Activities for teens in Ottawa - Axe Throwing at BATL

I have tried a lot of sports since I was young. From shooting hoops in basketball to kicking goals in soccer, I know the satisfying feeling of throwing objects at a target and getting a point. I thought I had tried them all- until I heard about axe throwing. As something I had only seen in action movies, I never realized it was a sport, let alone a common recreational activity. I recently threw axes for the first time at BATL Ottawa.

As soon as we arrived, we met Lynn, our axe throwing coach. You could smell the sawdust that had been propelled from the circular wooden board by previous groups. Lynn taught us the basic rules of safety and beginning technique. This included foot positioning, the basic throwing movement and how to not end up looking like a Halloween decoration. 

While my first two shots bounced erratically off the board, the axe came close to the bullseye on the third try. Once that happened, I was hooked. After a few more tries, and with the guidance from my coach, I quickly got the feel of axe throwing. After that, I was ready to throw independently.

BATL provides papers with multiple different formats of two player games, with more accurate throws gaining more points. Think darts meets H-O-R-S-E. I played a few exciting games against my dad, and then my mom. There's just something so satisfying about swinging a sharp axe firmly into the center of a wooden board, then prying it out victoriously. 

We played a variety of games with the axe throwing, during which time we all improved quickly in our skill. The learning curve is much quicker than I had anticipated. Finally, after around an hour of swinging axes, Lynn brought out an even bigger axe. This was the official size that is used in tournaments. It was definitely a lot heavier, but I still managed to make it connect once or twice. I was very impressed by the people who do this as a sport. All in all, I had a great time axe throwing at BATL.

Next time,  I plan on inviting my friends for an afternoon of axe throwing.  

If you want to burn off a weekend afternoon hurling axes at a wooden board, check out BATL Ottawa. Depending on the package, you can book for groups of 2-24 people for a price as low as $21 per person. Time slots are 1 or 2 hours long. For more detailed information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. David received free passes to try out Axe Throwing but all thoughts are his own.

Activities for teens: Zero Latency VR

Welcome back our teen blogger David who got to experience playing some first-person shooter games in VR at Zero Latency VR recently.

As a 15 year old teen, pretty much everyone I know loves to play video games, particularly first person shooters. From Call of Duty, to Counter-Strike, these games are a staple of modern teenagehood. However, sitting on a couch with a controller in hand can get boring after a while, and eventually there comes a craving for something more immersive. This is why I invited three of my friends to try out Zero Latency VR over the weekend.

We arrived at the VR place and met Milad, the manager who greeted us warmly. We took off our shoes and were shown a quick video about the rules and instructions of the experience. My friends and I were then given headsets (including headphones) and were taken into a spacious room. This gave us the ability to walk freely without crashing into each other. Just in case we did, an alarm would go off when we got too close to another player or a wall. It was now time to start the first game. 

We commenced the experience with Engineerium, a collaborative non-violent game where we had to traverse a floating path and reach the orb of friendship. My friends and I immediately realized how immersive this game was. When a path went up, down or twisted, it would feel as if the floor was on an incline, despite remaining perfectly flat. This led to more than one of us falling down at certain points. After a tumultuous but incredibly entertaining first game, we moved on to the shooter game- Undead Arena.

Between the two games, we were given guns that we would use to shoot at zombies that would come from all directions. As soon as Undead Arena began, I felt as if I had been transported into another world. There was something about moving your body with the game that made it feel more realistic than any Xbox could accomplish. My friends and I spent the next 30 minutes screaming, moving around the room and shooting a lot of zombies. It was one of the most intense half hours I ever experienced. 

Once the game was over, we took off our headsets and had the chance to see some footage from our experience. It turns out that while I thought I looked like Scarface when shooting zombies, I looked a lot sillier on the outside. It was clear that, while in an empty room, my friends and I were 100% immersed in the fight against zombies, a testament to the quality of Zero Latency’s operation. All in all, we had a great time playing one of the most engaging video games we ever had. 
If you want to shoot bad guys in a hyper realistic simulation with your friends, Zero Latency VR offers five unique shooter games plus Engineerium. From zombies in Undead Arena and Outbreak, to criminals in Far Cry, Zero Latency offers an exciting variety of environments and enemies to play in. Maximum capacity per booking is up to 8 people. The recommended age is 13+. The cost starts at approximately $55/person. For more information, click here.

David and his friends received free passes to play at Zero Latency but all thoughts are his own.

