Inside scoop: Don’t miss the Rocket Park Mini Golf Course,
which reveals that the same laws of motion and gravity that
guide the path of a spaceship also control the motion of golf balls
here on Earth. In this nine-hole miniature course, players explore
key science concepts such as propulsion, gravity, escape velocity,
and gravitational assist.
Address: 47-01 111th St. and www.nysci.org.
QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN
A converted and relocated remnant of the 1939 and 1964
World’s Fairs, the Queens Botanical Garden consists of almost
40 acres of trees, shrubs and rose, bee, herb, and flower patches.
Something is in bloom no matter the season. Special sections
include Cherry Circle, Fragrance Walk, Perennial Garden,
Arboretum, Bee Garden, and Pinetum. The Victorian Wedding
Garden, complete with a footbridge over a babbling stream, is a
favorite spot for couples to exchange vows.
Built in 2007, the visitors’ center was the first New York City
building to earn a “Platinum” rating from the United States
Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The center has
a planted green roof that minimizes storm water run-off, solar
panels that generate 17 percent of the building’s electricity,
geothermal heating and cooling that uses 55-degree water
pumped from an aquifer to maintain the building’s climate, gray
water recycling that cleans water from its sinks, dishwasher, and
showers for use in the building’s public toilets, compost toilets
for staffers and bioswales that capture storm water to reduce
pressure on the city’s sewer system.
Inside scoop: The garden abuts Flushing’s Main Street on
one side. This thoroughfare is the heart of the city’s biggest
Chinatown with Asian restaurants, boutiques, hair salons, and
stores. Some places sell vegetables and fruits that don’t have
recognizable English names.
Address: 43-50 Main St. and www.queensbotanical.org.
QUEENS MUSEUM
The Queens Museum re-opened in 2013 after a $69 million
renovation that created 50,000 more square feet, extra galleries,
studios for resident artists, and a sky-lit atrium.
The museum is most famous for its Panorama of the City of
New York, a 9,335-square-foot, 900,000-structure, scaleddown
architectural model of all five boroughs. The permanent
24 QUEENS IN YOUR POCKET • www.itsinqueens.com