FREE Summer Fun in The OC

Memorial Day really kicks the summer off with a grand celebration. In Orange County, this summer will be filled with FREE fun activities to keep your little ones busy. Besides the obvious trips to the beach, pool and of course the parks, FREE Family Movies movies will be hitting the Regal Cinemas participating locations next month. There are 7 Orange County theaters who will feature family friendly G & PG films at 10:00am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with two different movies playing each week. They will feature movies such as Night at the Museum II, Monsters Vs. Aliens, and Alvin & the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel. The movies are first come, first serve so come a little early and bring some snacks. This is one of our favorite fun activities to enjoy on a lazy summer morning. Be sure to sign up for our monthly calendar (to be available on soon to be newly launched website). Sign up here to receive access to FREE and Low Cost OC Monthly Activity Calendar.

In addition to Regal Cinema's FREE Family Film Festival, The Newport Beach Library is known for bringing great entertainment to its branches during the summer. FREE entertainment will be hosted at The Newport Beach Public Library. Such acts as "The Wild Life Company" where you will be able to come and meet live wild animals and learn about their habitat, and "Fratello Marionette" which is a live puppet show feature such fairy tales as Three Little Pigs.

Stay tuned for the release of OC Fun Guide's new calendar featuring FREE and Low Cost summer fun in the OC. Be sure to visit www.ocfunguide.com for fun things to do in Orange County.

Happy Memorial Day!

The Winner is...

The Winner of The 6 Irvine Park Railroad train tickets and $25 credit towards Wheel Fun Rentals is...

Angela @ Nine More Months who said: "I would love the Deuce Coupe, and that paddle boat looks really cool too!"

Congratulations!! Email your mailing info to me at ocfunguide@gmail.com!

Stay tuned for our next giveaway coming soon!

Celebrate & Win @ Irvine Park Railroad

*See Giveaway at the Bottom*


To Celebrate the launch of Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Regional Park, Irvine Park Railroad is having a big party to kick off the fun. This weekend on Saturday, May 22nd and Sunday, May 23rd from 10am to 5pm come on down to celebrate the Grand Opening. Special for this weekend only, when you rent a bike or paddle boat, you will receive one FREE hot dog and soda per rider. They will also have a bounce house for kids (which is an additional cost) and other fun activities!

Wheel Fun Rentals has variety of very cool bikes to choose from including, Chopper Bikes (one person bike see picture to the left), Traditional Surreys (can hold 3 adults and 2 small children) which is great for a family, The Deuce Coupe (can hold 2 adults and 2 children) which is my personal favorite, Cruiser Bikes, Quad Sports (for a single rider), Tandem Bikes and Kids Bikes (single rider for children).

Take a look at Irvine Park Railroad's website for pictures and prices of each rental. Children under 18 are required to wear a helmet and this is provided at no additional charge. My family will be spending plenty of afternoons at Irvine Regional Park in the coming months. This park really has so much to do and the prices are low. Parking is $5 on the weekends and $3 during the week.

In addition to the great bike choices to explore an afternoon in the park, they also have Paddle Boats for a ride around the lake. These fun bikes seat 3 people and are a great way to have some fun on the lake. You can make a day of it and ride the train too! You can check out all the fun details on Irvine Park Railroad's Website. You can also print out a coupon for the attractions including boats, bikes, train rides and concessions by clicking here.

*As a part of OC Fun Guide's Summer of Fun Giveaway Series and to Celebrate The Grand Opening of Wheel Fun Rentals we are giving away 6 train tickets and a bonus giveaway of a $25 credit towards a bike or paddle boat rental to one lucky winner! Thanks Irvine Park Railroad for this great Celebration and Giveaway!

First Entry
To enter leave a comment letting us know which bike you are are going to ride at Wheel Fun Rentals.

Additional Entries (maximum 3 entries per day)

• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and be sure to reference @ocfunguide so it will be included as an entry.


• Grab Our Button & let us know by leaving a comment here.
  
• Join our Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment on our page


• Follow this blog and leave a comment here letting us know

This giveaway will run until Tuesday, May 25th at 12midnight and the winner will be announced on Wednesday! Good Luck Everyone~

Entry Requirements and Rules of Giveaway: To be eligible for this drawing, you must be a Southern California Resident. Winner must sign a release and provide photo ID to Irvine Park Railroad upon redeeming the bike rental credit. Children under 18 years old must wear a helmet (provided by Irvine Park Railroad at no cost) and the winner cannot switch bikes during the course of the hour. No change will be given if the rental equates to less than the $25 credit.

