5 L o cal Places to Take the Kids

BY HEATHER BAVER

Get your kids excited about learning. Berks County has a wealth of family-friendly places where you can explore science, nature, art and history. These opportunities are a great way to encourage children to find topics that interest them. Have fun visiting these amazing locations right here in our own backyard.

Creative Camps.

Foster your child’s creativity by signing them up for summer camps at the GoggleWorks. Available for ages 6-17, kids can delight in art forms like glassblowing, virtual reality and painting while they make new friends. Learn from artists, play icebreakers and engage in messy, expressive fun by making art together.

GoogleWorks

Summer Camps, Half-day Camps: $175

Full-day Camps: $325-$350 GoogleWorks Center for the Arts

201 Washington St. Reading | 610.374.4600 goggleworks.org/ summer-camps

Engineered Excitement.

Discover nature’s skill as a master engineer at Robot Zoo. Reading Public Museum’s fascinating exhibit transforms creatures like a rhinoceros and giant squid into moving, robotic machines. Pistons, pipes and computers simulate anatomy and actions of their real-life counterparts to demonstrate animal behaviors and movements in an interactive robotic zoo.

Robert Zoo, May 27-Sept. 4

Reading Public Museum 500 Museum Rd. Reading | 610.371.5850 readingpublicmuseum.org

Transportation Through Time.

Dive into the history of Pennsylvania-made vehicles. Free for kids under age 15, the Boyertown Museum’s collection features cars, trucks, motorcycles, horse-drawn wagons and walk-in exhibits like Fegley’s Reading Diner. Children can experience live blacksmithing, ride a penny-farthing bicycle and explore a vehicle built by a 13-year-old more than 100 years ago.

Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, 85 S. Walnut St. Boyertown | 610.367.2090 boyertownmuseum.org

Natural Enthusiasm.

Explore nature as a family and catch the finale of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s spring hawk migration (through May 15). Get your kids involved in a variety of hands-on activities and outdoor adventures all year long with summer camps and youth workshops. They’ll experience the wonders of nature and exciting animal encounters.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary 1700 Hawk Mountain Rd. Kempton | 610.756.6961 hawkmountain.org/events

Scientific Discoveries.

Encourage your children’s love of STEM at the Reading Science Center. Learn together as a family when you explore 45+ exhibits at this hands-on, interactive museum — including a replica Saturn V spaceship. Visit on a Saturday to participate in a bonus experiment with the center’s Curious in the Classroom program.

Reading Science Center, 645 Penn St. Reading | 484.878.2112 readingsciencecenter.org (parking validated at DoubleTree parking garage)

Historic Vehicles or Reading Science Center, or 4 trail passes to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Good luck!