Florida's Brevard County lies along the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Johns River in the east central part of the state. The county consists of 10 cities and six towns -- perhaps the most familiar being Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and Melbourne, along with Titusville, the county seat. In Brevard County, kids have a broad range of activities from which to choose, including those offered by the county's parks and recreation department and visits to the Brevard Zoo.
Brevard County has 108 parks, including McLarty Park, in Rockledge, which features a swimming pool, basketball courts, a volleyball court and a playground. At Titusville Veterans Memorial Fishing Pier, in Titusville, activities include fishing and watching for dolphins, manatee and pelicans. Riverwalk Park, in Rockledge, features a boardwalk that goes through the Indian River Lagoon, as well as a nature center, picnic areas and fishing. Programs are also offered through the county's recreation department, including youth sports, after-school arts and crafts programs, nature walks, and clubs for kids and teens.
At the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science, in Cocoa, history is taught through permanent and temporary exhibits, such as "The Windover People," "By-Gone Beasts," "Children's Imagination Station" and a butterfly garden. Hands-on activities include fossil hunting and puzzles. A nature preserve features walking trails. The Foosaner Art Museum -- located in Eau Gallie, a section of Melbourne -- offers a variety of children's art classes on topics such as cartooning, painting, writing and pottery.
The Brevard Zoo, in Melbourne, is home to all sorts of amazing animals, with exhibits that include Expedition Africa, Austral/Asia and Wild Florida. Children's zoo activities include Zoo Tots for those age 2 to 4, camps for children age 5 to 15, overnight stays for those age 7 to 12 and a volunteer program for those age 13 to 18. Offerings for families include Paws on Activities and night hikes. At Cox Farm, near Melbourne, Critter Camp features horse and pony rides, along with close-up looks at chickens, ferrets, turtles, ducks and goats. Riding lessons and pony parties are also available.
The City of Cape Canaveral and the unincorporated town of Merritt Island are known for space facilities and museums. At the Air Force Space and Missile Museum in Cape Canaveral are exhibits such as the Goddard Rocket, Downrange!, Flight Termination Console and the Schriever Era Exhibit. At the Kennedy Space Center, on Merritt Island, a bus tour gives visitors a chance to get an up-close view of the space shuttle launch pad and Saturn V rocket. The launch control center tour shows what it's like inside one of the four firing rooms. Other activities include a lunch with a real NASA astronaut, rocket launches and Super Jet Car races.
