If you don't have one, you can jump aboard the Water Taxi and get a lift to shopping, restaurants and other attractions. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Ramp parking across the street costs 50 cents an hour. The best the city has to offer families occupies two floors packed with exciting curiosity sparkers. Kids love Virtual Volleyball, the space flight simulator and the nature section with its fascinating aquariums, spiders, snakes and enchanted Florida forest.
Games slyly teach about fitness, health, physics and other scientific phenomena.
Stop in the gift shop for learning tools of the painless variety. Ecofloat environmental boat tours showcase the beaches, barrier islands, mangrove estuaries, sinkholes and other diverse local habitat during the summer. Across the street from the museum, this linear recreational area prettily follows New River and features educational stations like the one that lets you play with marine navigational instruments. Sunday jazz brunches feature top artists. This is a family bonanza with video and virtual reality games, laser tag, a driving range, miniature golf, batting cages and bumper boats.