by Micaela WilliamsonIn the spirit of the many free Smithsonian museums and facilities in the Washington DC region, Smithsonian Magazine is celebrating its tenth annual Museum Day! on September 27, 2014. During this one day, more than 1,500 museums across the United Staes will offer free admission to those who download a Museum Day Live! ticket. Each ticket grants the ticket holder (plus one guest) free access to any of the participating museums on September 27th.
To see the current list of museums, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday/venues. “Museum Day Live! embodies Smithsonian’s commitment to make learning and the spread of knowledge accessible to everyone,” says Stephen Giannetti, VP Advertising Sales and Marketing at Smithsonian Media. “For a decade, we’ve partnered with a wonderful array of museums – from the small and niche, to world-renowned institutions – and are looking forward to welcoming more guests this year than ever before.” For more information, please visit: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/
0 Comments
by Micaela Williamson Do you have an idol? My kids have two...Martin and Chris...the Wild Kratts. For the past couple of years, my kids have been obsessed with the Wild Kratts. In fact, they are hoping the Wild Kratts retire in 20 years so they can take over their show and call it "Wild Williamsons." When I found out the all new theatrical stage show Wild Kratts Live! featuring the Kratt brothers is beginning its tour in the U.S. and Canda, I felt like I had stumbled upon a goldmine. About the show: WILD KRATTS – LIVE! is an all new theatrical stage show based on the hit animated television series Wild Kratts. Martin and Chris Kratt, stars of the Emmy-nominated Wild Kratts step out LIVE ON STAGE to engage the audience in a classic Wild Kratts storyline. First, they start off in their "Tortuga" headquarters and receive word that an animal is in trouble. The brothers put on their Creature power vests and gloves and go off on the Creature Rescue. The show also features Wild Kratts characters, Aviva, the intelligent and level-headed inventor who always helps out the Kratt brothers, and the comical villian Zach and his robots. Along with the storyline, expect some "Wow Facts" about animals and multimedia video footages as Martin and Chris rescue the animal and return it to “live free and in the wild!” Wild Kratts Live US Tour Datesby Claudine Kurp Another birthday party is in the books. We just celebrated my daughter’s 9th birthday at Rebounderz Sterling Indoor Trampoline Arena. For this review I decided to keep it to just the facts with some pictures to show the wonderful offering at Rebounderz of Sterling. In addition to my review, I also asked my daughter to give her unbiased opinion of Rebounderz of Sterling.
by Micaela WilliamsonThe Northern Virginia area is filled with many wonderful fall events, but sometimes the admission prices for the whole family can get hefty. For those looking to have some fall fun on a budget, check out one of these upcoming FREE Fall Festivals:
Fall Lakes FallFest September 27, 2014 1 PM-4 PM Fair Lakes Circle, Fairfax, VA Free! Families will love this festival, packed with a live animal show, musical and dance groups, a free train ride, community booths, giant inflatables, carnival games and more! Fairfax County fire and police vehicles will be on display. Plus, tasty food and artisan crafts will be for sale. View the full schedule of entertainment online here. Clarendon Day September 27, 2014 11 AM-5 PM Clarendon, VA Free Lots of talented artisans and yummy local restaurants will be at Clarendon Day. Kids can climb, play, bounce, and have a blast in the special Kids' Zone. There is also face-painting, storytelling, kids' performers, and few surprises. Everyone can take advantage of the live entertainment too! c Manassas Fall Jubilee October 4, 2014 10 AM-5 PM Old Town Manassas Free! Now in its 32nd year, this year’s Jubilee will include an assortment of live entertainment for both kids and adults. With over 100 crafter and community booths, live music and entertainment, wine tastings, farmer’s market, children’s rides and activities and a pumpkin patch (sponsored by Wegmans Food Markets) you are sure to find something for everyone in the family! Fall for Fairfax October 4 & 5, 2014 10 AM-7 PM (Sat,) 10 AM-5PM (Sun) Free This is a massive festival that is free to attend. All entertainment and most programs are also free of charge. Some activities have a minimal fee to participants, which are indicated within their activity descriptions. The festival includes amazing train