Staying close to home this summer? That doesn't mean there isn't a lot to do. In fact, there are a host of attractions in the immediate area that can keep you plenty busy on the weekends. Take a trip to Manhattan, for example, to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. "What?" you say, "isn't that upstate?" Well, yes, but right on Central Park West, the American Museum of Natural History is hosting, through August 18, the smashing exhibit, "Baseball as America," with treasures from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. You can see, up close and personal, memorabilia from the careers of Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson. Suggested admission to the museum, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space Science, is $10 for adults, $6 for children and $7.50 for seniors and students, with an additional admission of $15, $9 and $11 respectively for tickets to the special baseball exhibit. For more information, access www.amnh.org. Closer to home is the newly opened Cradle of Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field in Garden City. The sparkling new facility, a long time in the making, pays homage to Long Island's pioneering history in the aviation and aerospace industries. The museum also boasts the exciting Leroy and Rose W. Grumman Imax Dome Theatre, where the current two offerings, "Space Station," and "the Magic of Flight," will send you soaring. Among the displays in the Donald Everett Axinn Exhibit Hall are a sister ship of the "Spirit of St. Louis," the plane which took Charles Lindbergh on the first solo trans-Atlantic flight (starting from Roosevelt Field); World War II Grumman and Republic-built warplanes; and a Lunar Lem Module, also built by Grumman right here on Long Island. Admission to the museum is $6 for adults and $5 for students and other special admissions. Tickets for the Imax Dome are $8.50, $6 and $7.50 respectively. For further information, log on to www.cradleofaviation.org. Enjoy!