During the "dog days of summer," it is too hot to play outside and the heat index is only rising in Florida. It's difficult to figure out what to do with young children to keep them stimulated and active without fear of over-heating. Luckily, the Daytona Beach area offers plenty of indoor activities!
 |
Pictured: A family at Bizy Beaver Playground in Port Orange. Parents are allowed to assist all children under ten on any of the indoor playground equipment, which includes this jungle gym as well as a large trampoline.
Bizy Beaver Indoor Playground
Located in the heart of Port Orange, Bizy Beaver is one of our personal favorites for letting off steam while staying cool. They offer an expansive indoor playground with something for all ages! From a trampoline to a play kitchen to a newly curated sensory room, they really do have it all. Add in a coffee bar and massage chairs as a bonus for parents and it is the ultimate combo! Bizy Beaver's large multi-story jungle gym is sure to tire out little ones. They always have members on staff ensuring safety and cleanliness also. In addition to having daily open play, Bizy Beaver also hosts many monthly events and offers monthly play rates and siblings discounts. You really get your money's worth with this indoor playground.
Extra Bonus: They currently have extended summer hours!
Stay up to date on their upcoming events here: https://www.facebook.com/BizyBeaverIndoorPlayground
 |
Local Classes
There are a TON of local classes offered through all of the REC centers, the local libraries and other private businesses. It's the best way to stay cool AND learn something at the same time! Our personal favorite is Miss Jeanine's Music Classes (see above flyer for information on her current offered classes). Miss Jeanine's classes are geared towards babies and toddlers and are interactive, comprehensive and so much fun! Read more here about her classes: https://daytonabeach.macaronikid.com/articles/63c6ce894d41f5575c72a27a/from-the-beatles-to-bubbles-miss-jeanines-music-class-is-a-blast
Other Local Classes:
REC CLASSES: https://www.port-orange.org/553/Youth-Classes
GYMNASTICS: https://seasidetrainingcenter.com/parent-tot-seahorse
LIBRARY PROGRAMS: https://volusialibrary.evanced.info/signup/List?et=3
MICHAELS: https://www.michaels.com/classes (offers children's and adult classes in store locally)
LOWES: https://www.lowes.com/diy-projects-and-ideas/workshops (offers children's and adult classes in store locally)
HOME DEPOT: https://www.homedepot.com/c/kids (offers children's and and adult classes in store locally)
ART CLASSES: https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/daytona-beach/blog/22420/its-hot-art-summer/
https://www.ormondartmuseum.org/classes-programs/kids-programs.html
https://arthaus.org/classes-camps/
https://artrageousfl.com/calendar.html
 |
Local Libraries
All of the Volusia County Libraries offer free classes all month long for both adults and children! Many of them also have a large children's area full of books, computers that contain games, toys and interactive sensory objects. We love attending the free story times and music classes! We also love having a library card and participating in the 1,000 books before kindergarten challenge. One of our favorite local libraries is the Daytona Beach Regional Library (pictured above). They have an indoor and outdoor play area for children and the indoor play area contains a kitchen, a work-bench area, a fish tank and more! They often hold events around the holidays and host the Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia County for free health screenings. Follow the Volusia County Library social media to stay updated on upcoming events: https://www.facebook.com/volusialibrary or find their full catalogue here: https://volusialibrary.org/. All of the various libraries in the area offer many ways to stay entertained while beating the heat!
 |
Museum of Arts and Sciences
The Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona is home to a children's museum, as well as a permanent fossil exhibit, Coca Cola exhibit, train exhibit and many other exhibits that change seasonally! It also offers a planetarium with monthly laser light shows hosting a current exhibit on the James Webb Space Telescope. We love walking through the entire museum as a family and my daughter especially loves playing in the Children's Museum. With everything from a pizza making station to a build your own ball coaster wall (pictured above) to a x-ray and anatomy section, it is a children's section where a busy and curious young mind could spend hours. Every first Tuesday of the month, there is free admission and an included story time from a local library! They also host multiple events monthly. To stay up to date on what's happening at MOAS this month, follow them at: https://www.facebook.com/moasdaytona
 |
Port Orange REC
The newly opened Port Orange REC has a beautiful indoor jungle gym style playground and they offer open play until 8 pm almost every day for only $2! The lower level is perfect for toddlers while the older kids can climb all the way to the ceiling. They also have basketball courts open to the public via sign-up, a gaming room equipped with multiple video game systems, puzzles and games available to be signed out at the front desk and an upper level lounge. Additionally, they offer various classes including Miss Jeanine's Music Classes (as mentioned above), Tippi Toes Dance Classes and more. Find out about all of their classes here :https://www.port-orange.org/553/Youth-Classes and more about the new REC center here : https://www.port-orange.org/884/The-REC. The indoor playground is one of our favorite after dinner activities and we love that they are open later than most indoor entertainment establishments.
 |
JUMP AROUND!
