Children's Activities: Arts & Sciences
Community Children's Theater
www.cvillecct.org
info@CvilleCCT.org
961-7862
This local volunteer organization arranges for performances by professional touring companies and one local production each season. Performances are on Sundays at the Charlottesville Performing Arts Center on Grove Road next to Charlottesville High School. Season tickets (4 shows) are available for $30 (plus $1 for shipping and handling) or $10-$12 for individual performances (depending on show) by writing or calling the Charlottesville Community Children's Theater. E-mail info@CvilleCCT.org for more information.
Curry (UVA
Education School) Summer Enrichment Program and Saturday
Enrichment Program
Programs are offered in Charlottesville, Orange County, and Fauquier County. Dates and time vary. Check Web site or call for more information.
Web site
405 Emmet St. So.
(434) 924-3182
curry-sep@virginia.edu
The Summer Enrichment
Program is designed
for gifted and talented
students. Students who are currently enrolled in grades 4-10
may apply to attend a two-week session, where
the curriculum emphasizes extending a student's
capabilities in problem-solving, creativity, and critical
examination and evaluation of content rich fields of study.
Areas that are new or of special interest to students are
investigated through hands-on simulations, demonstrations,
lectures, discussion and/or individual or small-group investigations.
The 9th-11th grade program also emphasizes the acquisition
and practice of research skills within advanced topic areas.
The Saturday
Enrichment Program is a program
for gifted and/or high-ability students in kindergarten
through grade 5. Activities in the program are designed to: expose
students to new interest areas, provide
interaction with students with similar interests and abilities,
enhance interest in learning by providing stimulating and
challenging activities, encourage creative/productive
thinking and expression, and foster
skills for independent learning.
Child Development Laboratories at the University of Virginia
www.virginia.edu/psychology/childdevelopmentlabs
234-5234
Exploring how children develop! Our research at the Child Development Labs at the University of Virginia helps create better learning environments for children. We are looking for children from birth to 7 years of age to participate in fun, quick studies. Your child might read a story or play a game, and you can be with your child at all times. Please visit our website or give us a call for more information.
McGuffey Arts Center
www.mcguffeyartcenter.com
295-7973
201 2nd Street, NW
mcguffey@mcguffeyartcenter.com
Classes for children vary each season, depending on which resident artists are teaching, but may include painting, calligraphy, bookmaking, Chinese art, stained-glass mosaics, modern dance, and African dance. Call or look online for the seasonal schedule. Adult classes too! For more information you can also email them at mcguffey@mcguffeyartcenter.com.
Virginia Discovery Museum
www.vadm.org
977-1025
Downtown Mall, east end, 524 E. Main St.
Tue-Sat 10 am - 5 pm, Sun 1 pm - 5 pm
This museum specializes in hands-on activities and exhibits related to history, culture, nature and science. Great for rainy afternoons, especially for kids up to age 10. Toddler Time offers directed activities for toddlers on Wednesdays at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm. Annual family membership $60 or $40 per person. Admission is $4 (free for children under 1). Two hours free parking in many downtown garages with museum validation.
Michaels
Web site
1035 Emmet Street North, Barracks Rd. Shopping Center
(434) 971-1072
Michaels offers many craft classes that both kids and their parents would enjoy, ranging from beading to card making. Call for details or check out their class and events Web site.
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Children's Activities: Story Time
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
Web site
979-7151
201 East Market St. (Central Library)
Children's
Programs
The library offers a variety of programs including preschoolers' story time every Thursday at 11:30 am for 3- to 5-year-olds. Toddler's story time is every Thursday at 10:00 am for 2-year-olds. Mother Goose Time is a program of short stories, rhymes, and songs for children aged 6-24 months with a caregiver on Mondays—at 10 am for pre-walkers and at 11 am for walkers. Other programs are available. See Web site for more details.
