Things to Do in Sheboygan

The instructors at Bricks 4 Kidz translate a curriculum molded around science, technology, engineering, and math into kid-friendly language using Legos. They encourage creativity at hands-on classes and parties, where they oversee youngsters in designing and erecting machines, catapults, buildings, and other colorful formations with architecture and physics in mind. By giving their labs whimsical themes, including outer space and roller coasters, they put the kids in an environment where they can work together to master tricky concepts such as friction and scale. Central theories and activities are tailored to groups based on age, ability, and which side of the “Does gravity exist?” debate they support.

The night sky is a vast ocean of celestial objects such as the moon, the bright lights of our closest stars, and the warm glow of neighboring galaxies. Located at the University of Wisconsin Fox Valley, Barlow Planetarium helps uncover the vastness of the universe through a 3-D-capable Digistar projector, which—combined with 10,000 watts of digital sound and a 48-foot projection screen—transports guests into the deepest trenches of space. The facility's star shows include family programs that make astronomy easy to understand as well as feature shows that tickle the minds of more hardened astronomy buffs. Along with celestial exploration, the planetarium transforms with dancing lights and rich sounds during laser shows. These programs add visual touches to music from the likes of The Beatles or Isaac Newton's little-known punk band.

The planetarium also hosts academic programs for grade-school children. These include the Wisconsin Space Academy, in which students build and launch rockets, and the Wisconsin Astronomy Academy, which lets pupils peer through telescopes and discover vending machines floating through space.

Dedicated to fostering social change by bringing the community together, the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee engages denizens through a host of activities, events, and educational programs. The organization's focus can be distilled into three parts, the first of which promotes the development of area youth via programs that help them realize their potential. Secondly, a commitment to bettering the community's health manifests itself in everything from group exercise classes to youth sports teams. Thirdly, YMCA volunteers take the reigns of social responsibility as they organize local initiatives that focus on empowering children with disabilities and promoting workplace wellness. Trained staffers also helm a variety of childcare programs that boost literacy and help develop skills, and the Y's Camps Matawa and Minikani grant city dwellers and runaway trees a much-needed reunion with nature.

Snugly situated on a historic 1881 farm once known as the Schwabenlander Homestead, Mulberry Lane Farm takes its name from an ancient mulberry tree that once served as a favorite playplace for the Schwabenlander children. In those days, the 100-year-old tree was so esteemed that the children were not allowed to climb it while wearing shoes. Because of this rule, it wasn’t uncommon to find Lawrence, Harry, Norbert, and their nine other brothers and sisters swinging from its boughs, their shoes respectfully lined around its base.

Today, children still play in the shadow of that mulberry tree thanks to the founders of Green Meadows Farm, the Keyes family. Close friends of the last of the Schwabenlander boys, the Keyes adopted the farmstead and its original brick farmhouse into their petting farm empire in 2005 but gave it its own identity to honor the legacy of the original owners. Guided tours lead groups around the farm on foot and by hayride, where kids and adults are encouraged to interact and swap salad recipes with the goats, chickens, sheep, and rabbits that call the farm home. Along the way, visitors can learn how to milk cows and ride ponies or practice catching a chicken, then swing by the barn to snuggle kittens and Otis, the 900-pound boar. Before departing, visitors each receive a free souvenir in the spring and summer, and those who come in the fall have the chance to pick their own pumpkins from the 6-acre pumpkin patch.

Awarded with numerous accolades from the Golf Course Owners of Wisconsin, The Golf Club at Camelot earns recognition for the course's pristine playing conditions of wooded hills and valleys whittled into the landscape by ancient glaciers. Water flows into the picture on half of the holes, including twice on the par 5 ninth, where the fairway bend features an elongated lake and makes players hit their first and second shots with hydrophobic golf balls. On the back nine, the par 3 13th hole places golfers 120 feet higher than the green on a tee box that affords panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and acts as the best place to spot outlaw foursomes on the lam.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course

• Total length of 6,304 yards from the back tees

• Course rating of 69.4 from the back tees

• Course slope of 125 from the back tees

• Four sets of tees per hole

Draped over 270 acres of rolling woodland terrain, Branch River Golf & Tennis’s 18-hole course funnels dimpled orbs through a circuit of arching fairways dotted with lush trees. After two generous starting holes, golfers must face Branch River’s daunting “Monster” hole, a 584-yard behemoth where players must tunnel drives though a fairway hemmed by trees, before determining how best to approach a creek-fortified green with a false front and fake ID. High-risk, high-reward shots abound throughout, forcing golfers to exercise sound course management as they drink in views of the picturesque par 72 course.

Along with pristine links, Branch River Golf & Tennis houses three tennis courts, a full-size outdoor pool, and an area for trap shooting. After a long day of spirited sport and swimming, guests can take a load off at dining facilities that overlook the course and graciously supply booster seats so anthropomorphic sand wedges can partake in the meal.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Course rating of 72.5 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 125 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Click here for course layout