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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Fri, August 20th - Sun, August 22nd

1. Picnic with your family at the HOT SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT in Elk Grove.
2. Bounce and eat pizza at Bounce Spot’s FAMILY BOUNCE NIGHT.
3. Roast marshmallow’s and listen to stories at the MAIDU FAMILY CAMPFIRE EVENING.
4. Meet a Geologist and do hands-on GEOLOGY activities at the Discovery Museum.
5. Giggle at SLEEPING BEAUTY IN SPACE at Fairytale Town.
6. Take an entertaining and history-rich UNDERGROUND TOUR in Old Sacramento.
7. Pet the cute BARN ANIMALS at Hagan Community Park.
8. Take a GUIDED NATURE TOUR through Effie Yeaw’s Maidu Village.
9. Enjoy songs and stories at Central Library’s BABYSIT LAPSIT STORYTIME.
10. See how the pioneers survived Culture Shock at SUTTER’S FORT DEMONSTRATION DAY.

*You can also see details of these events on our Upcoming Events Calendar.

Happy Friday!

This is the place for hands-on science discovery!  The Explorit Science Center in Davis features interactive exhibits, a Discovery Room, and a Wet Lab.  Their mission is to “engage people in science experiments that touch all our lives.”

Whether your kids are already interested in science or you want to get them interested, there is no better place to explore.  My kids are still young and haven’t had any experience with science yet.  We walked in the door and they were instantly in engaged.  They wanted to check out every single fossil in the Discovery Room and know exactly what they were.

We moved on to the interactive exhibits and I was amazed at how Explorit has come up with such fun ways to teach important principles of science.  We learned things like:

What happens to the energy of a moving object.
Which objects fly best.
What happens to your body when you exercise.
How gears work.

To get the most out of it, be prepared to be hands-on right along with your kids.  Each experiment has step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow.  Kids that are over eight may be able to figure them out on their own, but younger kids need help understanding the how and why.  There was a friendly, knowledgeable staff on hand that helped us out when we were a little unsure of how to do something.

Upstairs, we conducted little experiments in the Wet Lab.  My four-year-old loved sending scents through a large tube with a fan and weighing the liquids.  Even as I am writing this post, he is looking at the picture and recalling that he learned “which one was heavier”!  My seven-year-old was in love with the craft room that was filled with recycled materials that she could be creative with.  My two-year-old’s favorite spot was the booth he could sit at and play with plastic molecules.  There was definitely something for everyone!

Check this place out and be prepared for a wonderful combination of fun and learning!

Hours:
Saturdays & Sundays: 11 am - 5 pm (both floors)
Tuesdays: 10 am - 5 pm (first floor only 10-2:00; both floors 2-5:00)

Admission:
General Admission $4.00, Kids 3 and under FREE
*FREE Admission Day is the 3rd Tuesday of each month!
*Admission is FREE on the first weekend of each month to individuals with Bank of America credit or debit cards through the bank’s “Museums on Us” program.

Explorit Science Center
2801 2nd Street
Davis, CA 95618
(530) 756-0191

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Fri, August 6th - Sun, August 8th

1. Watch FLICKA 2 under the stars at Gibson Ranch.
2. Take a GUIDED NATURE WALK at the gorgeous Cosumnes River Preserve.
3. Make a SCHOOL BUS PENCIL ORGANIZER at the Home Depot Kid’s Workshop.
4. Learn about the sun with fun activities at Discovery Museum’s SUN AND FUN.
5. Make PEAR ICECREAM at the Courtland Library.
6. Play games and earn prizes at Arden Mall’s ROCKIN’ WALK WITH RADIO DISNEY.
7. Learn how to make beautiful ORIGAMI crafts at the Franklin Library.
8. Check out the inside of cool planes at the Aerospace Museum’s OPEN COCKPITS.
9. Enjoy historical STREET THEATRE in Old Sacramento.
10. Pet the cute BARN ANIMALS and ride the STEAM TRAIN at Hagan Park.

*Please note that details about each event are available on the ‘Upcoming Events’ calendar.

Happy Friday!

[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!

Fri, July 30th - Sun, August 1st

1. Bounce, eat and play at a free FAMILY FUN DAY in Lone Tree Park.
2. Learn all about bees at Soil Born Farm’s WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT? class.
3.Watch THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA at the 24th Street Theatre.
4. Start a ROCK COLLECTION at the Discovery Museum.
5. Laugh along with the PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Civic Theatre West.
6. Enjoy Hawaiian music and dance with the OHANA DANCERS at Folsom Library.
7. Magic, storytelling and puppets at Central Library’s MAGIC READING BASH.
8. Learn JAPANESE COOKING at Whole Foods Market’s class for kids.
9. Play games, eat BBQ, get your face painted at free PARK GRAND OPENING.
10.Last weekend to play at the CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR.

Some of our past experiences are sitting so far back in the archives that I thought it would be fun to  start periodically highlighting some posts that you might like to see.  Here are a few of my favorites!  Click on the picture to be linked to the post.

Exploring Art Beast

Storytime in the Barn

A Funtastic Time at Indoor Playground

The California State Railroad Museum

Fri, July 16th - Sun, July 18th

1. Gather around the CAMPFIRE at the Maidu Indian Museum.
2. Bounce and eat pizza at The Bounce Spot’s FAMILY BOUNCE NIGHT.
3. Get your face painted at The California Museum’s TARGET ARTS & WONDER FREE FAMILY EVENT.
4. Enjoy THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA at the 24th Street Theatre.
5. See PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Civic Theatre West.
6. Learn pioneer games at Sutter’s Fort’s MINING THE MINERS.
7. Start a ROCK COLLECTION at The Discovery Science and Space Museum.
8. Giggle at THE FROG PRINCE by The Fair Oaks Theatre Festival.
9. Create a SPLASH AND SPLATTER PAINTING at the Central Library.
10.Dig for dinosaur fossils and touch jungle creatures at the CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR.

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!

Sat, July 10th - Sun, July 11th

1. Learn about the Maidu Indians at MAIDU MUSEUM’S FAMILY FUN DAY.
2. Admire wildfowl artworks at the WILDFOWL ART FESTIVAL.
3. Enjoy MONKEY KING: BOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR at Fairytale Town.
4. Construct a paper TRICERATOPS PILLOW at the Discovery Museum.
5. See PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Civic Theatre West.
6. Make a NATIVE AMERICAN CRAFT and learn about the Nisenan Maidu at TrailMix.Net.
7. Giggle at the FROGGY’S BIG SPLASH puppet show in the Rancho Cordova Library.
8. Watch A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM at The Shakespeare Festival.
9. SING ALONG with wild & wacky Mr. Candee in the Courtland Library.
10.Enjoy songs and stories of CYRUS THE UNSINKABLE SEA SERPENT with Francie Dillon.