Indoor Fun for Families

Here on the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, residents often welcome rainy days because they are so rare. And because they give us an opportunity to take the kids to those indoor museums and attractions they've been asking to visit. These suggestions also work for days when you're ready to get out of the sun.

Estates and Shopping Malls

Meet Lee County's most famous forefathers at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates complex, where tours with historical interpreters and audio tours provide entertaining history lessons. The museum holds many of Edison's 1,000 patented inventions, along with the Model T his friend and neighbor Henry Ford gave him.

The afternoon calls for shopping, either at the inventor's namesake Edison Mall, indoors with some 160 stores, or at the fun and funky Shell Factory, where stuffed African animals and a video arcade rank high on the kid barometer.

Museums

Fort Myers’ Imaginarium Hands-On Museum & Aquarium gives free rein to children's natural curiosity. Whether they're walking through a thunderstorm or forecasting the weather, taking part in Hands-On Fun shows or visiting the three Sea-to-See Marine Touch Tanks, they're learning and loving it.

Follow it up with a history lesson at nearby Southwest Florida Museum of History, where cowboys and Indians and sabertooths will pique their interest in the past. You can also step aboard a 1929 private Pullman railcar and peek inside a Cracker house.

Proceed to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, where a special hands-on room appeals to youngsters, and older visitors can look at 34 exhibits with shells from around the world.

Aquariums, Skating and More

Explore the marine heritage of shrimping town Fort Myers Beach at Ostego Bay Marine Science Center. Here kids can peer into aquariums, touch a shark's skin and learn about endangered manatees and loggerhead turtles. Stop at one of the many inexpensive family-friendly restaurants where fresh local shrimp is the specialty.

For fun in the afternoon, head south to Estero for a cool time at Germain Arena’s ice-skating rink. There's also a roller rink, and in season (October through April), professional hockey at night.

If you’re lucky enough to schedule this island visit on a Monday, head up the road to Captiva Island for the wacky NAScrab Races at 'Tween Waters Inn’s Crow's Nest Lounge. The early show at 6 p.m. (starring local hermit crabs) is geared toward families.