displays by the National Capital Trackers, a free ride on the trackless train, a petting zoo, rides, community booths, hands-on kids' crafts, and top notch entertainment such as The Great Zucchini, Mad Science, Wildlife Ambassadors and many more. This is a fun event geared towards toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school aged children. Art on the Avenue October 4, 2014 10 AM-6 PM Mount Vernon Avenue (Del Ray,) Alexandria Free Here visitors can experience over 300 artisans, taste amazing gourmet food and be entertained with live music and children’s activities. Artist will be displaying and selling handmade items such as glassware, baskets, jewelry, hats, tiles, paintings, and much more. Kids will enjoy the Kids’ Art corner with over a dozen activities hands on activities. The whole event is jam packed with live entertainment, and the special children’s stage features dance and musical groups, a magic act, and a puppet show. SterlingFest October 11, 2014 Sterling Park, VA Free SterlingFest is a free admission community event filled with a variety of foods, crafts, businesses, community booths, and vendors. Children will love interactive activities and rides, and local entertainers, such as the Sterling Playmakers, will charm the whole crowd. Clifton Day October 12, 2014 9 AM- 5PM Clifton, VA Free Visit quaint and historic Clifton for a festival packed with artisans, unique products, antiques, children's activities, and entertainment. For added fun, ride the VRE train from Burke or Manassas. Merrifield Fall Festival October 18, 2014 11 AM- 6 PM Mosaic District Free This year the festival will feature: food vendors, a pumpkin patch, a beer garden, musical entertainment, craft vendors, local artists, and children’s activities and rides at the fun Mosaic District. Air and Scare-Smithsonian Air & Space October 25, 2014 2 PM-7 PM Udvar-Hazy Museum, Chantilly, VA (Must pay for parking,) Free admission Dress up in your costume for this fun, safe, indoor trick or treating option. The event includes kids' crafts, science themed activities, characters from Star Wars & Ghostbusters, storytelling and more. Plus, all the great regular museum exhibits are also open. The annual Taste of Georgetown, celebrates its 21st year on Saturday, September 13, 2014 from 12 noon-5pm with creative tastes from more than 35 of the neighborhood’s best restaurants, as well a Craft Beer and Wine Pavilion and live entertainment. Plus, there are loads of family-friendly events! WHEN: Saturday, September 13, 2014 from 12 noon-5pm
WHERE: K Street NW, Between Wisconsin Ave & Thomas Jefferson St - Georgetown Waterfront by Micaela WilliamsonThe newest show by the Big Apple Circus, METAMORPHOSIS, is coming this month to Dulles Town Center. The show features astonishing acts and startling transformations that will transport you to a realm of enchantment: the thrilling flyers of the trapeze, the rolla-bolla, an act that teeters right on the edge of equilibrium; the diabolo, the whirling double–tops; an aerial space-age acrobatic adventure; camels, horses, and playful pooches; quick-change and contortion; Francesco the Clown, and Ringmaster John Kennedy Kane will summon the spirits of the circus universe to immerse you in the wonder, the joy and the astounding magic of METAMORPHOSIS! Because of animal rights, the Big Apple Circus is the only circus that my family and I will attend! It is truly an amazing, edge of your seat show. We also love that no one sits more than 50 feet from the ring, making it great for everyone to see the action. The Big Top is air-conditioned in warm weather and heated in cold, for all-season comfort. Show details: METAMORPHOSIS, Big Apple Circus Dulles Town Center 45630 Dulles Center Boulevard (at the intersection of Routes 7 and 28) Sterling, VA The show is two hours long including a 15 minute intermission. Buy tickets online at www.BigAppleCircus.org or by calling (888) 541-3750. The Circus Box Office at Dulles Town Center will open Tuesday, September 16; there is no service charge for tickets purchased at the box office. Box Office hours are Tue thru Fri, 10 am to 8 pm, and Sat thru Mon, 10 am to 6 pm (to 8 pm on Sat, Sep 27). For group sales, inquiries about wheelchair-accessible seating, or for additional information, please call the Ticket Info Line at (800) 922-3772. Want to win 4 Tickets to see the the Saturday, September 20th show at 12 PM ? Just leave a comment below! Winner will be chosen on Thursday, September 11, 2014. My family received complimentary tickets to the show. We always disclose when tickets were received. All opinions are my own.
