World Forestry Center Discovery Museum Spring Break
Takes Visitors Around the World!
(Portland , Oregon) Join the World Forestry Center Discovery Museum as they go on a trip around the world. Each day explores a new and exciting region of the globe with entertainment, crafts, stories, and of course the importance of trees in those areas of the world. Spring Break is March 22-26 and activities are from 11am – 3pm daily. All activities are included with museum admission: $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (62+) and $5 for children (3-18). View www.worldforestry.org for a complete list of activities.
Explore the unique and interesting cultures of five different locations:
Monday, March 22 ~ Journey to Greece with mythology story time, Ancient Greek arts and crafts including masks, and shields. Interactive Greek Theater~ The Naming of Athens. Learn how Athens got its name and what it has to do with the olive tree.
Tuesday, March 23 ~ Travel Around India. Make your own sand art and get henna body art while learning the traditional uses and significance of this small flowering tree. Learn how to Jai Ho! and other contemporary Indian dance from Bollywood Movez.
Wednesday, March 24 ~ Explore Australia and climb the famous Mt. Arapiles with an indoor rock climbing wall. Make your own cave drawings and then get your face painted with aboriginal symbols. Discover the jobs of the bugs in the forest.
Thursday, March 25 ~ Traverse Central & South America! Get up close and personal with the different lizards and reptiles that inhabit the tropical rainforest. Learn the cultural movement of Capoeria Angola blending music, dance and martial arts. Make your own Carnaval mask and learn about Latin America’s rainforests.
Friday, March 26 ~ Discover Native America. Explore an authentic tribal teepee and learn Native American stories and legends. Also learn how the forest was used for edible and medicinal uses, and participate in a drum circle.
The World Forestry Center is a 501(c)(3) non profit educational organization dedicated to teaching about the world’s forests and trees and environmental stewardship. The Center is located in Portland’s beautiful Washington Park. There is a $2 Metro parking fee per car that is waived if visitors take public transportation. The museum is five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Hwy 26 and is also accessible by MAX light rail line. For more information, please call 503-228-1367 or visit www.worldforestry.org.
Wilsonville, Ore. – The Wilsonville Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle’s Restaurant is pleased to announce its newest attraction, Sky Trail.
Thursday, March 18th from 4 to 8 pm, The Family Fun Center is hosting a GRAND OPENING PARTY for Sky Trail and guests of all ages are invited to attend. All Guests will receive Free Sky Trail Admission from 4 – 8 pm!
Sky Trail is a ropes course that allows participants to move around multiple obstacles that are 12 feet above the ground. Participants are secured in a full body harness attached to a rope line that allows them to move through the obstacles without having to unclip themselves, as you would in a traditional ropes course.
The first 50 guests to come through the door at 4 pm will receive a FREE EXTREME DAY PASS to use during Spring Break. Visit www.fun-center.com for all details!
About The Wilsonville Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle’s Restaurant
The Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle’s Restaurant is a 6-acre amusement park centrally located between Portland & Salem. The Outdoor Attractions include: Go-Karts, Miniature Golf, 28’ Rock Wall, Sky Trail, Bumper Boats and Batting Cages. Indoor Attractions include: Lazer Tag, Max Flight Cyber Coaster, Kidopolis Playland, Frog Hopper, 2 Story Arcade, Bullwinkle’s Family Restaurant and a 4,000 sq foot Event Center.
Let’s face it, there are times when (as parents), we all could all use a little extra support, practical information, and good advice. Rebecca Magby (
Everything Baby, LLC) is who we turned to with our own parenting concerns. After several sessions, we were able to target some of the underlying problems, create some household rules, routines, and develop a plan to improve sleep!
I particularly enjoyed Rebecca’s flexibility (e.g., we conducted our sessions over Skype after the kids went to bed, which was ultra-convenient). Plus, Rebecca offered refreshing perspectives on how to manage common problems without simply relying on time-outs, punishments, and rewards. Here is a bit about Rebecca from her website:
“Rebecca Magby has been studying child development, psychological theories, behavioral issues, and prescription free solutions to ADD/ADHD symptoms for the past 15 years while working one-on-one with children of every age group.
