Ultimate Summer Activity Guide & Giveaway!!! Win One of Several Family 4-Packs!
Please go here to enter one (or all) of our awesome prizes…
- Butterfly Pavilion – Insectival Family 4-Pack
- Cave of the Winds – Wind Walker Family 4-Pack, Discovery Tour Family 4-Pack
- Children’s Museum of Denver – Family 4-Pack Admission
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo – Family 4-Pack Admission, Sky Ride Family 4-Pack, Zoo Shirt & Tote
- Denver Art Museum – Family 4-Pack (two winners)
- Downtown Aquarium – Family 4-Pack (two winners)
- Royal Gorge Route Railway – Vista Dome Family 4-Pass
- Water World – Family 4-Pack Admission
- Wildlife experience – Family 4-Pack (two winners)
Having a hard time deciding what to do with the family this summer? Our ultimate summer activity guide and giveaway will help you in your decision-making…and don’t forget to enter to win one of our fabulous prizes!
1. Butterfly Pavilion , Insectival Family 4-Pack
Win a Family 4-Pack to the Butterfly Pavilion’s Insectival (insect carnival) event on July 9th. It’s a super fun event that celebrates insects through exciting educational family activities including cockroach races, spider cotton candy, crafts, bounce castles, bug hunts, face painting, and more!
All summer long…experience the butterfly’s life cycle through interactive play at the Butterfly Pavilion in the new and improved Tropical Odyssey exhibit. Climb on larger-than-life butterflies, feed hungry caterpillars, soar above the rainforest on a zip line and more! It’s a hands-on adventure for the whole family.
2. Cave of the Winds, Family 4-Pack Wind Walker, Family 4-Pack Discovery Tour
The first of its kind in Colorado the Wind Walker Challenge Course offers guests a unique, safe opportunity to experience the thrill of a jungle gym, a maze and a rope course ALL together. Participants are presented with over 20 different course elements including cargo nets, slack lines and swinging bridges to accomplish while attached to a patented tracking system and safety harness that prevents the climbers from falling more than a few inches…if they fall.
The Wind Walker Challenge course will be open daily 10 AM to 8 PM through the end of summer. Admission is $15 per person or $10 per person if purchased in combination with any of the cave tours. Everyone who attempts the course must be 48 inches or taller.
3. Children’s Museum of Denver, Family 4-Pack Admission
3-2-1…Blast Off! Saturday, June 11th – Monday, September 6th
This summer, the Children’s Museum of Denver will go where few have gone before. Their mission: To teach children the principles of flight and the fundamentals of rocket science. Opening June 11th and running through September 6th, 3, 2, 1…Blast Off! will be an interactive science exhibit for all curious minds. Children can explore the elements of aerodynamics, physics, technology and engineering by building, launching and testing their own rockets, planes, hovercrafts and other flying devices.
4. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Family 4-Pack Admission, Family 4-Pack Sky Ride, Zoo Shirt & Tote Bag
Encounter Africa at America’s only mountain zoo! The first phase of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s new $13.5 million Encounter Africa exhibit opens this summer with an elephant barn nearly half the size of a football field. It’s so big, we’re welcoming a fourthelephant to our herd! The entire exhibit is scheduled to be completed in 2013, and guests will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the most extraordinary animals in Africa, including elephants, lions, rhinos, and meerkats. The exhibit will provide variety, choices, and activities to encourage natural animal behaviors and enrich their lives, all while giving guests an interactive experience.
June 17, July 22 & August 19: Stargazing Series
July 9 and 10: Teddy Bear Days
It’s a summer tradition at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Kids 12 and under accompanied by a teddy bear (or other stuffed animal) will get discounted zoo admission. Enjoy special activities both days, including face painting, special bear grotto and grizzly bear demonstrations, and a teddy bear clinic, where stuffed animals receive a free checkup and have their weight, height, and temperature recorded.
August 4: Moonlight on the Mountain
Save the date for Moonlight on the Mountain at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo! Mix and mingle under the stars during this unique, adults-only evening event. Guests will enjoy delicious food, quenching beverages, and live music. The entire zoo will also be open throughout the evening. All event proceeds benefit the care of our animals. This evening is for adults 21 and older only.
5. Denver Art Museum, Family 4-Pack Admission (giving away two!)
Marvelous Mud: Clay Around the Worldexplores the medium of clay through eight exhibitions, live artist demonstrations, hands-on programming and more. This is the first time a museum has ever explored one material across its collection and there are lots of surprises. This exhibition will shatter your expectations of clay—artworks range from China’s fabled blue-and-white pottery to ancient ceramics to contemporary artists that are pushing the boundaries of what clay can do. Families can check the Mud Studio with a live pottery wheel demonstration, try their own hand at the wheel, participate in artmaking projects at the new in-gallery Hotspotsor check out the adventures-in-a-pack Family Backpacks and Art Tubes. Every weekend the Mud Studio will host live artist demonstrations so visitors can get an up-close look at creative clay processes. Visitors who prefer a cleaner experience with clay can spend time viewing process videos, browsing clay and glaze samples or checking out examples of what can go wrong during the firing process. Kids can watch clay animation in a nook created just for them.
Bill and Athena Steen’s CLAYground: Weekends July 9–24, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Visitors will have the opportunity to join adobe experts Bill and Athena Steen, authors of the acclaimed The Straw Bale House book series, for a unique art project. Taking place on Martin Plaza outside the Hamilton Building on weekends July 9 through July 24, the artists and visitors will collaborate to construct an outdoor clay play space. Visitors can assist in placing straw bales, mixing clay and straw or plastering the bales with adobe. The Clayground will have nooks to hide in, stairs to go up and over and benches to sit on. The finished play area will stay on the plaza through September 2011.
