Niantic Children's Museum is sure to spark the imagination of all who visit

Roll up your sleeves! Learn how to cook at Sur La Table in White Plains

Take a trip and step back in time by visiting Garvies Point Museum

Trailside Center in Mountainside Offers Hands-On Learning

Check out a hockey game with the Bridgeport Islanders that is sure to score with the family

Open the vault to remarkable art and history at Bank Art Gallery in Newburgh

newyork

Brian Heyman

BkJuliaburins220_2025-02-20-06-53-18

If you're looking for a little bit of space hidden in the hustle and bustle of the city, one spot in Greenpoint may be the place. On this week's road trip close to home, our Julia Burns takes us to a Brooklyn playground that's pretty out of this world. Everything about Space Club in Greenpoint is creative. Even its name. The main idea is space to move around, space to explore, uh, extra space to run wild. But then also, of course, kids do love space, so we've incorporated the stars. All of our ball pits are filled with stars, an astronomically fun escape in the middle of the busy concrete jungle. People really need extra places to move around, uh, extra space to. Run and be free and play, especially in urban areas where you don't necessarily have a backyard or a swing set. It's one of two locations in Brooklyn, the other in Fort Greene, and a third on the way this summer in Dumbo, open all days of the year with after-school programs for frequent flyers or options for first-timers. It's a sensory wonderland that has something for all five senses, whether it's the starry galaxy room, the furry walls. The bead pit or the cafe, the options for fun are endless, but don't take my word for it. It's the best part about Space Club. So of course we had to check it out because who says playtime is just for kids. Space Club is our home away from home. It's literally a life saving spot that we come to quite often because. The kids just get their beans out and they freak out and run around and get the energy out and it's also super comfortable for parents. So whether you've got the kids or maybe you're just one at heart, Space Club has a little something for everyone in Greenpoint, Julia Burns. 2

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/c112808d-c7fd-4e46-b3cb-01cbc439b781/c112808d-c7fd-4e46-b3cb-01cbc439b781.transcribe

2202025NJrt_2025-02-20-06-25-22

Well, we're getting our hands dirty with mud in this week's road trip close to home. News Twelve's Amanda Eustace is creating works of art at a pottery studio in Montclair. Welcome to Mud Place studio. We are a full service pottery studio with a warm, welcoming play community. We offer 8 week classes for people who really wanna get into it, uh, but then there are a lot of people who aren't into the committing, so we offer one time events like ladies nights, couples nights, intro classes, and private. And you don't need to know exactly what you're doing to be able to take a class. You know it's my turn to get behind the wheel and get muddy. Hands are gonna be wet right up against the clay and your right hand, which will also be wet, is gonna be here on top so that you're kind of like a wall and a ceiling. Once you get in, you're addicted immediately. Well, this is like your core. Yes, this is a full context sport. People have this need to make stuff. They have this need to try something new and to see that you take this ball of clay, which comes out of the ground, hence mud, and then it becomes something. All right, so now it's time to put a hole in them. So push your wrists together, put your thumbs on top of my thumbs and put some downward pressure. And that's gonna be the inside of our pot. I think people just um they wanna get away from TVs and they wanna get away from the screens and here you you have no choice. So is this what we would say, uh, call it a pot? We're gonna call it a pot. Sweet, so that's really what it's about. You get to make stuff, you get that mindfulness, and we are a completely welcoming community that offer you friendships, um, wins and fails, and people who celebrate the wins. It's more than I thought I was gonna be able to create. For more road trip close to home, you can watch our full show tonight at 7 and 9:30 only on News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/aa115149-6a1c-4730-9629-decb7f6a7fba/aa115149-6a1c-4730-9629-decb7f6a7fba.transcribe

