Holiday happenings

School’s out for the long summer holidays! To help beat any holiday boredom blues, Family Times has put together some ideas for fantastic holiday entertainment that you and your family will love. Have a great time!

Dinosaur Eggs and Babies
Discover dinosaurs through their eggs, nests and embryos at Otago Museum’s new summer exhibition. This internationally created hands-on exhibition features an astounding array of authentic casts of dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe. On 12 December 2009 – 2 May 2010, special exhibitions gallery, Otago Museum. Admission charges apply. www.otagomuseum.org.nz.

Have fun, fun, fun while the horses run!
Kids Go Racing is back for the summer. It will travel around the South Island with the big blue caravan and everyone’s favourite mascot – Hopples. There will be exciting competitions, goodie bags, pedal cart racing, inflatable horse derbies and more. Catch the fun at a venue near you. Details at www.hrnz.co.nz.

Kid Station summer holiday programmes
Kid Station packs in a fun day full of activities, art and craft and outings, as well as morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch each day. The children enjoy the structure with various games and activities, and each programme offers different outings and special entertainment. Phone 0274-492-102 or 03-455-9344.

Rocky Shore summer holiday programme
Meet the Rocky Shore critters and find out about life in the splash zone! Free Rocky Shore guide for every visitor. Crabby arts and crafts. Fish feeding Wednesday and Saturday 2p – 3pm. Junior marine biologist workshops for budding scientists, seven to 12 years. New Zealand Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium, www.marine.ac.nz or phone 03-479-5826.

Southern Gymnastics
Get active these holidays by joining Southern Gymnastic Academy’s recreational programme. Held on 19, 21, 26 and 28 January 2010, each class runs from 9am – 10.30am, with a repeat class 11.30am – 1pm. Each class costs $7. Enrol for all four and pay $20. Come along and have fun! Email: dunedin@southerngymnastics.co.nz, www.southerngymnastics.co.nz.

Time travel with Dunedin Public Libraries’ 2009 – 2010 summer reading challenge
This hugely popular free programme helps your child with reading and is lots of fun too. Pick up a fun-filled booklet, available at all libraries from 11 December. The challenge runs until 7 February 2010.

Combat Zone Paintball
Paintball at Combat Zone is adrenalin! Come play paintball at Combat Zone Dunedin and test your ability. It’s fun for all the family and great for workgroups, team building, etc. Monthly club days for those who enjoy paintball just that bit more. Phone Brian on 03-488-4448 or check out the website: www.combatzonepaintball.co.nz.

Bigups Inflatable Games
This is 100 minutes of high-energy fun. Try sumo wrestling, bouncy boxing, human fly, gladiator jousting, climbing wall and vertical slide, also slam dunk basketball and human table soccer. Open daily. Birthday parties, work functions. Discount for groups of 10 or more. Sammys Entertainment Venue, Phone 0800 BIGUPS or visit www.bigups.co.nz.

Windmill
Windmill is a specialised care holiday programme that provides an educational and recreational service during the holiday term for children with various degrees of disabilities. The children enjoy a diversity of activities and recreation while supported by experienced staff and the association of Dunedin Home Support Services (DHSS). Phone 03-455-0714.

By Karin O’Donnell