Santa Ana Zoo @ Prentice Park

Tucked away in an little corner of Santa Ana, lies a zoo that is perfect for an afternoon of fun without the commitment of an entire day or more. This is not the type of zoo where you will find Zebras or Hippos or where you will spend all day walking the grounds only to be exhausted at the end of the day, still finding that you need more time to see the entire zoo. Don't get me wrong, I do love those outings at times but The Santa Ana Zoo is such a great place because you can really see everything in a few hours time. The price is right at $8 for adults and $5 for kids and Seniors.

Their monkey exhibits are the best around. In fact just last month they have welcomed a rare crested capuchin monkey into the world. The birth of this endangered monkey is part of an important breeding program.

After you make your way around the zoo, you can't miss the Crean Family Farm. You can pet and feed the animals as you get an inside view of life on an Orange County Farm. This one is so much fun for those kids like mine who love hands on fun!

After visiting the Crean Family Farm, make your way over to the Zoofari Express. You will love the 6 minute ride. This is an environmental friendly electric train which also cuts down on the noise for the benefit of the animals. The train features six cars and a caboose. They offer a very entertaining tour of the zoo pointing out exhibits and species as you meander through the park. This is great for little ones as well and they offer Free rides to those 2 years and under.
For those of us over this age, the train is a whopping $3 a person. What a deal!


Last but definitely not least, you can't leave until you have seen and taken a whirl on The Conservation Carousel. This unique carousel features 33 endangered animals to ride on including a wheelchair accessible Swan Chariot. Each of its riders receives a special information card on one endangered animal explaining why it is endangered. This is such a great way to teach our kids what we can do to help these endangered animals. This definitely tops the afternoon of fun right off.

Along with the normal exhibits and attractions, The Santa Ana Zoo is host to very special events and kid's camps for the summer. The Sunset at The Zoo Summer Concert Series kicks off on June, 13th 5:30-7:30pm. Be sure to check out their website for all the info on these fun events!

For more information on FREE and Low Cost activities in Orange County visit http://www.ocfunguide.com/ . Be sure to sign up for our monthly calendar feature FREE and Low Cost events and activities in Orange County. Don't miss another event and hear about it after.

Happy Trecking!

OC Fun Guide received no compensation for this post.

All photos courtesy of Santa Ana Zoo

Winner of Discovery Science Center Tickets is...

Congratulations to "afahrneylovestory" who wrote "definitely the fossil dig. My bean loves dinosaurs"! You are the Winner of OC Fun Guide's Giveaway for a Family Pack of 4 tickets for Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana!

You can leave your email address here as a comment and I will contact you for your address details to mail the tickets to you or you can email me the address to send the tickets to at ocfunguide@gmail.com .

Stay Tuned for Our Summer of Fun Ticket Giveaways coming soon!

Happy FunDay!

Igniting the Minds of Children Giveaway

*Giveaway at bottom of post*

If you have ever driven down the freeway in the middle of Orange County, you can't miss the gigantic cube building. Inside this cube is more than just The Discovery Science Center. Inside this cube is a spectacular display of fireworks ingniting in the minds of our children as they develop a passion for learning about the world around them. For a little more than a decade, this center has brought the world of science to life for so many children and adults. They constantly create an exciting hands on opportunity for our children to experience Science in the real world. A few of the fantastic exhibts they have had and currently have are:

Bubblefest
Hands on bubble activities demonstrate a bubble's science and math principles (such as surface tension, elasticity, air pressure, molecular properties, and geometric properties) while, The sixteen-time Guinness World Record holder and Bubble Scientist, Fan Yang's Gazillion Bubble Show puts those theories to the ultimate test.


Secret of Circles
Circles are pretty amazing shapes, If you look around you will see that they are everywhere: wheels, clocks doorknobs, tortillas, Frisbees, tops and more! This exciting new exhibit celebrates the math, science and beauty of such a simple shape and helps children and adults alike to uncover the secrets of the many circles in the world.

Grossology Sometimes it's stinky; sometimes it's crusty; and sometimes it's slimy. Explore why your body produces mushy, oozy, crusty, scaly and stinky gunk at Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body.

Dino Quest
The World's first interactive dinosaur adventure that includes life-size dinosaurs. Visitors can walk inside the two story Argentinosaurus, manipulate the organs of the dinosaur and learn how body systems work and relate to each other. They can explore in the Fossil dig area (this is my daughter's favorite)
and see the giant T-Rex, an exact replica of an actual fossil names Stan.

