Mythbusters on Tour (3/25/12)

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The name pretty much says it all: Mythbusters, the famous TV show on the Discovery channel goes on tour. If you’ve never seen Mythbusters, well it is about proving or disproving urban legends and other myths, usually involving explosions and crash test dummies. Not something for the youngest among us, but if your child is old enough to watch it on TV and you’re willing to shell out $30 or more to see it live, go for it. Most reviews I read were positive, except that maybe the Q&As are a bit long for a young audience; on the other hand they promise ‘audience participation’, whatever that means!

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/31936113 w=550]

Overall probably an event for hardcore mythbusters fans; if you love that show it is certainly a memorable experience.

The show is downtown in Memorial Auditorium (so don’t expect too much explosive stuff then) and tickets are still available for both the 3pm and the 7pm show.

Take me out to the fairgrounds! (3/24/12)

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We have to wait another half year for the State Fair, but as most of you know, the fairgrounds serve as an event location throughout the year. This weekend sounds like a perfect time to just head out there and stroll around; because there are five (5!) events that might be interesting to checkout. So even if something does not appeal to your kids, you just move on to the next thing.

None of these events is specifically directed towards kids, but I think that children with their natural curiosity will be drawn to all these new sights, sounds and smells. Here we go:

Since this is not the State Fair, you can probably park inside the gates; I’d recommend to look somewhere near Dorton Arena (the large round modern building). (A fairgrounds map is available here.)

I would start with a little walk around the flea market,  the perfect place to find stuff you never knew you needed. You might be surprised what your little kids are drawn to, and the older ones may make their first supervised attempts at asking for the price and buying a little trinket that they absolutely, positively need to have. The flea market is hard to miss, situated inside and outside the old fairground building called “Education Building” on the map. This is of course free, but bring a little bit of spending money…

And just briefly mentioned on the side, there is also a consignment sale of kids clothes and toys in the Kerr Scott building nearby. Not worth a trip, but if you’re there and have something you need, have a look and hope for a cheap find.

As you get hungry for lunch, head over to Dorton Arena and India Fest. Over 150 acts perform on stage (dance, singing, music) over two days, and they are surrounded by booths selling crafts, clothes, and of course, Indian Food. I’m sure that the colorful saris and the sweet smell will capture your kids interest. Doors open at 11am, $5 admission (cash only) for everybody old than 5, under 5 free.

When you’re done with India, you can choose between dogs and horses. Several local kennel clubs hold the Kennel Dog Club Show in the Graham Building, next door to Dorton Arena. A poorly maintained website limits the information I can provide other than that it also costs $5, but I’m sure it is fun to watch the show dogs parade around in real life. (I’ve only seen dog shows on TV, and I think we all have.)

Maybe better to stick with the horses then, and head over to the Raleigh Spring Premiere Show in the Hunt horse complex (technically outside the fairgrounds, a short 5-minute walk away towards the RBC Center PNC Arena). Admission for spectators is free, and starting at 1pm, the ‘academy division‘ is showing. Think four-year-old girls riding show ponies in the big arena; excitement, laughter and drama guaranteed. The official website is also pretty bare, and I gleaned most information from a participating stable.

The flea market image is 5991247818 by storebukkebruse, used under the CC-BY license. The girl and horse image is 5873806568 by Sarah Elizabeth Simpson used under the CC-BY-NC license.

St. Patrick’s Day with Kids (3/17/2012)

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Yeah, I’ll jump on the bandwagon. But I won’t color my hair!

St. Patrick's Day

Instead of focusing on one event, I’ll give you a list of several St. Patrick-themed events, running the gamut from kids’ event with a St. Paddy theme to St. Paddy events where you could bring kids (to meet many adults celebrating it in the good old way, i.e. involving lots of drinking…)

First off, I’d like to mention Building Fairy Houses at Wilkerson Nature Preserve. from 10:30-12:00. This looks like the ultra-cutesy way to do something St. Patrick related. It’s for kids aged 3-5 years with a parent, and all about building “a fairy house in the woods for a mouse, bug, toad or other woodland fairy” using “our imaginations and natural materials”. I made a note to myself to check that out next year. NOTE: Pre-registration was required by yesterday. But if you’re nice and call, they may still let you in.

Next, still very kids focused, at the Leesville Regional Library from 10-12, kids of all ages can build a St. Patrick’s Day themed mobile at the Drop-In Craft event.

Then of course we have the big parade and festival in downtown Raleigh. This is also for ‘all ages’, including (and primarily for?) adults. But kids love parades, music and the dance performances usually delight toddlers. There are ‘childrens activites’, without further specifics. This sounds like a great afternoon program. You might want to head home as thunderstorms (and inebriated leprechauns) take over later in the day.

Lastly, if you feel St. Patrick’s day and kids don’t go together, S’Kids in Apex (a drop-in childcare center) has something for you. As posted on Carolina Parent (but not their own website), they Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with facepainting and a treasure hunt from 5pm-9pm, presumably while parents are out celebrating as well. I’ve never visited S’Kids and can’t say either bad nor good about their program.

The image above is leprechauns by garryknight , used under the  CC-BY-SA license

Art and Music in Durham (3/18/12)

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No sunny Sunday this weekend, so why not head out to Durham for a half day of art and music. The Nasher Museum of Art has a free family day on Sunday 12pm-4pm. No specifics are given for this coming Sunday other than the date – you might want to call ahead. Kids activities are for ages 3-12, but all kids are welcome.  A children theater group is scheduled for 1pm.

