Save money with these deals!

Just a few more weeks of summer vacation for the kiddos, but there are some great deals out there, if you can stand outside activities in the triple digit weather! Check out these “cool” deals for August:

Fairy Tale Castles on display at the Dallas Arboretum

Dallas Arboretum Dollar admission to the end of August. Don’t forget about the water area called Toad Corners and the Fairy Tale Castles on display.

Dollar Days at the Trinity River Audubon Center Another dollar admission. In addition to the walking trails, TRAC has an air-conditioned exhibit hall (Yeah for AC!!) and will be showing the movie Rio on August 18th!

Dallas Zoo  Children half-price through August 21st! Don’t forget to check out the deals for DART riders, as well! the SOAR! Bird Show ends Labor Day weekend, so don’t miss it!

Dallas Museum of Art Half-price Thursdays from 11 am until 9 pm through the month of August.

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Every Tuesday through August 30th, 2011, guests who purchase a general admission ticket will receive a second of equal or lesser value for free. This offer does not include the Omni theater or Noble planetarium.

Come watch the Pigs Race!

Early Bird Specials for the State Fair of Texas Buying online in advance can save a dollar off of general admission tickets, $10 off of a season pass and even a little on tickets! Less than 50 days to go! The fair opens September 30th and ends October 23rd.

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Check out some of the fun stuff your family can look forward to:

Art Exploration and Demonstration
1:00-3:00 p.m., Tech Lab
Meet artist Lizzy Wetzel and learn about the materials and techniques used in the Art of the American Indian exhibition.

Sketching in the Galleries for Kids
1:00-3:00 p.m., Ancient American Art galleries, 4th Floor
Spend time searching for animals and sketching from original works of art in the Ancient American galleries. All supplies will be provided.

Oklahoma Fancy Dancers
1:30-2:00 p.m., Barrel Vault
Join the Oklahoma Fancy Dancers for a traditional Native American dance performance in the Barrel Vault before they perform their full presentation at 2:00 p.m. in Horchow Auditorium.

Native American Storytelling
3:00 – 3:45 p.m., Center Space
Learn words, phrases, and stomp music with Amy Bruton Bluemel, a member of the Chickasaw Tribe, and have the chance see flutes, turtle shell rattles and more artifacts up close!

Visit the Dallas Museum of Art website for more information.

Image Credit

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Enjoy half-price admission to the Dallas Museum of Art from Tuesday, March 15th to 5:00pm on Friday, March 18th. General admission for adults to the museum is usually $10 so you’ll save $5! Museum members and children under 12 are always FREE.

Bring your entire family to the museum and enjoy art-making activities, family tours, story times, gallery activities, and more. Check out the fun family experiences the DMA has planned for Spring Break. A couple of activities the kids may really enjoy:

Space Bar
11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Center for Creative Connections
Experiment with wire and other fun materials to create a work of art that bends and twists in space.

Story Time
Noon–12:30 p.m.
Arturo’s Nest, Center for Creative Connections
Bring your imagination and join Arturo and Education staff members for a fun time of storytelling.

Create a Line
2:00-5:00 p.m.
Tech Lab, Center for Creative Connections
Be inspired by the work of artist Annette Lawrence and contribute to a community art project that will be on display in the Center for Creative Connections this fall.

The Dallas Museum of Art is located at 1717 North Harwood, Dallas, TX 75201. If you don’t want to drive downtown, you can take the DART rail down there. Many stations have park and ride options. For hours of operation and other museum information, visit the DMA website.

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Did anyone happen to venture out to the Dallas Museum of Art this month for First Tuesday?  If you did, then you probably saw how crazy it was!  Excited kids everywhere!  I felt like, even though there were lines for most of the activities, that they moved pretty fast.  Since I am a home schooling mom, I am looking forward to going back during the school year.  Hopefully it will be less crowded!  It is definitely a great outing that encourages creativity!  Here’s a look at next month’s activities…

August 3: Picture Perfect

art-making activity
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., Selected galleries
Drop in and make a paper-bag puppet inspired by works of art. Look for art-making stations in the galleries on Level 4.

meet Arturo
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Tattoos; 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., Meet Arturo
Say hello to Arturo, the Museum’s family mascot, and get a temporary tattoo.

storyART
11:30 a.m.–noon, Horchow Auditorium
Join award-winning storyteller Ann Marie Newman for stories, songs, and games based on works in the Museum’s collections.

family tours of the museum
11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., or 1:30 p.m., Meet at the Center for Creative Connections entranceExplore the collections with Museum education staff for thirty-minute interactive tours of some of our favorite things at the DMA.

story time with the Dallas Public Library
1:00–1:30 p.m., Horchow Auditorium
Listen to enchanting stories told by our librarian friends and participate in an Every Child Ready to Read mini-workshop.

