Monday, April 8, 2013

John Janzen Nature Centre Visit

John Janzen Nature Centre
On the weekend we went to the John Janzen nature centre, down by Fort Edmonton in the river valley.  It is, in essence, a really great kids indoor playground in a cool looking rustic building.  The playground is one of the most impressive indoor playgrounds in Edmonton, there are a lot of really cool well thought out features, including:

  • a bee hive encased in a glass window that allows kids to see live bees safely
  • lots of great slides and climbing apparatuses
  • kids are encouraged to "sort" acorns by dropping them through a hole in the upper level which leads down to a basket in the lower level, kids were running these acorns up constantly while we were there
  • a beaver lodge that kids could see inside, with a fountain feature that lets them build play dams on top
  • super sized flowers kids could build out of foam
  • a really cool glass dome that kids could climb up into from below and look down on from above
In addition to the playground there is a nature room where the kids can do crafts and learn about various Edmonton area animals.  There are also some nice tables for snacks, several rooms that can be rented out, and lots of benches outside for picnics.  Admission was $12 per family, which we thought was pretty reasonable value.  There are also programmed activities such as nature walks/talks and snow shoeing.

Playground Feature

Building a Dam

Nice Bench

Nature Room

Resources

Monday, March 4, 2013

Hamptons Winter Carnival

The kids and I went to a Winter Carnival event put on by the Hamptons Community League, it was actually a ton of fun.  There was a ton of food (hot dogs, chips, pop, hot chocolate, coffee) and everything was 100% FREE!  They had stations for people to try out cross country skis and snow shoeing that the kids absolutely loved.  All in all, it was great fun, and that it was all free was a refreshing change from so many family events that cost money these days...

Hamptons Community League Winter Carnival


Global TV News Clip:


Monday, January 21, 2013

Swimming at Servus Place

Servus Place with Finger Smudge
I went to the gym at Servus Place on Sunday morning and went back in the afternoon and brought the kids.  This way I only had to pay for admission once, as Servus uses the daily bracelet method of verifying your admission.  Admission for me was $10, and the kids was $4.50 each, so $19 for the three of us to access all of the facilities.

We had been told that kids are allowed on the track on Sundays between 1 and 3 so we went up there first and the kids enjoyed running around for a couple of laps.  There weren't a lot of other kids on the track though, and none as young as mine (4 and 6) so it was a little awkward feeling.

Running on the Track
View From the Track, 3 Fields Below
After running we had snacks in the leather chairs by the restaurants (they have Starbucks, Booster Juice, and Skybox Grill is somewhere else) before swimming.  We also watched a little bit of an indoor soccer game that was going on, it was pretty impressive how many events were being held at Servus place, soccer games, hockey games, fitness classes, etc.

Watching Soccer at Servus Place
The swimming pool was nice, the highlight was the river ride, but it was much slower than Terwillegar or Millenium Place.  The funny thing was it was fairly shallow in the River Ride itself, good for little kids, but to get there you had to go through the deep end, bad for little kids (though I guess there were direct stairs too).  They also had two waterslides (1 more than Terwillegar, 2 more than Millenium).  The pool area also has two large hot tubs, a steam room, and a sauna.  The biggest weakness is lap swimming, they only have one lane and it is crammed right in with everything else.

Servus Place Pool
Resources



Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Family Swim Time at Millenium Place

Over the holidays we went to Millennium Place for a swim.  The kids love it because of the large warm pool and the water attractions, and because they can play in the playground after.  At $20 for single visit family admission, it is quite a bit cheaper than Terwillegar, but still a little pricey.  There is a folksy rural theme used throughout the building which is somewhat entertaining.

Features include:

  • wave pool
  • separate lap pool
  • river ride
  • large kids area with splashing bucket
  • huge inflatable train or something for older kids to climb on in the deep pool
  • steam room and sauna
Outside of the pool, Millennium Place also has:
  • kids playground
  • restaurants (Extreme Pita and a burger place)
  • teen rooms (with foosball, no less!)
  • hockey rinks
  • various other kids activities
  • full gym and running track
  • public skating rink
  • Running Room
Front of Millennium Place

Pool Area

Sign Explaining the Theme

Another Pool Picture

Eating Area with the Gym Above
Resources

Monday, December 31, 2012

Swimming at Terwillegar Recreation Center

Terwillegar Rec Centre
Over the Christmas Holidays the kids and I tried to go swimming at as many pools as possible.  The Edmonton area is home to a lot of new fun pools, one of the closest to us is the city run Terwillegar Community Rec Centre.  This is a very good facility, although a little pricey ($23 for 2 kids and an adult).  In addition to a pool it also has full workout facilities, a large indoor track, gymnasiums, a great playground for kids under 10 (best for under 7 probably) and many multi purpose rooms.  And a second cup and DQ/Orange Julius to boot.  The kids love it, and like all of the new city facilities it is bright with well used natural lighting.

The pool features:

  • river ride - pretty fast current, keeps the kids entertained for hours
  • wave pool - also lots of fun
  • baby pool - the kids are getting too old to go here, but it is a nice shallow warm pool with lots of toys
  • water slide - kids can't go on when there are two kids and only one adult, but it is pretty fun too
  • steam room - can't go to with the kids but it is nice
  • hot tub - fairly large, you can watch people diving from it which the kids like
  • large pool - there is a 50 m lane swim which can  be (and usually is) broken up into several smaller pools, there is also a very high diving board and several smaller ones



View Larger Map

Resources

Monday, December 10, 2012

Festival of Trees

We went to the Festival of Trees the weekend before last, it was a lot of fun for the kids.  It was held at the Shaw Conference Center which is fun for the kids to see in itself.

Shaw Conference Center
View Larger Map

There were a lot of little booths and games for the kids to do activities/crafts at, and live dancing displays, along with TONS of Ginger Bread Houses and elaborately decorated Christmas Trees.  The kids favourite stations were:

  • meeting Santa - there was a big line but this one was free, which was nice
  • making a miniature Christmas tree - they couldn't put on all of the ornaments themselves, but they loved making a craft
  • decorating a gingerbread man - there weren't a ton of toppings but the kids loved putting on the icing and m & m's and chowing down
Resources
On the Way Down to the Festival

Trees

Miniature Craft Tree the Kids Made

Gingerbread Man

Green Tree

Red Tree

More Trees

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Tobogganing By Ormsby School

Took the kids tobogganing/sledding at the hill by Ormsby School today.  It isn't a huge hill (about 15 seconds sledding top to bottom), but has a large square plateau shaped area with four sides that can be used for sledding.  It is not too busy, but is used enough that there are some good well tread runs for the kids to sled down.  There is good parking at the school, and the hill is just north of the school.

Walking to the Hill

View From the Top of the Hill
Resources