#100thingsWRAL: 100 activities, road trips, destinations for summer fun

Welcome to the Summer 100 - a list of 100 things to do, including activities across the Triangle, road trips and easy recipes when you need a little treat. So, the next time the kids are bored and you're ready for a change of pace, pull up this list and start checking the items off.

Posted 1:00 a.m. Jun 9, 2016 — Updated 6:58 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Summer vacation is a go! As most kids in the Triangle say so long to their teachers this week, we know parents are wondering how they'll be passing all of those hours until late August.

Need some ideas? We have 100 of them. Welcome to the Summer 100 - a list of 100 things to do, including activities across the Triangle, road trips and easy recipes when you need a little treat. So, the next time the kids are bored and you're ready for a change of pace, pull up this list and start checking the items off.

Each time you do something on the Summer 100, share your pictures with us so we can see the fun you are having! You can tag us on Facebook at WRALGoAskMom. On Twitter, use the hashtag #100thingsWRAL to share your photos and see what other families are up to.

Have a great summer!

1. Stand under the giant bucket at Fuquay-Varina's sprayground.

2. Take a pedal boat ride at Lake Johnson Park in Raleigh.

3. Let the kids dance at The Cary's new Film Day Fun Day series.

4. Take a day trip to Charlotte and test your Rubik's Cube skills against masters at Discovery Place's Beyond Rubik's Cube exhibit.

5. Cheer on the Oak City Futbol Club as the semi-professional women's team plays its first season in Raleigh.

6. Touch everything aboard the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington

7. Learn something you didn't know about lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham

8. Say "hey" to the elk calves born at the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro

9. Go bumpity bump down Hill Ridge Farms' giant slide in Youngsville

10. Check out Cary's new sprayground when it opens at Jack Smith Park

11. Attend a summer reading program at a library

12. Take an indoor zip-line ride when American Adventure opens at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh

13. Stomp out a tune on Marbles' new StepNotes in Raleigh

14. Climb to the top of the rock wall at Kidzu Children's Museum in Chapel Hill

15. Play hide and seek in the Museum of Life and Science's Hideaway Woods in Durham

16. Relax at one of the region's free or cheap summer movie series

17. Take the kids out to a restaurant where kids eat free

18. See the animals from the trees on Air Hike at the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro

19. Hop aboard the New Hope Valley Railway in southwestern Wake County

20. Zoom down the water slide at Buffaloe Road Aquatic Center in Raleigh

21. Swing with your baby at Knightdale Station Park

22. Pop up from the "groundhog hole" at Prairie Ridge Ecostation's nature playground in Raleigh

23. Find the whisper benches at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh

24. Go blueberry picking and make some muffins

25. Learn something new about North Carolina in the N.C. Museum of History's junior historian discovery gallery

26. Become a Junior Ranger through N.C. State Parks

27. Listen to "trees talk" on the Talking Tree Trail

28. Make something new at Durham County Library's new MakerLab at Main

29. Ride the Sway Fun at Kids Together Park in Cary

30. Get a slice of triple chocolate cake at Edible Art in Raleigh

31. Try a snoball at Pelican's

32. Make s'mores ... or s'mores dip if a campfire isn't handy

33. Reserve a spot at N.C. State Park's new two-bedroom cabins at Carolina Beach

34. Climb as high as 70 or 80 feet into a tree with Piedmont Recreation Tree Climbing in Orange County

35. Go on a nature hike

36. Watch the airplanes fly in at RDU's Observation Park

37. Spend a morning at White Deer Park in Garner, then head across the street to Lake Benson Park for a picnic lunch

38. See a Durham Bulls game

39. Take a day trip to Topsail Island

40. Feed the birds in The Landing Zone at Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck

41. Check out a new planetarium show at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill

42. Take a spin on the carousel at Pullen Park in Raleigh

43. Cool off at the Museum of Life and Science's Into the Mist

44. Visit the Durham Farmers' Market, then slide down Mount Merrill at Durham Central Park

45. Explore the "castle" of Kelly Road Park in Apex

46. Follow the trail to multiple play places at Crowder District Park in Apex

47. Splash in the river at Eno River State Park

48. Sign up for an escape room experience

49. Design your own doughnuts at Duck Donuts

50. Go for a family bike ride along the region's greenways

51. Drop-in for art at Nasher Museum of Art's summer program for kids

52. See animals up close on the N.C. Zoo's Zoofari

53. Play some music at Marbles' TreeTunes in Raleigh

54. Learn a little something about art during a family-friendly weekend tour at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh

55. Explore a kid-friendly TRACK Trail

56. Try to pick your favorite ice cream flavor at Sunni Sky's Homemade Ice Cream in Angier

57. Dare to swing on the Tarzan swings at Go Ape at Blue Jay Point County Park in Raleigh

58. Take in a Carolina Mudcats game in Zebulon

59. Ride the historic carousel at Chavis Park in Raleigh

60. See and hear the lions roar at the Conservators' Center in Mebane

Courtesy: Conservators' Center. Photo credit: Taylor Hattori Images

61. Shoot down the toboggan slides at Three Bears Acres in northern Wake County

62. Get a cone (or five) at Maple View Farm in Hillsborough

63. Get some peaches at the farmers' market and make peach oatmeal bars

64. Go play outside at Go Play Outside Now in Garner

65. Take in an afternoon tea in the Triangle

66. Or, for American Girl fans, plan a day trip for tea at the Charlotte store

67. Then, head to Historic Stagville in Durham to learn more about the place that was home to the inspiration for American Girl's Addy

68. See the amazing History Center during a day trip to Tryon Palace in New Bern

69. Take the Swift Creek Loop with boardwalks and a long stairway at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary

70. Try your hand at paddle boarding on the boards now available at Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville

71. Practice your pipette skills in the natural world investigate lab at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Research Center in Raleigh

Kids work on a peanut allergy experiment at the Nature Research Center in downtown Raleigh.

72. Celebrate the big wins at the Carolina Basketball Museum in Chapel Hill

73. Search Activate Good for Triangle-area volunteer opportunities for families

74. Go around and around on the turntable at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer

75. Make some easy no churn peach ice cream

76. Take your young children to a Carolina Puppet Theatre show at various venues in Wake County

77. Jump as high as you can at a local trampoline park, including Defy Gravity in Raleigh and Durham; SkyZone in Raleigh and Durham; Launching Pad in Raleigh or Jumpstreet in Cary

78. Drop in for Preschool Playcraft at Bull City Craft in Durham

79. Climb up some guitar "strings" at Notasium in Durham

80. Travel to Lumpy's Ice Cream in Wake Forest for a homemade treat

81. Tailgate before a Carolina RailHawks game in Cary

82. Learn the history of the Duke family at Duke Homestead in Durham

83. Greet the goats at Historic Oak View County Park in Raleigh

84. Check out an Explorer Backpack at Annie Louise Wilkerson MD Nature Preserve in Raleigh

85. Head over to Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh for one of its regular Thursday morning storytimes

86. See what's growing at the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden at Duke Gardens in Durham