Planetary Research Station

The Discovery Science Center has the only Planetary Research Station in California. This amazing educational tool is ab animated globe that can show dynamic, animated images of the atmosphere, oceans and land of a planet. It can display anything from real-time infrared satellite over land, to sea ice concentration and snow cover to the topography of Venus.

Through these various exhibits and many others during the year they are able to ignite science in the minds of our children. What an awesome way to learn about one of the most fundamental subjects in human nature!

There is also a FREE Rocket Launch your children can be a part of this Saturday, May 1st.

The event will take place from 9am-2pm. There is still time to register. You can register online with The Discovery Science Center here or by email to: rsvp@discoverycube.org or by phone 714-542-2823. Join the challenge to design, build and launch a rocket made from a 2-liter plastic soda bottle that uses a combination of pressurized air and water for propulsion. This event will be held at The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach. Click Here for a map. You will have the opportunity to Chat with a real astronaut! You won't want to miss this one!

Woo Hoo! The Discovery Science Center has offered one lucky winner of this OC Fun Guide giveaway a family 4 pack of tickets for General Admission to The Discovery Science Center! To enter, leave a comment telling us what your children's favorite exhibit is at The Discovery Science Center or an exhibit that you and your children are excited to see. The giveaway will run until Thursday, May 6th at 12 midnight. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, May 7th. To be eligible for this drawing you must reside in Southern California.

For more information on FREE and Low Cost activities in Orange County visit http://www.ocfunguide.com/ . Be sure to Sign Up for our Monthly Activity and Events Calendar so that you won't miss another great event and hear about it after!

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What's This Great Park All About?

I am sure that most of you have all seen that Great Big Orange Circle floating up in the air over Irvine. Well the OC Great Park is host to some great FREE activities, one of them being The FREE Balloon Ride. The calendar at the Great Park is filling up with some other cool stuff to do as well. Their most recent news is The OC Great Park will soon be the new home to the the former Fashion Island Carousel. This will be a year round attraction which will be a part of The Great Park's Kids Rock Playground projected to open late this summer.

Firstly, for those of you who are not petrified of heights, if you have not yet had the opportunity to soar in this Great Orange Balloon 400 feet above the ground to see OC at its finest, I would highly recommend you hop on over. This is the largest helium tethered balloon and the first of its kind in the entire United States, according to the OC Great Park. The balloon can hold up to 30 passengers at once in its gondola which takes you soaring into the sky but don't worry, you won't fly away because it stays tethered to the ground with very strong steel wires that can hold much more than the estimated 99,000 lbs.

Once you have experienced the Great Orange Balloon, you will be able to now enjoy an array of FREE activities, lessons and events offered at the OC Great Park in the coming weeks.


Saturday, April 25th and May 1st two FREE Self Defense classes will be offered each day. One at 12:30 and another at 1:30pm each lasting an hour. This is a beginners basic martial arts of Kook Sool Kwan. This class is not just for self defense but the focus will also be on the concept of balance, equilibrium in mental, physical and spiritual traits. The classes will take place in Hanger 244.

Starting May 1 FREE Admission and Parking for Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi and Real Fitness Boot Camp classes are being offered. The recommended ages for each of these classes is 7 years old and up with the exception of the Boot Camp which is 12 and up so bring your kids and start toning up for the summer. No excuses here. You can't beat FREE! Head over to The Great Park's website for the full schedule with times and dates.


May 1st & 15th 10am - 12pm Spring Garden Workshops
are being offered FREE. This is for all of us who need some help because our green thumb is in need of some advice. They will cover topics like what gardening tools you need in your garden to what type of irrigation, soil and pest control is best to create the healthiest garden. Now that Spring is in full bloom the gardening hobby is a bit contagious. Visit The Great Park's website for more information on these Garden Workshops.



Sunday, May 9th at 10 & 11am FREE Guitar Lessons will be offered. This is recommended for ages 8 and up. Just bring your guitar and the instructor will teach you the basics. Space is limited and pre-registration is required so be sure to visit The Great Park's website for all the info and to register. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.




Friday, May 14th 7:45-945pm FREE Star Gazing led by Astronomy4U will be hosted at The OC Great Park. Spend the evening learning about the solar system through the informational star maps and have a chance to view Saturn and the Moon through a telescope. This is recommended for ages 9 and older so bring the family and enjoy a night under the stars. Be sure to visit the Great Park's website for more information.

There are so many fun activities to choose from and best of all they are FREE. For address and directions visit The OC Great Park's website.

Fore more information on FREE and Low COst Fun in Orange County please visit http://www.ocfunguide.com/ . Be sure to Sign Up for our monthly activities and events calendar so you won't miss another great event and hear about it after.

Happy Exploring!