The Wizard of Oz with Le Theatre de Marionette
2:00–2:45 p.m., Horchow Auditorium
Follow Dorothy and her friends on the yellow brick road as she explores the land of Oz and searches for a way home. After the show, get up close and personal with the marionettes!

creativity challenges
2:00–3:00 p.m., Sign up at the Center for Creative Connections entrance
Work as a team to design unique creations inspired by works of art in this family-friendly competition. Limited to ten teams.

family tour of Through the Eyes of Our Children-Something Beautiful
3:00–3:30 p.m., Meet at the Center for Creative Connections entrance
View a photography exhibition created by students from several elementary schools in the South Dallas/Fair Park area with David Herman, Jr., photographer and creative director of Preservation LINK, Inc.

I’ve also recently found out about another creative outlet for kids at the Nasher Sculpture Center.  Target First Saturdays is a FREE event with lots of creative activities for the kids.  A peek at the schedule…

I haven’t taken my kids to this one yet, but I’m looking forward to August 7th where the theme is DRAMA (fits right in with my little girl’s personality)!

For more posts written by me, visit my personal blog, I Believe In Love.

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I recently visited the Dallas Museum Of Art for the first time.  It was such a wonderful, refreshing experience.  Being someone who highly values creativity, I was so excited to find out about First Tuesdays!  Admission to the museum is free on the first Tuesday of each month.  Not only that, but it’s chalked full of creative hands-on art projects geared specifically for children and families.  Summer first Tuesday dates are July 6 and August 3.  Just look at the schedule of events for the next one (below information is taken directly from their site)!

July 6: Going Coastal
Schedule of Events Inspired by Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea

art-making activity
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Art Studio
Drop in and make travel posters inspired by works of art in Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea.

meet Arturo
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Arturo’s Nest
Say hello to Arturo, the Museum’s family mascot. Don’t forget to write him a letter!

vacation postcards
11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Tech Lab
Experiment with green screen technology and create a vacation photo of your family using one of the Museum’s paintings as your destination.

Arturo tattoos
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Center Space
Get a tattoo of your favorite parrot.

storyART
11:30 a.m.-noon and 12:30-1:00 p.m., C3 Theater
Join award-winning storyteller Ann Marie Newman for stories, songs, and games based on works in the Museum’s collections.

family tours of the museum
11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m., Meet at the Center for Creative Connections entrance
Join Museum education staff for thirty-minute interactive tours of some of our favorite things at the museum.

story time with the Dallas public library
1:00-1:30 p.m., C3 Theater
Listen to enchanting stories told by our librarian friends.

Island Boogie Steel Drum Band
1:30-2:15 p.m., Center Space
Imagine a sunny day at the beach as you listen and dance to the tropical sounds of the steel drum.

“wish you were here!” scavenger hunt
2:00-3:00 p.m., Pick up your passport at the Center for Creative Connections entrance
Follow the clues to explore the Museum’s galleries and learn fun facts about the art. Bring your completed passport back to the Center for Creative Connections and receive a prize!

family tour of Through the Eyes of Our Children—Something Beautiful
3:00-3:30 p.m., Meet at the Center for Creative Connections entrance
View a photography exhibition created by students from several elementary schools in the South Dallas/Fair Park area with David Herman, Jr., photographer and creative director of Preservation LINK, Inc.

I visited the children’s center on my recent trip, and I was so impressed with the supplies readily available every day of the week.  Kids are free to make projects using shells, fabric, raffia and more!  First Tuesday is definitely a great time to check it out for FREE to see if your kids are interested.  Pricing for other days and hours of operation are available here.  Parking is $10 or you can opt to ride the Dart rail in, $4 round trip per adult, kids above 5 are $2 round trip, and kids under 5 are free.  There’s also a great little cafe (although not necessarily cheap).  I found the food to be very tasty with a great choice of healthy salads to fish and chips.  Cameras are aloud in certain parts of the museum.

