Performing arts
Kitchen Theatre Company
(http://www.kitchentheatre.org) - bold, intimate, engaging... kitchen teatre company is downtown ithaca's year round professional theare. critically acclaimed, this theatre is nationally renowned and offers four performance series main stage, family fare, kitchen counter culture, kitchen sink. the kitchen presents an engaging mix of contemporary, regional, and world premiere plays and musicals in an intimate 73-seat theatre that encourages a bold relationship between audience and actor. "important conversations happen in the kitchen."
The Hangar Theatre
A professional regional theatre presenting full-scale musicals, beloved classics, comedies, dramas, cabaret, world premieres, and a sparkling lineup of children's plays, musicals and education programs.
Ithaca College Theatre
(http://www.ithaca.edu/hs/...) performs two musicals, an opera, and several plays each year.
Whalen Center for Music
The Ithaca College Whalen Center for Music has numerous free concerts and recitals almost every day of the week during the school year. (http://www.ithaca.edu/mus...)
Nature and science
Cayuga Nature Center
(http://www.cayuganaturece...) - visitors to cayuga nature center can explore the wonders of the natural world first hand. cayuga nature center has over five miles of trails and a lodge filled with indoor exhibits including a kids' activity room. cayuga nature center prides itself with our collection of indoor and outdoor live animal exhibits and our seasonal butterfly house. treetops, our six-story tree house, and five miles of trails are open from dawn to dusk. cayuga nature center offers a wide range of educational activities including environmental and animal programs, an active outreach program, our team challenge ropes course, and much more.
Sciencenter
(http://www.sciencenter.org/) - the sciencenter, located at 601 first street in ithaca, is a hands-on science museum for people of all ages with over 250 fun exhibits, educational programs, an outdoor science park, a seasonal 18-hole miniature golf course, an animal room, and a gift shop. the sciencenter is open tuesdays through saturdays, from 10am to 5pm and sundays from noon to 5pm admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $5 for children ages 3-17. admission is free to members and children under the age of three. the museum's traveling exhibitions change seasonally and there is always something new to explore. the sciencenter, named the “2006 not-for-profit organization of the year” by the tompkins county chamber of commerce, welcomes more than 91,000 visitors per year. the sciencenter is a proud member of ithaca's discovery trail.
Light in Winter Festival
(http://www.lightinwinter.com) - favorite ithaca resident carl sagan once said "somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known." the annual light in winter festival celebrates that possibility by looking at the world through a different lens in the hopes of enlightening, educating and entertaining visitors. liw takes place the last weekend in january and is one of the few festivals in the world which celebrates the intersections of art and science.
Cass Park
North off route 89, just outside town. skating in winter, swimming pool in summer. this is adjacent to alan treman state park, which contains a marina and a large fenced off-leash dog park.