Super Bowl activities for nonfootball fans around the valley

Even if you haven’t watched a second of football this season, you’re probably still well aware that over the next few weeks, downtown Phoenix and Glendale will be transformed into Super Bowl mayhem, and will be subsequently flooded with thousands of ardent fans of the game.  If you’ve been downtown lately, you can see that the transformation is already happening.  The buzz is in the air. If you don’t plan on watching the game, but want to be out and about, your Maricopa dentist has a list of places worth checking out:

Cityscape has extended City Skate, Phoenix’s only real outdoor ice skating rink through February 1st, and the ticket price includes skate rentals and access to the rink during public hours.  The rink is located in the middle of Central Ave, between Washington and Jefferson streets on the very west end of Super Bowl Central.
For your little one who likes doing science experiments, just a little east of Cityscape is the Arizona Science Center, which features more than 300 hands-on exhibits, live demonstrations, a state-of-the-art Planetarium and a five-story IMAX® theater, which will feature Galopagos:Nature’s Wonderland in 3D through February.
Just north along 7th Street is the home of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, where the exhibits aren’t just for looking.  Your child up to the age of 10 can crawl, climb, draw, build and explore three floors of colors, shapes and textures, and for the especially little fans, the main floor is home to the Place for Under Threes. The interactive exhibits engage the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the adults who care about them.
If you’re looking for adult fun, downtown Phoenix is home to a growing number of local cultural gems.  A train stop north of Cityscape is Crescent Ballroom, a local music venue and lounge that houses both local and national acts.  The Phoenix Art Museum and Heard Museum are also just a few stops north of the festivities, and if you really want to see something special, make the trip to the Musical Instrument Museum, which boasts more than 6,000 musical instruments from around the world.