People crowd places like New York City's American Museum of Natural History to give the kids some scientific edu-tainment. But if you're looking to change it up, check out the underrated New York Hall of Science in Queens.
Although its name sounds kinda boring, NYSCI is New York City's only hands-on science and technology center with more than 450 hands-on exhibits that explore biology, chemistry and physics.]]>
As far as New York City tourism goes, we're starting to think this whole outer-boroughs-are-the-new-inner-borough thing might be for real, because even one of Manhattan's stodgiest tourist attractions is getting in on the Brooklyn and Queens love.
Circle Line, the iconic green-white-and-red cruise line that has been shuttling visitors on circumnavigations of Manhattan since 1945, is adding two new ships to their fleet this week: Circle Line Brooklyn and Circle Line Queens. The ships will still take the same route—no full circles of Long Island or anything—but the company is acknowledging that visitors are now just as excited about seeing Brooklyn and Queens from the outdoor deck as they are for the Manhattan skyline.
On Saturday, June 20, Circle Line is welcoming the new ships by throwing a block party on the river. Starting at 10:30am, Circle Line will transform Pier 81 (at West 41st street) into a 1940s-style carnival, complete with jugglers, stilt-walkers, a dunk tank, and—most enticing to us—free cruises to the Statue of Liberty.
When they launch a Circle Line Staten Island, then we'll know Manhattan is really in trouble.
Related Stories:
· Circle Line [Official Site]
· Race You To The Top: Statue of Liberty's Crown Tickets Available Saturday [Jaunted]
· The Simple Pleasures of Life: Pedal Boating in Prospect Park [Jaunted]
[Photo: lemoncat1] ]]>
Home to what must be the world's highest concentration of dark, tiny drinking dens, New York's nightlife scene has never been known for roomy outdoor drinking space. But that could be starting to change: NYC is slowly but surely becoming the biergarten capital of the country, with hip drinkers trading in their martini glasses and secret door passwords for picnic tables, ale-filled boots, and lederhosen (Well, we haven't seen any lederhosen yet – but we can hope!)
For many years, NYC had just one truly great biergarten, the legendary Bohemian Hall in Astoria, Queens. This century-old mega-garden is a long-time hangout for Eastern European ex-pats, although the 20-something set clearly got word about the cheap-cheap Czech beers in recent years and the place has become a bit of a zoo lately.
But that's OK, because imitators eager to suck up that overflow crowd have been popping up all over the five boroughs. We've got the hipster take on beer gardens, Radegast Hall, in Williamsburg, and the hard-party version, Loreley, on the Lower East Side. ]]>