What’s New in Charlotte: The Latest Attractions for Kids

Romare Bearden Park
The park is a welcome green space uptown, located at the corner of South Church and Third streets. Family-friendly activities happen throughout the year, and kids can cool off in the summer running through the waterfall wall or play in the Childhood Muse Plaza with pipes that squirt a cool mist.
parkandrec.com

Lost Hollow
Children get their own space in the new medieval- themed Lost Hollow garden and play space at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont. From Fireplace Cave to a fountain running through ancient ruins, a wicket thicket, the throne room and an overgrown aviary, it’s a playground for the imagination. Opening fall 2014.
dsbg.org

Charlotte Hornets
The buzz is back at Time Warner Cable Arena. Charlotte’s original NBA team the Hornets, which became the Charlotte Bobcats, returns to its original name and hive for the 2014-15 season.
nba.com/hornets

Sea Life Aquarium
The centerpiece of this 36,000 square-foot aquarium is the 180-degree ocean tunnel that allows visitors to see sharks, rays and other fish swim right over their heads. Another highly anticipated attraction is the Giant Pacific octopus, the largest octopus species in the world.
visitsealife.com/ charlotte-concord

BB&T Ballpark
An added jewel to the QC crown, BB&T Ballpark on Mint Street is the new home for the Charlotte Knights baseball team. It offers awesome views of the city’s skyline plus family-friendly theme nights, Fireworks Fridays and a chance for kids to run the bases.
charlotteknights.com

NFL Play 60 KidZone
Kids can scale mini-climbing walls, walk a balance rope, time themselves running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Play60 KidZone at Freedom Park. It’s a hit on sunny afternoons year round.
parkandrec.com

Two Giant Slides at Boomerang Bay
Surfer’s Swell, a slide that riders travel 263 feet before plunging into an angled wall that mimics the sensation of catching an ocean wave; and the Dorsal Fin Drop, a 351-foot slide that whirls riders in a curved tunnel and then blasts them into a bowl, amps up the thrill factor at the popular Carowinds waterpark.
carowinds.com

Charlotte Invasion
This semi-professional women’s basketball team is part of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League that includes former college players to former NWBL and WNBA players, and current international players. Catch a game at Bette Rae Thomas Recreation Center.
charlotteinvasion.com