Gordon Avenue Library
Web site
296-5544
1500 Gordon Ave., off Rugby Rd.
Children's
Programs
This branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional
Library offers drop-in story time on Saturdays at 11 am, Monday
Movies at 4 pm, and a different Wednesday program every week
at 4 pm for children of any age. Registration is required
for story times for toddlers (2- and 3-year-olds) on Tuesdays
at 10:30 pm and for pre-schoolers (3- to 5-year-olds) on Thursdays
at 10:30 am. The Annual Book Sale in March or April has special
days for children's books. Call for details. Summer reading
program for children of all ages.
Northside Library
Web site
973-7893
Albemarle Square Shopping Center
Children's
Programs
On Wednesday and Thursday mornings this branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library offers preschool story time for 3- to 5-year-olds and "Twos and Threes Together," a 30-minute program of stories, songs and finger plays for 2- to 3-year-olds with a caregiver. Call or go to the web site for exact times. Registration is required. An after-school program offers activities for kindergarten and up two Thursdays a month at 4 pm. Family Fun follows a different theme each month, with crafts, stories, and songs for the whole family one Saturday a month at 10:30 am. Registration is required for all programs. (This is a busy branch!) Check the Web site for more fun programs.
Barnes & Noble Bookstore
www.barnesandnoble.com
984-0461
Barracks Road Shopping Center
Barnes & Noble Bookstore has a children's
story hour on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 am for preschoolers.
Elementary-age children may participate in a Young Readers
Book Club. The bookstore also offers special children's events
on some Saturdays.
Finn & Thatcher Children's Emporium
293.3004
4405 Ivy Commons (Rt 250 West, next to Duners.)
www.finnandthatcher.com
Finn & Thatcher has children's story time on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., free. They also offer crafts on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. for a small fee.
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Children's Activities: Sports & Recreation
Albemarle County Parks & Recreation
www.albemarle.org
296-5844
County Office Building, Room 323, 401 McIntire Rd.
Offers classes in ice skating, roller skating,
and karate, among other activities. Also offers dance, yoga,
aerobics, and bee keeping for adults. Summer swim and playground
programs. Call for a schedule, watch for information in the
Daily
Progress, or see the web
site.
Charlottesville Swimming Pools
All hours vary by season. Please call for specific recreational times.
Crow Pool (indoor)
977-1362
1700 Rose Hill Drive
Smith Pool (indoor)
977-1960
1000 Cherry Ave
Washington Park Pool (outdoor)
970-3589
1001 Preston Ave
UVA Aquatic and Fitness Center (indoor)
Web site
450 Whitehead Rd.
924-3791
University of Virginia students can enjoy the Aquatic and Fitness Center, which features an Olympic-sized pool and children’s pool, for free. Membership is only $80 per semester for the spouse of a student, $40 per year for the first child of a student, and $20 for each additional child.
Carter's Mountain Apple Orchard
www.cartermountainorchard.com
977-1833
Rt. 20 South to Rt. 53 East and follow signs (15-minute drive)
1435 Carters Mountain Trail
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Beautiful views while you pick your own fruit. Fruit picking July through October, 9 am - 6 pm daily and 9 am – 5 pm in November. It is also open through mid-December (weather permitting) on the weekends from 9 am - 5 pm. Apple Harvest Festival first two weekends of October. Free hay rides, picnic areas. Pre-picked fruit, pumpkins, cider, apple fritters for sale.
City of Charlottesville
Department of Recreation & Leisure Services &
Parks and Grounds Division
Parks & Grounds Division
970-3589
P.O. Box 911
Charlottesville, VA 22902
A broad range of classes and competitive
sports are available for children ages 6 months and up on
a seasonal basis. Activities vary by age and include art,
dance, music, basketball, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, and
much more. Call for a brochure or watch the Daily
Progress for information.
The Little Gym
www.thelittlegym.com
975-KIDS
907 Gardens Blvd. (Garden Shopping Center)
The Little Gym is an exercise and development center for children aged 4 months to 12 years, offering instruction in gymnastics, karate, and sports skills. Has a mobile after-school program at various public schools, private schools, and YMCA. Parent Survival Nights—drop your kids off for a night off—on select Friday and/or Saturday evenings.