A Walk with the Alpacas at Maple Hill Urban Farm

Welcome back our teen blogger David, as he visits Maple Hill Urban Farm and takes a walk with April the Alpaca

David walking down a path with two alpacas

I have always considered alpacas the most underrated domesticated animals. They are very friendly and docile creatures, perfectly suitable for young children and families. I find them to be smart enough that you can get meaningful interaction with them like a dog, and with fur that is great for petting, like a sheep. When I heard of a place in the NCC greenbelt that offered tours where you can walk an alpaca, I was all for it.

We arrived at Maple Hill Urban Farm and met Don, the owner. We entered the stables and met our alpacas. Mine was named April. We grabbed onto their leashes, and brought them out. I quickly learned that April had a rebellious personality (though Don mentioned they adopt the personality of their handler), with a resistance to walking with me. I finally managed to get her moving, and we began trekking down the trail.

While walking with my alpaca, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the farm while petting its soft fur. Don mentioned that the Alpaca walk can be very therapeutic for visitors with special needs and young children. After walking on the gravel path for a while, we went onto a small bridge. For some reason, my alpaca totally switched its personality and enthusiastically ran in front of me to get to the other side. I went from dragging April around to having April drag me! It was an incredible experience to spend time with my alpaca and look around the Maple Hill property.

After putting our alpacas back in the stables, we got to visit more of the farm. First off, we fed some cows pita bread, which they calmly munched out of our hands. We then visited a pig pen, and petted the small hogs as they devoured scraps. Finally, we got to see a grain silo from the 1930s. Apparently, it has had many uses since then- including serving as an illegal marijuana planting spot. All in all, I had a great time at Maple Hill Farm, from spending time up close with one of my favourite animals to seeing the other aspects of farm life.

If you also want to walk an alpaca, Maple Hill Farm will be open most days during business hours. For more information, click here.

Price:

$60 for 2 adults

~extra children 5-12 yrs old add $10

~extra adults add $15

~Toddlers are free with strict adult supervision

Location: Maple Hill Urban Farm is located at 200 Moodie Drive

Additional info: Tours last 45 minutes. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour time. Children are welcome but must be accompanied at all times. There is a clean outhouse available. Alpaca walks are available in all season.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

River of Crows and Mirror of Wolves - local Ottawa author

We are big fans of reading here at Kids in the Capital, so when NP Thompson, local Ottawa author of River of Crows and Mirror of Wolves, reached out to us, we knew we wanted to have one of our young readers review these books!

Annabelle is a local 12-year old who took the time to read both these novels and share her thoughts with us about them.

River of Crows

This book follows the adventures of Ty Baxter, a 12-year boy who lives in Newhaven. He used to have a pretty normal life, but after teaming up with the new girl in school to help an injured bird, he finds himself in a whole other world full of magic called Arcania. With his newfound friend, he sets off on a daring adventure to rescue her brother from the black guard, an organization controlled by an evil sorcerer who captures children and turns them into crows.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but as a fan of Percy Jackson, I found that it had a similar idea to the series. It was fun to be able to learn about the magic of this new place along with Ty. The author brought this whole book to life with all the characters and adventures that happen throughout the book, like meeting a hob (Arcanian creature similar to a dwarf), rafting across a river and facing incredible dangers, such as a battle against a magical being (I’ll leave it at that, I don’t want to give any spoilers!) With all the challenges presented to the intriguing characters, I am excited to read what happens in the next book.

Mirror of wolves

During the events of this book, Ty has started his training with the renown Quinn Tambrun, a skilled healer and sorcerer, also known as Ty’s grandfather. Although it was going well at first, his studies were discovered to become more difficult as time passed, and he started to have nightmares of his encounter with the evil Emperor Blackthorn. As his nightmares continued to plague him, he tried to focus on his learning but when he learns of a mystical artifact which can show him his destiny, he sets out on an adventure to search for it. 

