Go Climb A Mountain - Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Here is the Pacific Northwest we are lucky to be surrounded with amazing options for outdoor activities.  Within an hour we can be hiking deep into an old growth forest or climbing mountains.  One of the reasons we have this bounty available to us, is the commitment to preserve these green spaces for public use.  In addition to the many state parks and community spaces, the National Parks System has several parks within driving distance with the most famous being Mt. Rainier and the Olympic National Park.  This weekend, no matter where you are in the United States, you can enjoy these historic wonders for yourself.  As part of it's 100th Birthday, the National Parks Service is opening all of it's parks for free!  That's right, no entrance fee at the more than 400 National Parks throughout the country.  So grab your hiking shoes, pack a lunch and go enjoy the tranquility of nature.

If You Build It- Adventure Playground

In a time where people are perhaps too focused on protecting their kids from every bump and bruise, there is a place you can take your kids where they can hammer, saw, construct and watch their imaginations take shape.  

Adventure Playground, located in Deane's Children's Park  on Mercer Island, is a build-it-yourself play zone that will satisfy anyone's craving for design and fabrication. 

Upon checking in at the front, kids are given a toolbox, safety gear (including a hard hat and goggles) and nails.  After that they are let into the construction zone.  

The current construction zone has a tree house theme!

All children under 12 must have adult supervision, but really, why wouldn't you stay to create with your kids. 

All in all we spent several hours 

hammering,

Sketching, 

Climbing, 

and building. 

 The best part was watching all of the various projects slowly emerge from the materials at hand. 

Adventure Playground is open Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from July 5th through September 25th. The program is run by donation.  All participants, including adults, must have closed toe shoes to enter. 

$5.93 or Keep Your Eyes On The Ground

Over the last year our youngest and I have kept an eye to the ground.  It all started when we found a few pennies on one of our daily walks.  He asked if they were fake and, when I said they were real, asked why they had been thrown out.  It began a talk about the value of little things and how the things that some people thought had little value meant more to others.  We also discussed how little treasures added up quickly, both monetarily and in life.  We decided to collect what we found in a special container and total it after a year.  $5.93....134 coins....one little treasure almost every other day.  We are about to start a new year of treasure hunting....I think we'll keep looking down. 

Come Sail Away - Model Pond Boat Sailing @ Lake Union Park

Have you wanted to feel the wind in your hair and the sun in your face while commanding your own ship?  We recently were able to make those dreams a reality ...on a smaller scale. Every Saturday and Sunday from May to November, The Center for Wooden Boats rents out model boats for at the model boat pond.  Sailing the boats is as easy as pointing it into the wind and giving it a little push. The hard part is running around to other side after each voyage to sail it back. Pairing sailing with a visit to the MOHAI and a picnic makes for an amazing day out! Boat rentals are a $5 per hour suggested donation and the rentals are open from 11a.m. - 2p.m.

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Eat from the Street - Beacon Food Forest

Seattle has long been a place where urban living and nature have coexisted.  We boast being one of the top 10 cities in the US for access to parks.  We are called the Emerald City even.  So it should come as no surprise that planning and construction is underway for an entirely edible and FREE forest of food.  The Beacon Food Forest is underway next door to Jefferson Park in Beacon Hill.  The Food Forest is being designed to mimic a natural ecosystem but substituting edible nuts, fruits, veggies and herbs throughout.   Phase One, consisting of building the fruit and nut tree grove, has already begun.  The Food Forest will progress over the next several years.  If you like to visit and/or volunteer at the Forest, more information can be found here: http://beaconfoodforest.weebly.com/

Recreate History - Lego reproductions

Construction Workers on the Death Star and Empire State Building respectively

There have always been images that have drawn a visceral, as well as intellectual, response from people.  And nothing shows appreciation like a LEGO homage.  Over the last year we have created a variety of Lego interpretations of  art, photography and pop culture. We work together to build our creations all the while discussing the history behind the originals.  These are some of our favorites.

