Denver Botanical Gardens - Dinosaurs and Corn Mazes

If you have a trip to Denver in mind, you might want to check out the Botanical Gardens and the the Botanical Gardens at Chatfield. Through the end of September, the Botanical Gardens have life-sized dinosaurs and the Chatfield Gardens have life-size insects! And Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Sept. 4 through Oct. 3 the Chatfield location has a corn maze too. Certain weekends they have other events at the corn maze as well. Check it all out at:

http://botanicgardens.org/content/corn-maze and
http://botanicgardens.org/content/jurassic-gardens-exhibit

Need a Day Trip?

Looking for something to do for the day? Head down to Boulder and check out their open space! http://www.bouldercounty.org/openspace/recreating/ Lots to do, and Walker Ranch even has Homestead Events coming up in July & September (check the calendar or the link for more information).

Lots of other things have been added to the calendar too, so check it out :)

So much going on!

There is so much happening, it's hard to keep up! Here are some highlights:

- Crocs has a warehouse sale going on again this weekend. At the Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont. It runs Thurs 1-7pm and then mall hours on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We attended last weekend. A HUGE room full of boxes upon boxes of all styles of crocs for $5-10 a pair.

- Fossil Creek Family Bike Fair is at Fossil Creek Park on Saturday from 11am-4pm. Live music, food, bike rides, games, educational booths and more. Info at 970.416.2411 or dk@fcgov.com

- Front Range Village (site of the new SuperTarget, new Counsel Tree Library, etc) is also having summer music on Saturday nights. Check out the info here

- Free summer bowling at Chipper's Lanes. Be sure to arrive EARLY. More info on their website.

- Berry Patch Farms in Brighton has strawberry picking! They're organic and so sweet to the kids. They tell them they have to eat strawberries while they are picking. Costs about $3/pint

- Little Builders exhibit at Longmont Museum open May 26- Aug 2. Children 2 to 7 will create and play as they explore the concepts of construction, motion, and simple machines. Totally free! Reminds me of a Children's Museum exhibit, but closer and cheaper. Worth the trip!

- Loveland also has the annual Cherry Pie Fest.
Cherry Pie Celebration & Street Dance July 10th
Celebrate Loveland's heritage at Peters Park, Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N Lincoln Ave, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. with cherry pie, ice cream, and dancing in the street to the music of Shawn Waggoner & the Tumblyweeds and Pairadeux. Admission free, pie & ice cream for sale. For information about the Cherry Pie Recipe Contest, call 970-962-2410.

- and Corn Roast Fest and parade (3rd weekend in Aug)

The Loveland Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Engaging Loveland, Inc., presents the Old-Fashioned Corn Roast Festival, moving back to their original location to the new Fairgrounds Park. Saturday will start with a Pancake breakfast hosted by Loveland Kiwanis at 7:30 a.m. The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. The beer garden opens at 11 a.m. Other events include: “Loveland’s Got Talent” talent contest; live entertainment; corn eating contest; corn recipe contest; and much more. Hot Colorado sweet corn will be sold throughout the event. Kids' amusements, commercial and food vendors will be open all day. For more information please contact, 970-667-6311.

Thanks to Kelly and Gail (and the Coloradoan) for all the great info!

Looking for a Father's Day Gift?

I know this isn't exactly something for the kids to do, but they could give it to their dad! It's a 11x14" canvas picture for 8.99 with free shipping! It's from Artscow - weird name but they do a good job. It said on the coupon to share with my friends so here you go:

Dear Shawn,

Experience the value-adding heavyweight premium woven cotton canvas, for exceptional vivid color and superior texture upgrade!

Get your 11"x14" photo canvas print at only $8.99/each, with free shipping.

No Quantity limit!! Order now & Share with your friends!!!

http://www.artscow.com/Create/ShowProduct.aspx?ProductId=388

Checkout Code : 899CANVAS
Expires on June 30, 2009

PS. That's one of my newest scrap kits I used for the pictures! And yes, I do scrap booking gifts for people to give to their own families too. But if you want to keep up with that side of my life, you need to visit my other blog at http://csuramsrule.blogspot.com/ :)

Get out in Nature!

Great website I found about fun nature "staycations". Yes, I hate the word staycation too, but it still doesn't negate the fact that there is some great info on stuff to do with kids in nature :)
http://www.naturerocks.org

CSU Sports Summer Camps

CSU has pretty good deals on their sports summer camps. You'll want to check them out at http://www.hes.cahs.colostate.edu/CommunityPrograms/YSC/index.aspx

Art Summer Camp

Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art (FCMOCA) is offering art summer camps for ages 7-12. There's a Artist Painting Studio camp and a Creative Contraptions: Active Art Camps. Visit their website to download the flyer or read the descriptions from the Coloradoan.

Mad Scientist Camps

From their website:

• Mad Science Camp programs are designed to educate, entertain, and enrich children's knowledge of science. Our fun and engaging programming varies from individual hands-on activities to spectacular shows. Your child will become a junior scientist for the week, having the opportunity to experience a variety of science adventures. We use an inquiry-based technique that allows even the youngest camper to enjoy learning. We involve campers in diverse activities of science exploration ranging from making a bridge with a team of camper engineers, to watching a rocket lift off into the sky! Children will design, create, build and assemble a variety of interesting projects and will take at least one project home every day.

Locations all over the Front Range (FtC, Loveland, Longmont, Denver-area and more).

Summer Music Camps

Walking with Dinosaurs

My kids LOVE to watch the Walking with Dinosaurs BBC series. Now it's coming live to the Pepsi Center where life size dinos will roam the floor! It is pricey (cheap seats are $20 each plus fees), but it does look really cool. Might not be for the young or easily scared. Check out the info at http://www.dinosaurlive.com/ .

