Talk about an adventure off the beaten path…STAR ECO Station, an Environmental Childrens Museum, is a hidden treasure tucked away in Rocklin.  I had no idea what was in store for us when we visited with our whole family, Grandma included.  The plan was to go on an outing the kids would enjoy but the grown-ups loved this place just as much!  We experienced hands-on lessons of ecology and environmentalism as we encountered beautiful tropical birds, exotic reptiles, and ocean life in a tropical jungle setting.

STAR ECO Station is an internationally award-winning  non-profit environmental education and exotic wildlife rescue center, dedicated to the mission of Preservation Through Education.  STAR ECO Station provides a last chance for illegal or abandoned at-risk exotic wildlife, as well as environmental education outreach programs.

What makes the STAR ECO Station such a great experience is the fact that a knowledgeable tour guide offers information about all the wildlife you see.  Your guide takes you through the reptile room, the bird room, and the ocean life room, telling interesting facts about each animal.   Our guide, Jamie, not only educated us but was able to answer all of the questions we had throughout our visit.  We were continually surprised by fun facts she shared with us.  We never knew that the Bearded Dragon only shows his beard when he feels threatened and that Parrots bond and mate for life.  We all loved that we were able to get so close to the wildlife and even touch a couple of the reptiles.

I am a fan of places that offer fun and education wrapped up in one and STAR ECO Station does just that!  Each one of the kids was fascinated by all that they saw and learned and, well, we grown-ups were too!

Click here to learn more about the STAR ECO Station and to see their upcoming events.  They also offer great birthday parties.

Hours:
Friday 1pm-5pm, Saturday 10am- 4pm, Sunday 12pm-4pm
Tours start every hour on the hour.  Last tour starts one hour before closing.

Admission:
$6.00 for Kids, $5.00 for Kids under 16, 2 years and under are Free

STAR ECO Station
4465 Granite Drive, Suite 700
Rocklin, CA 95677
(916) 632-5437

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[The winner of the Bounce Passes is Sheri J.!  Congratulations!  Thanks to all who entered.  More giveaways to come]

When you are looking for a place to wear your kids out indoors, Bounce Houses are ideal!

Bounce-O-Palace in Folsom has over 6,500 square feet of interactive inflatables perfect for toddlers to preteens…and parents can join in for free!  They now offer unlimited time so you can enjoy the facility until your child is ready to go home.  They also offer Pajama Night Mondays.  From 4:00 - 7:00pm, kids can show up in their pjs and get $1 off admission!  Click here to check out their website.

Bounce-O-Palace has generously offered to donate 2 FREE Bounce Passes to one lucky Sacramento Sidetracks reader!

It’s easy to enter!  Simply do the following:

• Click here to “Like” Sacramento Sidetracks on Facebook OR
• Click here to check out Bounce-O-Palace’s website
• Leave a comment on this post letting me know you did one of the first two things

You have until Sunday, August 8th at midnight to enter.  The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced on Monday morning.  Good luck!

The Bounce Spot in West Sacramento has Family Night every 3rd Friday from 5:30-8:30 pm.  This is a fabulous way to spend a Friday night with the family at an incredible price.  Family Night includes pizza, salad, drinks and dessert for just $8 per person.

The kids and I went last month and spent the entire 3 hours there.  We agreed that we felt like we were at a birthday party with the music playing, all the families and the pizza.  We were able to bounce to our hearts’ content.  Yes, parents are allowed to bounce too!

The Bounce Spot has two giant rooms filled with a variety of inflatables.  You can bounce as you box, shoot hoops, joust, and run obstacle course races.  There is even a toddler area with toys and a cute mushroom inflatable filled with balls.  Our favorite features were most definitely the 18-ft. slides!  I left that night with three very happy and very worn out children!

The next Family Night will be this Friday night, July 16th.  So call now and RSVP to let them know you’re coming!

Have you been to the TrailMix.Net store in Old Sacramento yet?  If not, add this to your summer to-do list!  I am kicking myself that we have not gotten over there sooner.  My kids and I were in awe of all they have to offer…and instantly in love!  Mike & Sara Barlow opened it about a year ago and this store is more than just a store.  TrailMix.Net “helps parents create family outdoor learning and adventure experiences” with their outdoor gear, educational toys and all the nature resources you need.  If you are already an outdoorsy family, then this is where you will find all of things you need to enhance your experiences with your kids.  If you are not already outdoorsy, then this is where you will be inspired!

While wandering the store we found Animal Watching With Kids, Backyard Safari Gear, Hiking With Kids, Geocaching With Kids, Birding With Kids, Gardening With Kids, Astronomy, and more.  So once you pick a type of outdoor adventure…you’ve got the gear, the maps, and the books all in one place.  To top it off, you have friendly owners that are more than happy to provide the information you need.  I’ve been wondering for a long time where the best hikes are and where the best spots on the river for kids are.  Mike helped me out with that and so I’ll share our adventures in the near future.  On the TrailMix.Net blog, you can download a FREE e-book called Educational Expeditions that helps you plan your outdoor adventures with kids.  I’m telling you, they are a plethora of information!

Besides offering awesome products, they have an activity center which really turns the store into an outing destination.  Their Activity Menu has craft projects for kids of ALL AGES that start at just $2.00.  You can have fun with a 15 minute Paint-A-Critter like we did or you can spend more time and do something like building a birdhouse or painting a fossil necklace.  My kids loved picking out their critter, painting, gluing eyes on and then being able to take their creation home.

