Discovery Science Center (free)

Discovery Science Center (Bank of America Museums on Us)

If you own a Bank of America card (debit or credit card), certain museums are free on first weekends. This is called B of A Museums on Us program. For Orange County, Laguna Museum (Laguna Beach) and Discovery Science Center are part of this program. However, Discovery Science Center is free for only first Saturday(not Sundays) of the month. This program started in 2008 and it will continue until April 2009.

This is a great center but for toddler or preschooler, it is a bit too overwhelming in my opinion. My daughter is only 3 years old and she usually likes to play in the Kidstation on 2nd floor and the outdoor dinosaur area. So I usually like to here when it's free because I really don't think it's worth the full admission price for me and her yet.

My Tips
- Get there EARLY. Otherwise you will end up parking all the way back in the Mainplace Mall parking. I’m not kidding.

- This is a bit overwhelming for toddler/preschooler so get there early and get out early before the real crowd hits.

- Pack your little one’s lunch to save and to be healthy. There is a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express restaurant inside the center. Pizza and taco, not much of a choice. (right now they are going under renovation so a taco truck "Extreme Machine" is there until 3/21)

- Check out the store – they have unique toys.

Kidseum

Kidseum - Free every first Sunday

How should I explain this museum for kids? This is a hands on experience museum for kids. They have various activity corners. What I like about this museum is that it is in an one enclosed space where you can let you children play but at the same time you get to keep an eye on them at all times.

1. Home center – this area has all kinds of plates, bowls, pretend food items, little dining table, children’s’ chairs. My daughter’s daycare has a similar corner and they call it “home center” so that is what I’m calling it.

2. Carriage – They have a pretend carriage where kids can pretend to steer (I’m not sure if this is the correct way to describe it but…) the horses on a carriage.

3. Masks – there is a section where there are masks from literally all over the world and kids can try on all of them. They have animal masks to African masks.

4. Instruments – These are mostly percussion instruments from various parts of the world.

5. Dress up – No, this is not your traditional, “I want to be a Disney Princess’ dress up corner. This corner has dress/shirts/skirts/pants/hats/shoes from different countries and kids can try them on.

6. Puppet theater – They have a small puppet theater with quite a selection of puppets. You and your children can make up a story and act it out. One of my favorite puppets there is the big red dragon. My daughter is scared of it.

7. Craft corner – They have arts & craft on weekends from 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM.

8. Story time – They have a story time at 1:30 PM -2:30 PM on Saturdays. Somebody from South Coast Storytellers Guild tells the story.

My tips
- Pack lunch. Kidseum has a picnic area where you can eat. Just ask the staff. If it is raining, ask them if you could eat in one of the rooms that they keep locked. Promise to keep the room clean and please keep your promise.

- This place is great for wondering young children since it has a "big one room" structure. You can always keep an eye on your child.

- There are no food places. However, there is a Togo’s and El Pollo Loco near by. There is also a Baskin Robins ice cream too……which is my weakness.

- This museum is a "hands-on" museum. If you are not comfortable with your kid touching stuff that other kids have touched and sharing germs, this place is NOT for you.

- If you get bored, go to Bowers Museum next door.

- Every first Sunday of the month is free for both Kidseum and Bowers Museum. We usually go to Kidseum by 11AM right when it opens, play for an hour, eat lunch, and then walk over to Bowers Museum for cultural festivals (Chinese, African, Italian and etc) starting at 12:00 PM.

OC Museum

OC Museum (near Fashion Islands Newport Beach)

I usually try to do arts & crafts with Maddie as much as I can. At her age, I think that’s the best thing to do. Get little messy, have fun and create something. To be honest, OC Museum is not one of my favorite museums. Their exhibitions are a bit too contemporary for my taste. However, they have a great family program called “Target Free Second Sundays.” The name tells it all. It’s free every second Sunday and they have variety of arts & crafts. What makes this one different from other arts & crafts? It has a theme every month.

When I went on 2/8, the theme was sculpture. They had 4 different kinds of crafts. Each table had different crafts going and there were plenty of volunteers to help the kids. They even had a paper bag for each kids to put their crafts in. I would say that is very thoughtful!

1. Valentine’s paper basket
2. Paper abstract sculpture
3. 3-D Paper sculpture
4. Paste string sculpture

There was also a dance performance/lecture by Backhausdance. The choreographer was explaining how she choreographs dance movements like an artist sculpturing a sculpture. It was a bit long for young children but very interesting and educational for older kids.

I really enjoyed the OC Museum event because all the activities and crafts were actually geared toward a theme. I’m really looking forward to their next event. I strongly recommend this event to everyone!

My Tips
- As usual, go there early.

- There are two locations right next to each other. They usually have something going on both locations so don’t miss any of them.

Free Train Rides (Fairview Park)

Free Train Rides (Mackerel Flats & Goat Hill Junction)


Every third weekend, OC Model Engineers Inc. provide free train rides for everybody at Fairview Park (you can make a donation if you want to). It is called Mackerel Flats & Goat Hill Junction Road. What an unusual name! I wonder if that name has any interesting story behind it. Maybe I’ll ask next time I’m there. There are lots of grandpa engineers and some “young adult” engineers who are operating the trains. If you want, you can also join them and learn about trains.

These trains are literally miniature trains. The ride is not like any of those commercial train rides that charge $3-$4 for a 3 minute ride. The train goes around the track twice, each round we take a different route and the ride lasts about 12 minutes. The view is scenic and gorgeous since it is right next to Costa Mesa Golf Course.

The ride start at 10 AM and the last train leaves at 3:30 PM. There are diesel engines and steam engines (yes, it uses real coal). There are various different engines.

My Tips
- Train seating is basically a long beam. If you have little ones, you need to hold them in place in front of you. If you have an “energetic” child, make sure that you have an adult sorely assigned to that child.

- It gets crowded so I would advise you to go early. Try to be there at 10AM when they start. However, if you go in the afternoon, there are more trains operating. So you get to see more variety of trains.

- Even though it’s at a park, there are no playgrounds so bring something to entertain your kids while waiting in line. (candies, yes I said candies, books, little toys etc)

- There are restrooms and a little store that sells train related toys (engineer cap, whistles, etc) and some candies.

- There is no place to buy food so make sure you pack some snack/lunch for your little ones if you will be there during lunch time. There are some picnic tables but they are not clean. You might want to bring disposable tablemats or napkins to cover the table.

Free Crafts - Lakeshore Learning

Free Crafts - Lakeshore Learning

Lakeshore Learning is a store that sells educational toys and materials. It is located in Laguna Hills among the furniture row. (There’s another store in Fountain Valley too) They have toys that are difficult to find at a regular toy store. I believe lots of teachers shop here. They also have free crafts every Saturday for kids from 11AM to 3PM. These crafts have different themes each Saturday.

My Tip

- When you have certain "Days" coming (Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day etc), take you kids there for free crafts. They usually make cards or crafts that are related to the holidays. You won't have to make a mess at home and your kids will be able to make cards.