While we have only personally experienced the new Urban Air facility and not the others listed, there are a variety of indoor trampoline parks locally that provide an amazing outlet for kids to run around and burn off steam while still being indoors.
Urban Air: Located in Daytona, Urban Air is a brand new facility with trampolines, obstacle courses, go-kart racing, rock climbing and even laser tag. We were also pleasantly surprised to find an extensive indoor playground there. From toddlers to adults, there is something for everyone there and it provides hours of entertainment. They currently have a summer coupon listed on their website also! More info here.
Sky Zone: While we have yet to visit Sky Zone (we will soon!), they offer "little leapers" sessions as well as fun-themed parties for older kids like "Glow Nights." Located in Daytona, they also have a large indoor trampoline park and obstacle course. https://www.skyzone.com/daytona/events-calendar
Indoor Jumpy Place: Located in Edgewater, Indoor Jumpy Place is a little different than the "jumpy" places listed above. It is filled wall to wall with bounce houses and ball pits, rather than trampolines. They offer a "Preschool Play" in the mornings, open play during the day and "Neon Nights" on specific nights. https://www.indoorjumpyplace.com/
 |
Summer Movie Discounts for Kids:
Nothing beats escaping the heat like reclining in a chair and watching a movie on the big screen as a family. The best part, summer movie tickets are discounted for families locally!
Regal theaters in Port Orange is offering summer movies for kids for only $2, all summer, every Tuesday and Wednesday for "Regal Summer Movie Express." During the first show of the day, enjoy $2 tickets as they bring great family movies back to the BIG screen!" https://www.regmovies.com/static/en/us/promotions/summer-movie-express
The AMC theater in New Smyrna is also offering a "Summer Movie Camp." Get tickets for just $3+tax on Wednesdays and $5+tax on Saturdays. https://www.amctheatres.com/events/summer-movie-camp?rel=summer-movie-camp_event_op_promo
 |
Aquatic Animal Adventures
Want to experience aquatic interaction without bearing the heat of the beach? There's three ways to learn locally while staying cool! We love going to all three of these centers and seeing and learning about the animals.
Marine Science Center: The Marine Science Center, located in Ponce Inlet, contains a large tank of sting rays which visitors can pet and interact with. They also have multiple fish tanks, a bird sanctuary, a turtle rehabilitation center and a hands-on room for children to touch fossils. We have enjoyed their Turtle Tots program, which allows younger children to attend a lesson and create a craft about a specific type of sea life (the theme changes monthly). https://www.marinesciencecenter.com/
Marine Discovery Center: The Marine Discovery Center is located in New Smyrna Beach and offers a few indoor tanks to explore. While most of their hands-on activities are outdoors, their indoor facility and classroom can be explored daily. They also offer a Sea Squirts program for toddlers which includes crafts, games, stories and activities. https://marinediscoverycenter.org/education_camps/
Environmental Discovery Center: The Environmental Discovery Center, located in Ormond Beach, also has fish tanks which contain species native to Florida and trivia all over the walls teaching those who explore it about all different types of sea life. It is designed to be self-guided. They often hold classes at the facility, but it is open to the public. Our favorite part of exploring it was a window containing an elaborate beehive where you could see both inside and outside of the hive and all of the bees working inside of it. https://www.ormondbeach.org/730/Environmental-Discovery-Center
Daytona Aquarium & Rainforest Adventure: We can't wait to be able to add the Daytona Aquarium to this list! "An interactive educational experience featuring animals from both land and sea!" Coming soon! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093420708262
We hope this list allows you to stay cool and support local! It's an extra hot summer this year and with the heat index "feeling like over 100," the safest bet is to stay inside while still having fun!
Happy adventuring, we'll see you there!
-Savannah Kater, Macaroni KID, Daytona Beach
