s more great entertainment for kids. Check out these spots:
• Philly’s newest children’s attraction is found in Fairmount Park alongside its oldest. The Smith Memorial Playground & Playhouse opened in 1899, and its 24,000-square-foot, toy-filled mansion and 44-foot Giant Slide have become icons.
smithplayhouse.org
• Also in Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Zoo — America’s first zoo, established in 1874 — boasts world-class primate and big-cat habitats. The younger members of the family may prefer the Children’s Zoo, where they can get up close and personal with sheep, goats, rabbits, and bugs, and the tethered but thrilling Zooballoon, a giant helium balloon that carries passengers 400 feet into the air.
philadelphiazoo.org
• Back for its second season, a rejuvenated Franklin Square offers another carousel and playground. But its charming miniature golf course, with replicas of Independence Hall and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, is what really excites the kids.
historicphiladelphia.org/franklin-square
Map by Steven Stankiewicz
By the Numbers
by JoAnn Greco
Those addictive little games that make up one of the most popular pages in this magazine are also the focus of the largest live puzzle tournament in the U.S. — the Philadelphia Inquirer Sudoku National Championship, held on the 25th of this month at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Last year’s event attracted more than 800 competitors, who ranged in age from 6 to 87. The winner, Thomas Snyder, received a $10,000 prize and a crack at the World Sudoku Championship (which he also won). Puzzlemaster and host Will Shortz promises “more attendees, more puzzles, and more prizes” at this year’s tournament.
A relatively new but incredibly addictive presence on the puzzle scene, Sudoku is a “game of pure logic, in which you don’t need to know anything,” according to Shortz. That’s not to say that these brainteasers are easy. “Sudoku gives the solver a feeling of empowerment and tremendous satisfaction upon fi nishing,” says Shortz. “It’s here forever, just like the crossword.”
For info or to register, visit philly.com/sudoku.
