JULY 2019 STLMAG.COM (^) ÿú
NEW FAMILY ATTRACTION
Play Street Museum
The Streets of St. Charles’
new play area is a perfect
pint-size destination. At the
2,400-square-foot children’s
museum, kids can pretend in a
small-scale town, complete with
a mini restaurant, vet’s office,
grocery store, and fire truck.
They can also play with games
and toys, and make crafts. Visit
the museum’s website (play
streetmuseum.com) to look for
special events, such as Mommy
& Me Yoga and Sensory-
Friendly Playtime. 1650 Beale,
St. Charles.
Photography courtesy of St. Louis Aquarium
HOOPS STAR
Napheesa Collier
The stats are staggering. In her
senior year at UConn, Collier
averaged 20.9 points and 10.5
rebounds per game while shoot-
ing better than 60 percent from
the field. The Incarnate Word
grad ranked third in scoring,
fourth in rebounds, and seventh
in blocks in her college career.
This year, she was named AAC
Player of the Year and Defensive
Player of the Year and led the
voting for the Associated Press
All-America team. Not surpris-
ingly, she’s now playing in the
WNBA. lynx.wnba.com.
RACING REVIVAL
World Wide Technology
Raceway at Gateway
Less than a decade ago, the
Madison race track sat empty,
just weeks from being sold,
when former racer Curtis Fran-
cois bought the track. He’s since
worked tirelessly to revive it,
bringing back IndyCar and NAS-
CAR. Even larger plans are in
store, with new sponsor World
Wide Technology planning new
STEAM initiatives, technology,
and diversity initiatives. 700
Raceway, Madison, Illinois.
ANTICIPATED ATTRACTION
St. Louis Aquarium
A train station–turned–aquar-
ium? Yes, it’s a bold idea, but
LHM has a knack for bringing
fresh life to St. Louis landmarks.
Slated to open later this year,
the two-story, 120,000-square-
foot aquarium will house sharks,
devil rays, otters, piranha, and
more. And guests can soon
expect a 200-foot-tall Ferris
wheel, a merry-go-round, and
three restaurants, including a
World’s Fair–themed gastropub,
an old-fashioned soda fountain,
and a family-friendly café. For
downtown, it’s yet one more sign
of a significant sea change.
1820 Market.
PLACE TO TIDE YOU OVER AS
YOU WAIT ON THE AQUARIUM
City Museum’s
Artquarium
St. Louisans eager to see the
10-times-larger Union Station
aquarium can get a preview of
the life aquatic with a visit to the
whimsical second-floor aquar-
ium inside City Museum. The
11,000-square-foot Artquar-
ium’s offerings include enor-
mous sculptures of a crab and
“septopus” (remember Hank in
Finding Dory?), as well as actual
sea creatures swimming in
tanks surrounded by slides and
tunnels. 750 N. 16th.
NATURAL ADDITION
Forest Park’s
Forthcoming
Natural Playscape
It isn’t what you might imagine.
There won’t be plastic swings or
slides. Instead, the 17-acre play
area, slated to open next year,
will comprise all-natural materi-
als and span a range of ecologi-
cal areas: a spring, a wetland,
a meadow... Located between
the World’s Fair Pavilion and
the Jewel Box, the area is
intended to encourage kids to
embrace the outdoors while
restoring the park’s natural
habitat. It’s a timely idea.
forestparkforever.org.
NEW AMERICANA BAND
Elliott Pearson
and The Passing Lane
Last fall, the band released
its debut three-song EP, Devil’s
Paradise, and kicked off
a tour across the heartland.
The group—comprising experi-
enced local musicians Pearson,
Dylan Doughty, Ian Daugh-
erty, and Jeremy Reidy—might
best be described as delivering
Americana with a heavy
dose of country, a tinge of rock,
and no shortage of heart-
felt lyrics. facebook.com/the
passinglanestl.
PARTY BAND
Vote for Pedro
Perhaps not coincidentally, the
band was formed just a few years
after Napoleon Dynamite hit
theaters, but the eclectic setlists
continue to evolve. Lydia Cae-
sar, Jeff Faulkner, Chris Boss-
let, Jamie Perryman, and Paul
Kriege perform old-school clas-
sics (Kool & The Gang, Aretha
Franklin, Prince) and modern
hits (The Weeknd, Taylor Swift,
Meghan Trainor), keeping the
party going for more than a
decade. vote4pedro.net.
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