Camp Cook offers cooking classes for kids and families year-round, including summer camp and school-holiday workshops. The hands-on classes are designed with age-appropriate activities and instructions - even little ones can get in on the action with parent/child classes for kids ages two to five.

The Downtown YMCA holds a state-of-the-art fitness center, including the Ladies Zone, a women-only workout area.

After-school programs provide children with a safe place to go after school. Adult role models lead structured activities in a caring environment for children to learn and grow. Interest centers are set up each day to give children the opportunity to make choices about how they spend their leisure time. Homework assistance is also offered daily. Currently, after-school care is offered at Brock Elementary and Gregory Lincoln Education Center, Mon-Fri.

"G.I.R.L.S." is a self-esteem enrichment program for girls between the ages of 10 and 14. Call Chevonne Potter at 713.758.9236 for additional information.

Swimming lessons, lifeguard courses, basketball, soccer, softball, and other sports opportunities are also available.

For an alternative to day care, the Downtown YMCA will be holding Drop-in Camp on days when HISD is closed, for ages five to 12.

Y Day Camp gives children the opportunity to play games, create arts and crafts, explore science and technology, swim, participate in field trips, appreciate nature, and discover many cultures. Sleepover camps are for children ages six to 16.

For membership, registration, and other fees, see the website [ymcahouston.org] or call [713.659.8501].

Future Stars Baseball Academy is a 15,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor facility that offers baseball and softball lessons to kids ages five and up, as well as batting cage and pitching mound rentals, a party room, cafe, and more. Baseball camps are also offered during summer and other school vacation times.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best artsy class for big kids and best place for a parents' night out in Houston, Glazed Over is a paint-your-own-pottery studio. Customers select a "raw" piece of pottery or mosaic, then choose paints, brushes, stencils, and sponges with which to decorate it. Painters can purchase soft drinks and juices, and can even have food delivered. When finished, Glazed Over glazes and fires the piece; pick-up is ready within seven days.

Birthday party packages are available for a minimum of eight painters. Glazed Over also hosts classes for kids ages five to 13, as well as weekly summer camp sessions, and a spring break camp.

The studio also hosts a storytime-workshop in which parents and children ages two to five listen to a story, then paint a critter that relates to the story.

The 155-acre Houston Arboretum offers visitors a place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and explore local flora and fauna on five miles of hiking trails through forest, meadow, and wetlands. Its indoor Discovery Room features hands-on exhibits, including a 15-foot learning tree, aquariums with turtles and other aquatic wildlife, games, puzzles, and microscopes. The Discovery Room is open Tue-Sun, from 10am to 4pm.

Birdwatching enthusiasts are sure to enjoy the trails, too, as over 160 species of birds have been observed at the Arboretum in the past twenty years.

The restrooms inside the Nature Center are large and clean, and include changing tables. More restrooms - without changing tables - are available outside, in back of the building.

Children's Classes: "Tadpole Troopers," a pre-school program for ages three to five, is offered monthly during the school year. Participating children enjoy over an hour of stories, games, and crafts, as well as a walking tour to observe wildlife in the forest.
"Naturalist Explorer" classes are designed for children ages five to eight. One Saturday each month during the school year, children learn about natural history and basic ecology through hands-on, engaging activities.
"EcoTrackers" is for ages nine to 12; these Saturday sessions inspire young naturalists to explore their surroundings and deepen their knowledge of the natural world.

Nature Discovery Camps: These week-long sessions provide children ages five to 12 with a close look at natural science and ecology topics. Classes are designed and taught by staff naturalists and include hands-on activities both indoors and out. Camps are offered during spring break, summer, and winter break.

Birthday parties are available to for kids ages four to 10. Members receive priority registration and discounts on classes and parties.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best place for family community service in Houston, the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) offers week-long Critter Camps during the summer, as well as day camps during spring break and winter break. Kids ages eight to 14 learn about animals, get lots of time to hold and pet them, and also enjoy crafts, games, and other activities.

Be sure to register early because camps fill up quickly.

The SPCA also has volunteer opportunities available for teens age 15 and up, and always appreciates donations.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best place for family bonding in Houston, the Houston Zoo is located on 55 acres in Hermann Park and has more than 4,500 animals.