2202025WCrt_2025-02-20-06-42-12

It is a place where the family fun never ends. Run a road trip close to home to Legoland Discovery Center in Yonkers. Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester is a fun hub for families to come and explore Lego and to get hands-on experience where their imagination can run free and they get to explore their creative side. Some of the top activities include our Mini land, which is a replica of New York made out of 1.5 million Lego bricks. We have our Kingdom Prest ride, which is a car ride with lasers and point system. We have our 4D cinema. We have a creative workshop which is right behind me. We have classes that run every couple of hours. We also have build tests where kids can come and just get to explore kind of different sides of their creativity. And then we have Ninjago Training Academy where kids can go and explore their ninja skills. Right now we have our Mini Master Builder competition going on in the creative workshop behind me. Kids can sign up and use their imagination to try to create something that will be entered into a contest to become our next Mini master model builder. Once they pass that, they can go on for our first ever global Mini Master model builder where they'll have their build displayed in Lego's House of play in Denmark for the rest of the year. So it's actually a great time to come down to Legoland Discovery Center in Westchester. When families come here, I, I hope that when they leave they leave with a feeling of creativity and they got to stretch their imagination and see what can be done with Lego brick and just kind of explore all the possibilities and go home with that and then continue that journey. Tonight on that half hour show road trip close to home, we're also embracing winter and exploring the great outdoors. Westchester County is home to several county parks and trails, so we'll show you where to suit up and have some fun in the snow tonight at 7 and 9:30 only on News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/3d7ddb0b-533b-4bb6-9b04-f7425ffc1bd6/3d7ddb0b-533b-4bb6-9b04-f7425ffc1bd6.transcribe

2112025CTmivc2_2025-02-11-07-30-37

And this week in Maiden, Connecticut, we head to Westport where French crepes, hospitality, and entrepreneurs energy come together in a restaurant called Schuppets. On a cold winter's day, good friends, delicious coffee, and grapes. It was a city idea really like I wanted to be in the food world. Connecticut is a beautiful states. I love it. I sat down with Aile houerie in his French crepier and wine bar, chu pet in the heart of Westport. I choose crepe because I'm not a proper chef, so, uh, the crepes is something I grew up with. I saw my mom cooking them. So I thought maybe I can be good at it. A deal came to the US from Paris and wanted to open a restaurant, but money was tight and the banks said no. OK, I cannot do a restaurant, so I can do a food truck. Even a food truck, when I did my homework, you have to buy a truck, you have to buy, you have to buy your, uh, the machines. It's almost like you're, you're building a restaurant. So he bought a bike instead.s. Come on, Becky, I want to show you something. Come on, come on serving his crepes on the streets of New York. I just want to show you like how the original crepe cart started. The reaction was amazing, truly amazing, and I used to like. Oh, so what was in here? Did you have them cooked? I had the machines here. I had my umbrella here. I had the coolers. He was in the snow. I am biking in the snow with smile. I want to do it tomorrow. Now you're giving me back this energy to do it again. There's no shortage of energy whether it's cooking for college students in New Haven or teaching me the basics. Wow. For a deal success comes down to a simple combination fresh ingredients, many produced in Connecticut and treating his customers like family. But I think what drives me the most is is me impressing you, making you crepes. If you're happy, that's what drives me the next day to do it again. Shupe also has locations in New Haven and Darien.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/af3fb3c5-c127-43fc-8637-8f46458c1a51/af3fb3c5-c127-43fc-8637-8f46458c1a51.transcribe

2202025CTrt_2025-02-20-06-31-40

Well, whether you like art, history, biography, or romance, you're certain to find something novel nestled in the stacks of over 350,000 books. In this week's road trip close to home, News 12 photojournalist Laurie Goliath takes us to the book barn in Nyantic. You never know what you're gonna find, and that does make it exciting sort of a treasure hunt. It's really cool. I feel like there's so much to look at. This is Book barn. We have 3 different stores. This is the main barn here. We have a downtown store. We have a chapter 3. We have people come from all over the country, you know, definitely out all over New England. I say our average customer comes from 50 miles away or more. We drove from Massachusetts to check it out, and my, my son is really interested in finding the cat, the cats that live here, so and finding some books, cats. We're gonna go over and feed the goats first and then we can kind of hit the buildings real quick. People come on here to get excited by the goats. That's, uh, peanut. This is cashew. This is Philly and this is um Say Sapphire. There's always people looking for the cats in the different places. The exciting about this, this particular spot is this is where all the books come in. And for me, it's not a good $5 book is just as exciting as a $1000 book. It's, it's the book, not necessarily the quote unquote value of the books. It's pretty interesting. quite a few titles here. We have all our fiction here, we have all our, um, history here, including military history, our architecture. Very impressed at the organization. Everything's in alphabetical order. It's by. Category, a lot of bookstores. I don't even think they know what they have, but this place seems to be pretty well put together. Pretty amazing actually. Probably 350,000 books and we buy about 10,000 books a week. All the books here, it's it's really good for, um, everybody that likes books. Chapter 3 is this way. And, uh, right now, that is what we're calling our, our, um, academic bookstore. The religion, the philosophy, the sociology, movie books are over there. The downtown stories become, we have the kids' books, the mystery, the sci-fi, the horror, the bity. Just the, the feel of a book, uh, I think there's a lot of comfort to people, especially readers. We're busier now than we've ever been, and its young people, which is really what makes it exciting is, is, um, to see a new generation discover the love of books and nothing makes me happier than a little kid coming in with their handful of books and just being so excited. It just, it, it brings tears to my eyes. I would say definitely come down here. It's worth it because especially if you're on 95, it's definitely worth a stop in. Nyanic has a lot of nice restaurants. We've got the boardwalk, we've got the ocean here, so it really is a nice day trip. And Book Barn is open 365 days a year. They buy books every day that they are open if weather allows. If you'd like more information on how to sell your used books or how to visit, go to news twelve.com.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/ddb3693f-c9ec-48f6-b193-de9d2a18c82f/ddb3693f-c9ec-48f6-b193-de9d2a18c82f.transcribe