The continuation of the stories of the arcanium was a very interesting read. During the beginning, I got a bit confused with the switching point of views, but as I continued, I started to understand. There were many plot twists included in the story, which made it exciting to read and fun to see everyone’s reactions. In this book, a few new characters are introduced and each one has a very distinct personality, and I can easily tell them apart. One character in particular was very interesting to read about, which was Paul Baxter. He was introduced in the first book, but in the sequel, we get to explore his character and personality. I personally loved the book, and can’t wait to read the next one. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers my age. (10-12)

Where can you get the book:

You can get the book in print or ebook at the following retailers (and the ebook version is currently on sale at a huge discount, and will remain so until December 15th!)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09TX6YDPD
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/river-of-crows-1
Apple: https://books.apple.com/ca/book/river-of-crows/id1612955802

Silly and Strange Books You Need To Read

Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is back to share some silly and strange picture books. This month’s post is by Luna Vo, Children’s Programming and Public Services Assistant at the Sunnyside Branch of OPL. “There are so many books to read and so little time. Here is a list of some silly and strange picture books that I thought would bring about some smiles and chuckles.” says Luna. “I hope you and your child will enjoy them like I did!”

Who wet my Pants? By Bob Shea

Help solve this mystery...or was it just an accident? Reuben tries to discover what happened to his pants and if his friends were responsible. They try to assure him that it was probably an accident, but he thinks his friends are covering up what really happened.  This fun book explores a wealth of emotions such as: embarrassment, empathy, anger and forgiveness. A child going through the potty-training process might relate to this book and learn that it’s okay to have accidents.

Rhyming dust bunnies by Jan Thomas

If you’ve been to story time at a library, you have probably heard a Jan Tomas story. This hilarious book is a fun way for children to learn about phonetic awareness through rhyming words. There are three dust bunnies, Ed, Ned, and Ted who love to speak in rhyme. Unfortunately, Bob, the fourth dust bunny does not follow this pattern. Maybe he’s got something different to say? This book has very simple depictions but the bold colours, large speech bubbles, and fun fonts are very eye-catching and add to the silliness.

Still Stuck by Shinsuke Yoshitake

This fun book was recommended by my colleague, and I think everyone has been in this situation - at least once - and can relate. This book follows a young boy who is exploring his autonomy. When it’s time for a bath, he is convinced that he can get undressed on his own but...he gets stuck. What happens if he’s stuck forever? How will he live his life? Both parents and children will have a chuckle when they read this book!

I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt

The title of this book is spot on.  It is definitely a book with only worms in it. This might sound boring, but it was a super silly and fun read. The simplicity of the illustrations adds to the humour in this book and the bright neon colours were certainly eye catching. It is also a fun way to incorporate numeracy while reading to children.

Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion by Stephan W. Matin

This book is so cute that it causes spontaneous combustion! Whoever sees Fluffy McWhiskers is so overwhelmed, they explode. Naturally, Fluffy doesn’t want that to happen so she tries to downplay her cuteness, but nothing works. Eventually Fluffy decides she is too dangerous to be around. Is she doomed to be alone forever? Or will she be able to find a friend who can accept her as she is?

Underwear! By Jenn Harney

I adored this hilarious book about a father bear trying to get his cub dressed and ready for bed after his bath. Unfortunately, little bear has his own plans after bath time.  The illustrations perfectly encompass the frantic and fun energy of trying to get a little one ready for bedtime.  This is a great book to read to children because it contains word play, homophones, and rhymes that are important to early literacy.

Animals brag about their Bottoms by Maki Saito

Well, I didn’t think that anyone could write a book about bottoms, but here we are! Not only are the illustrations beautiful, but the message about positive body image and self-esteem is fantastic. This book displays all different types of bottoms and encourages readers to see the benefits of being different. No matter the size, shape, texture, or colour, all bottoms are beautiful!

King Baby by Kate Beaton

This book is about King Baby and his loyal subjects. Unfortunately, sometimes his subjects don’t understand his needs, so he has to get things done himself! Follow along as King Baby begins to grow and change. The illustrations are bold and playful – they certainly bring a smile to my face. I’m not going to lie - I think this is definitely more entertaining for adults than for children. The hilarious writing pokes fun of the way parents cater to their baby’s needs.

Penguin problems by Jory John and Lane Smith

This book is about a grumpy penguin who complains about everything! He doesn’t like the weather, the ocean, the way he looks, or the way he waddles. Hopefully, some words of wisdom from a friendly walrus will help change the penguin’s outlook on life. This book is a great reminder to children to be grateful for what they have and to appreciate life.

Bad Dog by Mike Boldt

It’s a typical case of mistaken identity. A little girl receives a new pet for her birthday and is convinced that it is a dog. However, Rocky is not a very good dog, and she doesn’t do the things a typical dog does. She doesn’t like walks, performing tricks or playing with other dogs. Why is this dog so strange? I love the expressive faces depicted in this book and think that parents and children will find this silly book hilarious.