more ways to play outside

3 NEW WAYS TO PLAY OUTSIDE

These Southwest Florida attractions have new outdoor activities that beckon families to have fun. | STORY AND PHOTOS BY RANDY KAMBIC

outhwest Florida teems with outdoor settings — parks, nature trails, natural preserves, beaches —affording parents many ways to experience fun activities with their children while following current health guidelines. Three area institutions recently installed new, outdoor, family, informative and entertaining attractions to add to our options.

THE WATER WALL

1The Caloosahatchee Water Wall by acclaimed artist Michael Singer in the 10acre ArtsPark section of the Alliance for the Arts, in Fort Myers, provides a spectacular work of art to admire and an outdoor “classroom” that can inform and inspire onlookers of all ages to take their own positive actions in preserving water quality.

Installed over summer, three towering blue- and silver-colored connected sections imaginatively depict the Caloosahatchee River. It facilitates functional environmental restoration as it sweeps up water from the adjacent pond and filters it before allowing it to trickle back down to the bottom. The system serves plants and soil at the base of the dazzling structure before the water eventually makes its way to the river.

“My hope is the Caloosahatchee

Water Wall becomes a distinguishing work of art for the Alliance while also providing the larger community with an understanding of the interconnections between the very special natural water systems of the Caloosahatchee River as well as our responsibility to take on damaging environmental human impacts,” says Michael, who has studios in Delray Beach and Vermont and has earned numerous awards plus fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. The ArtsPark, which is free and open to the public to visit and explore, is one of many upgrades undertaken by the Alliance in the last couple of years, including new sidewalks and pathways, enhanced landscaping, LED lighting and painting of the main building, which houses many art gallery shows, classes — many currently being offered online due to the pandemic crisis — and special events. “The wall mirrors what we have been doing on the inside — using the arts to begin, amplify and continue conversations that explain complex issues in easy-to-understand ways,” says Executive Director Lydia Black. Location: 10091 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers • Details: 239-939-2787 or artinlee.org

FOSSIL HUNT

2Along with its many indoor exhibits, displays, a 3D theater and virtual reality experience, the IMAG History & Science Center, in Fort Myers, is also well known for using its outdoor grounds to afford additional interactive learning and entertaining experiences for the entire family. A Caloosahatchee Fossil Hunt exhibit opened in mid-March; it had been in the works well before the pandemic hit.

Visitors can purchase bags that contain soil and sediment unearthed from midden waste piles and shell heaps that naturally contain amber, fish vertebrae, shark teeth, coral, fossilized limestone and archaeological remains. In their quest for fossils, guests can empty their bag into a sluice tray, outfitted with a screened bottom, and place part of it into a long, narrow, trough-like channel with continually flowing water from a connected water tower. The process washes away soil and other loose sediment and reveals various fossil treasures. While showcasing the ancient relics and eliciting calls of “Eureka!” from youngsters, the activity informs about our area’s geology, biology, archaeology and natural history, aided by an informative fossil chart. “It’s like panning for gold,” says Richard Smith, a marketing executive with IMAG. “Besides being fun and exciting,” adds Shelby Baucom, IMAG’s deputy director, “the Caloosahatchee Fossil Hunt is educational in that it introduces children of all ages to discovering our past.”

It complements other outdoor exhibits that include Backyard Nature, a walking path surrounded by native Florida plants; the Lake Okeechobee Caloosahatchee River Experience, which features a two-section aquarium of native and non-native fish, a display that demonstrates the operation of the river’s locks and a table for guests to build and launch their own tiny wooden boats; the Fisheye Lagoon, home to many varieties of birds, fish and turtles (along with tortoises on an adjacent patch of land) amidst the peaceful scenery; and Aquaponics, which displays the harmony of combining fish and conventional plant farming. The museum is open on a modified schedule and upholds health and safety guidelines. Location: 2000 Cranford Ave., Fort Myers • Details: 239-243-0043 or theimag.org.

3Besides its many interactive and informational indoor for sure, but with the addition of our oversized board, it becomes fun for the BIG GAME OF CHESS exhibits, displays and activities, entire family,” says Beth Housewert, the Golisano Children’s director of play and learning at the

Museum of Naples’ outdoor area, called museum. “We love seeing even our the Johnsonville Backyardville, was youngest visitors playing and learning expanded last year with the installation with our chess set. What may begin as a of a 9-square-foot, plastic-based gross motor practice of lifting our large chessboard. pieces (that are as big as some of our

Along with gaining an understanding of the game, the large-scale play format allows participants to enhance their eyehand coordination in maneuvering the youngest visitors) over time will turn into a contemplative game filled with skill building including patience, strategy, competitiveness and fun.” up-to-2-foot-high, lightweight, plastic Backyardville features many other chess pieces and their social skills. activities including a hedge maze

“Chess is a complex and strategic STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activity labyrinth (that “builds curiosity and practices problem solving by traveling through it,” according to Beth) that features a surprise at its center, a water play area, an amphitheater for children to do either staged or impromptu “performances,” a chalkboard amidst an Art Abounding space, a rolling hill, a playground, climbing apparatus and more. Items at some of the recreational stations are swapped out and sanitized daily. In normal times, group events are organized on some of the pieces, but these have been curtailed due to the coronavirus crisis, and parents have been carefully letting their children use the areas more on an individual basis. Location: 15080 Livingston Road, Naples • Details: 239-514-0084 or cmon.org