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The quaint New England seaport village of Portland, Maine, provides kids with an assortment of attractions, including an array of educational activities tucked away in the historic brick-covered streets of the Old Port region. Move toward the city’s rugged coastline and you’ll find sprawling beaches and islands that dot the waters of Casco Bay, all of which serve as an outdoor playground for little adventure seekers.

Sports and Recreation

• Kids can take in a game played by the Portland Sea Dogs -- the Boston Red Sox double-A baseball team -- at Hadlock Field. The stadium has a replica Green Monster wall and a lighthouse in the outfield that illuminates whenever the home team hits a home run. The stadium hosts post-game fireworks shows on select nights and offers a Hood Kids Club that allows children to run the bases after the game and collect players' autographs. Owned and operated by the city, Portland Ice Arena has open skate sessions for the general public. The arena provides public and private figure skating lessons for kids as young as 4 and a hockey league for children between the ages of 5 and 18.

Fun Travels

• Open from May through October, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum celebrates the state’s railroad past. The museum also provides 35-minute rides on its historic steam train, including special events such as the Polar Express excursion during Christmas and old-fashioned, Old West train robberies. The museum hosts weekly storybook sessions and arts and crafts workshops for kids as well. Children can learn the history of Portland with a 60-minute tour on land and water via Downeast Duck Adventures. Climb aboard amphibious vehicles as they travel down the streets of downtown Portland and across the waters of Casco Bay.outdoor play structures
  

  
  

Outdoor Playgrounds

• Palace Playland is in Orchard Beach, 30 minutes south of Portland. The 4-acre beachfront amusement park is home to more than 25 rides, including roller coasters, bumper cars, a carousel and Ferris wheel. The complex also has a 24,000-square-foot arcade with more than 200 video and redemption prize carnival games. The park is open from mid-April through mid-October and has an evening fireworks show once a week during the summer. Dubbed the “Coney Island of Maine,” Peaks Island is just a 20-minute ferry ride from downtown Portland. Kids can explore the island and its sweeping ocean views by renting bikes or kayaks, the latter of which requires a parental waiver for those 18 and younger. End your island adventure with a treat from the quaint village ice cream shops.

Cultural Excursions

• Established in 1867, Portland Public Library is home to more than 300,000 items, including books, movies and CDs. The main branch hosts an assortment of kid-friendly events throughout the year, including story-time sessions, arts and crafts workshops, board game parties, junior book clubs, theatrical performances and cartoon and movie screenings. The three-story Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine has a host of interactive exhibits where kids can play in a pretend world by riding a 25-foot fire truck, fishing on a lobster boat, shopping in a market and taking money out of an ATM. The attached Dress-Up Theatre stages shows for and starring children and lists such past productions as “Charlotte's Web” and “Peter Pan.”outdoor play structures