Things to do with kids... (St. Louis, Kirkwood: to rent, house, neighborhood)

[montereymadi2]

Hi. We just recently moved to the area and we have a two year old son. We currently live in the Southampton area of the city. I'm hoping this thread might show us, and others, some fun things to do with kids in the city and neighboring towns. We know the big things, like the free zoo, Grant's Farm and the Kirkwood Children's museum. What are other things that are fun to do? Any good places to see some trains (our son LOVES trains). Thanks!!

[WalnutPark829]

if your son loves trains he will absolutely love the Ferguson Whistle Stop. Its an ice cream/sandwhich place in Historic Ferguson in what used to be the Train depot. Also check out Kirkwood if your son loves trains.

Recipes - Sauce Segments | KMOV.com | St. Louis, MO

Ferguson, MO - Official Website - City History

[aragx6]

If he loves trains you'll have to take him to the Transportation Museum: Transport Museum Association

Also: The city museum is one of the cooler places on Earth!: CITY MUSEUM- Home
Six Flags (opens in April): Six Flags
The Science Center: Saint Louis Science Center
Turtle park: Turtle Playground

And he might be a little young, but I've always loved, and you probably will too Laumeier Sculpture Park: Laumeier Sculpture Park
The Botanical Gardens (You'll hear St. Louisians call it Shaw Gardens): Missouri Botanical Garden
and The Butterfly House: MBG: The Butterfly House - Home

[st. louie louie]

Travel north on Jamieson towards Arsenal. Just after the 44 entrance/exit ramp make a left turn towards the railroad tracks. Lots of train activity. Of course it is private property so be cool.

[montereymadi2]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I took my son to the Transportation Museum today. Wow! There were so many real, old trains outside. He was in heaven. I plan to check out all of the suggestions. Thanks again!

[Nicky6093]

If your son loves trains, you should take him to the Whittle Shortline RR. It is located in Fenton near 141 and Marshall. It's got one huge train table and three other good size tables with so many trains and tracks you couldn't imagine. It is really a store that sells trains they make themselves and of course all things Thomas. If you go to just play with the train tables, they only ask for a donation. Most kids there average age 2-4 so its perfect. I hope he enjoys.

[anr_black]

Welcome to the neighborhood! We have two small kids ourselves, so let me thing of some free or cheap stuff nearby:
*Francis Park playground (take Nottingham west across Hampton)
*Tilles Park playground (Hampton @ Fyler) Both of these have separate equipment for the preschool set.
*Carondelet Park playground, which also has a couple fishing ponds.
*Tower Grove Park has a newer playground and a fun wading pool in the summer months (Kingshighway @ Arsenal).

The Buder Branch of the public library is on Hampton, next to Target. The children's area is the top floor, and has toys and places to sit and read, plus views of busy Hampton that kept my 2 yr. old entertained when we first moved here.

Take a walk to Macklind Ave. Deli (Macklind @ Nottingham) for ice cream or rootbeer floats.

You can enroll him in a swimming or gymnastics class at South City YMCA (Sublette @ Arsenal). My kids take swim lessons there and the instructors are really patient with the kids.

Our kids love going to the Chase Park Plaza for movies, as it's a much smaller and calmer place than the mall mega-plexes in the county. North on Kingshighway across from Forest Park.
If you google it, there's a group called Front Yard Features that shows free outdoor movies in parks all over the city in the summer and fall. The movies at Tower Grove and Lindenwood Parks are usually kid-friendly (and you can enjoy a bottle of wine while the kiddo runs around :-)

The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park does free storytelling days and activities (like dance, puppets, musical instruments) for kids...they have the calendar on their website.

It's also fun to rent a paddleboat on the lake in Forest Park in the summer, or spread out to fly a kite, or ice skate at Steinburg Rink in the winter.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra gives free concerts in the Piper Palm House at Tower Grove Park on Tuesdays, kids included. COCA is a fantastic arts school that offers early chidlhood art/music/dance classes and summer programs. It's also near Tower Grove Park.

If you're into biking, or jogging with the stroller, the Grant's trail runs through south county. The best place to hop on is at the beginning with free parking at Orlando's, off I-55. If you make it to the end of the trail, there's also a small playground.

FYI: Hope Lutheran Church (Neosho at Brannon) and Union United Methodist Church (on Watson) both have good preschools, starting at 3. And if you hop on the neighborhood listserve on Yahoo, there's a neighborhood mom's group that meets on Wednesdays.

[ZGare]

Originally Posted by montereymadi2

Hi. We just recently moved to the area and we have a two year old son. We currently live in the Southampton area of the city. I'm hoping this thread might show us, and others, some fun things to do with kids in the city and neighboring towns. We know the big things, like the free zoo, Grant's Farm and the Kirkwood Children's museum. What are other things that are fun to do? Any good places to see some trains (our son LOVES trains). Thanks!!

Go to the Custard station next to the train station in downtown Kirkwood in the summer. They have great custard ice cream, and a train goes by on average every 9 minutes in the summer. You have a better than 50 50 chance of seeing a train go by every trip. Wave to the engineer.