TrailMix.Net also holds FREE workshops for parents and children each month.  Click here for their calendar.  This Saturday Culture2Classroom is presenting Before Sacramento, Life for the Nisenan Maidu.  Along with learning about the Southern Maidu tribal group, kids will have the opportunity to make a craft with a Native theme.

Check it out and gear up for some incredible adventures with your kids!

TrailMix.Net
116B I Street
Sacramento, CA  95814
888-95-TRAIL
Open daily: 9:30am - 5:30pm

*Located right across from the California State Railroad Museum.
*Parking validation provided with minimal purchase.

Big Spoon Yogurt holds a Storytime every 3rd Thursday from 1 - 2pm.  Kids 6 and under receive a FREE yogurt!    We decided to check it out last month and were excited that several of our friends had the same idea!  The kids loved the stories, a couple games of Duck-Duck-Goose and filling up their kid-sized cup with whatever yogurt and toppings they wanted.   So mark your calendars and tell your friends because this Thursday, May 20th is the next Storytime.

Participating locations:  Dixon, East Sac, Elk Grove, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Jackson, Land Park, Natomas, Rocklin.

If you are looking for something fun and FREE to with kids of any age, then check out the Capitol Aquarium downtown.   They are a family-owned and operated business that has been around for over 40 years.  Even though it is a retail store, families are welcome to wander through any time.  They have over 500 aquariums with a wide variety of fresh and saltwater fish.

You can see every size, shape and color fish.  There are even frogs, turtles and best of all an electric eel!  Our favorite part of a visit there is feeding the Koi carp in the small pond by the entrance.  Bring quarters for the fish food vending machine and have a ball!  Click here to take a virtual tour.

Capitol Aquarium
1920 29th Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 452-5556
www.capitolaquarium.net

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about a weekly event called Art Safari that is held at the Valley-Hi North Laguna Library.  It’s presented by the Crocker Art Museum and geared for school-age kids.  You can see the post with the details here.

Last Tuesday we checked it out for ourselves and had a great time!  The theme for the day was animation.  Employees of the Crocker read a story and led two art projects that helped the kids to better understand how animation is created.  The kids were serious about their projects and pleased with their results.   This new library branch is very cute and updated.  I am looking forward to attending Art Safari when the weather is better because the kids are dying to try out the new park in front of the library.  We’ll head over there right after school, play on the playground and then go inside for the activity.  Fun and free!

Art Safari is held every Tuesday at the Valley-Hi North Laguna Library.  Click here for all the details and the bonus is each participant receives a FREE family admission pass to the Crocker Art Museum!

1. Spend hours exploring your creativity at ARTBEAST STUDIO.

2. Get your wiggles out at FUNTASTIC’s indoor playground.

3. Relax and enjoy entertaining activities or storytime at the LIBRARY.

4. Meet up with friends to jump and play at BOUNCETOWN or LAGUNA’S AWESOME PARTY PALACE.

5. Explore the RAILROAD MUSEUM or the DISCOVERY SCIENCE MUSEUM and learn something new.

For more ideas visit my INDOOR page or go to the Indoor Activities category.    Stay Dry!

All month long, the Sacramento Public Library offers fun, educational, and cultural experiences for our kids.  To top it off, they are completely FREE!  I love to take advantage of these events and take my kids to as many as I can.  Instead of sticking to your local library, check out some of the events at other libraries in Sacramento.  I have always thought that it is worth it to make the trip to a library outside of my neighborhood.  It is also fun to see what different locations have to offer.  In our experiences, many of them have a park right outside which makes for an extra fun outing.

We have seen Magic Shows, sung with Francie Dillon, watched movies, met Star Wars Characters, had our books signed by Laura Numeroff, played on African drums and much more!

Here are the Library’s Kids Events for this week:

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Whether you want to go out because you do not feel like cooking or simply to have fun, Kids Eat Free Days at local restaurants sure make it more affordable to go out as a family!  I have called each place on the list to verify the information but it’s always a good idea to call before going to double check.   Most of the restaurants offer one Kid’s Meal per Adult Meal.

Bon apetit!

MONDAY

Baja Burrito
9015 Bruceville Rd, Elk Grove, (916) 683-4001
Kids 12 and under Eat Free ALL DAY

Costa Vida
1475 Eureka Road #100, Roseville, (916) 773-9283
Kids 12 and under Eat Free ALL DAY

International House of Pancakes
All locations
Kids Eat Free 4- 10pm

Riverside Clubhouse
2633 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento, (916) 448-9988
Kids 12 and under Eat Free after 5 pm

Strings
4848 Madison Ave., Sacramento, (916) 348-1925
4730 Natomas Blvd., #170, Sacramento, (916) 928-9064
1013 Riley Street., #100, Folsom, (916) 983-9556
9700 Fairway Dr. Roseville, (916) 784-3456
1900 Douglas Blvd., Roseville, (916) 784-2888
1411 W. Covell Blvd. #111, Davis (530) 753-1313
Kids 12 and under Eat Free 4 – 9pm

Texas West Barbeque
1950 Douglas Blvd. Roseville, (916) 773-7427
Kids 10 and under Eat Free – ALL DAY

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