Keep Cool: Waukesha Under Heat Advisory

With a heat advisory being issued for Waukesha until Friday afternoon, Waukesha Patch is sharing ideas on how to cool off.

If you don't have air conditioning or good fans, find places to be cool, stay hydrated and watch out for the most vulnerable — children, elderly and pets, officials say.

Here's a link to the National Weather Service forecast for Waukesha. Good news: a cold front will be moving through the area from Canada Friday afternoon.

Cool ideas

Waukesha Public Library and other libraries: There is plenty to do at the Waukesha Public Library, such as reading a book, doing computer research or bringing work to do on a table or conference room.

Or take the kids on a round-robin of area public libraries, exploring ones in New Berlin, Menomonee Falls, Elm Grove and Wauwatosa.

Eble Ice Arena: What could be cooler than ice skating? Admission to at 19400 W. Blue Mound Road is $6 for adults and $4.50 for those under age 18 and over age 60. Skates can be rented for $2.50. Public skating hours are limited — from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, the hours are 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Waukesha Pools: Whether it is leisure swimming at Buchner Park or rapid water slides at Horeb Spring Aquatic Center, check out the Waukesha pools!

Fox Brook Park: Any body of water is sure to be cooler than the air temperature. The beach and 6-acre quarry lake at the county park Fox Brook Park, 2925 W. Barker Road, offers lots of family-friendly amenities such as a beach house, diving dock, concession stand and pedal boat rentals. 

Here are the new beach hours for the 2013 season – or explore the other Waukesha County beaches. 

Majestic Cinema: The Marcus Majestic Cinema, 770 N. Springdale Road, offers $2.50 popcorn and fountain drinks on Tuesdays.

Here are the movies being shown and times (scroll down page). 

Brookfield Square Mall and other shopping centers: An easy way to spend time in air-conditioning is to hit the mall or numerous other shopping centers listed by the Brookfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Bowling: Hit the lanes at area bowling lanes.

Big Backyard, Monkey Joe's and other children's places: There are a plethora of kid-friendly businesses that have air conditioning and icy treats. The Big Backyard in New Berlin offers outdoor playground equipment inside a large building. Monkey Joe's has massive inflatables, and Adventure Rock has indoor rock climbing.

New to the Waukesha County this year is iCombat laser tag and Helium Trampoline.

Cool treats: Looking for some ice cream? Here’s some ideas, but new to the Waukesha area since this ice cream column was posted are Maid-Rite, Orange Leaf and Berry Me.

Where else do you go to escape the heat? Please share your ideas. Tell us in the comments.