KEEPING YOUR KIDS BUSY (and off their devices) can feel like a full-time job. Finding fun and educational activities that fit their individual personalities and interests can be even harder. Feel free to crib these ideas from throughout the state.
➤ FOR THE MINI MICHELANGELO
The 20,000-square-foot Electric Playhouse, in Albuquerque, offers infinite immersive fun through interactive art experiences. Watch as the floors and walls respond to motion with changing light displays, then exercise your brains with team games. EXTRA CREDIT: Messes are welcome at Chatter Paint, where families create both art and memories. The Albuquerque full-body craft experience comes with a rainbow of colorful paints, plus all the necessary tools and protective wear.
➤ For the budding daredevil
Explore Santa Fe on four tiny wheels while building skills at Skate School Santa Fe. “If you’re rolling and smiling, you’re doing it right,” says Joe Lehm, event director of Skate School Santa Fe. Little riders with basic skills can refine their turning, slowing, and stopping in a three-day longboarding camp. A five-day skate camp immerses young rippers in riding ramps and skate park obstacles. The cost includes use of a board, helmet, safety gear, and—yes—homework. “They’ll know what to work on when they’re skating other places,” Lehm says. EXTRA CREDIT: With drop-in classes as well as summer camps, Wise Fool New Mexico, in Santa Fe, allows families to clown around with acrobatics, juggling, and trapeze while building skills like trust, negotiation, and self-expression.
➤ For the old soul
Dig deep into the history of New Mexico’s capital city with an interactive scavenger hunt. Over a couple of hours, families walk between points of interest around the Santa Fe Plaza while the Discover Santa Fe app asks a series of questions and hints about where to find the answers. “Santa Fe’s full of history,” says founder Kelly Gossett, who notes the City Different’s connection to Native history, Billy the Kid, famous film locations, the Manhattan Project, and more. EXTRA CREDIT: Los Luceros Historic Site, in Alcalde, offers a junior ranger program that engages kids in a modern-day experience on land that’s been worked and inhabited by people across cultures for thousands of years.
➤ For the future scientist
With more than 4,200 samples on display, the New Mexico Tech Mineral Museum, in Socorro, is the place to inspire your budding rockhound without getting dirty. Among the must-see minerals? Manager and education outreach programmer Cynthia Connolly suggests a piece of blue halite that may be the world’s largest and a labradorite with a blue rainbow effect. “It will just knock your socks off,” she says. Then ask about the youth scavenger hunt and request a booklet for the self-guided geologic tour on Bureau of Land Management property, just outside of town. EXTRA CREDIT: The New Mexico Museum of Space History, in Alamogordo, puts the state’s influence in space exploration on exhibit while letting you get up close to real rockets, try on space suits, and reach for the stars.
➤ For the nature lover
Get to know the bosque at Rio Grande Nature Center State Park to spot some 300 avian residents in the native cottonwood trees along the river. The Visitor Center Discovery Room educates and entertains with puzzles, games, and interactive exhibits for kids. Call to reserve a spot in the park’s summer Nature Discover Classes drop-in program every Saturday. EXTRA CREDIT: In Los Alamos, the Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s indoor and outdoor exhibits and play areas offer hands-on learning experiences anytime, while summer day camps connect kids with others and the natural world.
Read more: Build your summer around these kid-centric festivals and events.