Jul 26, 201212:34 PMEditor's Blog
Beat the Heat This Weekend
One of our ad reps who has two young boys came in looking frazzled one afternoon. She said, "We've been making paper airplanes for three hours! Three hours. Our house is covered with paper airplanes." If you can't have an inside day every day, there are other ways to stay cool -- most of them involving water. Whiteside Park is on one of my running routes, and I've enjoyed seeing all the kids getting wet at the new water park as I run by. Whiteside is on 41st between Harvard and Yale. The water park is a little oasis of water splashing from brightly colored fixtures. I've been tempted to jump in myself. Whiteside also has one of the Park system's junior pools, so it's a great place to cool off if you have little kids -- and it's free!
I love that the Tulsa Zoo and the Oklahoma Aquarium have both added inflatable water features to their normal attractions for the summer. Both have an additional cost. For example, at the zoo, a day pass for the water slides is $5. It's open Fri., Sat. and Sun. at 8 a.m. The Zoo opens at 7 a.m. through Sept. 3, so you can go see the animals while the weather is cooler and then let the kids get wet as the day warms up.
If you haven't been to a Drillers game yet, you can see them take on the Arkansas Travelers on Sunday afternoon at 1. The new water feature gives kids (and probably a few parents), a place to cool off during the game.
Now for some indoor ideas. You may be looking for a day or weekend trip before school starts. Now would be a great time to drive to Norman to see the "Chinasaur" exhibit at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. The exhibit features huge, exotic dinasaurs from China, and will be there through Sept. 16. I highly recommend this museum. They have hands-on things for the kids; it's a nice size -- not too big or too small; the museum store is great, and you can dine at the museum, take a picnic or visit one of Norman's local eateries.
Gilcrease has a great air-conditioner. So take advantage of it by going to the Mini-Masters program on Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. It's for kids ages 3 to 6 with an adult. Kids can explore the galleries, and then create a work of art. You can hang around until noon and go to the Kids Dig Books program. It's a storytime, and kids will also have an opportunity to do an art project. You do need to pre-register. http://www.gilcrease.org.
Or, you may just want to rest up all day Friday because The Wiggles will be in town! That's right, The Wiggles Concert is Friday night at 6:30 at the BOK Center. If you go, take some pictures of your kids and post them on our website or Facebook page.
If you want to enjoy nature without getting hot, go to the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden on Saturday. It's Family Activity Day! You and the kids can make a Terrarium or Dish Garden inside the garden's information center. The garden is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. http://www.ocbg.org
And, if you want to see a live performance that the entire family can enjoy, go to "Tom Sawyer" at the Spotlight Children's Theater, 1318 Riverside Drive, this weekend. The show is on Fri. at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
You might want to try bowling, too. Kids can bowl free at Andy B's. Go to http://www.kidsbowlfree.com for more information about how that works. Even really little kids can enjoy bowling because they have those bumpers and light, small bowling balls that are easy for the little ones to pick up.
If you have some good Beat the Heat Activities, post them here in the comments or on our Facebook Page.
Stay cool!
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Betty Casey started editing TulsaKids when her youngest child was 3 years old. That daughter is now a freshman in college. Her son is 24 and her middle daughter is 21. TulsaKids and her children literally grew up together (and she lived to tell about it)! Betty's blog ranges from commenting on current parenting issues and upcoming articles to personal reflections about being the mom of three children, who are now wonderful young adults.
