what to do in the rain
 

I have several kids ranging from 4 to 11 coming up to the lake for a few days. other than funspot and other ideas of what to do on a rainy day?

Gee......board games, movies, crafts, get rain ponchos and send them on a scavenger hunt.....kids don't care about the weather.....

Fishing, puddle stomping, reading, movies, Squam Nature center, kellerhaus.

Squam is the idea i was looking for....are most of the exhibits outside?

Squam Science Center is almoste entirely outside...
 

....a large loop walking trail, (maybe a mile?), with animal exhibits along the way. Wouldn't recommend it for a rainy day.

One pretty cool take is the Christa McCauliffe space museum in Concord. They have a really neat planetarium/auditorium where the seats recline almost flat and they project the show onto the ceiling. There are a number of exhibits about Christa, The Challenger, and Alan Shepherd, who was also an astronaut from NH. With the ride down and back and a lunch, you can easily kill a few hours on a rainy day!

If the kids are younger, (say, 3-6), the Childrens Museum in Meredith is an option. The Winnipesaukee Playhouse usually has kids theatre shows going on as well.

Good luck.

MM

Rainy days
 

Teach rainy day camping skills, how to make waterproof matches start a fire with wet birch bark, etc. Learn to bake with a reflector oven made out of coat hangers and tin foil. Tons of things in the Boy Scout Handbook. Tents are always fun in the rain. Take that tarp off the tractor in the front yard and hang it over the swing set for a huge tent. Make ice cream! If you do something commercial, plan extra time. Everybody else will be there too. Give each kid a roll of duct tape and a cardboard box. Make something.

Valium
 

Valium and a bottle of wine for you!

I always offer a cancellation clause for a rainy forecast in my invites! Seriously, though, there are tons of activities in the area. The kids will enjoy anything, rather than being cooped up in a cottage with a bunch of adults. I would even consider heading up to the mountains. Time in the car, a trip to The Polar Caves in Rumney, the Lincoln area, or try Gunstock Mt. The zip line is amazing, and would even be fun in the rain. There are other things there also.

Went on the ZIP line last week and it was a blast. You need to make reservations to go on it.
Here is a picture of the view you get (on a nice day that is):

Squam is really indoor/outdoor. 3 or 4 buildings and the animal exhibit areas all are under cover. the trails between are open but pretty well tree'd. I take our 1 and 3 year old to visit Squam in the rain quite often. They think its fun. We love the place. It's quintessential NH. I mean where else can you find a "recognize this smell" animal exhibit?!?!?

Wrong forum?
 

There are a lot of good answers above, but I'm wondering why the question was posted in the boating forum.