1 WHITE POST FARMS, a large petting zoo in Melville, Long Island, that’s set up like a farm with barns and stables, is a terrific twofer. Kids will love feeding goats, rabbits, deer, and other furry creatures (from wafer cones filled with those stinky pellets), and parents can shop for fresh produce, pies, and gratuitously whimsical garden tchotchkes in the adjacent market. (250 Old Country Road, Melville, Long Island; 631-351-9373; admission $4.)
2 For the rah-rah-sisterhood thing, take a ride out to Long Island’s Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale and cheer for the NEW YORK POWER, the area’s first professional women’s soccer team. Two hours before game time, hit the Power-Zone, on the north side of the stadium. It’s jam-packed with fun activities, such as kicking practice, face-painting, concerts, and radio-station giveaways. At press time, the team was in second place nationally. (1 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Exit M4 off the Meadowbrook Parkway; 866-powrtix; tickets are $12-$25.)
3 Take a hike through FOREST PARK, the Queens version of the Appalachian Trail. Rangers are available to accompany small groups on one of the many nature paths, which range from a half-mile to four miles. Within the dense oak-and-hickory forest, be on the lookout for songbirds, butterflies, chipmunks, rabbits, moles, and other wildlife. Two nearby private stables are filled with horses that know the park’s equestrian trail. Forest Park extends from Woodhaven Boulevard to Myrtle Avenue, Union Turnpike, and Park Lane South. (For information, call Forest Park’s office at 718-235-4100.)
4 Since sophisticated New York kids have built models of everything from the Parthenon to the Brooklyn Bridge by the time they’re 12, surely they’re ready for the GUGGENHEIM’S FRANK GEHRY EXHIBIT. This retrospective of the architect’s work incorporates dozens of delightful models of commercial structures as well as his own home. There are also wow-inducing sails of aluminum mesh suspended from the top of the rotunda and a titanium canopy that extends over an outdoor café. Call for family programs. (1071 Fifth Avenue, at 88th Street; 212-423-3587.)
5 Head north to PHILIPSBURG MANOR in Sleepy Hollow – a historical restoration – for a view (and reenactment) of what it was like to live on a farm in the 1600s. Your kids won’t stop whining about taking out the garbage? Once they watch demos of the daily chores of their forebears – working the gristmill, weaving, open-hearth-cooking – maybe they’ll get with the program (for a day or two). (914-631-3992; $8 adult, $4 kids.)
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