Win tickets to see Erth's Dinosaur Zoom Live

If you have kiddos who love dinosaurs then Australia’s ERTH’s Dinosaur Zoo™ is coming to the Meridian Theatre March 21 at 6:30pm!

Get ready to be wowed by a menagerie of insects and dinosaurs that once roamed free around the world.

Be up close and personal with an amazing array of prehistoric creatures, from baby dinos to some of the largest carnivores and herbivores that have ever walked the planet.

ERTH’s dinosaurs are unmistakably ‘alive,’ and mostly friendly, in this fun, educational, and original performance, connecting young audiences to the real science of paleontology.

Audiences learn how to feed and interact with ERTH’s dinosaurs in a once in a lifetime interactive experience. Children can watch wide-eyed from a safe distance or dare to get right up close to these prehistoric creatures. VIP ticket holders also get a chance to get up on stage with the dinosaurs!

Want to win a pass for 4 to the show on March 21st?

Comment below with the name of your favourite dinosaur! (Or just write T-Rex if that’s easier :)

Contest closes March 8th at 10pm

Activities for Teens: Ottawa Redblacks Game

Our teen blogger is back and sharing about his experience heading to an Ottawa Redblacks game!

With school back, I like to make the most of my Friday nights. Lansdowne Park has me covered. I recently went to TD Place on the last day of summer to watch the Ottawa Redblacks play against the Saskatchewan Roughriders to finish off my week.

As soon as we arrived at Lansdowne Park, we could feel the atmosphere of excitement. Redblacks fans were swarming through the pedestrian streets around the Aberdeen Pavilion. Music from the stadium and a clothing color scheme matching the team’s namesake made it feel like a true football night. 

After getting in, we found our seats that gave us an amazing close up view of the touchdown line; a place the Redblacks would make frequent visits. Shortly after sitting down, the Redblacks came storming out of the locker rooms as the countdown to kickoff began. We got some refreshments, stood for the anthem, watched the coin toss and cheered with the release of the football. 

Saskatchewan scored the first touchdown, but Ottawa’s chainsaw was running just before the first quarter ended. We gained the advantage in the second quarter, with a touchdown, two point conversion and field goal within the final 25 seconds. By halftime, the score had the Redblacks leading 19-13. 

During the break, I bought some pizza before going back to my seat. Ottawa advanced its lead by another 2 points in the third quarter, before a fierce battle near the end of the game. The Redblacks scored two touchdowns at the start of the last quarter, and while Saskatchewan was able to match Ottawa, it simply was not enough. Fans cheered as the game ended with a heap of log slices and overheated flare guns.

We left the stadium thrilled with a victorious 36-28 score following an action-packed game and an excuse to sleep in through Saturday.

To have a great time in Ottawa, check out a football game at TD Place before the season closes this year. For more information, click here.

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

Green Corners Farm

A visit to Green Corners Farm is one of my family’s favourite activities during Spring, Summer and even into Fall. We’ve been making trips to the farm for the past 3 years and find ourselves there at least once or twice per season. Green Corners Farm is Ottawa’s largest pick-your-own flower farm and is found on York’s Corners Road. The farm is the official floral supplier for the Canadian Tulip Festival. The owners, Manja and Al are always on site to help welcome guests and provide tips on picking the best blooms for a beautiful bouquet.

Green Corners Farm is perhaps most well-known for its incredible fields of tulips that burst into bloom early May but while the tulip season is short, the following flower seasons shouldn’t be missed. My daughters absolutely love heading to the farm to wander between the rows of various types of flowers. We often pick a few bouquets to share with family and friends and the kids are in charge of which flowers they’d like in their bouquet as well as the arrangement of the bouquet.

Upon arrival, you’ll be welcomed by a staff member who will check you in. It is recommended to pre-purchase your “picking” ticket through the Green Corners Farm website https://greencorners.ca/product-category/u-pick-bouquets/ or if you’d prefer to take in the views and enjoy the flowers, you can select a “looking” ticket. Tickets may also be purchased on site but you’ll save a bit of money by purchasing online (and entry is not guaranteed if they are full.) Each “picking” ticket has a value of 25 points, with all flowers worth 1 point except for the sunflowers, which are 2 points. You can mix and match your flowers to create a unique bouquet.
Every guest ages 5+ must have either a “Picking” ticket or a “looking” ticket.

