Hi there!
I’ve returned to my series on Gush Dan further to my previous post “Gush Dan – Five Wonderful Kosher Bites with Gluten Free Options”. The breakfast buffet place ‘Bokeria’ is in the city of Petach Tikva so I decided to write about a trip to Petach Tikva and while searching a bit for ideas on where to go, I came across a few suggestions for activities in Kfar Sirkin, the countrified ‘Moshav’ that is right across the street from Petach Tikva. Hopefully, this post will satisfy both the city mice and country mice amongst you.
Trip Itinerary Options
Petach Tikva
The Historic Complex
Beit Yad Lebanim
A memorial section in ‘Independence Park’
‘Founders Museum on the History of Petach Tikva’
‘Petach Tikva Archives’
Petach Tikva Museum of Art
‘Gan HaAtzmaut’ or ‘Independence Park’
Petach Tikva Animal Park
The Museum of Human Sciences and Environment
Petach Tikva Market
Kfar Sirkin
‘Gardening Way’ – An Ecological Garden with Workshops
‘Simon Bees’ – A Honey Products Shop
‘Susim Bakfar’ – A Horse Ranch for Kids with Special Needs
All of the Petach Tikva locations except for the market are situated in the same complex with the historic complex and art museum located on one side of the independence park and the animal park and science museum on the other side of the park allowing for a breather after any of the educational activities.
Trip Anchors
Petach Tikva Animal Park
I surprised you, didn’t I? You know I like history, but actually this animal park is an old-time favorite of mine from when my kids were little. It’s a fairly small, well-kept zoo with a pretty pond in the middle and a nice assortment of animals, the highlight of which is the large monkey cage. I’m afraid that when I visited they had just been given their food so they were too busy eating to play with their jumbo gym equipment, but that was interesting to watch too.
Address: 9 Moshe Sharet, Petach Tikva
Phone: 03-9223930
The Historic Complex
Well of course, I think the history tour is a trip anchor. It’s interesting! HOWEVER, you’ll have to take a guided tour because the written information is all in Hebrew. The bright side is that you can still get a live guide and not just a set of headphones. The extend and depth of the tour is up to you. Basically, the complex includes four sections.
First, there is a memorial section in the ‘Gan Atzmaut’ Independence Park’ with an original tanks, statues and their stories.
Secondly, you can visit ‘Beit Yad Lebanim’, the first Memorial Hall to be built in Israel, which won the Israel Prize of 1980. It was commissioned by the First Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion following the heavy losses in the Independence War where 1% of the population was killed in action including teenagers. There are a lot of stories to tell in relation to the people and items presented in the hall.
Thirdly, there is the ‘Founders Museum on the History of Petach Tikva’, featuring the early days of Petach Tikva, which was founded in 1878. The museum contains several original items contributed by the families as well as models of the some of the major public buildings. The museum is designed to represent a periodic street and home.
Last, but not least, you can visit the Petach Tikva archive, which has the original documents from the time of establishment and two very nice archivists called Noni and Dalia who will be happy to search for your ancestors. . I’d like to thank them again for the copy of the book that they gave me, in the photo entitled “Petach Tikva Stories”.
Tours can also include an interactive activity, like playing games of yore (you don’t have to know Hebrew) or a treasure hunt. The complex has actors, short films and in general, the management can tailor a tour suited to your needs.
Address: 30 Arlozorov St. Petach Tikva
Phone: 03-9286304.
Additional Options
The Museum of Human Sciences and Environment
As befits a science museum, they are nearly ready with their new tablet that will allow you to take a self-guided tour in English. Give it a month or two. Currently, only half of the exhibits are presented bilingually. However, since most of the museum is based on interactive stations, your kids will have fun even if you have to explain the phenomenon that they are demonstrating, which you probably would do anyway and they do have guides who can speak to you in English till then. One is even a native speaker. The exhibits mainly demonstrate biological or environmental phenomenon, the composition of the air and how we breathe, the heart, how muscles work, our senses and more. While I was visiting a few classes were undergoing active tours so I was able to film a short demo of flammable oxygenated foam.
