A Rainy Day School Holiday in the City

The City Playground Pass is an excellent resource to navigate around the CBD with children of all ages in tow.  We visit the city at least once every school holiday to take advantage of the kid friendly activities and discounts.
 
We traveled to the city by train mostly for the benefit of my 2 year old.  Like most little boys, he absolutely loves the train.  I like it too because I am able to chat and play with the kids rather than concentrate on driving.  Also, I don't need to worry about parking, or maneuvering around all the one way streets and pedestrians in the CBD.  Although the price of a family rider pass has just raised to $11 as of July 1, it's still less than paying for fuel and parking, and it's more fun for the kiddies.   


Hagen loves the train.

 

Collecting our Playground Pass in the rain.

The City of Perth Library (not to be confused with the much larger State Library) had a a great list of free activities to book during this school holiday.  We booked the "Scitech Flight Show" because it was geared for ages 9-12 and accommodated two out of three of my kids.  Besides, both of my older kids are all about everything science.  It was an interactive show that really got their minds thinking. We will definitely be checking out the school holiday programs at The City of Perth Library again. 



Next, "The Big Top Olympians" entertained us under the big red tent.  The acrobats in this hilarious show managed to pull off amazing stunts in a comical way that amused all three of my kids and especially me.  It was the first time my 2 year old remained seated for an entire show.  Ever.  The show was free, but we had to pick up our tickets in the morning to be sure we got in, as there were no pre-bookings available.


McKinley & Everest ready for the Big Top!

The wet, cold, rainy weather didn't stop this crew. We grabbed discounted kids' meals at Nando's for McKinley & Hagen, and take away sushi handrolls for Everest. Then, we filled our backpacks with purchases from the Australian Geographic and the Reject Shop. Our last stop of the day was the One Direction Store for my crazed 11 year old daughter.  She is nuts about this new boy band.  She pined over which t-shirt to buy while one brother slept in his stroller, and the other shot rubber bands at all the merchandise.

On the train ride home, I looked at the time and was amazed it was 3:30, nearly six hours after we boarded the train in the morning.  Now, I'd call that a successful day in the CBD.

City Playground Pass, Tokyo Underground, & Gundam

It seems whenever I am running out of steam and getting tired of the same routine every morning, I am blessed with a "school holiday".  I try not to plan too much in the first week, because it is so nice not to have to be anywhere.  We enjoy wearing our jammies (all day if we want), and playing video games, legos, jumping on the trampoline... etc., etc.  After just a couple of days of this however, we need something more!

We have made a habit of going into the Perth CBD (Central Business District) at least once during every school holiday.  They have so many terrific activities for kids!  I recommend picking up The City Playground Pass.  The pass can be collected from the i-City kiosk, and the City Playground Pass marquee, both located in Murray Street Mall (near the entrance to Forrest Place).  The passes come on a lariat that the kids wear around their necks.  My 2 year old son especially loves this, my 11 year old daughter not so much. 

Listed on the City Playground Pass is all sorts of kid friendly activities, tours, attractions, restaurants, discounts, and even some freebies. Last school holidays for example, we got two for one gelato scoops at one place, and buy one sausage roll/get one free from another.  Who can beat that?  The kids love when I say "yes" and spoil them with treats in the "city".

This week we discovered a place listed on the City Playground Pass that we hadn't heard about before.  It's a shop called Tokyo Underground that is filled with everything all my kids love.  Most of it, except for the Mario merchandise, was very foreign to me, but the kids seemed to be in the know.  It was fun looking at all the "stuff", but what really brought us in there was a FREE workshop on making a Gundam robot.  I had no idea what that was, but hey, it was free and they said I could bring my 2 year old to participate too!

For those, like me, who have no idea what a Gundam model is, here is a picture of our final product:

 Gundam Robot...He was so much fun to make!

I was lucky my 2 year old basically needed me to assemble the model for him, because it was so much fun to do!  My 9 year old son put the model together all on his own.  Not only was this activity fun, but research confirms that model kit making is good for the brain by "promoting blood circulation to the brain, thus enhancing brain activities."  BONUS! 

On the way out of the workshop, the very kind, helpful, patient volunteer pointed out the Gundam kits available for purchase in the shop.  I was pleasantly surprised to find several kits for sale for under $12.  We bought a couple of kits to assemble at home.  I have to say, Tokyo Underground was very generous in providing this free workshop.  I had two very happy little boys!