We’re a resource for parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers and anyone interested in looking for enriching, fun, cool, unique things to do, events and activities for L.A. kids and families.  We love everything that L.A. offers culturally, artistically and recreationally and we want to share that with you.

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Check back regularly for exclusive L.A. Kid Stuff news, tips and our regularly updated Weekly Activities and Events section!  As always, have a great day in L.A.!

Stay Cool and Make a Splash this Summer at Water Play Areas and Splash Pads

Whoever invented the splash pad is pretty smart (and rich I would assume). Or had kids of her own and witnessed the glee in their eyes even as their youthful skin turned pruney in the bath. Or was inspired by her own childhood summers running through magical lawn sprinklers. Now that the near triple degree heat is a nagging reminder that we are well into the summer season, go make a splash at one of your local parks or public recreation facilities at a splash pad. Splash pads and water play areas are great options to cool off when you don’t have access to a pool or don’t have time to drive to the beach. And swimming proficiency is not an issue so the little ones will enjoy it just as much. (SEE LIST HERE)

2010 Summer Music and Concert Guide for Kids and Families Fills You in on How to Enjoy Music All Over L.A. All Summer Long!

In every corner of the greater Los Angeles area, the summer season is coming alive with music. Concerts and festivals abound, and almost every park and facility has some kind of free or low-cost musical performance going on. Many are family friendly and some are tailored just for kids. One can easily fill every single day of the week with something musical! It’s a special privilege that like clockwork comes around every year for us living in Los Angeles, and something we should absolutely take advantage of but never take for granted. (GO TO 2010 SUMMER CONCERT AND MUSIC GUIDE)

Annenberg Community Beach House Pool in Santa Monica
Opens for Summer Season June 19, 2010

Get ready for a summer of fun at the Annenberg Community Beach House, which opens its doors to the public for the summer season beginning June 19, 2010. With a public pool, cultural events, yoga, beach sports, beach parking, Back on the Beach Café and the new Sand & Sea Fitness Room, there’s something for everyone at the Beach House.

The Beach House is conveniently located at 415 Pacific Coast Highway just north of the Santa Monica Pier and California Incline, enter at Beach House Way. Open daily from 8:30am – 8:30pm. (MORE INFO)

Dance Downtown Returns for a Summer of Family Movin’ and Groovin’

We were just about to categorize the Dance Downtown free dance series at the Music Center as a perfect ‘Date Night’ opportunity for you moms and dads out there, but then we remembered that last year, we took our own L.A. kid to Dance Downtown Disco night and she (along with the other kids in attendance) had a blast dancing at the special past-her-bedtime evening party as well! So consider this an endorsement for the event as both an opportunity for grown ups to get away for some music, dancing and fun, while offering those of us who aren’t so lucky with a babysitter to be able to partake in the festivities.

The Dance Downtown series will continue every other Friday night at the Music Center courtyard in downtown L.A. until September 10, 2010. Each evening starts with dance lessons on the outdoor dance floor, followed by free dancing and music and lessons throughout the night. (READ MORE)

Free Family Fun at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre’s Big!World!Fun! Summer Family Performance Series

Now that the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre Summer Season is open for everyone’s enjoyment, we are looking forward to some free family fun all summer long with the Big!World!Fun! Family Series! Eight Saturday morning hour-long performances for children ages 4 to 10 and their parents and grandparents will showcase diverse musical performances that will get the kids up singing and dancing and learning about other cultures while they’re at it!  Programs will include a behind-the-scenes look at the circus with Troupe Vertigo (July 3)… (READ MORE)

Magic and Whimsy at Historic Monster Park – Experience the Charm of a Benjamin Dominguez Playground

