Post Category - LearnLearn
Post Category - Play & PartyPlay & Party - Post Category - OutdoorOutdoorNo school for two days? Mama did not plan for this one! Ok full disclosure, mama forgot about teacher training or parent/teacher meetings or whatever it was…anyways… So what to do with the little bundles of energy staring at you in the living room? Soft plays are for weekends (in our house), the park too hot and dusty and Wild Wadi is way too fancy for just a school day off. Mama puts her thinking cap on and voila- Children’s City, that’s the place to go on days like these. If the kids are missing a day at school you might just as well make the most of it by engaging in some good old Edutainment activities.
After cramming two toddlers into the mamamobile we set off for Dubai Creek Park (which is where Children’s’ City is located). We arrived just after 10am and the place was completely empty; as in “excuse-me-are-you-open?” empty. But as all you mamas out there know, after getting over the initial shock, empty, when it comes to kids venues, is a good thing! Once inside, the boys and I decided to head straight up to the second floor for the “Dynamic Earth” show at the Planetarium starting at 10am. Or rather, the boys decided to make a run for it up the spiral walk way and we ended up at the top. There are also regular shows in English and Arabic about Stars, Underwater and Space if any of these particularly capture the imagination of your mini people.
What started out as a great little introduction into our “Dynamic Earth” ended after about two minutes with my two rascals trying to kill each other; so unfortunately we had to leave pronto. But if you are one of the lucky mamas whose kids can behave in that kind of environment, a) we envy and applaud you and b) let us know how the show is and if it’s worth going back for!
After breaking up the scrap, a little distraction was necessary and we headed over to the Space section, which was absolutely brilliant and a great way of introducing physics to little people through hands on experiments and questions like “Will it float or sink?” to answer. Entering a built up cockpit to maneuver a plane complete with radio traffic control and all also went down really well with my little all-boys gang.Once we had flown our plane, we moved on to the Nature Centre where the boys had a blast putting their hands in the covered holes on the “Wall of Discovery” to guess what was inside. Mama still isn’t sure what secrets each one held since she didn’t have the guts to try – without making this too obvious to the kids! The nearby “The way we live” section featuring all of the Gulf clichés in one small space, complete with oil barrels, skyscrapers and camel riding (you can actually ride on a computerized camel telling you about… well.. camels) also went down a treat.
Unfortunately at time of visit the much anticipated discovery exhibition was under construction (they change the themes regularly) but when open we hear it is pretty cool so will definitely be returning to find out. We ended our visit in the toddler play area for the below 6, which was awesome. Again, totally empty with three staff cleaning and roaming around waiting for toddler invasion. Complete with a ball pool, slide, merry go round and breastfeeding room, what’s not to love?
After about two hours we’d had enough Edutainment for one day and decided to head elsewhere for lunch. Should you however get the munchies, there is the ususal (zer0-frills) Malik Burger inside.
Psst. Skip the mini -train ride outside if you can. It was the bumpiest ride we’ve ever been on and the kids wanted to get out half way.
The Children’s City Dubai
Creekside Park, Gate 1, Riyadh Rd
Tel: (+971) (0)4 334 0808
