Wilmot Botanical Gardens

Telescopes pointed at the Moon and planets on public nights, with astronomers there to answer questions. Weather decides, so check before you go.

A lobby with a wave-machine pendulum, an anti-gravity mirror and dishes that carry a whisper across the room. No staff, so you do the explaining.

Fourteen bowling lanes, then air hockey, foosball, table tennis and board games for when your kid is done bowling.

Steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes: a simple burger-and-shake stop that most kids will say yes to.

Suites with a kitchen and more than one bed, and some rooms connect, so everyone gets some space and dinner can happen in the room.

Stand behind the fence at dusk and watch the bats pour out. It's wildlife, so on a cold or windy night they may not come, and it runs past early bedtimes.