Address: 16 Sharet St. Petach Tikva
Phone: 03-9219201
And now for the fun video...
The Petach Tikva museum of Art holds a collection of Israeli art works from the 1920s till today, which it presents in a “collection gallery” in addition to the current exchanging exhibits by contemporary Israeli and international artists. The museum’s explanatory plaques are bilingual and on Saturdays at 12:00, there is a free guided tour. The museum also hosts artists’ meetings, symposiums and other engaging activities in case you are interested.
I particularly enjoyed the conceptual artist Benni Efrat’s exhibitions ‘Doom’s Path, Winter 2065’, a futuristic video exhibit portraying environmental destruction and his colorful "Experimental Films from the 1970s".
‘Gan HaAzmaut’ or ‘Independence Park’
As stated above, the park lies in the center of the museum complex of Petach Tikva. It was designed by a renowned landscape architect called Lipa Yahalom. Aside from a memorial enclosure mentioned above, the park serves the city inhabitants as a large green lung with a water pond and playground. The tennis tables and pre-engraved chess and backgammon tables caught my eye. Bring a set with you if you plan on visiting.
Petach Tikva Market
This enclosed shaded market is within a short drive away from the museum complex. I thought you might want to organize yourselves some provisions for a picnic at the park or to take back to your B&B. They're already selling Passover cookies!
‘Gardening Way’ in Kfar Sirkin
This ecological garden is the self-made project of Ayala Weiss, a horticultural therapist. Normally, the garden is open for afternoon classes for children including those with special needs per her training from Seminar Hakibbutzim. For tourists, she offers a few unique ecological workshops in wood carving, basket weaving, an apiary activity and a gardening activity (herb gathering and cooking). Workshops normally take around 4 hrs, but can be tailored to less.
Address: 6 Hamarganiot St. Kfar Sirkin
Phone: 054-4702381
‘Susim Bakfar’
This is where your feedback comes in. ‘Susim Bakfar’ is a horse ranch that offers therapeutic riding sessions for children with special needs. The owner, Ruth Bar Or is a physiotherapist and holds a staff of therapists and 20 horses on the ranch. Normally, I wouldn’t have included it in my post because I usually cater to a wider audience. However, after seeing a question on Facebook regarding activities in Israel for children with special needs, I thought that it was worth mentioning the two activities in Kfar Sirkin that can give these children a pleasurable day.
Address: 60 Ha’Ilanot St. Kfar Sirkin
Phone: 03-9088283
Simon Bees
I came across this adorable honey shop just because it is located next to the other two activities in Kfar Sirkin and I couldn’t help checking out the sign. The shop, contains a wide selection of products made from honey and I thought you may want to buy gifts there and take a few cute photographs.
Address: 10 Ha’Narkisim St. Kfar Sirkin
Phone: 03-9324574
Food
Aside from ‘Bokeria’, which I wrote about in my previous post, a few restaurants in Petach Tikva include: ‘Goomba’, ‘Triola’, ‘Oscar Wilde’, ‘Paprika’, ‘BBB – Burgus Burgers Bar’, ‘Oyamaa’, ‘Moses’, ‘La Carne’, ‘Tochka’, ‘Black Petach Tikva’, ‘Pasta Basta’, ‘Sushi Bamoshava’, ‘Giraffe’, ‘Achla Restaurant’ and ‘Max Brenner Petach Tikva'.
Accomodation
Nearby accommodation includes: ‘Hotel Prima Link’ and ‘Spa House Boutique Hotel’.
My timeline
I spent two half days.
This is what it looks like on the map:
And thus, the country mouse Moshe, went back to his garden to enjoy searching for fresh pomegranate seeds, whereas Daniel, the city mouse went back to enjoy the pita and falafel crumbs in the market.
THE END!
Do you have any additional recommendations? I already have a few thoughts, but I’m always happy to get more ideas for future posts.
Best,
Talma
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