Her career with children started as a preschool teacher where she also learned observation skills, which she still uses today to better understand families and their requirements.
Rebecca is a Certified Professional Nanny who’s worked with many families with different needs. In 2005, Rebecca returned to school studying psychology and child development while staying active in her Nanny Family’s life.
Over the years, Rebecca has focused much of her training and development in behavior modification and nonprescription solutions to ADD/ADHD symptoms.
Currently, Rebecca is finishing Academy for Coaching Parents International’s coaching courses, and later this year will receive her certification as an ACPI Certified Coach™ for Parent and Families, (ACPI CCP).”
While problems will always exist, MANY improvements have been noticeable in our own family due to Rebecca’s suggestions and coaching. If you need some support, we (at Portland Family Adventures) recommend contacting her.
What’s to Love: If you’re wondering what “Freeriding” means, you might want to first check-out
OPB’s feature from Oregon Field Guide. Basically, it’s riding a mountain bike through “technical features” setup along forest paths. These technical features can be something as innocent as a small bump. However, as one progresses further into freeriding, the “technical features” become narrow balance beams (far off the ground too!), teeter-totters, banked turns, and HUGE drop-offs. This is a popular form of mountain biking, and “Post Canyon” outside Hood River is one of the country’s premiere areas.
As adventure-loving-parents, you must become familiar with Portland’s very own
Joe “Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie. I can’t believe I just read my first book by Kurmaskie (Mud, Sweat, and Gears). Where have I been? I rarely do this on the site, but I want to encourage you all to order his book as soon as possible! If you
PayPal him directly at: mtcowboy@teleport.com, he’ll give you free shipping and the book for only $20! That’s an incredible deal!
This book will inspire you to get up, get out, and have even MORE fun with your family. His wife’s footnotes add to the outrageous, (at times) self-deprecating, bust-out-loud-laughing-humor. I couldn’t put the book down, and I still can barely believe that any family has enough guts (or whatever you want to call it) to do what they did. How did I finally stumble into the Kurmaskie circle?
There I was at a Portland biking event (Expo Center) with my two kids. I was telling one of the event’s sponsors about my Portland Family Adventure website. I went off on how the site has propelled me into travel writing, and how I’ve been able to have so many exciting adventures with my family. The sponsor listened politely. When I finished, he said, “That sounds great, but you gotta go check-out that dude over there – calls himself the Metal Cowboy.”
I quickly answered back, “Oh yeah, what’s so great about the Metal Cowboy.” Actually, I didn’t really say that, but I was thinking it. I was also thinking, “Metal Cowboy?”
The sponsor said, and I could barely believe what I was hearing, “That guy pedaled 4000 miles across Canada with his wife and 3 kids!” What? I made him repeat it to me again. Yep…same thing I thought I heard the first time. Wow…I had to go meet this guy. Mud, Sweat, and Gears chronicles this amazing journey. While bikes certainly make the story impressive, it’s really about how adventure can pull a family together.
So, I did finally make my way over to meet Joe Kurmaskie. He is an engaging guy, which clearly stands out in his writing. In a short conversation, I learned that he has written several books, biked across African nations, the Australian Outback, and across the USA with his sons and his father’s ashes. I stood there in disbelief. Really? I had about a million questions I wanted to ask him, but he seemed more interested in my own kids, and listening to a story I told about my son Rhys riding Pedalpalooza when he was 3 1/2. What a day…
Technorati Tags: family, cycling, adventure, kids, bikes, distance, Kurmaskie, Metal Cowboy
What’s to Love: Despite being sandwiched-in between some nasty industrial businesses, Smith & Bybee Wetlands Natural Area is an excellent family-biking destination with several options for family fun. You may just need to hold your breath every now and then.
What’s to Love: Is one visit ever enough when the destination is Black Butte Ranch?
After an incredible summer visit, we had to experience this premiere family resort during the Christmas holiday season. Surely, Black Butte Ranch comes alive during the festive holiday season. I imagined their properties and roads dusted with some light, fluffy, dry snow perfect for tooling around the resort on cross-country skis and quite possibly, sledding on some of the golf course hills. While the conditions were not quite like I imagined, the resort, and its surroundings, still delivered the best in family fun. We highly recommend taking a winter trip to this Central Oregon hot spot.
