__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________
The Ultimate LA Family Guide
Copyright © 2006-2012 The Teachtopia Network
Pretend City
Our focus for this episode is Pretend City Children’s Museum located in Irvine at 29 Hubble right near Wild Rivers. It is close to both the 5 and the 405 freeways and is just south of Irvine Spectrum. The museum’s hours are 10 am-5 pm every day except for Monday when the hours are 10 am-1 pm. Children 12 months and younger are admitted for free, otherwise the entrance fee for children and adults is $11. Members of the military and their family are admitted for $5.50. Pretend City is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The museum is organized into many different zones and all are made for children: very hands-on, and with a wide variety of ways to interact with the exhibits. I would say the best ages for Pretend City are 18 months to 4 and a half years old. While my kids, ebing 5 and a half and in Kindergarten were having fun, they just seemed old for many of the exhibits, especially the ride-on-car city and the construction site. In addition to the exhibits there is an eating area in the back with vending machines but no real cafe. The bathrooms are very family friendly and the whole facility is nicely maintained.
When we first entered it was obvious hat we had come on a very busy day. There were families everywhere we looked and it made it somewhat difficult for my kids to figure out just where they wanted to begin. We started off looking in the cafe and I could tell this was a very popular exhibit. Kids love to make believe they are chefs and food servers. All of the tables were filled with happy family members and the kids were having fun taking orders using the menus and then making the meals and serving them. We then wandered over to the Grocery Store. My kids found baskets and filled them with food. When they saw they were supposed to use pretend money to pay the cashiers, who were also kids, they asked a musuem employee how to get the money. She explained that they would have to earn the money to pay for the food. They could either work in the adjoining farm area and pick the crops, or they could put the food back that had been left next to the registers or they could be cashiers. I wish this hod been more clear at the beginning because my kids would not have taken the time to pick out the food and would have gone right to earning money.
In the Farm area the kids were encouraged to learn how food is grown, harvested and prepared. They can pick oranges and deliver them to the market and observe the life cycle of a chicken complete with real baby chicks in an incubator.
Some additional exhibits that Pretend City offers include an amphitheatre where kids can go on stage, use props, backdrops and music and create a one-of-a-kind show for their families. There is also a Bank ATM. the kids are supposed to work at either the Health Center or the Construction Site where they receive a paycheck and then they can deposit their paycheck at the ATM and withdraw money to buy groceries at the Grocery Store or a meal at the Cafe. It is in this manner that the children can see a connection between work and money to buy the things we need. I didn’t see anyone staffing the Health Center or the Construction Site when we were there but I guess in less crowded times the kids can really get the most out of the museum, including the ATM machine.
There is also a beach exhibit where kids learn about the effects of pollution, a gas station where kids can use the money they’ve earned working in other exhibits to then pay for gas for the ride on vehicles, an emergency services area and a post office. My kids two favorite exhibits were the Marina which was a series of connected water tables brought to life with fans, squirters and ways to get inside of the tables and the art studio where kids can make a variety of projects under the supervision of museum staff.
The marina was great for my kids because it wasn’t as crowded, nothing was a mess and it was big enough that they could have some freedom to experiment with the waves, boats, pretend sea animals and other devices used to learn about using wind and water for power in a big boat race! As this area was not staffed when we were there, I didn’t know until I read the museum literature that they could have also wrapped up a fish to sell at the grocery store.
In the art studio there was no room to move as it was such a busy day, but the kids managed to find chairs and a table. They could take out small containers of beads, fabric, buttons and more and create their own project or they could mix colors of paint and make a beautiful picture. There were projects set out to inspire the kids but I mainly observed kids just using their imaginations to design unique creations.
While LAwithKids.com recommends Pretend City, the high cost of admission and its distance (and accompanying traffic concerns) are drawbacks to consider when planning your trip to this museum.
Our focus for this episode is Pretend City Children’s Museum located in Irvine at 29 Hubble right near Wild Rivers. It is close to both the 5 and the 405 freeways and is just south of Irvine Spectrum. The museum’s hours are 10 am-5 pm every day except for Monday when the hours are 10 am-1 pm. Children 12 months and younger are admitted for free, otherwise the entrance fee for children and adults is $11. Members of the military and their family are admitted for $5.50. Pretend City is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The museum is organized into many different zones and all are made for children: very hands-on, and with a wide variety of ways to interact with the exhibits. I would say the best ages for Pretend City are 18 months to 4 and a half years old. While my kids, ebing 5 and a half and in Kindergarten were having fun, they just seemed old for many of the exhibits, especially the ride-on-car city and the construction site. In addition to the exhibits there is an eating area in the back with vending machines but no real cafe. The bathrooms are very family friendly and the whole facility is nicely maintained.
When we first entered it was obvious hat we had come on a very busy day. There were families everywhere we looked and it made it somewhat difficult for my kids to figure out just where they wanted to begin. We started off looking in the cafe and I could tell this was a very popular exhibit. Kids love to make believe they are chefs and food servers. All of the tables were filled with happy family members and the kids were having fun taking orders using the menus and then making the meals and serving them. We then wandered over to the Grocery Store. My kids found baskets and filled them with food. When they saw they were supposed to use pretend money to pay the cashiers, who were also kids, they asked a musuem employee how to get the money. She explained that they would have to earn the money to pay for the food. They could either work in the adjoining farm area and pick the crops, or they could put the food back that had been left next to the registers or they could be cashiers. I wish this hod been more clear at the beginning because my kids would not have taken the time to pick out the food and would have gone right to earning money.
In the Farm area the kids were encouraged to learn how food is grown, harvested and prepared. They can pick oranges and deliver them to the market and observe the life cycle of a chicken complete with real baby chicks in an incubator.
Some additional exhibits that Pretend City offers include an amphitheatre where kids can go on stage, use props, backdrops and music and create a one-of-a-kind show for their families. There is also a Bank ATM. the kids are supposed to work at either the Health Center or the Construction Site where they receive a paycheck and then they can deposit their paycheck at the ATM and withdraw money to buy groceries at the Grocery Store or a meal at the Cafe. It is in this manner that the children can see a connection between work and money to buy the things we need. I didn’t see anyone staffing the Health Center or the Construction Site when we were there but I guess in less crowded times the kids can really get the most out of the museum, including the ATM machine.
There is also a beach exhibit where kids learn about the effects of pollution, a gas station where kids can use the money they’ve earned working in other exhibits to then pay for gas for the ride on vehicles, an emergency services area and a post office. My kids two favorite exhibits were the Marina which was a series of connected water tables brought to life with fans, squirters and ways to get inside of the tables and the art studio where kids can make a variety of projects under the supervision of museum staff.
The marina was great for my kids because it wasn’t as crowded, nothing was a mess and it was big enough that they could have some freedom to experiment with the waves, boats, pretend sea animals and other devices used to learn about using wind and water for power in a big boat race! As this area was not staffed when we were there, I didn’t know until I read the museum literature that they could have also wrapped up a fish to sell at the grocery store.
In the art studio there was no room to move as it was such a busy day, but the kids managed to find chairs and a table. They could take out small containers of beads, fabric, buttons and more and create their own project or they could mix colors of paint and make a beautiful picture. There were projects set out to inspire the kids but I mainly observed kids just using their imaginations to design unique creations.
While LAwithKids.com recommends Pretend City, the high cost of admission and its distance (and accompanying traffic concerns) are drawbacks to consider when planning your trip to this museum.