Kids Korner

Visit Tampa Bay!

Tampa Bay Skyline

Skyway Bridge

The Beach

Got your sunscreen and fishing pole? Tampa Bay has 35 miles of white sand beaches on some 20 barrier islands along the Gulf of Mexico. Expect plenty of sunshine—361 days worth. Whatever the weather, you definitely won't get bored—not when you can hit the roller coasters at Busch Gardens, touch a shark at the aquarium, get up close and personal with a Manatee at the zoo, or chow down at the world's biggest Spanish restaurant. The hard part will be getting everyone in the family to decide where to go first! Check out www.VisitTampaBay.com

Did You Know?

A frog sometimes sounds like an old man snoring. You can hear for yourself at the Lowry Park Zoo's new Frog Listening Network, featuring nine different species of frogs and toads. Of course frogs aren't all you'll see at the zoo—there are more than 1,600 animals. Say “hi” to the baby elephant, Tamani. Born last fall, Tamani already weighs over 300 pounds! Check out www.lowryparkzoo.com for more about the animals.

When people refer to Tampa Bay, they mean the area that includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. But Tampa Bay is also a body of water—nearly 400 square miles. Bayshore Boulevard—the world's longest continuous sidewalk—stretches 4.5 miles along Tampa Bay. It's a great place to bike or rollerblade. You might even run into some of the famous athletes who live here!

Ybor City was once known as the “Cigar Capital of the World” with nearly 12,000 cigar makers working in 200 factories. They rolled 700 million cigars a year between 1910 and 1920. Today, the area is a National Historic Landmark Eat at The Columbia Restaurant, the biggest Spanish restaurant in the world. It's been around since 1905, run by the same family, and its 17 rooms take up an entire city block! Check out the menus on www.columbiarestaurant.com . Teens will like cruising the vintage stores in Ybor City where you can also see what life was like then at the Ybor City Sate Museum. See www.ybormuseum.org.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is virtually as long—29,040 feet—as Mount Everest is high. It was completed in 1987 and its cables are painted a bright “taxi cab yellow.” Also check out the Friendship Trail Bridge. At 12 miles, it's the world's longest over-the-water recreational trail where you can fish, bike, skate, or just go for a walk. See www.friendshiptrail.org

Tampa is known as the “Big Guava.” That's because guavas—yellow tropical fruits—grow here. Try some guava jelly.

The Florida Manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs 1,200 pounds. No wonder they spend up to eight hours a day eating! They can eat 100 pounds of vegetation in one day! Tampa Bay is home to more than 200 manatees in the winter and about 100 in summer. For manatee viewing, head to Lowry Park Zoo (See www.lowryparkzoo.com) where you'll find The Florida Manatee and Aquatic Center. The zoo also runs a hospital that treats those rare and endangered manatees that are injured or become ill in the wild.

Tampa Bay is the place to try a Cuban sandwich. It's made with Cuban bread, ham, pork, salami, cheese, pickles, and mustard all warmed and flattened in a sandwich press. Yum!

When European explorers arrived in Florida in the 1500s, there was no bay or river near Tampa. The Coastline was at least 60 miles farther west.

The New York Yankees base their minor league operation and spring training in Tampa at Legends Field (See www.yankees.com). You can watch the minor leaguers during the summer or go to downtown St. Petersburg to see the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play. See www.devilrays.com.

You can hand-feed an antelope or ride America's only dive coaster while you're in Tampa Bay at Busch Gardens. SheiKra, the dive coaster, is 200 feet up and goes 90 degrees straight down! While you're at Busch Gardens, check out the new Pirates 4-D show and build your own zoo animal to take home. Younger kids give thumbs up to Land of the Dragon. See www.buschgardens.com.

The world's largest dinosaur attraction is in Plant City, just east of Tampa. There are 160 models of the prehistoric creatures—Brachiosaurus, T Rex, Brontosaurus, and more. Which is your favorite? See www.dinoworld.net.

The Children's Science Center at MOSI is the biggest in the country. See what it feels like to be in a hurricane's winds or become an astronaut. Check out the IMAX and the three stories tall dino. Even if you don't especially like science, you'll like this place, with more than 400 activities to pick from! See www.mosi.org.

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Tampa Bay . . .

Meet: Sydney Wehmeyer (age 9), Noah Wehmeyer (age 8), and Abigail Wehmeyer (age 4) who live in Tampa Bay, Florida. They are the children of Southwest Airlines Operations Agent Supervisor Chris Wehmeyer.

They say: Tampa is a great place to live because it is warm all year and you can play outside, even in the winter. Abigail, the only Florida native in the family, says her favorite part of living in Florida is being able to go swimming whenever you want!

Don't miss:

The Museum of Science and Industry (Sydney's favorite)
The Tampa Busch Gardens (Noah's favorite)
The new baby elephant at the Lowery Park Zoo (Abigail's favorite)

Don't go home without: Some sea shells from our excellent local beaches.

Best place to eat: Sydney, Noah, and Abigail all like to eat at Shells, a local casual seafood restaurant chain.

Best places to visit outside of Tampa Bay:

Sydney likes to take the quick one-hour drive to Orlando to visit Disney World.
Noah recommends visiting Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park in Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center.

Kids, Tell Your Parents . . .

There's a lot to do in Tampa Bay besides hitting the beach! Check out www.VisitTampaBay.com or www.visitflorida.com. Orlando's theme parks are just a little more than an hour away (www.orlandoinfo.com). But you may not even want to leave Tampa Bay, where you should be able to find hotel deals under $100 a night this summer. (Check out www.hotels.com) Grab a hot dog at Mel's Hotdogs, a local institution (4136 East Busch Boulevard, Tampa) and have ice cream next door at 42nd Street Ice Cream. Just make sure to take some breaks from the sun!

While in and around Tampa Bay, you can:

Go to The Pier in St. Petersburg where you can shop, walk to the Pier Aquarium or the Great Explorations Hands-On Children's Museum, or rent fishing gear or bikes. See www.stpetepier.com.
Take a Pirate cruise in Madeira Beach complete with water gun battles, treasure hunts, and, of course, pirate stories. See www.thepirateshipatjohnspass.com.
Get soaked at Adventure Island, the water park that also boasts a children's play area, wave pool, and sand volleyball complex. See www.adventureisland.com
The Florida Aquarium where you can take an Ecotour out into the bay in search of dolphin and other wildlife and kids can also swim with the fishes. See www.flaquarium.org.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which rescues and rehabilitates injured and sick sea life. Check out the touch tank. See www.cmaquarium.org.
Kid City, the Children's Museum of Tampa, with more than a dozen buildings representing typical city businesses and offices. Kids can play at being grown ups all they want. See www.flachildrensmuseum.com.
Outlet shop at the Prime Outlets of Ellenton, with 135 stores, it is the largest outlet center on Florida's West Coast. See www.primeoutlets.com.
With older children, visit The Florida Holocaust Museum, which aims to teach tolerance through the lessons of the Holocaust. See www.flholocaustmuseum.com.
Try the newest hi-tech games at GameWorks. See www.gameworks.com.
Explore surrealism at The Salvador Dali Museum, the most comprehensive collection of the Spanish artist's works. See www.salvadordalimuseum.org.
Re-live famous moments in Aviation at Fantasy of Flight, roughly halfway between Tampa and Orlando, with simulators, bi-plane and glider rides. See www.fantasyofflight.com.

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™