Once checked in, you’ll get a quick lesson on how to cut your flowers (you’ll need a certain length of stem) and then you’ll pick up a basket and clippers and be off to explore the many fields of various types of flowers. If you’re looking for photo ops, you’ll find colourful benches and chairs throughout the fields. The flowers provide a spectacular backdrop! After you’ve selected your flowers, you’ll head over to the white tent where you’ll find tables with buckets. This is where the creativity happens! You’ll remove the extra greenery from your flowers and make your arrangement. There’s fresh basil on hand to add to your bouquet (it smells divine!) and when you’re happy with your arrangement, you’ll tie it off with twine. The final step is to admire your beautiful bouquet! 

If you are looking for a beautiful field of sunflowers, this is the place to be! There are several different types of sunflowers to be picked or photographed whether you’re looking for bright golden petals, pale yellow or even a rusty red. Sunflowers are currently at their peak and are available until the first frost in September. Snapdragons, zinnias, marigolds, calendula, statice, strawflower, celosias and strawflowers are just a few of the seasonal flowers available for picking. There is a Bouquet Stand on site that is stocked with seasonal bouquets.

For those who love tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs, they are available for purchase. Bulbs can be pre-ordered over the summer and are ready in the Fall for pick-up or delivery. Green Corners Farm also offers flowers for Valentine’s Day and Easter. My family purchases the forced tulip bulbs that we grow in vases on stones. They are a lovely addition of colour during the snowy months!

Green Corner Farm
Hours: Thursday to Monday - 9am to last entry at 11:30am and 4pm to last entry at 6:30pm.
Bouquet Stand hours: Friday-Monday 9am-7pm

Candace is a mom of 4 who loves exploring the city and trying out new activities with her adventurous kiddos. Note: the family were gifted their bouquets but all thoughts are their own.

VR Adventure - video game fun for teens and tweens in Ottawa

When my family found out about VRAdventures.ZONE there was no hesitation that everyone was interested in checking it out. Our household has a lot of video game experience and a fair amount of VR experience but we’ve never had a chance to all play together in a VR space and we really wanted to give it a try.

VRAdventures.ZONE is located in the Merivale Mall (park at the back of the building) and was even more impressive than we expected. We first walked in and saw a few small areas designed for people to play solo games, but once we went around the corner we realized just how big the space was and how many group games they could accommodate at once!

We decided to take on a virtual escape room. My family are becoming quite the pros at figuring these out, and we loved the idea of trying one in a VR space.

The VR escape room was more about finding things and moving them (even a spaceship!), unlike traditional escape rooms which tends to me more about solving puzzles to unlock padlocks.

What we loved

We really loved getting to this together. At home we only have one VR headset. Getting to all be in the same space and interacting with each other to solve the puzzles was a LOT of fun!

We really loved having lots of space. Having a big enough room for 5-6 people to all be walking around without bumping into walls and furniture is a struggle in most homes, even if you had that many VR headsets. We were able to move freely and it really felt like we were in the room!

As a parent I like that VR gets my kids moving while they’re playing video games. It’s a nice mix of what they love and not sitting and vegging too much.

They broadcast the gameplay on screens outside the room so even if you aren’t personally participating you can see what players are doing.

What we loved a bit less

Watching the group’s gameplay from the outside

You can get pretty hot in the headsets, so make sure the not dress too warmly and hydrate a lot.

There are a lot of flashing lights and VR can sometimes make you a bit dizzy. One of my kids needed to take a break and sit for a bit.

Overall it was a great experience and all of my family members would be happy to visit again!

What else do they offer?

VR Adventure Zone has a variety of kinds of experiences for every level and interest type, including arcade games and experiences (imagine trying out scuba diving or fly in space!)

They also offer birthday parties and even host corporate events!

VRAdventures.ZONE

Location: 1642 Merivale Rd Unit 300 (Merivale Mall)

Cost:

Pricing differs based on which experience you choose and how long you play, but expect about $25-40/person.

Hours:

They are open daily from 11am-10pm and on weekends they stay open until 11pm.

Important to know:

Kids must be at least 7 years old to play and anyone under 18 needs a waiver signed by a parent to participate.

