Post Top Great places to take our children
The arrival of spring usually produces a huge energy burst with children who literally begin jumping up and down at the prospects of being able to get outside to play, whether organized activities or family outings.Murfreesboro offers a large number of programs and facilities for children, appealing to a huge number of tastes.
As moms and dads look for opportunities to provide their offspring positive activities, The Murfreesboro Post offers a Top 10 list (and since we try harder, the list goes to 11) of facilities targeting children. The facilities are mainly low cost or no cost. While most are for outside activities, the list includes a couple of indoor possibilities for those rainy, spring days.1) The Discovery Center at Murfree Springs, 502 S.E. Broad St., Murfreesboro, TN, 37130, 615-890-2300; Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday: 1-5 p.m., closed major holidays; Admission: Adults and children $5, children under 2 free, Members are always free, Family membership: $60.
Discovery Center is an interactive museum and environmental center created for the children and families of Middle Tennessee and is dedicated to promoting excellence in education through hands-on exhibits and programs with 15 permanent, indoor exhibit areas; 20 acres of wetland habitat, several associated outdoor exhibits. 2) Richard Siegel Soccer Complex and Community Park is a 137-acre soccer complex and community park. The park is located at the corner of 231 North and Cherry Lane.
Facilities include: one lighted championship field with stadium seating, 10 lighted regulation soccer fields, four youth soccer fields, two multi purpose fields, five pavilions, two concession buildings, two meeting rooms, two sand volleyball courts, basketball courts, horseshoe pits, cross country trail, three walking trails. 3) Patterson Park Community Center is located at Patterson Park (521 Mercury Boulevard). Amenities include two gymnasiums, one-eighth-mile track, aerobics area, fitness equipment, game room, conference center with up to three meeting rooms and a dining room, two racquetball courts, theater, arts and crafts room, and indoor pool with 25-yard lap lane area, interactive play system and triple loop slide.
Facility hours: Sunday 1-5 p.m., Monday-Friday %26ndash; 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday %26ndash; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 615-893-5210. Monthly passes for children are available for as little as $10 a month. 4) Wilderness Station, located in the Barfield Crescent Park, is the city’s unique outdoor awareness and adventure facility. Adventurous families, scouts and youth groups can camp in the primitive Backcountry Campground. There they can enjoy the staff led activities or just explore on their own.
The Wilderness Station is a beautiful facility featuring nature and outdoor adventure programs, room rentals, and a snack/gift shop. A paved accessible trail leads to the primitive (walk-in only) backcountry campground and the river overlook. The small fishing pond is great for beginners. Please catch and release only. Hours and contact information: April 1-Oct. 31, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday through Saturday; Noon-8 p.m. on Sundays; Phone 217-3017. 5) Sports*Com is located at McKnight Park (120 DeJarnette Lane) in the northern area of Murfreesboro. Amenities include a gymnasium 1/16-mile track, aerobics area, fitness equipment, game room, meeting room, 25-yard indoor pool and 50-meter outdoor pool, four sand volleyball courts.Hours: Sunday 1-5 p.m., Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Daily fees are $4 for adults and $3 for youth ages 6-17 and seniors age 60 and up. Family passes, monthly passes and 30-day visit passes may be purchased. Passes may be used at both Sports*Com and Patterson Park Community Center.
Package rates are the same at both Sports*Com and Patterson Park Community Center, 615-895-5040. 6) Kids Castle Playground and Old Fort Park is a 50-acre community park located at 1025 Old Fort parkway. Facilities include: two picnic shelters (one with restrooms); one small playground near shelter #1; the large, children-designed Kids Castle Playground; two baseball fields with lights, concession stand, press box and restrooms; volleyball area; large open space with backstop; 20 electrical hook ups; two greenway trailheads: Old Fort Park Trailhead and Fortress Rosecrans; eight lighted tennis courts with pro shop. 615-890-5333. 7) Sun Skate Park, 205 North Thompson Lane, (615) 895-5995, is owned and operated by the Rutherford County YMCA. Hours of operation: Monday and Tuesday-closed; Wednesday, Thursday and Friday-3:30-8 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-noon-beginners, noon-6 p.m.
-all skate; Sunday 1-5 p.m.-all skate. Full pads are required.Admission: Non-members of the YMCA, $5; members of the YMCA included in membership dues. Skate Park is open when weather is 40 degrees or above. Skateboard Park has bank to ledge, seven foot, four foot and three foot, quarterpipes, terrain ledges, rails, transition, obstacles, gaps and pyramid. 
Murfree Spring Wetlands is a 250-acre city park and under the jurisdiction of the City of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation. It is located at the corner of Maney and Broad streets. Walking trails and raised boardwalks wind through the wetlands, while the plaza area boasts an amphitheater and water features. The area offers parking, restrooms and a playground, all of which has easy access to the Discovery Center.
Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. The site was once an old water treatment plant; now the role of water in our everyday lives and its presence on the site is a guiding theme in the design. Targeted towards a child’s curiosity and sense of whimsy, the sculpture and paving patterns have been designed to capture the industrial and mechanical look of the equipment in the old plant and the fluid characteristics of water in the environment. Several pieces of old pump equipment were salvaged from the water treatment plant and refurbished as environmental sculptures in the plaza. 9) Linebaugh Library System has two branches to serve the residents of Murfreesboro and offers a number of children’s programs.Linebaugh Public Library (main branch)105 W Vine St, Murfreesboro, 37130 , 615-893-4131, hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.
9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 1-6 p.m.Myrtle Glanton Lord Library, Patterson Park Community Center, 521 Mercury Boulevard, 37130, 615-907-3429; hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday-Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.Youth services programs are designed for each individual library. Programs that are at offered are: Public Story Hour, Saturday Story Times, Spanish Story Times, Read-Aloud Chapter Book Club, Art Workshops, American girl, BookBuzz Club, Homeschoolers@ Your Library, Reading With The Stars, Read Off Your Fines, Imagination Station, Read, Run and Hum. Contact the library nearest you for times and programs offered at that location. 10) Boys and Girls Club-Rutherford, 820 Jones Boulevard, 37129; 615-893-5437; www.bgca.org/ ; Boys and Girls Cub-Rutherford offers club programs and services to promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. Boys and Girls Clubs are a safe place to learn and grow %26ndash; all while having fun.
Boys and Girls Club-Rutherford - After School program 2:30 -6 p.m.; Cost: $20 per week per child; Summer Program Registration: April 2, 2007; Registration fee: $40 per child; Cost of Summer Program: $60 per week per child; Children in summer program will receive breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. Swimming, skating and field trips are scheduled in the summer activities. 11) General Bragg Trailhead houses a picnic pavilion that has restrooms, a water fountain, a children’s playground and a dog park. The 40-car parking lot can be reached from West College Street (Old Nashville Highway).
Tags: advent, amenities, amp, obstacle, pool, sculptures, Services, target, water feature, water features0
