7 Things to Do with Kids Before Summer Ends, School Starts

METRO DETROIT, MI — Kids don’t go back to school until after Labor Day in Michigan, but summer is still slipping away before school activities start occupying your weekends.

Here are some activities you may want to work in over the next several weeks:

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The Tigers are worth the trip — they’re at home in Comerica Park Monday through Aug. 21, first against 2015 World Series champions the Kansas City Royals and then the Boston Red Sox, and then again Aug. 26-31.There’s lots more to do and look at, including a Ferris wheel, tiger-themed carousel, batting cages and life-sized sculpture of Ty Cobb. Check the schedule here and learn more here.

Get Your Penguin On

The Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak has the largest indoor playground for penguins in the world at the Polk Penguin Conservation Center. More than 80 of the aquatic birds are settling into the 33,000-square-foot, $30 million conservation center located on two acres of land near the zoo’s front entrance. Not only do the penguins have plenty of room to zoom, swim and dive, zoo visitors will be able to get a nose-to-beak view of the charismatic birds through a vast acrylic window and two acrylic tunnels that provide spectacular views above, around and below. And, of course, you’ll want to stroll over to the giraffe exhibit and see the new baby giraffe calf. Adorable! Learn more here.

Go to the Set of ‘Innovation Nation’

If your kids’ only introduction to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Museum is on “Innovation Nation,” a weekly Saturday morning show on CBS that showcases present-day changemakers from all over the world, now’s the time to change that. Exhibits at the Dearborn museum go beyond Henry Ford’s pioneering role in the development of the American automobile. For example, your kids can learn about civil rights at the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, see the limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, or step inside Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory. Learn more here.

Take an Art Tour

Some parts of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ acclaimed collection may not be appropriate for kids, but guided tours designed for families take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Some other ideas include art workshops, where participants can discover their artist within. If you live in Oakland, Wayne or Macomb counties, admission is free. Learn more here.

Go to a Drive-In Movie

Drive-in movies are a vanishing part of Americana, but America’s largest with nine screens and parking for 2,500 cars is close to home in Dearborn. Gates open at 8 p.m. during the summer (it’s open year-round, and in-car heaters are available). You can use the theater’s FM stereo or the old-time speakers. Learn more here.

Commune with Bats

Bats are much maligned, and they shouldn’t be. There are two more opportunities — Aug. 19 and Aug. 26 — to take a nighttime bat walk at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills. You’ll explore the beautiful grounds and look for bats as they dip and dive over ponds, fly through the sky and listen to echolocation with sophisticated bat detectors. Learn more here.

It’s An Arcade! No, It’s a Museum

Either way, Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills is worth the trip, and admission is free. If you want to play some of the historic arcade games, you’ll want to bring some spare change. Learn more here.