Best Place for Kids

Zeum

221 Fourth St. (at Howard), 777-2800, www.zeum.org

One glance in the Reality Check room at Zeum confirms it: They never, everhad anything like this when you were a kid. A handful of high-tech stations make up a whole production studio for creating media shows, all with controls so simple a child could use them (which is the point). During an afternoon, a 6-year-old could put together, say, a faux newscast complete with weather, guest interviews, green-screened field broadcasts, stop-motion animation, and theme music, all cut together and mixed and whatnot, with wardrobe changes. Elsewhere at Zeum more wonders await, such as a Claymation studio and a karaoke bar, and just outside, within spitting distance, you'll find an ice rink, a bowling alley, a 1906 carousel, a playground with excellent tube slides, grassy plots, and a burger joint. Zeum, which bills itself as a hands-on art and technology museum, is leading the charge for a plugged-in youth.