Father – Son Road Trip: A review of the Frontier Culture Museum and Natural Bridge Park, VA9/4/2014 by Jay WilliamsonShe left us.
Alone. For the weekend. And not just any weekend, but Labor Day weekend – marking the end of summer and the start of school, possibly the longest of the long weekends. The boys have already done many of the things on Kid Trips’ list of 100 things for Kids to Do in Northern Virginia this summer. I hate traffic, bridges, tolls, tunnels, and any highway ending with a “5.” I need a plan, something epic and worthy of the weekend. A place that will leave them too tired to notice 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a row. I sit down at my computer and open my saved pages to Virginia.org’s list of 11 Award-Winning Virginia Craft Breweries. I think to myself that this may be the most important list I’ll read all month. Reading further I discover the Virginia has four craft beer trails. Devils Backbone Brewing Company and Blue Mountain Brewery both seem like great destinations for a father-son road trip. Unfortunately, while my boys aren’t old enough to drink, they are also too young to drive me home. I need to focus and find something fast, before they wake up. Staring at the map I see my opportunity in the mountains, just off Route 81. By Heather Lataille Imagine a circus that is easy to get to, ample free parking, and everyone has the same ringside view. The Flying Circus Aerodrome and Air Show in Bealton, VA is just such a place. It offers a wonderful day of family fun every Sunday from May through October. It’s a relaxing 90 minute car ride away going west on 66 from the District line (use “5114 Ritchie Road” in the GPS). The show starts at 2:20pm, lasts about 90 minutes, and you won’t want miss any part of it. On our arrival just after the start of the show, we were greeted by a boy offering to guide us to the appropriate ticket window. Tickets cost $15/adult, $7.00 /child aged 5-12, and children 5 & under are free. As we rolled down the window, the car was filled with the smell of pasture. We were quickly distracted by the first plane to take off. We - mom, dad, big brother (4) and little brother (1 ½) - hurried to gather our things for the short walk to the airfield: the stroller; plenty of water; hats; sunglasses; sunscreen; camera; phones; chairs; and snacks. Bring cash for Fifi’s Cafe if you want to re-live the Hawaiian honeymoon with shave ice. We moved quickly to the main event. The spectators lined chairs along the wooden cow fence that divided them from the airfield. The experienced ones had umbrellas to shade them from the summer sun. Others occupied the wooden bleachers provided by the Circus. Several biplanes parked on the field about the size of two football fields. Others had their engines on and propellers spinning. The master of ceremonies fit the part. At times I felt that I was living in the Midwest in the 1950s watching pilots that were my neighbors. This show was authentic, and unlike other circuses I’ve been to, I didn’t feel like I ever needed to cover my children’s eyes or ears. The depth of information made the show feel like a visit to a museum but was as enjoyable as a day at a theme park With each act, there was something new. A parachutist opened the show as we all sang the national anthem. My children loved watching the biplanes compete to see which of them could pop more balloons with their propellers. Acrobatic flying was my favorite part of the show and Scott Francis is definitely as good or better on the stick than the “Blue Angels.” On the day we went, it was also the first day of a hot air balloon festival, which was an added bonus. It was completely awesome to watch the individual balloon teams inflate their balloons and take off. The scene was out of the “Wizard of Oz” and made me feel like a kid again. During the show, the M.C. passed off the mic to one of the captains of the teams and we learned the history of hot air ballooning and how it works. Don’t miss the chance to meet all of the pilots after the show. Ask them questions they have probably heard a million times because you don’t know the answers. It feels so much better than asking Google, and think of the example you are giving your kids. The miniature plane ride (picture a tractor pulling child-sized bi-planes) only costs $1.00 and is great for younger children. Before you leave, make sure to climb