Kids Korner

Visit Miami and Fort Lauderdale! Beaches Miami Seaquarium Discovery and Science Museum Got your shades? Where's the snorkel and boogie board? You'll need them all – and of course your swimsuit, too – when you head to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Boy, are you lucky! There are miles of beaches, gigantic hotel pools, cool restaurants, and so many people speaking Spanish you can practice what you've been learning in school. If that isn't enough, you can go talk to parrots or monkeys or get face to face with a manatee, roller blade, or shop till you drop – or as long as your Mom lets you, anyway. Just don't forget your sunscreen!

Did You Know?

• Florida Bay is the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles live together. That's because of the combination of fresh, salt, and brackish waters. You might be able to see them in Everglades National Park. Look for manatees, sea turtles, and hundreds of kinds of birds. Thunder over a river of grass on an airboat when you visit Everglades Alligator Farm (www.everglades.com)! See www.nps.gov/ever for national park information.

• 95 percent of Biscayne National Park is under water. Got your snorkel? That's the best way to explore the coral reefs, but there are also glass-bottom boats. There are manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, eels, stingrays, squid, starfish, and more. See www.nps.gov/bisc for more information.

• More than 30 ships and other structures have been sunk over the past 20 years off of Miami's Coast. Many divers like to explore the wrecks. There are two U.S. Army tanks and a Boeing 727 jet along with the ships under water. Check out www.miamiwreckdiving.com.

• Miami-Dade County has more than 15 miles of beaches. Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale is located, has 23 miles of beach. There's so much water around Fort Lauderdale – 300 miles of inland waterways – that a lot of people like to take water taxis back and forth from their hotels. You can get an all day pass for $5. Check out www.watertaxi.com.

• Fort Lauderdale is the spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles. The Florida Marlins play at Dolphins Stadium (www.orioles.com or www.floridamarlins.com). There's also the NBA Miami Heat (www.miamiheat.com), NHL Panthers (www.panthers.com ), and NFL Miami Dolphins (www.miamidolphins.com).

• The original King of Bling is going to be in Fort Lauderdale. We're talking about Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, with many rare things discovered during the excavation of the boy king's tomb. All of the treasures in the exhibit are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old and include his crown. The exhibition debuts December 15, 2005, and will remain through next spring. See www.moafl.org or www.kingtut.org for more information.

• Hispanics make up 57 percent of the population in Miami-Dade County. In many neighborhoods, you're as apt to hear Spanish as English! But people speak 23 different languages here. Many who came from Cuba settled in an area of Miami called Little Havana.

• Locals call South Beach's rollerblade police squad THE NEW MANGO GANG. There are so many rollerbladers in South Beach that there's an ATM especially for them – the first one in the country.

• Manatees can grow to be up to 3,600 pounds. They weigh 60 pounds when they're born. No wonder they spend most of their time eating – six to eight hours a day! You can see manatees that have been injured and rescued at the Miami Seaquarium, along with dolphins, Lolita the killer whale, crocodiles, and all kinds of fish. There's also a new two-level pirate ship playground for kids complete with water blasters and slide. See www.miamiseaquarium.com for more information.

• There's a pool in Miami made from an old coral-rock quarry. It's fed 820,000 gallons of spring water every day! If you get tired of the beach or the hotel pool, try Coral Gables' Venetian Pool. It stays cool even in summer and even has waterfalls and grottos to play in. See www.venetianpool.com for more information.

• There are plenty of other animals besides sea creatures living in Miami. Some 400 primates mostly run free at Monkey Jungle. It's a protected habitat. With 30 different species including gibbons, guenons, spider monkeys, and colobus. Visit www.monkeyjungle.com. See parrots perform at Parrot Jungle Island (www.parrotjungle.com). Visit 1,300 different animals at the cageless Miami Metrozoo. Visit www.miamimetrozoo.com for more information.

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Miami and Fort Lauderdale . . .

Meet: (From left to right) Bobby Pysher (age 7) Nikie Pysher (age 3), and Jonathan Pysher (age 9). They are the children of Ozana Pysher, who is a Customer Service Agent for Southwest Airlines in Fort Lauderdale. Where to Go: Fort Lauderdale is situated on the southeast coast of Florida, centrally located between Miami and Palm Beach. World-famous Fort Lauderdale Beach offers premier opportunities for recreation, relaxation, and enjoyment. The picturesque Riverwalk serves as the cornerstone of the City's arts, science, cultural, and historic district and features the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Discovery and Science, the Museum of Art, and Old Fort Lauderdale Village and Museum. Las Olas Boulevard has gained international acclaim as Fort Lauderdale's centerpiece of fashion, fine dining, and entertainment (your parents will LOVE it!). Best Facts to Share with Your Parents: Encompassing more than 33 square miles with a population of nearly 167,000, Fort Lauderdale is the largest of Broward County's 30 municipalities and the seventh largest city in Florida. Embraced by the Atlantic Ocean, New River and a myriad of scenic inland waterways, Fort Lauderdale truly lives up to its designation as the “Venice of America.” Our Favorite Things to Do: Fort Lauderdale is like any other major city, but with an added bonus – the sun. Being hot more months of the year than not leaves a lot of time for fishing, sailing, boating on the open ocean or the inner coastal, swimming at some of the best beaches on the East Coast, and just spending some time with Mom and Dad hiking in the everglades. Best Souvenir You Shouldn't Go Home Without: Seashells you've discovered on any of the beaches!

Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .

• Whatever your budget, you'll have a choice of hotels in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, where you'll also find vacation condos, and many hotels with kids' camps so you can get a break to play golf or head to the spa. The Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne (www.sonesta.com) and Four Seasons Hotel Miami (www.fourseasons.com) have complimentary kids' activities. Loews Miami Beach Hotel has a camp as well as a kids' pool. The Biltmore has junior golf and tennis clinics (www.biltomorehotel.com). The Fontainebleau Resort has Cookie's World Water Park (www.fountainebleu.com).

• There's plenty of sunshine all year round-and plenty of inexpensive flights to get you here. For more hotel deals, visit www.miamiandbeaches.com where you'll find an entire section on family fun – even a guide to the beaches. Visit www.sunny.org for the latest on Fort Lauderdale. You can order a new Miami family guide at www.miamiforkids.com.

• No worries should you have a rainy day. There's the Miami Children's Museum (Miami Children's Museum is free every 3rd Friday of the Month). Visit www.miamichildrensmuseum.org) and the Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium (www.miamisci.org) and even the World Chess Hall of Fame (www.worldchesshalloffame.com) as well as the Wings Over Miami Museum for those who love airplanes (www.wingsovermiami.com).

• In Fort Lauderdale, Check out Wannado City, a huge indoor recreation area that lets kids try some 250 careers – TV anchor to firefighter – and then decide how to spend their “earnings” (www.wannadocity.com). There's also the Museum of Discovery & Science (www.mods.org) and Butterfly World (www.butterflyworld.com). Even if you're heading out on a cruise, take a couple of days to explore. You won't be sorry!

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™