YMCA
www.piedmontymca.org
974-9622
442 Westfield Road
YMCA members, nonmembers, and their children
have access to a variety of educational classes, little league
sports teams, and other leisure activities. The "Y"
runs a summer day camp for children age 5-14, as well as several
sports camps. Weekly rates. Also offers day care (full- and
part-time) for children ages 2 - 5. Daily and weekly rates.
No pool.
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There are many things to do and places for
children and families to visit in the Charlottesville-Albemarle region.
Check C-Ville Weekly's "Family Planning" section
of its "C-List" and a similar section in the Charlottesville
Observer for children's and family events. This list includes
only some of the many offerings. For more, check out the Things
to Do section, or the Clubs
and Organizations by Sport page, which offers valuable information
on swimming pool locations, skiiing, snow tubing, canoeing, and more.
The Call of the Wild
For kids who enjoy the great outdoors (and what kid doesn't?), see
the Parks
and Lakes page for ideas on day hikes and cool places
to see wildlife. If your children are elementary-school age or older
and good walkers, you might want to check out the Hiking page
for longer treks. For detailed information on local playgrounds, see
one of the Web sites listed in Resources.
Dogwood Festival and Parade
The Annual
Dogwood Festival is held every April during the peak of the Dogwood blossoms and features a carnival and fireworks show at McIntire Park and concludes with the Grand Feature Parade in Downtown Charlottesville. Participants include veterans, schools, organizations, local businesses and politicians from the city and surrounding counties.
Virginia Law Families Tips:
Jefferson-Madison regional libraries are great places
to entertain kids at no cost, featuring kid-friendly areas and very
helpful staff.
The Central Library has an excellent collection
of children's books in a large kids' room just to the left of the
main entrance. Board books for very young children are in baskets
at the extreme front left corner of the building, in a carpeted area
where kids can freely crawl or climb around on two large tiers. The
children's room also has several computers that can be used either
for child-friendly software installed on them or to access the Internet
(filter programs are installed). The Central library also has a good
selection of children's videos available for free loan, but these
are not obvious—go
straight in from the main entrance passing the circulation desk on
your left. The kids' videos are in an alcove near the restrooms. (Video
loans are for a shorter period than books and fines are considerably
higher— return them on time!) The only issue with the Central
Library is the lack of a parking lot (have to hunt for limited on-street
parking in the vicinity).
The Northside Library (conveniently located in Albemarle
Square shopping center between ACAC and Plan 9 Music) has lots of free
parking, and a large kids' area in the rear right corner of the library
with almost as many books as Central. It does lack the sizable video
collection, however.
Books and videos can conveniently be returned to ANY
branch. A hold can be placed on a book from any branch in the computer
card catalog; it will automatically be delivered to the branch that
issued your library card and you'll get a mailed notice when it arrives.
The Downtown Mall
The Downtown Mall is a great way to spend time with your kids. There are shops, great places to eat for lunch and dinner, ice cream, movie theaters, concerts, and much more. More
Charlottesville Pavilion
A great place to view live music on the Downtown Mall area. Not only does it host concerts, it also hosts many events such as food festivals, movie screenings, craft fairs, and a number of city events. There are concerts every Friday after five during the summer months. Local bands play music ranging from rock and blues to salsa and reggae. It is also FREE!
John Paul Jones Arena
UVA’s new basketball arena features many kid-friendly events such as circuses, musical concerts, and plays. For upcoming events, see their Web site.
Albemarle County Fair
Located in North Gardens (look for signs for the fair
on Rt. 29 South) just about 10 miles (and 10 minutes) south of the
city. It won't particularly impress adults, but it's very kid friendly
with animal exhibits and shows, local music, displays of things that
interest kids, etc. and some rides. More info is available at www.albemarlecountyfair.com.
Other Fairs and Festivals
Check out Albemarle
Family for listings of fairs in surrounding counties, fall apple
festivals, etc. Adults who've spent any time in larger cities will
find most of these rather underwhelming, but younger kids will think
them worthwhile, and many are free. (Remember to buy only pasteurized
cider for small children!)
Martha Jefferson Special Events
The Martha Jefferson hospital sponsors community events. Visit their Web site for more information.
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