For more posts written by me, visit my personal blog, I Believe In Love.

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Your Child’s Artwork might be worth $200 dollars!
($100 in cash and a 1 year membership to the Dallas Museum of Art)

Want to see your child’s art on the cover of 35,000 magazines?

North Texas Kids is partnering with the DMA to do a cover art search for the June issue of North Texas Kids magazine.
You, your friends and your family can vote for the winner at the upcoming free Summer Fun Fest on April 24 at Plano West Senior High!
Here are the details:
1. Have your child (16 or under, please) create his/her masterpiece. We are looking for bright, colorful images created by your child.  (You can see prior examples of magazine covers on the http://www.NorthTexasKids.com home page.)  Use crayons, markers, paints, etc. Size limited to 8.5” x 11”. On the weekends, you can create your masterpiece at the Dallas Museum of Art during their Studio Creations times!

2. You can drop it off at the DMA in Dallas (1717 N. Harwood), at the North Texas Kids’ office in Plano (700 E. Park Blvd, Suite 110) or email a digital copy to info@northtexaskids.com. Deadline for all submissions is Friday, April 16.  No exceptions.

3. The top 10 masterpieces will be announced and on display at the Summer Fun Fest on April 24 from 10-2pm and posted on the North Texas Kids website. The public will have a chance to vote for the winner in person at the Summer Fun Fest and the winning entry will appear on the June issue of North Texas Kids magazine, as well as receive $100 in cash and a 1-year Sustainer membership to the Dallas Museum of Art ($129 value).

Good luck, everyone!  (And just so all of your kids have a good chance of winning, I will NOT be submitting any of my 4 year old’s art like the beautiful piece above…which had something to do with saving his brother from an alien spaceship.)

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Boy, was I wrong!  Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art provides a great option for a fun family outing, every month on the third Friday of the month.

Yes, the museum is open until midnight on these nights, but the family fun starts at 6:00pm and most activities occur before 8:00pm.  And what activities they are!  Here is a sampling of what’s happening this Friday, February 20 with the theme of “Celebrating Divine Kings and Royal Women Across Cultures”, from Tutankhamun to Cleopatra. 

Late Night Creations
6:00–9:00 p.m., Studio, Center for Creative Connections, Dallas Museum of Art
Learn about kings and queens in the Museum’s collections and then visit the studio to make your own royal crown.

Family Activities at the Crow Collection of Asian Art
6:00–9:00 p.m., Crow Collection of Asian Art
Did you know the dragon symbolizes royalty in Chinese art and culture? Stop by the Crow Collection to design your own dragon and learn to paint Chinese symbols.

Yoga for Kids
6:30–7:00 p.m., Center for Creative Connections, Dallas Museum of Art
Join our resident yogini, Michelle Mock, for meditation, relaxation, and some very pretzel-like poses.

Bedtime Stories with Arturo
7:30 p.m., Theater, Center for Creative Connections, Dallas Museum of Art
Kids, wear your pajamas and bring your pillows to hear Bedtime Stories with Arturo, told by our award-winning storyteller, Ann Marie Newman.

On March 20, a very special Late Night for families will feature Judy Schachner, best-selling children’s author and illustrator of the beloved Skippyjon Jones series of picture books, which follows the adventures of a Siamese cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua.  My 3-yr old is a HUGE Skippyjon Jones fan, and can recite Schachner’s first book, Skippyjon Jones, by heart due to its cute sing-song rhymes.  We have this one marked on our calendar, for sure, because at 7pm, Schachner will read and share insights about her latest book, Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble. When Skippyjon reads about cat mummies in National Leographic, his overactive imagination whisks him off to ancient Egypt via his closet.  Book signings will be near the Museum Store.

Other fun activities on this evening will be animal mask-making in the studio and story-telling focused on Egypt.  And, best of all, MomsOutLoud.com will be giving tickets away for this event soon, so watch for how to win them in the upcoming weeks!

If you are looking for something different and loads of fun for your family, a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art might be just what you need!

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