LIRoadTrip220_2025-02-20-05-28-31

A century of Art Deco glamour is being featured at a local museum right here on Long Island. The Nassau County Museum of Art is transporting you back to the roaring twenties. Newswell's Antoinette Bori takes us there in this week's road trip close to home. Such jewel, such a gem. Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn is filled with almost 200 pieces celebrating the Art Deco period of the 1920s, boasting its art, furniture, fashion, and culture. It's an amazing thing that here in Nassau County we have something of this magnitude. Franklin Hill Perel is the museum's curator. He says he handpicked these works of art to transport people back to the Gatsby era time of. Artistic innovation and for families coming to the museum for the first time, it may be overwhelming. So they have this family guide filled with fun facts, questions, and even activities that make it fun for the whole family. This is definitely a museum for all. Anav Dempin is the museum's lead educator. She says Nassau County Museum of Art has more to offer than just exhibitions, and she says they have a variety of art programs for adults and children ages. 2 and up from painting to pottery classes are offered during the week and on weekends, and most of the projects relate back to the exhibitions. You can come here and make a mess, and it's totally welcome and encouraged whether you're a lover of fine art or would just like to make some of your own. Nassau County Museum of Art has something for every age and ability. From the Nassau County Museum of Art on this road trip close to home, I'm Antoinette Bordi for News 12.

https://vod.prod.alticeustech.com/transcode/08ed777c-f2bf-4dc8-bf67-eaa64e2b6a69/08ed777c-f2bf-4dc8-bf67-eaa64e2b6a69.transcribe

Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

Choose Your Region

Be the first to know

Change

Be the first to know

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for March 13

Here's a look at all the great spots to hit from this week's episode of Road Trip Close to Home.

More Stories

Niantic Children's Museum is sure to spark the imagination of all who visit

Roll up your sleeves! Learn how to cook at Sur La Table in White Plains

Take a trip and step back in time by visiting Garvies Point Museum

Trailside Center in Mountainside Offers Hands-On Learning

Check out a hockey game with the Bridgeport Islanders that is sure to score with the family

Open the vault to remarkable art and history at Bank Art Gallery in Newburgh

Niantic Children's Museum is sure to spark the imagination of all who visit

Roll up your sleeves! Learn how to cook at Sur La Table in White Plains

Take a trip and step back in time by visiting Garvies Point Museum

Trailside Center in Mountainside Offers Hands-On Learning

Check out a hockey game with the Bridgeport Islanders that is sure to score with the family

Open the vault to remarkable art and history at Bank Art Gallery in Newburgh

Interested in more adventures? Check out last week's destinations close to home.

More from News 12

Yves Wilson's 'The View' art exhibit in Bridgeport attracts hundreds

Boonton man to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro all from the seat of his wheelchair

Main Street Connecticut: Showcasing all the St. Patrick's hotspots in Norwalk

New Jersey lawmaker wants to put an end to Daylight Saving Time

Local 9/11 hero selected to lead one of Westchester County's largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations

Your Road Trip Close to Home adventure guide for March 6