There’s a magical place tucked in a corner of Vincent Lugo Park in the City of San Gabriel where sea creatures have lived and entertained the imaginations of children for the past 45 years. Cast out of concrete by Mexican-American master concrete artist Benjamin Dominguez, Laguna de San Gabriel Nautical Playground is a whimsical lagoon with a sea dragon, pink whale, octopus and other creatures that, in today’s ubiquitous standard playground swings and slides, are amazing to behold. Just as amazing are the efforts of non-profit Friends of La Laguna, the group that successfully lobbied against the demolition of the park in 2006 and won a place for Dominguez’ work on the California State Registry of Historic Places and as a City of San Gabriel local landmark. (READ MORE)

The Getty Center and Getty Villa Today Announced a Summer Full of Free Family Fun and Activities

The whole family can enjoy an artistic summer at the Getty, with stepped-up schedules of free family-focused activities from mid-June to September.  Read highlights below then look for details here on L.A. Kid Stuff as the dates approach!  Be sure to check the calendar listings regularly for reminders of these and other great L.A. kid and family-friendly activities!

Getty CenterAt the Getty Center, start the summer early with a Family Festival celebrating Leonardo DaVinci on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 10am-6pm. Enter the world of Leonardo da Vinci and Renaissance Italy in this full‐day celebration with music, dance, storytelling and interactive workshops. (MORE)

Mirror, Mirror: Museum Exhibits Kids Can Relate To

Mummies are lovely and manuscripts are nice, Rembrant is spectacular too, but when it comes to museum exhibits that kids can specifically and naturally relate to, choices are few. Lucky for you, there’s currently three that we suggest you go see. The whole family–we guarantee–will partake with glee and your kids might just say, hey this is for me!

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Rabbit Revelry and Bunny Adventures in L.A.

We’ve got bunnies on the brain! Easter is significant for many reasons, but for many L.A. kids, the ubiquitous rabbit is as universal as it gets. In fact, it wouldn’t be Easter as we know it without the Easter bunny. Unfortunately, it takes a strong parent to recognize the pros, and more importantly, the cons of a spontaneous bunny purchase for the kid who deserves a fuzzy pet. Abandoned pet bunnies and the existence of no-kill rabbit shelters are testaments to this. Yet we know that even those who totally understand what we’re saying can’t deny a fluffy little cottontail! Never fear, for here are some options for an all-ages bunny fix that’ll be a win-win situation for everyone involved. (MORE)

How Creative Can You and Your Kids Get? These environmentally-conscious studios will show you how.

We bet you didn’t know you have a magician living in your house. The latest trick we’ve seen from ours is making binoculars appear out of two toilet paper tubes, tape and string. But we’ve also witnessed her conjure an abstract building from misshaped wood blocks and cardboard, something we’re secretly hoping is the foreshadowing of her modernist architect future.  (LEARN MORE)

Spark creativity and amusement with Hanoch Piven’s Making Faces: Playful Portraits of People You Know at the Skirball Cultural Center

It’s not just because our 3 ½ year old recognized artist Hanoch Piven’s Barack Obama face comprised of chewing gum and an Aladdin lamp that we love the exhibit Making Faces: Playful Portraits of People You Know at the Skirball Cultural Center now open and running through July 18, 2010. You’ll find that the creative portraits and pop culture icons will be fun to identify for your toddlers, teens and everyone in between. (MORE)

Storybook Theatre’s The Emperor’s New Clothes opens at Theatre West

The acclaimed Storybook Theatre will open a four-month run of The Emperor’s New Clothes at Theatre West, 333 Cahuenga Boulevard, beginning Saturday, March 4, 2010. An audience participation musical for children and their families, there’s plenty of adventure, laughs, songs and interactive fun in cheering on the princess, laughing at the inept robbers as they make invisible clothes, marching in the fashion parade, and in warning the emperor that he’s not wearing anything except his funny underwear! (MORE)

