Explorit Science Center in Davis California

Davis may be pushing the boundaries of what can technically be called the "Bay Area", but the Explorit Science Center is such a neat little place, I just have to include it here. Also, biased on the tiny crowd the day we visited, it may also be a well-kept secret. More people need to know about this little treasure.


While much smaller than other science Museums like San Francisco's Exploritorium, or even the Laurence Hall of Science in Berkley, the Explorit Science Center is still well worth a visit. Everything there is very hands-on and kid friendly.


Some are quickie experiments, and others require more thoughtfulness and you may want to take your time to really get the most of them. For example, there was a fun station that included a large fan and a variety of items to put above the fan to see how each item behaved as it was blown up into the air. You can imagine how much fun kids have with that! Then another station that we spent quite a long time at was a bridge building experiment. All kids of building materials are provided: blocks, K'nex, and many more. Children (and grown-ups) use these to build small bridges that they can then test out with different weights provided. There are really too many exhibits to mention, and they also rotate through different themes. The "Move It" exhibit was going on when we visited, which was about exploring motion. You can visit the Explorit Science Center website to get the most current program information.


Another great thing about Explorit is that they offer free admission every 4th Sunday of the month. We went on one such free day, and even with free admission, there was plenty of space for us to take out time at each station. I'd expected bigger crowds. Now that we've been once, I know it would be well worth the small $4.00 admission charge to go back on another day. (Children 3 and under are always free.)


Explorit Science Center also offers group and school programs, and you can find information about these on their website. The main Explorit museum is located at 2801 2nd Street, Davis, California.

The Best Printable Halloween Coloring Pages and Activities

I wrote an article on Associated Content while back about Halloween coloring pages. After looking for good Halloween themed coloring pages, and mazes, and dot-to-dots, I found that most of the high Google ranked pages were disappointing as far as quality pictures and puzzles were concerned.

So I dug deeper.

I put all the best websites I found for printable Halloween activities and coloring pages together so you can find great pages without spending so much time trolling through the rest of the garbage that's out there:

Great Printable Halloween Coloring Pages

Our Favorite Books for Learning About Maps

I'm so happy my daughter didn't inherit my lousy sense of direction. In fact, she adores maps and globes. We have a few books that she will sit and study and red for large chunks of time. I wanted to share them with anyone who also has a map loving, or learning kid in their home.

Besides these books, our globe gets a lot of use. I've seen fancy ones, and plain ones, ones with cute little pictures on them, and ones that just show the land with almost no markings, my child loves them all. I don't know if it matters how fancy your globe is, ours is fairly dull, but it shows the oceans, the continents, and it spins, and that seems to be enough for us so far.

Also, if you know of a great book for kids to learn about the world, or about maps, please share it in the comment section. I have a feeling we will always love maps in this household.



Usborne Children's Picture Atlas by Ruth Brocklehurst, and Doriana Berkovic, Illustrated by Linda Edwards

The Usborne Children's Picture Atlas is a great book for map lovers. It begins with some general information about the different regions and climates around the world. Then there is a map of the world, and individual maps of each continent.

The continent maps have little pictures depicting some of the wildlife that's native to an area, and noteworthy landmarks. There is also a small picture in the corner to show where each continent is on the globe, to put it all into perspective.

This is a book for younger children, and is probably too simple for high school kids. Usborne advertises it for ages 9 to 12, but it is a favorite book of my 4 year old too. Granted, she can't read it, so I have to do that for her, but she loves to see where the animals live, and study the other pictures.



Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton and Illustrated by Harriett Barton

This is a nice introduction to how maps and globes work. It starts with a little history of the use of maps, and then goes into the different types of maps and the benefits and drawbacks of each.

Again, the publisher puts this in the 9 to 12 year old age range, but I think it could be used earlier. My daughter doesn't really understand all of it, so 4 is probably too young if you want a full understanding, but I know she'll be ready well before 9.



Rand McNally Kid's U.S. Road Atlas

This is a state-by-state road map of the United States. There is one state per page, so it isn't going to be useful for day to day driving around your city, it just doesn't get to that level of detail, but the major state highways are there, as well as rivers, and other big landmarks.

It is fun to use to talk about where out of state family lives, or if you take a big road trip, or know people in another city.

Happy Frog Bouncehouse and Party Place

Vallejo, California, has a new attraction for kids: a bounce house, play area called Happy Frog, located downtown at 415 Georgia St. They offer the usual selection of birthday party packages, and also an open jump time during the week, but on the other weekdays, Happy frog offers unlimited jumping for $5.00 per child from 10:30 to 6 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Thursday is Toddler Day from 10 to 2, then open jumping from 2 to 6. They are closed on Tuesdays. Happy Frog offers birthday party packages on weekends. The $5.00 price tag for the unlimited jumping is nice compared to per-hour charges at other similar venues.

Read the Full Review: Review: Happy Frog Indoor Play and Party Zone

The Elephant in the Blog

Why there won't ever be a review of Vallejo's Discovery Kingdom here.

Despite the fact that I live in Vallejo, and am a well-known animal fan, I won't be reviewing Discovery Kingdom in this blog. Since it seems a natural fit here, I thought I'd just post a quick explanation (although maybe no one cares or would have noticed the omission.)

I worked at Discovery Kingdom, then known as Marine World Africa USA, many years ago. I was there when Six Flags took the park over. I survived the transition, but everything I loved about Marine World didn't.

We used to be a non-profit, and had endangered animal breeding programs, dolphin communication research, and a lot of other wonderful programs. But we were going bankrupt. Six Flag came in with money to keep the park going, but took away a lot of what, in my opinion, made Marine World special. I guess it just bothers me that it wasn't good enough as a wildlife park, it had to be turned into an amusement park, with all the rides and flash that go with it in order to survive.

A lot of other behind the scenes changes happened that I won't bore you with, but it was enough that I decided to move on. I've been back to Discovery Kingdom recently; my family talked me into taking our kids there, but I just can't write an objective review. I can't see it only for what it is today because my view will always be colored by what it used to be. What it used to be to me.

Resources for Babies Everywhere

I have a few articles I wrote over at Associated Content that are on subjects that are important to me: the environment, the wonders of handmade stuff, and babies.

The first is about various Earth-Friendly diapering options. It's called Earth Friendly Diapers: Simplifying the Options for Environmental Diapering. While researching it I became interested in all the disposable options that claim to be better for the environment. I'm doing deeper research into them, and will let you know when I get another follow up piece finished.

The second is about buying custom made personalized diaper bags. I love Etsy for buying handmade items directly from the makers. Most of the sellers there are very nice, and eager to work at creating something super special for you. Here's the article: Have Your Personalized Diaper Bag Made at Etsy

Online Printable Potty Training Success Charts.

A common idea I have seen in just about every parenting and potty training book or article I've ever read is the use of a potty training reward chart. Potty training success charts are simple, there's really not much to them. When the child uses the potty, they get a check mark, or a sticker on their chart. After enough stickers are earned they get a pre-determined award. It's just a little goal to work toward while potty training.

I recently wrote an article about My Favorite Sties for Printable Potty Training Success Charts with reviews of a few charts if you don't feel like making your own. All the site in the article offer free toilet training charts.