Our visit to Pretend City

I had the opportunity to preview Pretend City Children's Museum in Irvine a couple of weeks before it officialy opened their doors. I was very impressed and could not wait to take my children. Things have been busy around our home and we finally were  able to make that visit  with the fabulous Kara-Noel from Eli's Lids  and her two very cute kiddos last week. If you have kiddos that are 2-7, this is the place for your family. Your little ones will love it! My son has sensory processing disorder and requires occupational therapy to deal with his wiggles and sensory seeking behavior. This place was perfect for him! I think I almost cried watching my son be entertained for 3 full hours with no meltdowns. This was a huge milestone for us!  If any of you have children in the Autism Spectrum, I definitely recommend Pretend City.

  My 4 year old daughter was in wonderland. She loved being able to have a "job", make money, and live/work/play in Pretend City. She could have spent hours playing in the farm(where the kids can play with real fruit/vegetables) or  at the grocery store. I love that the kiddos can imagine and play with everything from water tables to picking up balls . There is also an arts and craft room when they are ready to unwind a bit and  participate in a quieter activity. The best part is that the craft/art projects are offered everyday and at no extra charge.

It's a perfect place to spend half the day. Bring your lunch and enjoy watching your kiddos have the time of their lives. There are tables and even microwaves to heat up your lunch. We visited on a Wednesday afternoon and it was a perfect time. It was not too crowded and the kiddos were able to play with everything they wanted. I talked to some of the employees and they said weekday mornings or early afternoon are the best time to head out and play. They also mentioned that weekends are extremely busy, so plan accordingly.

We loved Pretend City so much that we bought a membership. It was a little pricey ($200) BUT watching my kiddos have such a fun time and my son emerge calm and happy after his play session was priceless!  I also loved that members are able to enter the museum an hour  before the general public. To learn more head here.

You can receive $2 off admission from now until November 30th if you bring canned food items and will benefit the Families Forward foundation.

Pretend City
29 Hubble
Irvine

Monday 10:00a.m. – 1:00p.m.
Tuesday – Sunday 10:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. daily

Member Hours: 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m. daily

Pretend City- A New Children's Museum in Irvine

I had the opportunity to take a sneak peek at Pretend City, a new and AMAZING Children's Museum that will be opening to the public on August 30. Pretend City is a place where Imagination and Education come to Play! Your kiddos are going to love everything about Pretend City.

Pretend City Children's Museum is an interconnected city designed for children ranging from infant to eight years old and their families. The city is comprised of a grocery store, farm, doctor's offices, art studio, amphitheater, beach, marina, construction site, cafe and much much more. Children will learn through role-play based on real world exhibits as they dress up as a police officer, deliver the mail, create art or put out a fire.

What I love about the museum is that all of the exhibits are connected and every exhibit is hands on. Pretend City is a unique museum and I have seen nothing quite like it. Your kids are going to love it! I can't rave about this place enough! I can guarantee that your kiddos will have an incredible time at Pretend City. For additional information head over here. I'm planning on buying a membership and trying to make a visit at least once a week. I hope you can all go out and enjoy this amazing place with your family.

Pretend City

29 Hubble

Irvine, CA 92618

Admission

Infant to 12 months $2

Child $10

Adult $10

Military and Family Members $8

Hours

Monday 10am -1pm

Tue-Sun 10am -5pm

Everyday 9am-10am Members only

Kidspace Children's Museum- Pasadena

We had the opportunity to visit the Kidspace Children's Museum last week and I can't wait to head back in the next couple of weeks for another visit. We were only there for two hours and easily could have stayed for another two. My children loved everything about this museum.

The Kidspace Children's Museum is located in Pasadena and is adjacent to the Rose Bowl. You will park in Rose Bowl Parking Lot I and walk through Brookside Park to find a fun land of

exploration. I love museums that incorporate indoor and outdoor exhibit areas and Kidspace is able to do both.

We had the opportunity to explore the Early Childhood Learning Center, which is geared for children ages four and under. My son Mikey, who is a two and a half, was in tot fantasyland. He loved everything about the exhibit, especially the stuck together area, where the tots can interact with Velcro walls to create designs with large foam blocks. We had to coax him out of the area with a promise(aka "bribe") of an Popsicle.

