Where Did We Go Wednesday? Crayola Experience

I had the opportunity to go along with my son on his field trip to the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America last week. Crayola Experience only gives so many chaperone passes and I was not picked to be one of those but they allowed additional chaperones to come along for $9 a piece which is a bargain when you consider that the cost of admission is $19.99 a person. My sons admission was covered by the school so I didn't have to pay for that so for two of us to go for that price to check it out is a good deal. I really wanted to see what it was like because my kids have been asking to go but considering that it would cost $60 for me to take both of them I wanted to be sure it was worth the cost because $60 sure can buy a lot of crayons. Just to note you can buy a season pass which is unlimited admission for $29.99 per person or $99.99 per family. The next time we go, and there will be a next time we will be buying a season pass. Unlike other season passes we get this is a for-profit company so our season pass is not tax-deductible.

We were there for 3 hours on the field trip and managed to get around to all but one area. Some of the areas we had to rush through because we wanted to try to get as many as possible. I am not sure I could even pick out what my favorite area was. There is a lot to do here. You end up leaving with many projects but there are still even more areas that are just physical play or they are a digital type of area.

In the picture above you can see the crayon ring I made. That is in one of the areas and you get to choose between three different wax Creations, one of which is a ring. In that same picture you can see my son is watching his crayon drip and melt into his creation.

This next picture is a good example of some of the large motor skill play areas as well as digital areas. Same with the bottom picture which is two pictures of my son and I in a digital area where it appears like crayon wax is dripping over us. 

There is a couple of shows to watch while you are there. They are live shows. One of them shows how a crayon is made from start to finish and at the end they give them a red crayon which is what they are demonstrating being made. The other show was demonstrating the scientific properties of silly putty. Both shows are performed at various times throughout the day. So you are sure to be able to find one of them that fits into your schedule.

Besides getting a red crayon from the one show there is also another area where you get to name your own crayon can you pick out what color you want and put whatever name on it you want. So between the crayon mold, the show and the name your own crayon area you will leave with three crayons.

There is also a puzzle making station and a painting station and a hot wax Spin Art station and a hot wax painting station. You will leave with projects from all of those if you do them. There is also a station for Model Magic clay that you can do. This station as well as the crayon naming station take one token each period we were given a token for each one for each person when we arrived. They do have a station where you can buy more tokens that is by the Model Magic dispenser. The Model Magic dispenser gives you one color of Model Magic clay / token. Tokens were two for a dollar.

There is also two big play areas with slides and tunnels and monkey bars that kids can play in one is geared towards younger kids and one is towards older kids. There is also area where there is a huge Lite-Brite to play with. The number of digital areas is probably about a half-dozen of them. I didn't do those as much because there is only so many stations and we had so many kids that were wanting to play that the adults just watched in these areas

There is a Café there and they do serve a variety of food but we had brought bunches. I'm not sure if they allow you to normally carry in food or if they only allow this for school groups.

I am sure I am missing telling you about some area or private we got to create but as you can see there is quite a bit to do to fill your time.

FREE Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

My kids have done this program the past couple years. It's fun and easy and helps keep them reading all summer long.

From the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Website:

Kids Earn a Free Book!

Here is How

Step 1. Fill out the Summer Reading Triathlon Reading Journal (PDF).
Step 2. Bring the completed Reading Journal to your local B&N store. Find a Store.
Step 3. Choose a FREE BOOK from our selection on the Reading Journal list at the store... Enjoy reading!

______________________________________________________________________

Our closest Barnes and Noble is about an hour away, so we usually combine it with some other summer field trip I plan with the kids and hit up the one at the Mall of America.

If I had to guess what books they would pick, I am sure my daughter will pick the American Girl one "Lea Dives In". For my son, I am inclined to say he might pick out the "My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish".

10 FREE Summer Camps & Classes for Kids

There are a variety of Summer Camps out there for FREE for kids. Yes, I did say FREE camp!  None of them are overnight camp, but you can provide your children with activities and socialization (and some learning too!) during the day.

• Maker Camp by Google - There may be a location near you that is providing this program, or you can do the program online. Check out the website to find out more info and look for locations.
• Bass Pro Shops FREE Family Summer Camp - A variety of camp experience including archery, casting, crafts, smores and more.
• Apple Store Camp - My daughter did one of these camps last year. She did the iBook camp and had a blast learning about it and creating her own story. You do not need to have any Apple products to do this camp, they provide them for use while they attend.
• Microsoft Young Developers - I don't know much about these classes but you can better that I will be keeping my eye out for classes that will be of interest to my kids. It looks like one of the camps teaches them about coding.
• American Girl Events - Some events are FREE, but some do have a cost associated with them. Check out what is available on their website. Not all activities are available at each locations. We have done some of the free craft activities at the Mall of America location. Some other events include a book club, shows, dining events, hair styling tutorials and more!
• Vacation Bible School - In my experience, church's do not require for you to be members in order for your children to attend their VBS. Many VBS programs are free or have a nominal fee or will ask for donations. Call or check the websites or nearby churches to see what is offered.
• Summer School - So, this may not be camp, but often a child can attend summer school even if they are not required to do so. Check with your school to see if it is offered and if it is a free program or if any fees are associated.
• Library Summer Programs - Many library have free classes, shows and activities during the summer. They are usually only 1-2 hours long. Check with your nearest libraries to see what they have planned. Remember, you can go to libraries in other communities as well. You might not be able to check out books unless they are part your library system, but you can still attend their programs. Be sure to find out if you need to reserve a spot at a particular activities. Library programs can be very well attended.
• Places to Go Camping for FREE - this is a good place to start to see where you can take your family camping for free. There are locations in every state
• Summer Camp at Home - You can read all about how I planned an overnight "traditional" camp experience for my daughter with another friend and two of her daughters in my post about MOM Camp. I also plan to do some day camp themes at home with both of my kids and have created pinterest board to gather my ideas, feel free to follow my boards and do these same cay camps at home.
• Plants vs. Zombies (gardening and plants)
• American Girl Camp (camping is miniaturized for dolls and stuffed animals)
• Wild Kratts - Aquatic Habitat (all water animals, sea life and things to do with water)

Also be sure to check with your local park and recreation department, community education and ECFE (if you live in MN) programs because they often offer classes and camps for a low cost.

Don't forget to check out some other FREE printables from my blog:

• 102 Things to Do This Summer
• Summer Goals Printable (fill in with 10 things you hope to do)

Wordless Wednesday: Barbie Dream House Experience

Barbie Dream House Experience at the Mall of America

Wordless Wednesday: SEALIFE Aquarium at the Mall of America

SEALIFE Aqauarium at the Mall of America

Wordless Wednesday: iBook Camp at the Apple Store

Last month my daughter attended a 3-day iBook camp at the Apple Store. 

We went to the Mall of America location. It was a free camp, but it was not really. I still had to drive an hour each way, plus we were there at lunch time so I had to buy lunch. We made it worth our trip and 2 of the days she had camp we scheduled activities that we wanted to do in the Twin Cities on those days. If my son wasn't sick the first day we would have done other stuff on that day as well.

Next year I will give my readers a heads up about this free camp. They also offer a iMovie camp too, which is also free. Campers are allowed to attend only 1 camp and must be 8-12 years old.

Instruction work was done on both the iPad mini and a laptop and they utilized both an app and a software program to do the work. Kids were also given a free t-shirt, lanyard, and flash drive (with their finished project on it.) Next year my daughter wants to do the iMovie camp.