Activity Ideas for Summer Fun!
Activity Ideas for Summer Fun!
It’s summer! Much to the delight of children and students everywhere. But now what do they do?
Trying to find enough activities to fill the summer hours can be tough. Some kids have a summer full of camps, others may spend time with extended family, but for many Big Brothers Big Sisters Littles, planning activities with their Bigs is a huge part of their summer. Finding the right activities or even something new can be a struggle. Luckily, Austin is a great town for summer fun and much of it is free!
One way for matches to beat the heat starts with water. A city with a river flowing through the center offers a variety of types of water-time fun. Many of our matches report heading to the kayak station at The Austin Rowing Club, where they can enjoy the outdoors with a “low impact” activity. It’s a great introduction to water activity without having to be in the water. A good thing if your Little is hesitant about aqua fun.
For matches interested in splashing the summer away, Austin offers some great splash pads for a quick cool-down. Popular options include: The Liz Carpenter Fountain on Barton Springs Road, Pease Splash Pad on Kingsbury Street, Mary Elizabeth Branch Park on Philomena, and Skyline Park in Easton Park.
Of course, there are many water parks and pools around town as well, but what if your Little is not up for a water adventure? Check out the many trails, parks, and playgrounds available in or close to the city. Everything from large locales like Zilker Park and the Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail to the more compact Waterloo Park. Many of these have free programming and activities throughout the summer.
If your match wants to consider activities out of the sun, Big Sister Christina and her Little Sister Isis have a list of possibilities. “We just went to the movies last week and watched IF, which was super cute,” said Christina. “We are also considering checking out an art museum; going to the Japanese store Daiso and seeing all the random fun things they have there; baking cookies; going out for sno-cones; volunteering at the local food bank or animal shelter; trying a new restaurant/food that Isis has never tried before; and taking a cooking class.”
“Of course we like to scope out any BBBS events that happen, too,” said Christina. “But we won’t even get through this list this summer.”
Plus, Christina points out that a good activity towards the end of summer is going shopping for school supplies.
If you have a Little who is interested in the arts, take the time to research all the shows around town. There’s Austin Parks Foundation’s Movies in the Park which is a fun family night that’s free. Alamo Draft House offers shows for $5 throughout the summer. And of course there’s the Zilker Summer Musical in Zilker Park. In addition, the Austin Symphony offers concerts in the park and there’s Blues on the Green.
If your Little is a dinosaur lover, head on down to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center where life-sized animatronic dinosaurs have taken over the gardens. They’ll only be around until July 17, when they become extinct again.
Take the time to think outside the box. Several years ago, one of our matches had pie on their minds. So, they decided to make a list of every pie place in town and then went and sampled the wares. They kept a running tally of the places they’d been and their pie ratings for each location. A fun, tasty activity that went beyond just eating.
Check out special cool treats around town, summer events at museums, the list just grows and grows. And if you’re looking for further ideas, check out the list of 150 match activity ideas on our BBBS website:
https://www.bigmentoring.org/150-activity-ideas/
You can also visit these two links to find information about local activities. They really do seem to have it all:
https://do512family.com/ultimate-guide-to-summer-in-austin/
https://tribeza.com/culture/austin-best-june-events/
Whatever you decide to do, we challenge you to be bored with all of these options available. It truly is summer fun.
And finally, we’d love to hear about your summer match activities. Let us know what you’re doing and enjoying so that we can share your outing ideas and recommendations with others. Your outings might just inspire other matches to get out and try something new as well.
You can contact us at Marketing@bigmentoring.org