Raising of the flag at Iwo Jima

Scene from the Walking Dead

Scene from the Walking Dead

First steps on the Moon

Travel Through Time - MOHAI

Time travel is high on my list of impossible things to do.  I would love to experience moments in history first hand (or at least observe them safely from a distance.)  That's why I love the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).  The history of Seattle, and to some extent the Pacific Northwest, is laid out in an entertaining and informative way.  Many icons from the past are on display along with interactive displays that kept all of us, from the 4 year-old on up, entertained.  The museum sits on the south end of Lake Union in a beautiful park that is perfect for picnics and boat watching.  http://www.mohai.org/

Level Up - The Art of Video Games @ EMP

I love video games.  My wife loves video games. My kids love video games.  We are truly a button-pushing, controller mashing, flashing lights family unit.  We have a full spectrum of video game systems at our house and use them regularly.  So when we saw the new exhibit at the EMP we knew we had to go.  The Art of Video Games is an incredible journey through the history of video games from the C64 and Atari to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.   With interactive displays and hands-on demos, the exhibit was informational and awesome!  The best part is with admission to the exhibit you also can explore the history of science fiction and music throughout the rest of the museum.   Game On.  EMP - The Art of Video Games

Playing With Fire or Amazing Candle Tricks - Science!

We love a good science experiment and we also love a good magic trick.  When we find something that falls into both categories it quickly becomes one of our favorites. (especially when you can do it with things you already have at home.)   We found out about the combustibility of candle smoke awhile ago but we still do it every few weeks because it's so cool.

Things you'll need:
a candle - paraffin works best
matches or lighter

Light the candle and let it burn for a minute or two.  Blow it out and let the smoke settle so it is streaming up from the wick. Light your match or lighter and touch it to the streaming smoke a few inches from the wick and watch the flame race down the smoke to relight the candle.

Why it works:
Fire needs three things to work: Oxygen, Ignition and Fuel.  There's plenty of Oxygen and your match or lighter is the ignition source, but here's where things get science-y.  When a candle burns, the wick is kind of like a focus point for the flame and the paraffin is the fuel source.  When you blow out the candle the smoke contains quite a bit of the vaporized wax.   Adding the flame back to the smoke allows the fire to trace it's source back to the wick.  If you start to far away the fuel will burn out before it reaches the wick, so it may take a few tries to get it right. 

Free Museum Days - First Thursday Free Admission

A trip to the museum is always high our list of things to do.  Whether historic (MOHAI, Museum of Flight) or artistic (SAM, Wing Luke), our family has a great time.  And the best part is, that most of them are free on the first Thursday of the month.  Every month we choose one museum to go to (sometimes more if we start early enough) and make a day of it.  Discussing and observing art and history from two different perspectives (4 year old and 11 year old) is an amazing and satisfying experience. http://www.freemuseumday.org/sea.html

Transcending Dimensions - Easy 3D Drawing

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 3D has invaded and it seems to be winning.  Movies, video games and even television have all put their collective toes in the Three Dimensional water and it seems soon it may be hard to avoid.  So perhaps it may be best to go with the old adage: If you can't beat them, join them.  Rather than bemoan the inevitable march of technology, I have been using it as a way to introduce my boys to 3D rendering and, of course, optical illusions. One of our favorites is the 3D Drawing.
It's very easy to do and only takes a moment.

Start with a blank piece paper and a recognizable object. (we traced our hands as they are easy to see and readily available.)

 

Trace around your object lightly.  You don't want it to be obvious in the finished picture.

Now start drawing lines across the paper.  When you come to your traced image, draw a nice curved line.

 

Continue over the entire page.

Once your page is full of lines, go back through and add some more. The more lines you have the better the 3D illusion will be.

Once finished, you're ready to show off your trippy 3D artwork.  It's that easy.  Enjoy!

Free Arts and History! - Seattle Public Library Museum Pass

Library cards are known for taking you to amazing places and showing you the fantastic.  Now, with the help of The Seattle Public Library Foundation, it can take you somewhere closer, but no less amazing.  With a bit of planning, you can gain free admission to many of the museums in Seattle using your library card.   You are able to pick from about a months worth of dates at a time and, after entering in your card number, you can print out free passes to the museum of your choice.  You can get one pass per week and can't visit the same museum more than once in a 30 day period.  Most of the passes are good for several people so it's a great excuse for a family outing.  And if you do it right, you can cycle through a year's worth of exhibits for free. http://www.spl.org/library-collection/museum-pass

Healthy Body, Quick Mind - Professor Wellbody's Academy of Health & Wellness

How do the choices you make affect your body?  And how do you pass that information to your kids in a way that will stick?  Introducing Professor Wellbody's Academy of Health & Wellness at the Pacific Science Center.  The Wellbody Academy is a new interactive exhibit that shows how your actions affect your health and well-being.  From the Calorie Conveyor Belt (figure out how many calories are in that doughnut, bacon, pork sausage, cake sandwich with a milkshake chaser you had for breakfast)  to the Interactive Sneeze (You will get wet) the exhibits are interesting and, more importantly, fun. Professor Wellbody's Academy of Health & Wellness officially opens on December 1st.  http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/wellbodyacademy/Home