MND at CSU

Shakespeare at Sunset presents A Midsummer Night's Dream outside on the University Center for the Arts North Lawn on Thursday - Sunday evenings July 9 - 19.

CSU School of the Arts' traditional summer theatre festival returns with Shakespeare's beloved tale of shenanigans and love. Performed outdoors and set to Purcell's beautiful music, The Fairy Queen, this will be a delightful evening the whole family can enjoy.

Seating begins at 6:30 p.m. - please bring a blanket or lawn chair and a picnic! Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will not be pre-sold for this event and the cost is $5, payable by cash at the show. For more information please call 970-491-3603

Imagination Fair

Beet Street's Imagination Fair will bring a glimpse into the rising merge of science, art and music, to inspire the imagination and creative enterprise within the northern Colorado community. In a world becoming glazed over with television, video games and text messaging, there are still many exciting things happening that bring together cutting edge technology and artistic expression. The Imagination Fair will take place in three locations in Old Town, Oak Street Plaza, Opera Galleria and The Lincoln Center.

Event partner, Discovery Science Center, Colorado's NASA link site, will also be showcasing NASA exhibits and "hands-on" activities as well as award-winning student science fair exhibits in the Opera Galleria. Poudre School District will be bringing several local robotics teams for demonstrations, and the Colorado State University Engines and Energy Conservation Laboratory will be showcasing their low cost, high-performance cookstoves, engineered for the developing world. These exhibits are free and open to the public.

On the heels of the Imagination Fair, Beet Street will also be presenting artistic pioneer and renowned performance artist Laurie Anderson to present, Burning Leaves: A Retrospective Songs and Stories 2009. Anderson, became well known for her use of technology and invention to enhance her poignant and complex violin and performance art pieces.

Beet Street presents an Imagination Fair Friday, June 5, in downtown Fort Collins from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For more information please visit http://www.beetstreet.org/Imagination-Fair

Summertime Movies

There are lots of options for free or nearly free movies this summer. They may not be new releases, but your kids will still love them!

Centerra is again hosting the Friday Night movies:
http://www.thepromenadeshopsatcenterra.com/go/displayHours.cfm

Cinemark is offering their $1 kid's movies again this summer:
http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/304.html

Cinema Saver 6 is offering free kid's movies again too. Hint: Get there early. REALLY early:
http://www.bigscreen.com/journal.php?id=1494

The Lyric is offering Saturday Morning Cartoons everyday but Sunday for free. There is a $5 cereal bar if you'd like breakfast with your cartoons:
http://lyriccinemacafe.com/?cat=1

And don't forget the drive-in for family fun too. It may not be free, but it's lots of fun and you can bring your own snacks!

Globeology Exhibit Opening

The WildLife Experience has a new exhibit starting Saturday! It is covering 8 different biomes of the world from the rainforest through the Arctic in a 1/4 mile walk. State of the art animatroics, special visual effects, sound effects and interactive touch screens with bio-facts and trivia games.

More information at: www.thewildlifeexperience.org

Fort Collins Natural Areas Programs

The Activity Guide for the Ft Collins Natural Areas Programs is out. You can find it online to download http://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/ or at the Fort Collins Libraries as well as other locations around town. The Guide is packed full of fun activities. And this one includes a great grid where you can see if they are good for families too! We've been on several activities over the past few years with the girls including the History Walk along the Poudre, a talk on mountain lions at Bobcat Ridge and several Full Moon Hikes at Devil's Backbone.


I will be adding some of these to the calendar, but as there are so many activities, please download your own copy and highlight your favorites! http://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/


Registration required for some events, but not all. Most, if not all, events free.

Garbage Garage Classes

The Garbage Garage, located at the Larimer Co. Landfill, is having summer classes again! My older daughter took several classes there last summer and had a great time. Classes are for kids 6-10yr olds, offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the summer. Sign up for one or all! More information at http://www.co.larimer.co.us/solidwaste/GG/Activ09.htm or call 498.5775

Book Sales!

Who can resist books? Not me, that's for sure. Check out all of these:

• Want some 99 cent books? They're on sale now BookCloseouts.com http://tinyurl.com/p8orn5
• Scholastic has their warehouse sale this weekend in Fort Collins too http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/states.asp?st_abbrev=CO
  
• And last, but not least, Friends of the Loveland Library is having their sale this weekend at the 4-H Building at the Ranch (the Larimer Co Fairgrounds). Free parking, mention to the attendants that you are there for the book sale! http://www.fortnet.org/FotLPL/
  

New Update!

I've added my Google Calendar to the blog! I will add events to the calendar for easy viewing. Just click on the event for more information. Or browse through the months to see what's coming up. Switch to the week view to see what's happening this week. It's a great way to see what's coming up!

Introduction

I am Shawn, a fun-loving, homeschooling mom of 2 beautiful kiddos. One of the things I love to do is to find things for my kids to do. There are so many activities in the Northern Colorado area that we can't possibly do them all. Most are free, some are low cost, a few are camps and such.

I've found that many, many of my friends just LOVE all the information that I find on kids' activities. Well, I am starting this site as a portal to share those activities with the world. I will be tagging the posts too - so watch for age, town, price and more in the labels. Have a tag that would help you? Leave me a note and I'll see if I can add it!

This blog will have a slow start as I am currently recovering from surgery. But, have no fear, the wheels in my mind are turning so that this can be an awesome resource for Northern Colorado Kids!!!