Things to Do in Wantagh

Donavon is a surfer-turned-musician whose self-titled debut was released on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records and made the ARIA top 40 charts in 2004. In Mulcahy’s 1,400-person sound-o-sphere, his surf rock ballads, such as “It Don’t Matter” and “Move By Yourself,” will have the full force of live emotion and quality sound to superbly strum heartstrings and tickle earbones. Donavon’s Bermudan musical companion, Mishka, also has roots in the sea soil, having spent much of his childhood sailing and windsurfing before turning to reggae’s guitars and off-beat rhythms. In 2009, Mishka was named Best New Artist in the singer/songwriter category by iTunes.

For the tiniest tots, there are foam towers to topple in the Tot Spot and instruments with which to make rhythms in the mUSic area. Toddlers and preschoolers sift and shovel on the Sandy Island, and older children can use a penny to watch a 100-year-old Mutoscope silent movie or use the Bricks & Sticks wire spinner to design their own 3D shapes. Click here to see the museum’s activity gallery and plan out a day trip. Or, simply show up with plenty of energy and your favorite child to discover the museum together, and help him or her build vital skills in social interaction, education, and colored-block identification. Schoolchildren can bolster their studies without realizing they're learning by organizing games in the ClimbIt@LICM structure, or by comparing barometric readings in the Our Backyard outdoor area. Get today's Groupon to treat a special proto-adult to a day of horizon expansion, enjoyment, and giant bubbles.

Hampton Luxury Liner ferries its passengers around in a lavish motorcoach that boasts five flat-screen TVs, complimentary WiFi, and an on-bus library. The luxury buses travel to destinations ranging from the Hamptons to Atlantic City, with specific stops at wineries, resorts, and casinos. Reclining leather seats with space for laptops and maximum leg extension typify the cushy interior, and each road cruiser also comes equipped with a snack bar, library, and refrigerator, useful for storing steaks to distract the thousands of chasing dogs such a luxurious bus usually attracts.

Film buffs across six states stare wide-eyed at large cinema screens, losing themselves in first-run Hollywood movies and the smell of fresh, buttery kernels within Your Neighborhood Theatre's 17 locations. Though all theaters prioritize comfortable seating, old-fashioned friendly service, and high-stakes preshow trivia slideshows, each location encompasses its own distinct charm, be it through arthouse décor, 3-D screens, or Rhode Island's vintage 1950's drive-in setting.

Built to replicate the Suzuka Circuit racetrack in Japan, the 632-meter track at Musselman Honda Circuit challenges roadsters of all sorts to master its seven turns. Whether drivers jump behind the wheel of a 9-horsepower P1 fast kart or behind the wicker picnic basket attached to the front of a motorcycle, the dirt track cushions tires during competitive pursuits and practice sessions alike. The multifaceted raceway accommodates a wide range of driving pursuits throughout the week, including driving education classes, cycling, and handicapped-accessible adaptive karting.

Flanked by seven other aircraft, a Grumman F-11 hangs suspended in a shallow dive over the main entrance to Cradle of Aviation Museum’s four-story glass atrium. Three viewing levels on wraparound balconies afford views of the aircraft that only fellow pilots in close formation ever saw when it was in service. The 150,000-square foot facility’s eight exhibits grant similarly intimate glimpses of more than 75 aircraft and spacecrafts that trace the historic path of Long Island’s aviation contributions since 1870. Those artifacts include a replica of the Wright Brothers’ 1899 kite, five aircraft made in Long Island for World War II, and the Grumman Lunar Module LM-5 “Eagle”, which transported Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin to that soundstage that looked like the moon.

Patrons also get a chance to soar skywar in the X-Ride Theater, a 30-seat motion simulator whose “Fly with the Blue Angels” film mimics the piloting of a U.S. Navy squadron jet. Over in the JetBlue Sky Theater Planetarium and the Leroy R. & Rose W. Grumman Dome Theater, screens show films on subjects such as Lewis and Clark and Ernest Shackleton’s famed Antarctic journey. To reenergize after touring the museum or riding the Historic Nunley's Carousel, which was built in 1912, guests can enjoy a meal in the Red Planet Cafe, whose space station décor evokes a Martian cafeteria in the year 2040.