A List of Free/Cheap Things to Do In Long Island Area For Kids (Suffolk County)

[summerrluvv]

I'm taking the Summer off from work and have been seeking out free and low cost things to do with DS, so I compiled a list of things I already know about. Feel free to add to my list!!

Holtsville Ecology Center - Town of Brookhaven park. - They have an Animal preserve (free) with Bears, goats you can feed, llamas, bunnies, etc. A greenhouse, bike Trail, a park with a large playground, picnic tables, grills, concession stand. In addition there is a swimming pool that does have a fee, but it’s minimal.

Town of Brookhaven (www.brookhaven.org) parks and recreation Summer program. They have two. One is free and runs from July to August (I think) and is held at local parks from 9-12 , then you meet the kids for lunch and then from 1-3. They do arts, crafts, play on the playground, etc. It’s run by the Youth Bureau. As of 6/30/06 they still have openings.

Boomers, Medford, Long Island - http://www.boomersparks.com/park/medford/free.html has coupons for free mini golf (one coupon good for up to four people) and 2 for 1 go-karts. The coupons are updated monthly.

Suffolk County Farm & Education Center, Yaphank - http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/Programs/SCFhome.htm You can walk around the farm for free and visit all of the animals. They do have Summer programs that require a fee. Their Summer Camp program is AWESOME! DS went last year for 2 weeks and had a blast.

Cub Scouts Day Camp program which ran by the Suffolk County BSA Council. http://www.baitinghollowscoutcamp.org/daycamp.html - They offer the program at various parks in Suffolk County. There is a fee, but if you volunteer to help out for a week of camp your child gets to attend free!! So if you haven’t signed up for Cub Scouts, it’s sign up time all over the County and once you sign up you are eligible for the camp programs.

Middle Country Public Library - Centereach and Selden - They offer great programs from the kids for free. The Summer schedule comes out at the end of May and is posted online (you must be a member of the library to sign up for most programs, but if you are out of district, your local library has great programs too I’m sure). http://www.mcpl.lib.ny.us/

Brookhaven Ampitheater movie nights - Farmingville - It’s 5.00 for a car load and lots of fun. It’s held on Wednesday nights. http://www.brookhavenamphitheater.com/movie_sched.html

Movies are as follows:

July 5: Madagascar
July 12: Wizard of Oz
July 19: Dreamer
July 26: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

August 2: Zathura
August 9 Nanny McPhee
August 16: Curious George
August 23: Hoodwinked
August 30: Harry Potter & the Goblit of Fire

They also have Cruise night every Tuesday from 6-10pm. I'm not sure how much it is, I think maybe $5 per car?

Loews, National Cinemas and Regal Cinemas typically offer free movies in the Summertime during the day for children.

Regal Cinema:
http://www.regmovies.com/freefamilyflicks/index2.jsp

National Amusements:
http://www.nationalamusements.com/programs/bookworm.asp?page=2

Lowes/AMC
http://www.amctheatres.com/amctheatres/user-controller/summermoviecamp

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program - The kids can Earn free books! http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our_company/community/Summer_Reading/Summer_Reading_Program.html

Build A Bear Summer Reading Program - $5 GC

http://www.buildabear.com/lp/SummerReading2006/

Port Jefferson is fun too. We like to go there and get Ice Cream and walk on the docks and watch the boats. They have a playground and various shops and restaurants and great seafood. DS really likes it here. It's nice to just walk around the town. Here is a link to some kiddie stuff. Some stuff has residency requirements, some do not. http://www.portjeff.com/recparks/2006 trifold summer flyer.pdf

 

[Stimpy]

Thanks! We have done many of these things in the past. I'm guessing we're practically neighbors LOL

 

[metsfan11]

Very cool. I've done some of the things on your list! LOL

 

[crazyme5kids]

Also purchase a state parks pass. I save a ton of money by getting one. There are lots of state parks and beaches here on LI.

 

[MorganLeFey]

Most of the towns have similar passes for their beaches and parks. when my kids were younger I used to go to Crab Meadow in Huntington if I didn't fel like making the effort to go to Robert Moses.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Are the brookhaven town beaches free. I am thinking of the one in Mt. Sinai, Cedar Beach? Also Port Jeff Bowl has 1 free game of bowling a day - Say No to Drugs , you just fill out a card. I think you need to purchase the shoes. My kids have their own bowling shoes so its costs us nothing.

 

[Binkrin]

I grew up on the border of Medford and Yaphank and you have mentioned all I know of for what to do...

Sorry!

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I love visiting the Holtsville Preserve! Have you seen the steer there? That thing is huge!

There is Heartland Mini Golf in Edgewood. I think its like $6, and open until midnight. It's a nice course, you go up a mountain and back down. And they monitor how many people are on it at one time so it's not too crowded while you are trying to play.

 

[summerrluvv]

Are the brookhaven town beaches free. I am thinking of the one in Mt. Sinai, Cedar Beach? Also Port Jeff Bowl has 1 free game of bowling a day - Say No to Drugs , you just fill out a card. I think you need to purchase the shoes. My kids have their own bowling shoes so its costs us nothing.

Yes, they are free. You just need to show your ID to prove you are a resident. They will give you a sticker if you want so you don't have to show ID each time, but I don't like stickers on my car

We went to Robert Moses today and it was soooo nice!! Not too crowded and DS had a blast. It was $8 to get in, so not free, but at the town beaches you can't swim right now due to high bacteria levels in the water.

That's good to know about Port Jeff Bowl. We received a card from school for a free game per day for Coram Country Lanes. I just need to find DS some bowling shoes so I'm not spending a fortune on renting them!

 

[tripplanner2]

Great list. Looks like we are not too far from each other. We will be in Port Jefferson this evening.

 

[sorcerermick]

'nother Long Islander in East Patchogue....also looking forwaerd to doing things on this list. Thanks!

 

[Poohnatic]

Ducks games! My sister does that with her kids-they liked it so much, this past year they treated themselves to season tickets. The individual game tickets aren't too bad.

The pine barrens in Quogue are very nice to tour.

If you've got a Canoe or want to rent one, 4-5 hours on the Carman river is a nice day. This is good with slightly older kids, as there's one traverse on it.

Does the Philharmonic do a night at Hecksher these days? I had lots of fun doing that each summer when I still lived there-and there were lots of families with kids around.

Lots of stuff to do on LI-there's never a shortage of activities.

Suzanne

 

[Ginamarie]

Thank you so much for posting this list! We're in Nassau County, but a lot of the activities are nearby, and I found out that the movie theater 5 minutes from my home is part of the free movie program!

We also have season tickets for the LI Ducks. The kids love it there because there are always activities and my 2year old brother is obsessed with Quackerjack.