January Highlights @PretendCity #CommunityHeros #MLKJrDay #ChineseNewYear

Pretend City is a great place for children to use their imagination. It is one of our favorite places for a play date with lots of areas to explore. Highlights this month include:

• Exploring emergency service and rescue crew careers plus children will have the opportunity to “Be a Hero”, 
• Celebrate fairness and equality with Martin Luther King Jr themed activities, and  
• Learning new traditions and culture from Chinese Lunar New Year. 

Children often observe heroes quickly trying to help and save others. They see bright lights, big trucks and loud sounds associated with many emergency vehicles. Through educational and playful interactions, children will learn the different careers within those fields and learn how to become a hero themselves.

I've highlighted some key dates below...

Friday, January 10 Truck Touch – Fire Friends Time: 11:00 a.m. Meet firefighters from Orange County Fire Authority’s Station 51! Children will feel as though they are riding the big red fire engines as they hear the "clang, clang" of the bells. This first-hand experience with a fire engine will transport young children to the scene where they'll see how brave firemen connect the hoses and save the day.

Thursday, January 20 Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Celebrate the life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. today. This American Civil Rights hero led millions of people in the fight for racial equity. This is the perfect opportunity to have an open discussion with your children about fairness, equality, friendship and peace. Activities include: Smart Art: As children create their self portrait, they will engage in discussions that show them that even though we are different in many ways (skin color, hair color, eye color, age, etc.) – everyone is special and we have many of the same hopes, dreams and feelings on the inside. Good to Go Game: Let your children learn to work together and play in peace as they cooperatively match the oversized peace puzzle pieces together. Music & Movement: Dr. King had a Dream of peace! What is your child’s dream? Come find out during this music, movement and activity time.

Monday, January 20 Pretend City Open Full Day in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Friday, January 24 Truck Touch – CHOC Children’s Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit Time: 11:00 a.m. Emergency service workers and care providers take care of far more than just immediate emergencies, they also care for those in need of intensive care. A partner with Pretend City Children’s Museum, CHOC Children’s Hospital shares the CHOC Children’s Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit (ambulance) with children on this Truck Touch day. Children will receive hands-on experience with the vehicle and learn about the dedicated team of nurses, respiratory therapists and other medical staff who provide life-saving care needed by these little patients who are moved to CHOC.

Friday, January 31 Celebrate Chinese New Year! Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Children will learn some traditions of Chinese New Year.  Understanding a variety of cultures and values becomes ever more essential to our next generation.  Activities include: Cooking Up Cultures: Children will “cook” up a fortune and explore a staple in the Chinese culture, the fortune cookie. Fun Fitness: During this fitness activity, children are encouraged to move like the animals from the Chinese Zodiac Calendar.  For example, they can slither like a snake or gallop like a horse for 2014. Smart Art: From tangram magnets to lucky red wallets, little ones will learn about Chinese traditions and beliefs as they create works of art. Sensational Story Time: Dragon Dance will have children believing they have journeyed to China to participate in this colorful, vibrant holiday.  Participate in a specialized handprint dragon activity thereafter.   Friday, January 31 Shaolin Kung Fu & Kids’ Kung Fu Class Time: 11:00 a.m. Introduce your children to the Chinese culture and language through a martial arts presentation from Shaolin Kung Fu. This demonstration will show the beauty of classic martial arts movements such as defense and wrestling. Your children will have the opportunity to experience and practice the ancient Chinese belief in “the unity of human and nature” and movement through a kung fu demo for kids class.

Pretend City Children's Museum

29 Hubble, Irvine, CA

(949) 428-3900

http://pretendcity.org/

HOURS:

Monday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Tues. - Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

ADMISSIONS:

Adults $12.50

Children $12.50 

Infants to 12 mos - N/C