St. Petersburg • Clearwater 2008 - (Page 37) : HANDS-ON FUN There aren’t many “Don’t Touch” signs in Pinellas County’s kid-friendly locations and activity venues. Children’s museums and sea aquariums encourage kids to touch and feel the Florida environment. From squishy jellyfish to prickly sea urchins, kids will have many opportunities to explore the area's greatest attractions. We promise you won’t go home empty-handed. • Great Explorations The Hands-On Children’s Museum, St. Petersburg Launch a tennis ball to the top of the museum, race a car, sail a ship, shop at a mini-grocery store. Exhibitions are completely interactive. • Sea Life Safari Cruises, Clearwater Marine Aquarium - Join a marine biologist for a two-hour interactive cruise. Kids help pull wildlife out of nets and search for shells on a tiny island. • The Pier Aquarium, St. Petersburg Don’t be fooled by its small size. This place is GIANT to someone three feet tall. Kids get to hold sea creatures while learning science facts. See more of this story in a slideshow on www.FloridasBeach.com. 2 p.m. I love to check out the latest beach fashions at Mandalay Surf and Sport. For 30 years, locals have come to this retail store to get outfitted for surfing and skimboarding. If you’ve never seen skimboarders in action, they use foamcore boards to cut out in the water or perform tricks along the shore. A 24-hour hotline (727-442-3227) reports whether the surf’s up – or not. While the area does not immediately come to mind when you think of board sports, surf instructor Garrett Bradley, who works at Mandalay, tells me I’d be surprised at the size of the waves here on the West Coast. For novices, Mandalay offers private or semi-private surfing lessons at $25 an hour (two-hour minimum) that can be booked a day ahead. The shop houses its major sale items (up to 75 percent off) in a storefront just behind this main location for non-surfing bargain-hunters like me, who appreciate fashion more than function. Sunken Gardens: it's a jungle in there. www. F loridas Beach. com 37 http://www.FloridasBeach.com http://www.FloridasBeach.com
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