on the gigantic mound of turned earth on the south side of the airfield. We didn’t purchase tickets for the individual plane rides ($50-$140) before or after the show, but we definitely will plan to take the kids to do that when they are older. Children 5 and up will love this show. If you want to make this trip even more memorable, check out a few aviation-themed books from the library a couple weeks before you plan to go. Both of these books: “Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic” and “To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers” fit the theme. You could also download Little Mammoth Media’s “The Big Air Show” to get a preview of what lies ahead. The Flying Circus in Bealton, Virginia allows you to get closer to the action than many of the larger shows, and is an outing you and your family are not going to forget. About the Author: Heather Lataille is training to be a Montessori Guide for children from birth to 3. She runs Planes Child Care from her home in Falls Church by Micaela WilliamsonMy Gym is the number one ranked place for fun children's fitness classes! Personally, my youngest child, a preschooler, has been enrolled in My Gym classes for over a year. I have enjoyed watching how much he has grown socially and developed his gross motor skills. My child looks forward to his My Gym class every week, and as a parent and former early childhood educator, I love their interactive, positive fitness programs! Here in Northern VA all the gyms are offering a special Enrollment Week from August 25-30, 2014. During this week only, new families can get a free, lifetime membership and $25 off the first month of classes. Returning members (not currently enrolled in classes) will also receive $25 off your first month of classes when you re-enroll! If you're currently enrolled in classes, you'll get $25 off your next 4 weeks of classes for every friend you refer who enrolls (just have them mention you when they sign up!) Fall is a great time to get back to routines, including active and healthy programs to balance out children’s lives. What better time than Back to School to reintroduce fitness to your family? Check out the great programs at one of the 4 Northern Virginia My Gym locations:
Disclosure: The My Gym Northern VA locations are a sponsor of this blog. All opinions are our own. Language Stars, the national leader in early childhood foreign language education with locations throughout the Chicago and Washington DC metropolitan areas, will host the first annual Language Stars Family Foreign Language Film Festival this summer at the Mosaic District in Fairfax, Virginia to expose children and their families to movies in other languages. The movies, The LEGO® Movie and Despicable Me 2 will be played in Spanish with English subtitles. Details below: The Lego Movie August 24, 2014 5:00pm in Spanish Despicable Me 2 September 14, 2014 5:00pm in Spanish The movies will be played on the open air movie screen at Mosaic District, 2910 District Avenue Fairfax, VA 22031at Lee Highway & Gallows Road. The event is FREE and open to the general public. About Language Stars Language Stars, the national leader in early childhood foreign language education, teaches foreign language classes for kids between the ages of 1 and 10 years old focusing on the window of opportunity between birth and 10 years of age when a child’s brain is hardwired to learn any language naturally and easily. Their mission is to change how and when children learn a foreign language to foster a new generation of multi-lingual Americans. Language Stars has 18 locations in the Chicago and Washington D.C. metro areas and is in over 150 public, private and parochial schools, including preschools, elementary schools and middle schools. Language Stars currently reaches over 10,000 toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary students each week, helping them move toward proficiency in a foreign language, build cognitive skills and become sensitive to new cultures. For more information, visit http://www.languagestars.com. For information on the Foreign Language Film festival, http://www.languagestars.com/filmfestdc |
Sponsored Ads
Our BookAbout The Blog
Kid Trips' blogs profile fun events and cool family-friendly venues. We focus on regional and national family travel articles. Blogs Via Email
RSS Feed
Archives
December 2020
Links We Love |