My daughter Lauren's favorite exhibit was the Digging Deeper Gallery. She loves make believe and had a great time serving up patrons in Bugsy's Diner. The Diner will teach your kiddos about the feeding habits of insects. Another favorite of my kiddos was "The Dig" and "The Shake Zone". They are both interactive experiences that will not only educate your children but also provide them with hands on fun! I could not get either one to budge from this area. I had to tear them away in order to discover the other exhibits and areas.

After some inside play, we headed to the outdoor exhibits. The kids had a fun and very wet time playing in Kirby's Kids Corner. It is an area that is designed for the four and under crowd and boy did they have a great time. They were completely drenched by the end of the night but also grinning from ear to ear.The kids also had a great time playing in the Splash Dance Fountain. If you are heading in the summer, make sure to pack a towel and extra clothes! I'm glad I packed some clothes because let me tell you -the kiddos were wet!!

We didn't have the opportunity to explore the Gardens, Kids Basin (another wet area) and the climbing area. I can't wait to head back and discover the areas that we missed.

Make sure to take advantage of their Free Family Nights- which are held on the first Tuesday of the month. Admission is free!! Pack a picnic and be prepared for a great time!!

Hours

September through May-.

Tuesday through Friday, 9:30am to 5pm

Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm

June, July and August-Open 7 days a week!

Monday - Friday, 9:30am - 5pm

Saturday and Sunday, 10am - 5pm

I was able to visit on their Free Family Nights which are held the first Tuesday of the month from 4pm to 8pm.

Admission on any other day is

Children.$10.00

Adults$10.00

Infants (under 12 months)Free

Kidspace Children's Museum

480 N Arroyo Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91103

For additional information head on over here.

It's that time again... Museums on us Free Weekend admission and Target Free at La Habra Children's and Bowers Kidseum

I will post this little blurb at the beginning of every month to remind everyone about Museums on us. Museums on us is a fantastic program that rewards Bank of America cardholders. Any card from Bank of America gives you free admission to over 70 museums nationwide. Museums on us offers free admission to select museums on the first weekend of every month - and that means this post comes just in time for this weekend. Here is a list of the participating museums in the area.Enjoy! Los Angeles County Autry National Center of the American West Museum of Latin American Art- Long Beach Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art Orange County Discovery Science Center- Santa Ana- Only on Saturday Laguna Art Museums- Laguna Beach San Diego Birch Aquarium at Scripps California Center for the Arts- Escondido Riverside Riverside Art Museum Also a reminder that the La Habra Children's museum is free the first Saturday of the month and the Bowers will be free on Sunday thanks to a generous sponorship from Target. Have fun and explore!! I can't wait to share with you the day I have planned on Saturday. It's my daughter's 4th Birthday and we are celebrating with a visit to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and brunch at the Aloha Lilo and Stitch at the Paradise Pier Hotel. Have a great weekend!!

Free Family Arts Festival @ La Habra Children's Museum and winner of DVD giveaway.

Happy Monday!! I know it's only Monday and the weekend is still a couple of days away. However, I wanted to make sure you mark this date on your calendars. On Sunday May17th the La Habra Children's Museum will host it's annual Family Arts Festival. This year the museum is focusing on it's Ring of Fire exhibit which is fantastic!! This was definitely the highlight of our last trip to La Habra. There will be crafts and cultural performances about the Ring of Fire region. The festival will also feature carnival games, storytelling and face painting. It will be a fun day for all and of course if I'm writing about it you probably already figured out that it's Free!! Admission to the museum will be absolutely Free!! I hope you can all make it!! Almost forgot - the winner of the DVD giveaway is- Kati who said... I love your site. Thanks for telling about all the fun stuff we can do and win. Thank you so very much~ Hope you all had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend!!

