As days turn cooler our minds are drifting towards fall outings with the kids. Let face it, we live in an area where you can’t swing a dead polecat and hit some interesting place to explore (and who was the first person to pick up and swing a dead polecat to decide the quantity of things?)
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Staten Island is just one of those gems and a short drive from Baristaville.
In 1801 Sailors’ Snug Harbor’s original three buildings were created as a “haven for aged, decrepit and worn out sailors.” Over the next century, Snug Harbor expanded to 50 structures and 900 residents from every corner of the world. By the turn of the 20th century, Snug Harbor was the richest charitable institution in the United States and a self-sustaining community composed of a working farm, dairy, bakery, chapel, sanatorium, hospital, music hall and cemetery. How cool is that?
Some of the things my kids enjoyed were the Chinese Scholar’s Garden, The Tuscan Garden where they hold plays, puppetry, storytelling and programs dealing with Italian culture, The Staten Island Children’s Museum, and just walking around and exploring. Click here to see their fall schedule of events.
March 14, 2011–November 6, 2011
Tuesday–Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Click here for admission for the different exhibits and a map of the grounds. Some of the things are free for children under 5 and others are free to children under 12. Most exhibits do not charge more than $5 for adults.
One our favorites! My cousin lives in Brooklyn and it is the perfect meet up point for us to meet and play with our kids.
Used to go there when the kiddies were little — from Queens.