News Release from: OMSI
OMSI OFFERS WORLDWIDE MUSEUM DEBUT OF SAMSON THE T. REX
Posted: December 11th, 2009 9:06 AM
http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2009-12/865/Samson-Skeleton2.jpg
(Photo courtesy Bonhams & Butterfields)
Hi Folks,
Over the years, many people have asked to post events on my site. For many reasons, I’ve declined. I just anticipated WAY too much work gathering information and posting it to a calendar. However, the calendar we just put up on our site is “self-serve.” It’s a public calendar, so please feel free to post your family-friendly events, pass this information on to others who might be interested, and come back and check the calendar often!
Our calendar administrator will review the events as they’re submitted, and reserves the right to delete any entries inconsistent with our Mission and Guiding Principles. Please post family-friendly events void of political and/or religious affiliation. Also, before saving your event, make sure you have all the necessary details! Portland Family Adventures is not responsible for inaccurate or false information.
Thanks for your patience with this monumentous event! 
“The Playground Gym provides kids with an environment that nurtures physical, mental and emotional development. Kids are built to play, and skills learned from physical activity combined with social interaction are the foundation of a healthy life. For many parents, its easy to forget the energy and curiosity that we took granted as children.” (http://www.theplaygroundgym.com/about/)
Read MoreWhy did you start The Playground Gym and what makes it unique for kids and families?
J.J. responds: Both Casey and I have worked with kids for years and have developed a great passion for it. We’ve been in and around the fitness industry for some time, and we repeatedly heard from parents that Portland lacked a multi-use family hub that was locally owned and had a real “Portland” feel. We also heard that athleticism and the value of active play have been taking a back seat to other (often occupational) pursuits in today’s educational environment. I’ve long believed that physical play not only encourages healthy lifestyles, but is a fantastic vehicle for creative, social and cognitive development.
It is also our explicit desire to strive to not only be good coaches, but to be good mentors to our kids and allies for our parents.
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St. Helens, Oregon transforms into “Halloweentown” during the month of October. Visit on the weekend for fun activities for the whole family. Eat at The Klondike and The Plantation House restaurants, climb at The Vault Climbing Gym, and visit Jilly’s for some dress-up fun.
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City folks just don’t understand what it takes to run a farm. Where does our food come from anyway? We are all detached from our food sources. Very rarely do city kids get a chance to visit a farm where they can actually feed animals, shovel manure, pick produce, clean stalls, and breath clean fresh air. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time to kick back and relax and/or run wild at Leaping Lamb’s “Farm Stay.”
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Just take a look at some of the pictures I posted in this article – this beach speaks for itself. Of course, many amazing beaches can be found throughout the area from Newport to Yahacts. However, Driftwood beach resides close to a beach rental we’ve frequented over the past few years, and it holds sentimental value along with stunning natural beauty. I recommend a visit to this beach whenever you’re in the area.
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The Department of Skateboarding is an indoor skate park in North Portland near the Rose Garden arena. They have kids’ lessons every Saturday morning from 9AM – 10AM. The kids who participate in the lessons get to stay until 1PM. Excellent for beginners!
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Pier Park is yet another excellent North Portland Park featuring an challenging 18-hold disc golf course, an outdoor skate park, and an outdoor pool! This destination park has a little bit of everything for the whole family. If you have yet to visit, I suggest heading up to St. Johns before the rainy season hits in North Portland.
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What’s to Love: The Pumpkin Patch Farm (a certified sustainable farm) on Sauvie Island is THE place to be during the fall season! For our family, it’s technically not autumn until our first trip out to see the best corn maze in the Portland area. As aerial views confirm, this Corn Maize is not just a bunch of meandering pathways through the corn rows but rather, a thing of artistic beauty! Plus, there are plenty of other activities to keep the whole family entertained.
Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center is a beautiful nature preserve about 2 hours from Portland. The Center hosts a plethora of educational programs for families.
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Black Butte Ranch is a family resort located 8 miles outside Sisters, Oregon. There are a myriad of activities for the whole family including golf, swimming pools, bike trails and rentals, tennis, spa, fitness classes, and much much more.
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