Arion Farm

We stumbled upon this new attraction a few weeks ago, thanks to some friends of friends!  Arion Farm Education Park is a small farm park which is great for youngsters who want to get hands on with farm animals.

It's about another kilometre along the road past Orana Park, on Macleans Island Road (so there's no public transport  - you'll need your own car to get there), on the north west outlying area of Christschurch.  Once through the gates, you need to take the right hand fork in the driveway to get to the farm, which is set on an acre or so at the back of a training academy.  There is plenty of car parking down by the farm, but you need to drive slowly and carefully, as there are often animals (not to mention small children!) wandering about.

It is VERY low key, being run mainly by volunteers.  There is a small hut to pay your $5 per person entrance fee (free for babies under about 18 months) but the volunteers are often out and about - they'll see you and come and get your money eventually, so just start taking a look around.

You can also buy cups of feed for $1 each, which is a nice extra to do - the feed is suitable for all the animals, but I found the lambs to be most interested in it!

The nice thing about this farm is that you are welcome to go into any of the enclosures (a great opportunity to teach your kids about the basics of farm life - if a gate is shut, close it again after you) to get up close to the animals.  Basic common sense applies, of course.  I wasn't so keen to let my kids in with the female pig who had just had a litter of gorgeous little piglets, as she wasn't that keen on us getting so close!

There are sheep, cows, llamas, pigs, goats, ponies, and heaps of ducks, turkeys and chickens.  Spring time is the best time to visit, as there are lots of babies to see!

Arion is the perfect low cost option for those who don't want to pay three times the price at Willowbank.  It's obviously not as good, but the ability to touch the animals is great.  I think it's probably best suited to toddlers and those up to about 8 or 9, although my children (aged 9 and 10) enjoyed themselves.  They were a bit bored after about 45 minutes or so though, as they'd seen and done all there was to see and do.

Pony rides (for kids up to about 8 or 9, depending on size) are included in the entrance fee - just ask the volunteers if it's not set up.  Everyone working there seems very friendly and keen to talk about the animals.

The facilities are basic - there are portaloos and a tap for washing your hands (there is also hand sanitiser, which is great).  There are a couple of picnic tables there too.  I've seen groups out there for birthday parties, which actually seems to work quite well for a younger crowd!


The park is open in summer only from 10am til 3pm every day.

For more information, visit their website - Arion Farm Education Park.

Science Alive!

I have to admit that the first time I went to Science Alive was about a week after it first opened, way back in the early 1990s. I was working in the building next door and so got a freebie. It was okay, but I didn't consider it anything to rave about.

But now, I've got kids and they were begging me to take them to Science Alive. Thinking it would be kind of expensive, I finally gave in and off we went. And WOW! Seriously, it was worth the $37 admission (1 adult, 2 school aged kids) and has got bigger and better! We've now been twice in six months.

Firstly, don't go there unless you've got a minimum of about 2 or 3 hours to spare. The pass is an all-day ticket, so you can come and go as you want all day - this is great if you want to pop out for lunch, or even go and see a movie at the Hoyts cinema next door.

Secondly, it's really aimed at school aged and older kids, but there is actually quite an awesome preschoolers/parents' chill out room (complete with magazines to read) -and thankfully anyone can go in there, as my kids love checking out the real bee hive, the turtle, and other goodies. You do have to pay for your preschoolers, but the price is kept low (and under 2s are free - yay!).

Thirdly, book in for the rock climbing wall - as long as your kids are about four or five or older (I think there's a height limit) then they can do this half hour workshop. Great fun!

Fourth, try to see the daily show that is put on. We've now been to two - one was about the human body, which was slightly boring but at least it was projected onto the inside of an inflatable dome (which was cool!); the second one was about liquid nitrogen, and was absolutely fascinating!

Right, so you're in there, take your time and look around. On the ground floor there is a scary slide, a gyoscope, the rock climbing wall, and the earthquake house (especially fun after Christchurch's recent big shake! For the record, I reckon our 7.1 was somewhere between the "moderate" and "large" on their scale). The preschooler's room is also there, plus heaps of hands on exhibits to play with. I particularly like the giant satellite dishes at either end of the room - stand at one, send your kid to the other, and you can whisper into the dish and hear the other person incredibly clearly.

