Pick #1: Fantastic Beasts Scavenger Hunt at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Celebrate the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and revel in a holiday season bursting with the magic of J. K. Rowling’s world by embarking on your very own search for magical creatures! Climb a 150-year-old staircase, explore a maze of hallways and hidden rooms, peek around corners and into shadows to discover the real creatures and stories behind these fantastic beasts. Where CAN you find them? Look no further than the hallowed halls of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and the Harvard Semitic Museum. Witches, wizards, muggles, and magizoologists of all ages are invited to pick up the Fantastic Beasts Scavenger Hunt clue sheets at any of these Harvard museums and begin a quest to uncover the hiding places for a host of amazing creatures. Find them all, and you win a small prize! The spell is cast and the adventure begins November 18, but time is limited, so plan your visit now. The magic ends on January 6.
Regular admission rates apply.
The museum is located at 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, just past Harvard Yard.
Adults: $15.00
Non-Harvard students with I.D.: $10.00
Seniors (65+): $13.00
Children ages 3–18: $10.00
Children under 3: Free
Free for members

Pick #2: New England Reptile Expo
This is not a place that you’ll catch me, but if your little ones have been clamoring for a new pet and you’re not into fur balls, litter boxes, or taking dogs for long walks….you may want to check out the Reptile Expo up in Manchester, NH. It is billed as the Largest Reptile Show in New England, for whatever that’s worth.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
10:00 to 4:00
The Doubletree Hotel Manchester Downtown
700 Elm Street, Manchester NH
Thousands of reptiles on display and for sale as pets! Vendors will also be selling cages, supplies, frozen feeder rodents, feeder bugs, and many other reptile-related items at discounted prices.
Admission: $10/adults, $5/kids 7-12, under 7 free.
Kids 12 and under MUST be accompanied by an admission paying adult!

Pick #3: Rye Airfield Indoor Skate Park
Rye, New Hampshire
My boys have both been here a few times and love it! It is HUGE. It’s also a great option to break away from the normal indoor activities that your children may need a little vacation from. You can bring your own bikes, scooters, skate boards, etc. or simply rent something up there.
Before we get to the ramps, we have a ton of viewing areas, retail, concessions, bathrooms, showers (camp use only), multi-purpose rooms and usually a good joke or two.
Rye Airfield is New England’s premiere skate & bike park. Our indoor skatepark was originally designed and built by Jack Murphy Productions (designers of The Gravity Games, Vans Skateparks and the Dew Tour) with the consultation of former Pro Skaters, Dave Duncan, Andy MacDonald and Chris Senn. Over the past decade we have remodeled a handful of times with the most recent phases of design and construction being completed by Brad Jameson and John Saxton of Skidmark Skateparks along with a covert crew of volunteers.
We are not just a skate & bike park though, we also offer a full service pro shop that carries a solid selection of bike, skateboard and scooter products from completes that are ready to go, or all the parts you need for a custom built ride. Our mechanics can build and repair just about anything that is used in the park.
Our year round indoor facility has 50,000 square feet and features everything you’ve dreamed about riding or skating all under one roof. Our outdoor area is more than 100,000 square feet and is a work in progress with wood and dirt features. The ultimate goal is to create an outdoor bike park that offers something for the cross-country mtb rider and the dirt jumping bmx rider.


As always, for a comprehensive list of family activities, please visit our friends at North Shore Kid.
