After a year of missed vacations, families are in search of new activities and places to explore. At Wegmans, we pride ourselves on the connections we make with our local communities. One of the ways we give back is by sponsoring local museums, playgrounds, and other family friendly activities. As the days get longer and you search for new ways to keep the kids entertained, take a peek at our list of ideas for summer fun.

Museums
From pint-sized Wegmans markets where kids run the store to miniature farms where they can grow and harvest their own fruits and vegetables, we’ve partnered with many wonderful museums throughout our market areas.

• Wegmans Super Kids Market at The Strong (Rochester, New York)
  Originally opened in May 1997, the Super Kids Market at The Strong National Museum of Play has grown from 2,200 square feet with 3 check-out registers to 3,000 square feet with six working check-out registers. Kids can cruise the aisles and fill a grocery cart with colorful products that look amazingly real. Visit the toddler organic farm, Market Café, and a variety of other highly interactive store environments that offer dramatic role-playing opportunities and encourage healthy eating habits.
• Children’s Museums of Virginia (Portsmouth) and Children’s Museum of Richmond (Richmond or Chesterfield)
  The Wegmans exhibits at each of Virginia’s Children’s Museums are chock full of groceries, fruits, and vegetables for kids to stock the shelves, scan and check-out at the registers. Visitors at the Portsmouth location can also collect eggs and milk a 3-D model of a cow.
• Buffalo, N.Y. museums (Explore & More, The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum & Buffalo Museum of Science Yum! Exhibit)
  Visit the Farm to Fork exhibit at the Explore & More, The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum, which includes a barn, farmer’s market, farmhouse kitchen, hoop house & crop beds. Guests of all ages can learn the “how to” and “how come?” of healthy living through fun, engaging hands-on, interactive activities in the Yum! Exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
• Wegmans Kids Market at ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum (Erie, Pennsylvania)
  Kids of all ages can shop the aisles and fill their cart with a selection of colorful produce at the Wegmans Kids Market at ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum. The deli, meat, seafood, and bakery departments are filled with highly interactive stations for dramatic role-playing. Kids can also serve coffee from “the Buzz” coffee station or pack up lunch and dinner at the prepared food station.
• Wegmans Wonderplace at The Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.)
  Wegmans Wonderplace is the first exhibition on the National Mall designed for children 0 to 6. This 1,700-square-foot interactive space provides the youngest historians with age-appropriate activities and experiences. Kids can ‘cook’ in a Kitchen inspired by Julia Child’s; plant and harvest pretend vegetables and run the Farm Stand; find owls hiding in a replica of the Smithsonian’s Castle building; captain a Tugboat just like one in the museum’s collection; and build with a variety of different blocks in the Construction Site. (Please check the website for updates on the exhibit’s reopening.)

Playgrounds and sports fields
If you’re looking to get outside and allow your kids to burn off some of their endless energy, consider a visit to one of the local playgrounds we’ve sponsored or supported. Many of these playgrounds are equipped for children of all abilities, so everyone can play together.

• South Ave. Park Playground (Brockport, N.Y.)
  Completed in May 2017, this playground has equipment for children of all abilities including a “one we-saw”, a traditional seesaw transformed and designed into a large, multi-person, user-controlled ride that is wheelchair accessible, teaches kids about balance, and promotes social inclusion.
• Onondaga Lake Park (Liverpool, N.Y.)
  The Boundless Playground at Onondaga Lake Park offers all kids, regardless of their abilities, a colorful mecca with climbers, swings, playhouses and slides. The park also features the region’s first concrete skate park; a visitor center; recreational play fields; areas for bocce, shuffleboard, and volleyball; extended tram and Loop the Lake trails; and Wegmans Good Dog Park for leash-free doggie fun.
• Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester (Webster, N.Y.) and Miracle League of Western New York (Grand Island, N.Y.)
  Challenger Baseball is Little League’s adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. Miracle Field is made with a rubberized surface that is fully wheelchair accessible. Bases and pitching mounds are painted onto the surface so there are no raised obstacles, and the dugouts are enlarged to accommodate wheelchairs and other apparatus.

Other fun options

• Buffalo Botanical Gardens (Buffalo, N.Y.)
  Children of all ages will delight in a place to dig, discover and dream as they plant a seed, build a sandcastle, water a garden, smell a flower, examine a bug or touch a fuzzy plant in the Wegmans Family Garden. Activities take place on select Saturdays, but the gardens are open daily.
• Buffalo Zoo Organic Barn Playground (Buffalo, N.Y.)
  The Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the nation, tracing its history back to the 1870s. Visitors can say “hello” to the animals, plus climb and slide in the Organic Barn playground sponsored by Wegmans.
• Wegmans Hit the Trail Passport
  If your family is itching to get outside and explore nature, pick up a “Hit the Trail Passport” at your local Wegmans or download one from our website. These pocket-sized guides provide maps and details on hiking trails in your local community.

Coming soon!

• Play Space by ABC Cayuga (Auburn, N.Y.)
  The Play Space opened its doors in 2017 with a mission to provide a safe, clean space outside the home where young children could play and explore, as well as meet new friends. Created by ABC Cayuga, a 501-C 3 non-profit organization, the Play Space is currently undergoing a large expansion that will provide more play opportunities for infants and toddlers. The new space will also include a simulated Wegmans Market and café. The new expanded location is expected to open this summer.
• DocterAdams Community Park (Warrington, PA)
  NFL Running Back Josh Adams grew up in Warrington, PA, not far from our store there. He wants to make a difference in the community where he grew up and recently began fundraising to re-develop a local playground at Willow Knolls Community Park. The new space will feature standard playground equipment, plus benches, a small bleacher and a pavilion for people to gather. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall.

We hope these ideas inspire you to get out and explore this summer. Please note that some exhibits may be closed or only available by reservation due to COVID-19. We suggest checking on all attractions before visiting. Have a fun summer!