DON'T FORGET TO GO DOWNSTAIRS!

There are three more awesome rooms down there!

Firstly, have a play on the magic harp.



Then check out the mini golf (in total blackness except for an ultraviolet light and fluoro balls and holes). There are two other rooms with great hands on exhibits and brainteasers. Don't forget to check out the giant kaleidoscope - it's not often you get to see yourself reflected in millions of mirrors!

And my current fave exhibit is the phosphorescent wall - stand in front of the wall, turn on the strobe lights, wait five seconds, then walk away. YOUR SHADOW STAYS ON THE WALL!

The exhibitions change every three to six months, so there is always something new and interesting to see. They also do birthday parties!



Where: In the Hoyts 8 building on Moorhouse Ave (the old railway station) so park around the back in the free carpark.
392 Moorhouse Avenue
Christchurch
Phone 03 365 5199

Cost:

Adults: $15

Kids: $11

And there's actually a whole range of other various prices for unaccompanied kids, parents with preschoolers, family passes, etc etc, so check out their website!

Hours:

10am til 5pm daily.

http://www.sciencealive.co.nz/

The Art Gallery

Oh we love the Art Gallery!

There's nothing better on a rainy day than to spend a pleasant hour or two wandering around the various galleries. My kids are aged 6 and 4 and they really love it too.

We usually park in the basement carpark ($1.10 per half hour). We peruse the downstairs exhibits (the temporary exhibits - by the way, the current Daniel Crooks exhibit is AMAZING! Well worth a visit!) before heading upstairs to the more permanent rooms.

There is a gallery set aside especially for kids, with plenty of interactive activities for them. It's great (not to mention educational)!

But even the main galleries are well worth a wander. My kids enjoy taking in all the different types of artworks, trying to decide what the picture is of, or what the artist was thinking when he or she made it.

There's a cafe downstairs if you fancy a snack (although to tell the truth, we avoid it when we have the kids with us as it just seems too fancy and I'm scared they'll break something!). There's also a gift shop which sells all sorts of exciting things (I was very excited to see my favourite painting on a gift card, mine for the very reasonable sum of $3).

Occasionally the gallery has shows and concerts on in the gallery foyer - last week we happened across a fantastic brass band concert, another time we came upon a hiphop dancing show.

And of course, admission is free - fantastic!

Visit the Art Gallery's website for more information on current exhibits and other bits and pieces.

The Art Gallery is in the central city, on Montreal Street, between Worcester and Gloucester Streets (the carpark entrance is off Gloucester Street).

Canterbury Museum

It was a cold rainy day so where better to go than to the Museum!

Unfortunately, nearly half of Christchurch and three quarters of all the tourists in town that day had the same idea. The place was heaving!

However, it was great.

I love the museum - it's such an interesting place to visit. The kids and I usually try to go along a couple of times a year, and even though it's usually always the same exhibits, it never gets boring.

We usually park in the Botanic Gardens carpark (free for up to 3 hours, and even if you stay longer there is no-one watching as far as I can see...) and walk through the gardens to the museum (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Once inside we go through the early New Zealand and Maori exhibits - the displays are always excellent!

Then we head through the old Christchurch streetscape, through the transport section, and we zip upstairs to the Egyptology, geology and dinosaur exhibits.

All of these different areas have plenty of hands-on stuff for the kids to enjoy - they get to sit on a horse in the old Christchurch street and go inside an olden-days toy shop. They get to ride in an old carriage and sit on a penny farthing in the transport section. There are magnet headdresses to put onto Egyptian pharoahs and you can touch meteorites and quartz in the geology section.

Then you come to the Discovery room - it is an added extra, especially for kids, and it costs $2 per person (free for under 3s). It is well worth it. (You can also pay an annual membership, about $15 if I remember rightly, which gives you unlimited access for the year).

We easily spend up to an hour in the Discovery Room - there are puzzles, books, magazines, toys, and a myriad of stuffed animals and pinned insects and butterflies to look at. My favourites are the jars upon jars of preserved specimens, including animal foetuses and even a human hand! The kids particularly like the animal figurines and the hands-on activities. We both really like opening up all the many specimen drawers to see what's inside.

