To help limit the spread of Coronavirus and to support public health efforts, most family attractions and many businesses have closed temporarily. We urge our readers to follow public health guidelines: Stay home if at all possible and practice social distancing if you must leave your home. For the latest on protecting your family and community from COVID-19 follow these guidelines. To learn the facts about children and COVID-19, hear from Dr. Hilary Babcock, an infectious disease specialist with St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

World Chess Hall of Fame

Ages

Elementary Age, Middle Schoolers, Teens and Tweens

Locations

St. Louis County, St. Louis

Extended Care

2020 Chess Club Summer Camps

Chess Summer Camps are the perfect way to introduce the game of chess to new students, deepen understanding of the game for established players, or offer intensive instruction for aspiring chess masters. Grandmaster instructors provide daily lessons, puzzles, and play to help guide students through each session. Instruction offers a solid, basic foundation, emphasizing the fundamental skills needed to begin a lifetime of learning in chess.

Each camp provides opportunities to practice these skills in a variety of activities and workshops with classmates under the observation of a Grandmaster and experienced chess instructors from the Saint Louis Chess Club. Camps are offered at Our Lady of the Lourdes School, Saint Louis University and the Saint Louis Chess Club.

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Tour de Museum

Tour de Museum is a free bike ride that includes an art scavenger hunt, and stops at Citygarden, The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, World Chess Hall of Fame and the Contemporary Art Museum.

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8 Essential Events for St. Louis Families in November

November is a great time to give thanks and spend quality time with family. There are plenty of fun ways to explore, celebrate and learn together all across the St. Louis area. Here are our top picks for family-friendly events in November:

Magic House to Open Summer Satellite in North County

The Magic House will open a summer satellite location in North County later this month featuring the popular Kings, Queens and Castles exhibit, free admission and chess summer camps.

Kings, Queens and Castles: Final Days!

Kings, Queens and Castles is an innovative exhibition that brings the chess board to life and provides an engaging introduction to individual chess pieces and game strategy.

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At Kings, Queens & Castles, Kids Become the Chess Game

When it comes to teaching your kids the game of chess, you could introduce it hunched over a game table for hours, discussing strategy with antsy little ones whose attention spans are short as they are. Or, you could truly immerse them by taking them inside the game, where they can learn the finer points of competition through make-believe play and plot out their winning moves on a giant chess board.

Kings, Queens & Castles Opens at the World Chess Hall of Fame

Bring your family to the new Kings, Queens & Castles exhibition at the World Chess Hall of Fame. Created in collaboration with The Magic House, this innovative, interactive family exhibit brings the game of chess to life and provides an engaging introduction to individual chess pieces and game strategy. The exhibit features an array of hands-on elements. A drawbridge leading to a castle greets guests, a dress-up station transforms children into royalty, and life-sized chess pieces with cutouts for faces make for great photos! Learn more at worldchesshof.org.

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Things to Do

Open House at YMCA Camp Lakewood

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Camp Lakewood Open Houses are designed to give you and your children or teens the opportunity to meet the camp directors, ask questions and see the beautiful property. You'll get a tour of the camp, be able to speak with camp staff and be reassured that your camper will have the experience of a lifetime at YMCA Camp Lakewood.

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Parents' Survival Night at The Little Gym

Friday, May 1, 2020

Friday, May 29, 2020

Parents call it a break from the kids, and kids call it a break from parents, so its a win-win for all! During Parents' Survival Night you can spend some adult time seeing a movie or catching up with friends, while your kids get quality "kid time" in a safe, familiar, and fun place with trained instructors who lead them through music, games and fun LEGO, DUPLO and LEGO Junior building activities.

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Kids Art Night Out

Friday, May 1, 2020

Kids Art Night Out at Yucandu Art Studio features a new creative project each month, ranging from mosaics, to collage, print-making, glitter, clay and more.

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Tons of Transportation

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Kids of all ages are invited to climb on and explore dump trucks, backhoes, fire trucks, police cruisers, an excavator and more at Tons of Transportation.

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Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend a Fin! Opens at The Magic House

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Featuring real puppets created by the Henson Creature Shop, Splash and Bubbles: Dive In, Lend a Fin! takes children on an underwater adventure to learn about the ocean and what they can do to help protect it.

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Popular Stories

St. Louis Family Attractions Closure List (Continually Updated)

Break out the books, toys and puzzles and sharpen your pillow fort skills. St. Louis family attractions have closed their doors and cancelled events for the next several weeks to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Here is a handy list of what's closed (and for how long) that will be updated daily as new information becomes available. Please note that projected opening dates may change.

Old School Home School: My Kids Are Going to Learn Like It’s 1991

Congratulations. You are now your kids' de facto teacher. But in this time of high anxiety, you get to decide what your "school" will look like and what your kids really need. I'm absolutely sure that what none of us need right now is more stress. To that end, I decided my kids need some current-day instruction mixed in with as many practical life lessons as I could pass along from my own growing-up years: the 1990s.

Sleep-Away Camp: Then and Now

Last summer, I was introduced to the wonders of modern-day sleep-away camp when my daughter spent a week at one for the first time. And let me tell you – these kids have it good. Real good. I went to sleep-away camp too, when I was a kid, and let's just say things have changed. Here are just a few of the differences between then and now.

Coming Soon: Why the Forest Park Playscape, Opening This Year, Will Be Much More Than a Playground

Since breaking ground on the child-inspired Nature Playscape in Forest Park last summer, Forest Park Forever, the City of St. Louis and their team of partners have been pushing forward on this much-anticipated project at full speed, constructing eight activity areas where your kids will soon splash, climb, build, and learn. Already halfway completed, this one-of-a-kind play area in the heart of the park is destined to grow children’s interest in the natural world around them.

Blood, Flood or Vomit: How I Taught My Kids to Be More Independent

Once upon a time, well before we had children, I sat down to have a conversation with my husband. Looking back now, it was a magical twenty minutes. Perhaps we talked about something somewhat important, like our monthly financial spreadsheet, or something extremely important, like what restaurant we were going to for dinner. The point isn’t what the conversation was about. The point is that once upon a time we were able to have an entire uninterrupted conversation.