February School Vacation Week is almost here, and Cape Cod is in full swing, whether you’re looking for ways to keep cooped-up kids busy or playing hooky right along with them.
Here are some of our favorite ideas for family fun.
Stay Together
Many of the Cape’s favorite resorts offer School Vacation Week fun. At the new Margaritaville Resort in Hyannis, enjoy discounted access to the Fins Up! Indoor Warer Park (pictured above), a 30,000-square-foot adventureland of slides, fountains, wave pools, lazy rivers and pirate ships. At the Bayside Resort in West Yarmouth, the School Break package includes ice cream socials, a heated pool, nightly outdoor firepits, mad scientist and rainforest reptile shows, and arts & crafts, plus time to relax in the Moby Dick pub for mom and dad. Sea Crest Beach Resort in North Falmouth will offer a range of family fun activities all week long, in addition to their indoor pool and arcade.
And Magic School is in session at Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, where little witches and wizards can stay busy during the resort's Wizarding Week, with fun and games like wand and cloak-making, movie nights, quidditch pool matches and potions classes, while parents kick back and enjoy the spectacular view.
Winter Fests
For some good old-fashioned family fun, head over to the Yarmouth Winter Carnival Saturday, February 15 through Monday, February 17 at Skull Adventure Golf & Sports World in South Yarmouth. Activities will include an outdoor synthetic ice skating rink, food trucks, face painting, balloon artists, professional ice princess skating performances, a petting zoo, magic and fire shows, an ice carving demonstration, kids crafts' and cornhole. In short, action-packed winter fun!
Live and learn
The museums you know and love kick into high gear for School Vacation Week, which makes it a perfect time to rediscover an old favorite or find something new at your tried-and-true. Even better, venture somewhere you’ve never been and always meant to visit.
At Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee (pcitured above), can try out the music room, explore a treehouse, climb a pirate ship, or get busy with any number of things that zip, spin, bounce, and whirl. School vacation week events at the museum include arts & crafts, STEM activities and creative movement. An Under the Sea Collage Workshop is among the school vacation week events at nearby Highfield Hall in Falmouth.
Hop on over to the Thornton W. Burgess Society in Sandwich during February Vacation Week to visit the storybook world of Peter Rabbit, Grandfather Frog, Reddy Fox and other characters created by internationally known children’s author Thornton W. Burgess at the turn of the 20th century. The Green Meadow Forest experience lets families cook with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Rabbit in their Rabbit Hollow, fish with Billy Mink, try Plinko with Happy Jack Squirrel, and enjoy other activities.
In Brewster, break week at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History kicks off on Saturday, February 15 with Mixology - experiments, hands-on activities and demonstrations that encourage kids to get messy with science. Other school vacation week programming at the museum includes an Eco Expo and an interactive program about the magnificent 44-foot Humpback Whale. Afterwards, take in the scenic winter beauty along the museum's gorgeous outdoor trails - always worthy of a gold medal.
School vacation fun at Cotuit Center for the Arts includes “Amazing Animal Ambassadors” on Monday, February 17th! This hands-on , interactive experience lets you get up close and personal with a unique variety of animals from around the globe, such as parrots, exotic mammals, large reptiles, and even insects.
If you’ve never been to the Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth, adults and kids are equally intrigued by the collection of real-life pirate treasures and stories uncovered from the famous shipwreck. Speaking of swashbuckling fun, head on over to the Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre during February Vacation Week for matinee performances of "How I Became a Pirate" (2 pm showings on February 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 22 and 23).
Ready, Set, Action
Once you take off your skates, it’s time for bowling shoes. You’ll see why it’s called Ryan Family Amusements (Cape locations include Buzzards Bay and South Yarmouth) when you spot as many adults as kids high-fiving on the lanes or in the arcade. At The Lanes Bowl & Bistro in Mashpee Commons, the famously good bistro may beckon if you’re rolling gutter balls, but any good Pats fan knows you should never give up on a super-bowling comeback. Bowling is just one option at Ryan's Ten Pin Eatery in Hyannis (pictured above); the fun also includes a state-of-the-art arcade and laser tag.
It’s literally too cool for school—hit the ice at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center for public skating, family stick practice, and yes, “Stroller Skating,” if your little one’s on wheels. At Tony Kent Arena in Dennis, you can take to the skates with your kids or stay warm over a slice or calzone from the full-menu snack bar.
Big Picture
No matter how cozy the den or how slick the device, nothing beats the real thing—the Falmouth Cinema Pub can always be counted on for all the comforts of home; settle into one of their cozy reclining chairs, order up something tasty, and dig into the latest feature (added bonus: parents will likely appreciate the cocktail menu).
Or, step right into the action at Upside Down Escapes in Mashpee Commons. Think big-picture to solve a series of clues and puzzles that will help your family "escape" from one of several themed rooms, including "Baggage Bandits" and the family-friendly "Gingerbread Cottage" room.
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