Resources for Families in West Palm Beach

Since I figure families will find this site who are going to see Dr. Paley in West Palm, i thought I’d start a site with some good places we’ve found in West Palm and surrounding areas to go with both your limb lengthening kid as well as siblings… I’ll update as we adventure out!

West Palm Beach Library: The library is just outside of City Place and there is a trolley that will take you back and forth between the two locations. Not really walkable unless it’s a beautiful day and you want a walk… it’s probably about 1 mile or so. This place is amazing. Its brand new and has a very Zen feel. They have the whole third floor dedicated to kids and kids activities. Easily accessible for your Limb Lengthening kiddo (LLK) – you just park in the parking garage (make sure you grab your “coin” from parking and get it validated for your free hour of parking… additional hours are $1. And if you forget your coin in your car (like I did) you can pay with a debit/credit card on your way out). There are elevators in the garage and elevators in the library. The easiest thing to do is try and park on the 1st floor so you can just walk out to the library. As a non-resident, you can get a library card… you just need to show something with your address. They have parties, and classes, and yoga for adults, they have an art room for the kids, and funky furniture that promotes kids wanting to grab a book and start reading. It is clean, and open and just a great space. We are going to use this space for Owen to get some tutoring. The best thing is, this space is perfect for siblings too! I’ll update with some photos later.

Playmobil FunPark in Palm Beach Gardens: This is a great spot to take your LLK. It is basically a huge building, filled with playmobil toys to play with. It is not a place to get energy out… there’s no jumping, running, ect. But there is lots of room for imaginary play! They have some life-size playmobil characters that are really fun and lots of different theme’s for play. It’s just under a $1 per child to get in, so it’s great cheap fun. Just be warned… the exit is a store… with all playmobil toys. This is a great place for your LLK to play just like all the other kids… without feeling like the can’t do something. Especially at the beginning when they are less likely to walk around.

A Barrel O Monkeys Gym: Delray Beach (20 min. south of West Palm) – A great spot for younger, active, siblings – or even younger LLK kids who need to burn some energy and are mobile. This is a gym… lots of foam, lots of padding, slides, climbers… ect. It’s geared towards the 6 and under crowd… I’d say perfect for those preschool kids. They have open gym, classes where parents stay, and if you need a break… they even have classes for kids that you can drop off (preschool for 2 hour in the day). There is a $20 annual membership for 1 child and $30 for a family. After you pay this, the drop in rate is $5 for 1 hour of open gym. We’re going to try it tomorrow. I went in and checked it out, and it looks fantastic. Lucky for us, we’re staying in Delray… so it’s a quick trip!

Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science: A little bit of a drive if you’re in West Palm (about 45 minutes), but if you’re going to the Las Olas River Walk area of Fort Lauderdale, this is a great stop with kids. There’s plenty for the younger crowd, and tons for the 6-12 year old crowd and their parents! You can take the water taxi and have a short walk, or there’s plenty of parking. Drive around because we found $5 parking, where other garages were $12+. They also have an IMAX theater there, and the tickets were reasonable.

More to come! I’ll review the Delray Recreation Center’s Pool ($2 to get in!) and A latte fun… a few parks… that kind of thing… so stay tuned!

~ by capeKO71 on October 15, 2009.