Best fun for kids, 9 & 6, two days in Key West...

Want to plan a couple of things around the grandkids this weekend, staying over just Sunday night in Key West. Plan on being at Mallory Square, and visiting the southernmost point in the US, and probably the cemetary, as well as a little shopping.

What couple of things would best interest my grandchildren? Fort Zachary? Thank you for suggestions, with the limited time we will have in Key West...

wkgal

Best fun for kids, 9 %26amp; 6, two days in Key West...

Yep, Fort Zach is hands down my kids favorite. They can ';snorkel'; by the rocks that come right off the beach and see little fish, search for sea urchins, explore the fort, get smoothies...it%26#39;s a whole day for us. They even have a box of beach toys for use for free by the snack bar. Just as you enter the fort is a pretty neat new museum about the keys, reefs, etc. It%26#39;s on your right just before the guard shack. And it%26#39;s free!

Try and make it to the Chicken store on the south end of Duval. We walk the south end of Duval with the kids, not the north end. Also, our kids like walking along the Bight. There are several places to stop and feed the fish. Also in that area, our kids like Peppers, a store that sells hot sauces, with a tasting bar. There%26#39;s a great playground across the street from the White St. pier. There are some live birds upstairs in the Clinton Sq. Mall (I think that%26#39;s the name). It%26#39;s next to the aquarium where Whitehead and Front come together. They also have a movie. It has a religous message at the end, but if you%26#39;re ok with that, the movie about the environment of the keys is really good and about 20 minutes long and also free. And the aquarium is good for that age. A little pricy for what you get in my opinion.

Have a blast with those kiddos!

Best fun for kids, 9 %26amp; 6, two days in Key West...

Don%26#39;t forget the Butterfly Conservatory on Duval. I%26#39;ve been three times and continue to be amazed everytime I%26#39;m there. I know your grandchildren would love it!

At Ft. Zachary be sure to have the children (and you) wear some kind of water shoes to protect their feet.

Still haven%26#39;t made it to the Butterfly Conservatory because we have a large one in Rochester and another close by in Niagara Falls, but I hear it%26#39;s great. I%26#39;m pretty sure it%26#39;s at the south end of Duval near the Chicken store.

Definitely need water shoes at Fort Zach. Good coral and shell hunting there, too.

I so appreciate your help. Fort Zachary, it is then. And, my grandson%26#39;s name is Zachary!

Thanks so much for the all of your inside info; we%26#39;ll include some of those suggestions such as Peppers, and maybe the movie, and whatever else we can fit in during our short stay.

wkgal

I would plan a stop in the aquarium. It is wonderfully low tech and very well done. The touch tank in the very front is great, especially when a staff member is doing the tour. One of your grandchildren could easily end up with a horseshoe crab on his or her head. You%26#39;ll also get the chance to touch a shark and see the shark feeding in the back. For a 9 and 6 year old (and for this something year old), the aquarium beats the southermost point as an attraction.