Stake your claim at the Discovery Museum’s gold panning event this weekend.  Rent a pan for $3 per person and try your luck at finding gems and semi-precious stones to keep!  A real gold miner will show you the ropes and answer gold-hunting questions.  Don’t miss seeing the large gold specimens in their Gee Whiz Geology exhibit, discovered right in this area! Kids 12 and under bring home a gold-panning activity sheet.

When: Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th;  12:30 - 3:00pm (Museum open 10:00am - 4:30pm)
Where: Discovery Museum, 3615 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento
Cost: Admission for Adults on the weekend $6.00, Kids 4-12 $4.00, 3 and under FREE
Info: Call 575-3942 or click here

Celebrate Spring by enjoying some time out in nature this weekend at Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael.  Every month they have fun and educational activities for the whole family.  It is also a very inexpensive activity since there is just a $5.00 entrance fee per car.

If you have never been there before, take a look at a few pictures of our first experience a couple years ago at one of Sacramento’s best outdoor spots!

After learning about butterflies and making a butterfly craft, we went on a guided hike along a dirt path.

We cooled down and learned about more animals inside the nature center.

We were surprised at how many fun, interactive exhibits there are!

The activities this weekend:

Saturday Safari
Saturday, March 27, 10:30 am
Grab your binoculars (or borrow some from us) and take a guided walk in the Effie Yeaw Nature Area to see the animals and plants that make up the unique habitat along the American River.
Nature Story Time
Sunday, March 28, 10:30AM
Join a Nature Center Naturalist to hear a tale read
aloud from some of our favorite nature storybooks.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center
(inside Ancil Hoffman County Park, off Tarshes Drive)
2850 San Lorenzo Way, Carmichael

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Looking for something to do THIS WEEKEND?  Look no further!  You’re sure to find fun with any of these activities…

(See details on our “Upcoming Events Calendar” to the right.)

FRIDAY, June 26th

• Puppet show at Fairytale Town - “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”

• Gibson Ranch Movie Night - “Hotel For Dogs”

• Drive-in Movie at Elk Grove Regional Park- “Madagascar 2″

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Are you in the mood to get some fresh air, some exercise…and explore nature with the kids?  Here’s a place you’ll want to check out!

For quite a while I had been wanting to take my little ones to the Cosumnes River Preserve after seeing some pictures of a friend and her teenagers hiking there.  It looked beautiful and it is not that far away.  So with a good weather forecast for a Saturday in March we made plans to meet up with friends and check it out!  It is on Franklin and Twin Cities…we took the 5 south and from Elk Grove, were there in about 15 minutes.

The Experience:

Right away we were pleased with the fact that there were two trails to choose from…The Cosumnes River Walk, which is a 3-mile dirt trail or The Lost Slough Wetlands Walk, which is a 1-mile paved trail.  Since between our two families we had six kids with us, ranging between the ages of 7 months and 6 years old,we opted for the paved trail to keep it easy.  If we had known that there was such a trail, we would have brought strollers for the little ones.  The kids enjoyed starting off on a wooden bridge that led into the tree-filled preserve…wondering what they’d find on the other side.  They were thrilled to see a bunny, butterflies, and birds galore.  The older kids took turns taking pictures of the beautiful flowers.  It turned out to be a hot day and so 1-mile was just long enough for us! All in all, it was an enjoyable experience and we are anxious to go back and try the River Walk trail which I’ve been told is more of a true hiking experience with a bit rougher terrain and more wildlife.

Expenses:

There is a donation box in the parking lot and a $5.00 parking donation is suggested…but otherwise this is a FREE adventure.

Tips:

The paved trail is stroller and wheelchair-friendly.  As for any outdoor fun…I recommend a backpack full of water, snacks, sunscreen…and a camera!

COSUMNES RIVER PRESERVE
www.cosumnes.org/
13501 Franklin Blvd., Galt, CA
(916) 684-2816

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On those oh-so-hot Sacramento Summer days, here are some ultra-fun

places you can take the kids to cool off!

1.  GOLFLAND SUNSPLASH

1893 Taylor Road, Roseville, CA
(916) 784-1273

• Open Daily June 9th – August 16th, then weekends through September 7th
• 11 am – 6:30 pm (Open some nights on summer weekends 7:30pm – 11 pm)
• General Admission $25.99, Kids under 48″ $19.99, Kids 2 and under $1.00
• Twilight Admission (3:00 - 6:30 pm) all ages $18.99

This fun place has two 18-hole miniature golf courses, a 5,000-square-foot laser tag arena, more than 200 arcade games and a water park. The water-park has an adventure island, a wave pool, a lazy river and eight slide towers. The park does not permit outside food or drinks. It does have a pizza kitchen and snack bars serving a variety of foods and drinks.

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