6. Downtown Aquarium, Family 4-Pack Admission (two winners!)
Downtown Aquarium was purchased by Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. in 2003, when it was Colorado’s Ocean Journey Aquarium. On July 14, 2005, Landry’s reopened the redesigned complex as Downtown Aquarium. The entertainment and dining complex features a public aquarium boasting more than a million gallons of underwater exhibits that highlight fascinating ecosystems around the world. Downtown Aquarium houses over 500 species of animals, the interactive Stingray Reef touch tank, Aquarium Restaurant, Dive Lounge, the Nautilus Ballroom and amusements for the entire family.
7. Royal Gorge Route Railroad, Family 4-Pack Vista Dome Passes
The best way to enjoy the Royal Gorge this summer is on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad. The train began running through the Gorge in 1879, quit service in the 1960s and was resurrected in 1999. Now more than 100,000 people from all over the globe ride the Royal Gorge Route Railroad for its awe-inspiring views, rich history, classic railcar dining and charming service. Ride first-class for a wonderful multi-course dining experience or on Vista Dome where you can enjoy the view from your seat and order lunch or dinner from the Vista Dome Grill. For those on a lighter budget, ride the train’s beautifully renovated coach cars and pick up some goodies from the on-train concession car. No matter where you sit, bring a camera and visit the open-air car while aboard this restored mid-century streamliner. The stunning vistas and warm and soothing climate inside the dramatic walls of the Royal Gorge will renew your spirit.
Check the schedule for the Royal Gorge Route Railroad’s new wine lunch trains and wine dinner trains, which run daily throughout the summer. If you can sneak away for an adults-only evening, book a trip on the murder mystery train which runs at 6:30 p.m. on several Saturday nights throughout the summer and fall. For more information visit royalgorgeroute.com or call 1.888.724.5748.
8. Water World, Family 4-Pack Admission
One of America’s largest family water parks, Water World is located just 15 minutes north of downtown Denver, Colorado, on 64 beautifully landscaped acres. Water World premiered in 1979, featuring two of the first water slides in the state of Colorado. The park now boasts of over 46 water adventures and has been rated as one of America’s top ten water parks by the Travel Channel.
Water World features the largest variety of attractions (46) in America, from Wally World for the tots, to Voyage to the Center of the Earth – the ultimate family water adventure ride. You’ll find more family tube rides at Water World than in any other park in the country.
Thrill seekers beware; exciting, wild rides are in abundance at this park – check out the epic Red Line speed slide. If daring isn’t your thing, relax in one of the many picnic areas available. Choose from covered pavilions, beautifully landscaped grass areas or look into our cabana rentals. We feature 3 separate Children’s Play Adventures, including the all-new Big Top Family Fun Zone.
Water World’s operating season is generally from the last weekend in May through Labor Day, with some school days excepted during the early and late parts of the summer season. Please see hours for exact operating schedule.
9. The Wildlife Experience, Family 4-Pack Admission (giving away two!)
This Show Bites! Megalodon: The Largest Shark that Ever Lived, May 28 – January 2, 2012
The Wildlife Experience tells this remarkable story in its exciting new national traveling exhibition, Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived. The exhibition features a 60-foot-long walk-through sculpture and highlights the evolution, biology and misconceptions regarding giant prehistoric sharks.
As unique as Megalodonwas, so too is the exhibition that tells the story of this enormous creature. The exhibition showcases both fossil and modern shark specimens as well as full-scale models from several collections. Visitors enter a full-size sculpture of Megalodon through massive jaws and discover this shark’s history and the world it inhabited, including its size, structure, diet, lifespan, relatives, neighbors, evolution and extinction.
Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Livedalso provides details on improving the health of our oceans and survival of threatened species. Recent worldwide declines are attributed to commercial and sport overfishing. Scientists estimate humans kill 100 million sharks, skates and rays each year, and the life history of most shark species makes it difficult for populations to rebound. For those wondering why we need sharks, the Megalodon exhibition asks guests to consider the marine food web domino effect caused by overfishing.
Another exhibition section describes how this animal continues to fascinate many, elevating Megalodon to near cult status. From biker jackets to postage stamps, the exhibition explains the many ways Megalodon remains a part of human culture through art, literature, music and film.
Megalodon: Largest Shark that Ever Lived was produced by the Florida Museum of Natural History with support from the National Science Foundation. Admission to this exhibition is included with general admission to The Wildlife Experience.
Dinosaurs Alive
To compliment Megalodon’s arrival, The Wildlife Experience will be showing Dinosaurs Alive in the Extreme Screen Theater. Dinosaurs Alive is a captivating adventure of science and discovery that will enthrall audiences with its unique look at the entire age of dinosaurs. The giant screen film, narrated by Michael Douglas, features spectacular animation and a live-action story that joins renowned paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History and their graduate students in the field as they uncover new fossils—including the remarkable discovery of what may be the oldest dinosaur ever found in North America. Dinosaurs Alive film opened May 7.
About The Wildlife Experience
The Wildlife Experience is an educational and entertaining museum that connects visitors with wildlife and habitats using a unique blend of interactive exhibits, large format film, fine art, natural history and community educational programs. In 2010, The Wildlife Experience became the first museum of its kind to use live-action 3D technology in an exhibit, taking visitors on virtual field trips around the world! For more information on The Wildlife Experience please call 720.488.3300 or visit www.thewildlifeexperience.org.
Contest
Please go here to enter. Be sure to only click the contests you are interested in winning (you may enter up to five times). Contest deadline is June 24, 2011. Good luck!
photo: thegoodlifemedia
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