Archery Games - Archery Activity in Ottawa

My family loves trying new activities, and Archery Games has been on our radar for a little while. I have friends who have tried it and had a blast (my sister even had her birthday party there!) but I was curious as to whether it would be a good fit for my family (kids are 8, 10, 12 and 14). My children enjoy sports (soccer, curling, speed skating) but archery is a first!

My youngest (a redhead) declared that she was going to be just like Merida.

How it works

There is a caged target practice area off to the immediate right which is also where you’ll find the shelves that hold the safety equipment (helmets and arm guards). The red and blue helmets are smaller and the black ones are larger. If you wear glasses, don’t worry, they have helmets that accommodate glasses. Two of my children wore glasses to our session and they had no issues with their helmets fitting properly.

When we entered the building, we were impressed with the size of the arena. The fenced playing field is lined with astroturf, sprinkled with a few large inflatable shapes that you can hide behind and is brightly lit making it easy to see the boundary lines. 

Upon arrival, we headed to the counter to sign in and we were directed to use the ipads to fill out waiver forms. Tip: If you have more than one child with you, you can click the button to add an additional child and your info will carry over to the next waiver.

We then had a few minutes to wait while the other participants who had booked the same time slot arrived. We were a larger group with 20 in total (my children were the only children). We were then greeted by the person who was the referee for our session. She gave a quick equipment rundown and then quickly demonstrated how to use the bow and arrow. Who knew there was a right-side up on the bow? The arrows have a large white foam cylinder on the end that looks like a giant marshmallow - it definitely softens the blow of a hit. Each participant had the chance to shoot one arrow in the practice cage and then we moved over to the arena.

The Games:

We were asked to choose a bow that was lined up against the fence (black bows are for adults and the white ones are for smaller kids) and then gather to hear the instructions. We had the opportunity to play 7 different games each lasting a few minutes. The group gathered between each game to hear the rules for the modified game. For all of the games but the last, we were split into two teams, each on its own side of the arena. The players began every game lined up along the back wall of their size and when the whistle was blown, players collected an arrow (or more!) from the centre safe-zone and then found a position to play from on their terrain.

It took a game or two to iron out how to load the bow quickly and efficiently; once that was sorted the game went much quicker. The games were a lot of fun, each a slight variation from the last. Some of the games were scored with points, some involved a fireball (think dodgeball!) and another allowed for your inner engineer to escape and strategize for the perfect arrangement on the playing field.

It was very easy to become absorbed in the game and adrenaline was definitely pumping! Hearts were racing as we ducked to avoid arrows and at the same time tried to find the perfect shot and quickly. Despite not knowing more than half of the participants, it was easy to work as a team and communicate strategy. My kids weren’t shy to play with other adults either which was fantastic. 

I wasn’t sure how well my petite 8-year-old would do but she was very focused on collecting arrows and loading her bow. Her shot wasn’t as strong as her older siblings’ but she chose to take her shots closer to the centre of the arena so she was able to tag players and hit targets with few problems. My 10-year-old was definitely stronger with her shots and my 12 and 14-year-olds shot just as well as the adults (or maybe even better!) I’d say the kids had an advantage of being smaller, they tucked in behind the inflatables quite easily!

What we loved:

My daughters who wear glasses were very happy to have masks that fit well. Their glasses were fogging up towards the end but that was corrected when we reminded them to remove their mask during the mini-break when listening to instructions.

We played 7 different games which was the perfect number to fill our time slot in the arena. It wasn’t rushed and the variety was welcomed. It also allowed for everyone to take a bit of a breather and grab a sip of water while listening to the instructions of the next game.

What we liked less:

For those who have never shot a bow and arrow before, one practice shot wasn’t a lot before heading into the arena. It took a game or two to get into the groove of loading the bow without the arrow sliding off (tip: if you put the arrow between your body and bow and then tilt your bow away from you, it won’t slide off as easily).

The whole family had a fantastic time and my children were asking to return even before we stepped off the turf!

Archery Games Ottawa
Where: 1860 Bank St, #3B
Cost: $29/person
Hours: Monday/Tuesday - closed, Wednesday/Thursday - 5-10pm, Friday - 5-9pm, Saturday/Sunday - 11am-9pm  *Bookings outside of these hours are available by appointment only and require a minimum of 10 players.

Thank you to Candace and her family who checked out Archery Games on behalf of Kids in the Capital. Archery Games provided tickets but all thoughts are our own.