Parents – use the opportunity to at least catch a glimpse of the current Calder exhibit!

BigBangBoom (c) BigBangBoom

Big Bang Boom

When you’re done with the museum and getting hungry, head over to Broad Street Cafe where Big Bang Boom is performing children’s music at 4:30pm. Big Bang Boom is “a power pop trio that writes and performs parent-friendly children’s music” according to the Broad Street Cafe website. No admission is charged, but please be courteous and show your appreciation by purchasing their food and drinks.

Both Nasher Family Day and Broad Street Cafe Kids are recurring events to keep in mind for future Sundays…

Bug Songs by the NC Symphony (Sat, 3/10/2012)

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NC Kids Series (c) NC SymphonyFor me this is the highlight of the weekend. As part of the excellent NC Symphony Kids series, the symphony is performing Bug Songs  and will “imitate the sounds of the greatest musicians in the bug world“. To add color, the symphony will be joined by the Triangle Youth Ballet, and staff from the museum of Natural Sciences will be there as well and bring along a few creepy crawlies.

The program is “designed for” ages 4-12, and the concert will last about an hour. More information can be found here, and tickets are stil available (as of Friday morning) for both shows.

Cary Kite Festival (Sat 3/10/2012)

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Twirling with the kite by oddharmonic, used under the CC-BY-SA license_resized

Kite flying is fun!

Don’t let the rainy Friday fool you – tomorrow will be sunny. It will be a bit cold and not very windy, so I’m curious to see how the “expert kite flyer” will do his or her “stunt flying demonstration”. The kiting competition does not seem to be too fiercly competitive; there are awards for best crash, smallest kite, most un-flyable kite and so on. The event is at Bond Park in Cary – even if the kite flying is a lull, there is a lot of other stuff to do in this large park.

The picture is Twirling with the kite by oddharmonic , used under the  CC-BY-SA license.

See Yates Mill in operation (recurring event)

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This is a frequently recurring event, and is a good idea for a nice day in the park. Mill Heritage and Local History tours (the link will take you to the current events list) are from 2pm – 3pm, and you can extend that as you wish with hiking and picnicking in this beautiful park. It is about 20 10 minutes South of downtown at 4620 Lake Wheeler Road, Raleigh, NC 27603.

This is one of our favorite parks, and you’ll read more about it.

This nice shot of Yates Mill is by Suzie T and licensed under CC-BY. She has a lot of nice photos, check out here photostream on Flickr.

Argonuts: Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece (3/4/2012)

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The Greek Theatre at Paphos

This is not the Cary Arts Center, but the Greek Theatre at Paphos.

Cary Youth Theatre is performing ARGONUTS: Jason & the Quest for the Golden Fleece, a “comedy of tragic proportions and a modern take on the Greek classic. Tickets are $10 for adults and “$5 for children age 5 & under” – the only hint about a suggested audience age. (If they sell tickets for under 5, it must be appropriate for the under 5 crowd, right?) The play is at the Cary Arts Center.

The picture on the right is The Greek Theatre at paphos by Verity Cridland licensed under CC-BY.

Playdate with an artist (3/3/2012)

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(c) Michelle Davis Petelinz

Michelle Davis Petelinz

Michelle Davis Petelinz is currently “artist-in-residence” at Marbles, and has been hosting “Playdate with an Artist” for the last two weeks. Saturday, 3/3 will be the last session.

10am – 12pm: ages 5 and under
12pm – 2pm: all ages
2pm – 3pm: ages 6 and up

The session will be about Monoprinting. Have a look at Michelle’s blog post about her previous monoprinting session to get an idea; I would venture to say “5 and under” really means “5 and not much under”.

Traveling with little children

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“Traveling with little children”. You don’t need an article on this, just Google that sentence and you’ll find a ton of resources. But nevertheless, I have to add my two cents, especially about traveling alone with a lap child (under 2).

  • Google “Traveling with little children” or similar phrases, and just surf for a few minutes. If it doesn’t keep you from going, at least you learn something.
  • Find out the specific policy of the airline in mind before you book. Some won’t let you book a lap child online, some will charge for a checked stroller while others won’t, there may be weight limits on the stroller and all these things change constantly.
  • Similarly, some airports have playgrounds after security. Check ahead of time. PHL, BWI and ORD are good.
  • Since everything is a tad harder, ‘make the easy things easy’. Arrive early. Be prepared. Pack lightly. Make a list of what to pack. Preventing preventable issues will let you focus on the unpreventable ones.
  • For two parents, one lap child is manageable. If you’re alone, a short domestic flight with a lap child is feasible even if the seat next to you is booked. On the other hand, I gambled on having a free seat next to me on a red-eye to Europe. I am really, really glad it actually was free, and I would not take that gamble again. (Although whenever I had someone next to me even on a short flight, they asked on their own to “sit somewhere away from the baby”, more or less diplomatically.)
  • Bring entertainment and food. iPad, books, chewy granola bars, milk/juice.
  • Use the bathroom before the flight, or you have to be really creative where to put the baby when you have to go. And by the way, small planes don’t have changing tables at all.

The upside, you ask? A really close bonding experience, for one thing. All the short flight I took so far were enjoyable, and the money on a separate seat would’ve been wasted.