Within the Zoo's grounds, families can enjoy the John P. McGovern Children's Zoo. This area has a petting zoo, a carousel with 64 different animals to ride, and several kid-sized animal exhibits. If the kids need to release some excess energy, they can romp around in the fenced-in playground or cool off in the water playground. (The water playground is closed from December to March.) Families can also take a break in the shaded butterfly pavilion, which hosts some entertaining shows.

Birthday party packages are available, or visitors can host their own parties at the Zoo. (You may bring your own food, but please no glass containers, alcohol, straws, or balloons.) For more information, call 713.533.6797.

Camp Zoofari summer camps are for kids ages four through 15; members get first crack at registration.

Free days: The Zoo is free on the following holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Note: The last admittance is one hour prior to closing time.

Imagination Campus offers childcare and preschool for kids ages six weeks to five years old, as well as an after school program for first- through fifth-graders.

Summer camp is also available. From figuring out the mechanics of spaceship engineering using recycled materials to creating food for a spy academy graduation ceremony, participants in the Summer Mission Series are given the necessary tools to question, learn, and invent through arts, sciences, creativity, and natural play. Each session is based on a theme.

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best day camp for big kids in Houston, Main Street Theater opened its second space at Chelsea Market with a 190-seat theater dedicated to the youth theater program and to large-scale MainStage classics and musicals. (The theater's original, 92-seat venue is in Rice Village.) The youth theater program puts on children's productions for school groups and the general public. A concession stand is open during performances.

MST at Chelsea Market also hosts a Kids On Stage program, which includes performing arts classes, summer camp, and winter camp. The classes are designed for children in grades kindergarten through 5th, while the summer camp includes programs for children ages four to 14, as well as a high school workshop for advanced students.

With a coaching staff comprised of former elite collegiate players as well as touring professionals, Rice Tennis Camps offers tennis lessons for serious junior tennis players, as well as clinics for beginners and intemediate-level players. The advanced level training - for "Champs" and "Super Champs" - is ongoing through the school year, and offers personal instruction.

Beginner and intermediate level clinics, for kids ages five to 16, are broken up into two semesters. Players are grouped by skill level and age, with small classes maintaining a ratio of one coach to no more than four to six players.

Rice Tennis Camps also offers winter and summer camps for all levels.

Sam Houston Equestrian Center is a 25-acre site with two outdoor arenas, a covered horse pavilion, and a huge indoor party room.

Lessons are offered year-round for riders of all skill levels, Tue-Fri after school, and Sat-Sun throughout the day. Summer camps are available all summer long, and include not only horseback riding, but also grooming and shampooing the horses, classroom studies, and videos. The Equestrian Center also offers spring break camps.

Birthday party packages include horseback riding and use of the party room for one additional hour. Trail rides are also available for families and out-of-town visitors.

The Health Museum - aka the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science - is Houston's only interactive science center and a member institution of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center.

Interactivity begins in the grand entry hall, filled with hands-on brain teasers that appeal to all the senses.

The main exhibit is the Jim Hickox Amazing Body Pavilion, a voyage through a Texas-sized human body. The Pavilion includes giant models of human organs and dozens of hands-on exhibits and science stations. Visitors of all ages may explore how each system of the body works and how to stay healthy.

Visitors can also see live organ dissections and other science shows in the McGovern Theater. Outside is a small garden with a fountain, and this too is hands-on - the kids are invited to touch the plants.

Summer Discovery, The Health Museum's hands-on, minds-on summer camp program, is for kids ages eight to 13. The Museum also hosts a spring break camp.

Admission is free on Thursday afternoons, 2pm-7pm.

The Mad Potter is a paint-your-own pottery studio offering party packages for birthdays and play groups, as well as summer and spring break camp sessions. Walk-ins are welcome. Even newborns and toddlers can get in on the action with footprinting.

The studios also host occasional classes and parent/child workshops.

The Mad Potter is a paint-your-own pottery studio offering party packages for birthdays and play groups, as well as summer and spring break camp sessions. Walk-ins are welcome. Even newborns and toddlers can get in on the action with footprinting.

The studios also host occasional classes and parent/child workshops.

The Mad Potter is a paint-your-own pottery studio offering party packages for birthdays and play groups, as well as summer and spring break camp sessions. Walk-ins are welcome. Even newborns and toddlers can get in on the action with footprinting.

The studios also host occasional classes and parent/child workshops.