Bowers Kidseum

I had the opportunity to take my kiddos to the Bowers Kidseum a couple of weeks ago and we had a fantastic time!!My kiddos loved it from the very start. The entrance greets you with a cute little drawbridge and I literally had to tear them away to leave and discover the rest of the museum. It's a smaller museum and perfect for the little ones. The museum is designed for kids 1-10 to learn and enjoy the world around them. The first stop on our visit was the tribal instrument area. My kids loved playing with different types of instruments from around the world. They loved playing with all of the different types of drums and other musical instruments. Once they had their fill of music- We headed over to the ethnic masks section. The kids loved trying on all of the different masks and took turns trying to scare me. They also loved the small puppet theater where they tried putting on a show with their masks. One of the biggest hits of our little excursion was the international dress up station. The kiddos loved trying on clothes from different parts of the world and sitting down for a tea party. There is a small section with a table, chair and play foods adjacent to the dress up area. Your kids will love it. We finished our visit by making a kite in the craft area. It was a perfect room set up with all the materials needed to make a craft and a small area to entertain toddlers/infants. It was perfect because after they finished their kites- there was a clean up area- where we were able to wash up and get ready to head home. We had a fantastic time and I know your family will too!! The museum offers a free admission day on the First Sunday of the month- thanks to a generous sponsorship from Target. For additional information click here. Bowers Kidseum 1802 North Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92706 714.480.1520

Hours Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Saturday-Sunday: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Admission

Ages 3 and Up	$6.00
Under 3/Members	Free

Ages 6 and up free with current Bowers Museum ticket stub

Discovery Science Center Membership

One of my absolute favorite places to visit with my family is the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. My kids love all of the exhibits and it's hard to get away from there in under two hours. We usually extend our visit a little longer and sneak in lunch at the Taco Bell that is located on the bottom floor of the Center. It's a perfect place to visit on a hot summer day.

Since my family loves The Cube so much and we visit often ,we bought a membership. I'm a huge fan of memberships for any place that you love. You usually save a lot of money and in many cases your membership is tax deductible. You also have the benefits of special member days or nights. I love the member nights at the Discovery Science Center. They are held on a weekday evening and are open only to members. The kids always have a blast on the member nights.

If you've been thinking about buying a membership for your family - look no further.

You can buy your membership online at the Discovery Science Center until the end of March and save anywhere from $5.00 to $15.00 on the regular price.

We have the family membership which comes with admission of two designated adults and up to 4 children/grandchildren.

You can also buy and individual membership for one designated adult and one guest or a family and friends membership which has the same benefits of a family membership plus the benefit of bringing two additional guests per visit.

To enjoy the benefits just Enter Coupon Code: YT6N54 and purchase before March 31st. It's a great deal!! To purchase online click here and for additional info on the center click here.

Here are a couple of the new exhibits that the Discovery Science Center will be hosting

Don't Miss Out on Upcoming Exhibits... Members Visit for Free! The Magic School Bus: Kicks Up a StormNow Through May 3 Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm offers interactive learning in the wacky Magic School Bus way. Create your own storm, predict the national weather forecast or build your very own thunder maker! The Science of HockeyOpening April 2, 2009 Experience the colder side of science with The Science of Hockey featuring physics, physiology and flying pucks! No helmets required, but the icy interactives aren’t for rookies! Exhibition highlights include a Zamboni, Penalty Box and Broadcast Booth, among many others. Bubblefest XIIIApril 4-19, 2009 The mysteries of bubbles are revealed as we explore the science behind the amazing and colorful world of bubbles. Hands-on bubble activities demonstrate a bubble's science and math principles such as surface tension, elasticity, air pressure, molecular properties, and geometric properties, while Fan Yang's Mega Bubble Show puts those theories to the ultimate test. Robots and UsMay 23 - Sept 13, 2009 Robots and Us compares today's technical realities with the pervasive robots of science fiction fantasy. Explore the sophisticated technology that underlies automated machines and gain a new appreciation for the multifaceted machine that is your own human body

Kidspace Children's Museum- Free Admission on Family Night

The Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena is a must visit for your family. Kidspace is located in Pasadena and is home to some pretty cool hands on exhibits. There is something for every child in your family- from a 4 year old and under area designed for the tiny ones to a dinosaur dig for the bigger kiddos.

The museum offers a Free Family Night the first Tuesday of the month from 4pm to 8pm. If you have not had the opportunity to visit this gem, make sure to mark your calendar for the next Free Family Night.

Free Family Night

4pm-8pm

Kidspace Children's Museum

480 N Arroyo Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91103

For additional information about the museum click here.