Kiddie Culture - Los Angeles Style

September 30, 7:43 PMPhiladelphia Travel ExaminerErin Haley

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Famed Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier

There are the staple Los Angeles watering holes when visiting with the tykes – Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, to just name a few. But apart from these overly advertised adventurelands, there are a plethora of sweet spots that offer nature, culture and education, without the tedious lines and prices that make wallets, (and sanity), do a double take.

Santa Monica Pier

Open 365 days a year, the Santa Monica Pier offers an old-fashioned, candy-colored playground that channels the heyday of Coney Island. Opened in 1909, it managed to survive while other amusement park piers buckled under the popularity of Disneyland. Gearing up to celebrate its anniversary in January 2009, the pier hardly shows its age, especially with the sugary perfume of cotton candy and funnel cake wafting through the air, cajoling visitors to sample the sweets. Necessary ‘to-dos’ include riding the Ferris wheel that becomes a pinwheel of electric blue and magenta light come nightfall, taking a spin on the vintage 1922 carousal while the calliope plays, and standing on the pier to watch the sun go down over the Pacific Ocean. (www.santamonicapier.org)

Lucky Strikes Lane

Take a retro recess by swinging by the bowling alley that sits at the apex of Hollywood and Highland. This hipster hangout will make any child, pre-teen and, (yes), even teen, feel as if they’re experiencing the hot Hollywood life. With glowing fluorescent lights shooting through the ceiling like blue electricity, video-art installations, a posh sitting area and a kid-approved menu that includes chicken tenders and old-fashioned sundaes, they’ll be oblivious to the familial bonding that’s going on while bowling. (www.bowlluckystrike.com)

Helen and Peter Bing Children’s Garden

At first glance, the garden has a whimsical, Alice-In-Wonderland type of vibe. However, upon closer inspection, this garden – developed solely with children in mind – subtly educates while entertaining. To pique children’s scientific curiosity, the garden features sections dedicated to the four ancient elements. For fire, there is a Prism Tunnel where children crawl through whorls of fragmented light and color; for water, there is the Sonic Pool where vibrations create waves, illustrating the cause and effect when water shifts, for earth there is the Self-Centered Globe that shows how the sun is beaming down on the earth, and, for air, there is the Fog Grotto. Standing amid its swirls and capricious currents, children experience metrological changes thanks to the 100 high-pressure nozzles. (www.huntington.org/Information/ChildrensGarden.htm)