My only complaint with the Discovery Room is the computers - they are loaded with The Magic Schoolbus games, but every single time we've tried to use them they seem to go SOOOOO SLOWWWWW. Plus the volume is set very low and we usually end up giving up in frustration after a few minutes.

Continuing on around the museum, there's the bird hall - always interesting. Then there's the boring room of Asian artifacts. Then there's the very interesting Canterbury environment exhibits - I always want to spend ages reading every single panel, but the kids always hurry me along as they're not that keen.

Last but not least is the Antarctic exhibit. Now, having just been to the Antarctic Centre a couple of weeks ago, I have to say that this exhibit is great. Save your money and just visit the museum instead.


Then there's the Museum Cafe. I have got good memories of this cafe - when I was a bored younger mother with two toddlers in a pram we used to come here during the quiet weekdays. The large picture windows give a lovely view of the Botanic Gardens and there were magazines for me to read while sipping my coffee. Plus there was a fantastic kids' play area, complete with baby friendly options also.

Then came this latest visit. Hmmmm.

Admittedly, it was a VERY busy Sunday afternoon. There were only two young women behind the counter, both working flat out, trying to serve the long queue. Unfortunately this meant that the cafe was disgustingly dirty. None of the girls had a chance to come out to clear and wipe tables. Every table was laden with dirty dishes.

I ordered a mocha coffee, which took about 10 minutes to arrive (due to the woman making coffees being snowed under in orders). It was the worst coffee ever. Luke warm, with a huge solid lump of grainy chocolate (inedible) at the bottom which made the last quarter of the cup undrinkable.

We also had a piece of chocolate fudge cake. Seeing as it was obviously made earlier in the day I figured it couldn't go wrong, right? Wrong. Worst fudge cake ever. It was disgusting and had the texture of sawdust.

I could have gone and complained, but those poor girls looked very unhappy to be there anyway. We just quietly left.


So that was my only disappointment, and it was a REAL disappointment after my previously good encounters in this cafe.


But overall, the museum is GREAT.


Cost - FREE!!!! (Donations accepted). $2 per person for the Discovery Room.

Allow - 2 hours minimum, but you could easily spend 3 - 4 hours there.

Location - Rolleston Ave, central Christchurch.

Visit the website for more information!

The library!

Some people might think that the thing I'm about to suggest is about as exciting as watching paint dry, and for them that may just be the case. (I'm also surprised that these people can read are reading this at all, but there you have it.)

We LOVE visiting the library. Myself and the kids visit at least weekly. We have a card each, each cardholder is able to take out up to 20 items a time, and so we're usually walking out of the local library each week laden down with 60 books/DVDs/posters/videos in several carrier bags.

If you have preschoolers then the Storytime sessions are a great source of free entertainment for an hour each week. For parents who're bored stiff and know no other parents, they're also a great way to meet new people. (I should know - nearly all of my best friends were collected at the library).

Once a month the Storytime hour is taken over by a Music and Movement hour - again, totally free and great fun for the little ones.

If your little ones are REALLY little ones (i.e. under 2) then there's also Babytimes - these are monthly sessions and even sometimes end with a laid-on morning tea, with the emphasis on the parents getting to know each other.

I *heart* our libraries!


Christchurch has a huge number of libraries, and just about every suburb has easy access to one. Some are in stunning locations - I have spent many a relaxing half hour reading magazines while sitting on the sea-view seats looking out over the Pacific Ocean at the New Brighton Library.

Libraries are no longer all about books - on a rainy day you'll find plenty of people playing computer games, surfing the net, reading magazines, and even playing Playstation games (only in some libraries!). You can borrow movies (kids' ones are free!), posters, CD roms, talking books, puzzles and more.

If you have preschoolers, and are at a loose end, then try to find a Storytime session. Relaxing, easy, back to basics stuff.


Library locations in Christchurch:

Central, Bishopdale, Halswell, Fendalton, Hornby, Linwood, Lyttelton, New Brighton, Papanui, Parklands, Redwood, Shirley, South, Spreydon, Sumner, Upper Riccarton.

For Storytimes session details visit here.