Los Angeles kids can skate to Olympic-sized dreams at local ice rinks

Salchow, lutz, axle and toe loop don’t have to be words firmly entrenched in your vocabulary for you to be inflicted with Olympic fever these past few weeks. One look at the glittery outfits of the ice dance and figure skaters, and my 3 ½ year old has declared her first—of many I’m sure—grown-up professional aspiration. Even without children announcing their fondness for the Olympic ice skating sports, we bet that more than a few parents are also dreamily off in the gold-medal futures of their kids. We talked to some local Ice Skating Rinks to see if Olympic fever has been warming their venues (and pocketbooks) and got the deets on how you can take your kids (and yourselves) for a whirl on the ice. (MORE)

Baby Steps to a Greener Life

Now more than ever is the call to environmentalism and conservation more crucial. From the world’s steady climate increase to the suffering Polar bear population, signs of global warming are too prevalent to ignore. Cause for even greater attention is the fact that the way we live our lives can contribute to, or help alleviate, the global warming phenomenon.  Here are some of our ideas to be more green. (MORE)

The California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights

Today’s kids spend less time playing outdoors than any previous generation. As author Richard Louv identifies in his best selling book Last Child in the Woods, this “nature-deficit disorder” is a real phenomenon that we must try to avoid.  To help us in our New Year’s resolution, we are adopting the California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights: A list of 10 things each child should have an opportunity to do before the age of 14 that encourages children to participate in outdoor recreational activities and discover their heritage. How many of the things on this list have your children experienced? Check out the LIST and our suggestions on how to live up to the California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights HERE.

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Indoor Activity and Play Areas with Wi-Fi for Parents

Whether your kids are going stir-crazy at home because of the rains or it’s too hot outside for a romp at the park, these indoor playgrounds and play areas may just be the remedy for the entire family!  Sometimes anyplace but home seems like the answer.  We checked that all of these locations also have wireless internet service, for parents who need to do double duty and work while the kids are occupied. (MORE)

Mattel Imagination Center wants to know what kids think

If your little one is already opinionated about everything, channel that energy into reviewing something they are most naturally suited for: toys! The Mattel Toy Testers program will give your kids the first opportunity to play with and test toys new to or not even on the market yet. It will hardly seem like “work” when your kids (ages 5 and older) share their very important comments, reviews and opinions...(MORE)

Kid-friendly farmers markets in Los Angeles helps families go green while entertaining the kids

Not only do Famers’ Markets offer locally grown produce which is good for the environment and our local farmers, but the prices on organic goods are often cheaper than what you’ll find at your local Whole Foods or specialty brick and mortar. Add to that the abundance of children’s activities at many of these Farmers markets and it’s a win-win...(MORE)

Parent and me movie matinees around town cater to and welcome babies

Movie theaters, libraries and churches are probably the few places remaining that can legitimately shush a child from disrupting the masses. Luckily, there are places that not only welcome, but cater to parents with loud, crying babies. So if you want to catch a flick but are discouraged because of your baby’s cries, don’t be at the following theatres…(MORE)

Nature centers in and around Los Angeles show kids where the real wild things are — for free!

Head outside and help your kids discover the real wild things in and around L.A. at some area nature centers and wildlife sanctuaries. The L.A. Zoo is always an obvious choice for wild finds but these days admission alone can cost $50 for the family. Nature Centers on the other hand are not zoos, rather wild animal sanctuaries that care for hurt fauna...(MORE)

Chasing choo-choos: train rides and train-related activities for kids in Los Angeles

As serious as your attraction to trains is, you have to think it’s more than just a product of genius marketing by a company who created the allure of a bright-eyed, gentle smiled, albeit totally reticent Choo-Choo named Thomas and his many friends. For your kid that’s crazy for choo-choos, here’s a list of train rides and activities around town. (MORE)

Check out this week’s activities and events in Los Angeles: Monday, August 9- Sunday, August 15, 2010

Los Angeles has a wealth of opportunities for kids and teens, many of which are low cost or free.  We love everything that L.A. has to offer our kids culturally, artistically and recreationally and we are here to share that with you.  For this week’s kid and family-friendly event and activities listings, click HERE.