The beach is nice, but let’s be honest, it’s a hassle whether you’re going alone or schlepping a family. If the goal is to cool off and relax, then the long trip filled with traffic and whining seems ultra pointless since few beaches seem to have any shaded areas on the sand. Then there’s the resulting sun burns. Sounds like a blast.
Several of our city parks have free pools and sprinklers. There are public pools in Colt, Goodwin, Keney, and Pope Park. There’s an indoor pool at Pope Park. Parks having sprinklers are: Colt, Goodwin, Hyland, Keney, Pope North (the part near Park Terrace, Putnam Street, and Russ Street), Kelvin Anderson, South End/Columbus, Lozada, and Sigourney Square. Forster Playground just opened their new water features.
And the best thing? No jellyfish or eelsto worry about.
There is also a swimming pond located at Batterson Park; oddly this is owned by Hartford, but located in New Britain and Farmington.
This Saturday is Big Splash Water Play Day from noon until 4 at the Connecticut Science Center. There are water activities throughout the building:
1. Water Play in KidSpace:
Explore the six different water play exhibits located within KidSpace.a. Build a dam out of LEGOs and try to block or control the water flow
b. Explore the physics of water flow in the 1000 square foot water play area
c. Toss bright colored balls into the giant water vortex and more.
2. Bubble Science: Investigate the science behind how and why bubbles are made in this interactive LIVE science demonstration. When is the last time you discussed bubble density? (located on the Science Center’s Rooftop Garden)
3. Water Rockets: Investigate the best water/air ratio needed to shoot water rockets up into the air. What better way to cool off than allowing the fuel (water) to refresh participants? (located on the 4th floor outdoor terrace)
4. Stream Table: Manipulate and design your own water flow experiment on a 22 foot long river bed. (located in the River of Life Exhibit Gallery)
This is included in the general admission price.
Looking ahead to something that’s watery but not necessarily relaxing or about cooling off, the 13th annual Source to Sea Cleanup is planned for October 3rd. I was actually thinking about trying to get a team together for this, and then I saw today that The Beat Bike Blog beat me to it. They are looking to clean up the same section as last year– down by Charter Oak Landing. Are there any other sections along the Connecticut River in Hartford that you think need a good scouring? Let me know. If there’s enough demand, maybe we can put together a team.
