Spring break is a great time to enjoy family time. If you’re looking for fun activities to do with your kids this week, put a visit to Overton Park on your list. There you’ll find several interesting attractions.
Saturday, March 9
Memphis Zoo’s newest traveling exhibit, Stingray Bay, opens. Tickets are $3/members, $4/non-members (in addition to zoo admission). The exhibit is located near the children’s rides on the north end of the park. The undersea world comes alive with this exciting interactive exhibit that introduces children to stingrays and sharks. There will be two different species of rays and sharks, swimming in an 18-inch pool (and yes, the stingrays’ long stingers have been removed).
Visitors can stroke these elegant creatures as they glide past. Slippery and smooth to the touch, the stingrays even come up to the edge of the pool for feeding. Fish food is $2.
I’ve seen this type of exhibit at other parks and know kids love the interactivity, especially since there aren’t lots of opportunities for touching at the zoo.
But if you enjoy visiting Florida beaches (where stingrays are often present in shallow waters), it’s worth reminding your kids that in the wild, these creatures should never be touched, as their stinger tails are sharp, quick, and painful. NOTE: The zoo will have many school groups in attendance on Thursday and Friday of spring break week. Also, Tennessee Tuesdays (free admission) are suspended during the month of March. It resumes April 2nd.
Thursday, March 14
Chalk Festival from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Grab your artistic tribe and come experiment with chalk art. Kids of all ages are invited to come and draw on the sidewalk in front of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
This festival will feature live music by the Wuvbirds and food courtesy of Fuel Food Truck and Parker’s Water Ice Truck. Watch as local artists create their own sidewalk masterpieces. Chalk will be available for purchase ($3/set of 12) or you can bring your own. Templates will be on-hand to make a picture based on the Angels and Tomboys or Romare Bearden: A Black Odyessey exhibitions. Or simply tap your inner Picasso, just have fun.
Rainbow Lake Playground at Overton Park Update
Overton Park Conservancy Executive Director Tina Sullivan says the nonprofit has raised $278,500 towards its $400,000 goal for refurbishing the playground. Workers are making progress with its construction, which broke ground in January. The new space will include a merry-go-round, swings, a large wooden and cargo net climbing structure, a drum circle, chess tables, and a tunnel.
The grand opening is set for Saturday, June 8th, and will be marked with a family festival in celebration of the new playground and one-year anniversary of the Bark Park. Mark your calendar.