Field Trips in Riverside Archives - Page 14 of 15

Best Ice Skating Rinks in Southern California

Posted on November 23, 2014 | Filed Under: Field trips in Los Angeles, Field Trips in Orange County, Field Trips in Riverside, Field Trips in San Bernardino, Field Trips in San Diego | 9 Comments

“Why shouldn’t you tell a joke when you are ice skating? Because the ice might crack up!”

What do you do in Southern California when Burbank set an all time record of having 9 straight days of 80 degree weather back in January 2014? You either drive 2 hours to the nearest ski slope or head over to your local ice skating rink. I prefer the shorter drive!

Best Ice Skating Rinks in Southern California

Luckily for us, living here in Southern California we have a wide selection of ice skating rinks to choose from. But before you head out, don’t forget to check local social media sites like Goldstar, Living Social and Groupon for admission discounts. You can usually find a good deal online.

What is the best ice skating rink in your home town? Share with us in the comment section below!

First up, is a list of the Best Ice Skating Rinks in Los Angeles.

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON…

Happy Field Tripping!

Jilleen

Giveaway for A Day Out with Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends at The Orange Empire Railway Museum!

Posted on November 4, 2014 | Filed Under: Family Outings in Riverside, Field Trips in Riverside, Giveaways | 6 Comments

A GIVEAWAY FOR A DAY OUT WITH THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE AND FRIENDS AT THE ORANGE EMPIRE RAILWAY MUSEUM!

Last spring, I set up a field trip for a group of students from Celebration Education to visit The Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California. Earlier in the week they had learned about The United State’s Westward Expansion and the First Transcontinental Railroad.

According to history.net “The First Transcontinental Railroad was built crossing the western half of America and it was pieced together between 1863 and 1869. It was 1,776 miles long and served for the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States to be connected by rail for the first time in history.”

Here’s a poster from the grand opening of the First Transcontinental Railroad stop in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Orange Empire Railway Museum has been preserving Southern California’s railway history since 1956. The museum houses over 200 historic railway cars and locomotives from Los Angeles and the West and their mission is to educate the public on the technology, history, and impact of the rail transportation industry.

Their Railway Collection includes:

Red Cars – Pacific Electric
Yellow Cars – L.A. Railway
Santa Fe
Southern Pacific
Union Pacific
3-Foot Gauge – Grizzly Flats

Orange Empire Railway Museum is open 365 days a year and hosts train and trolleys rides for patrons on the weekends.

Coming up in November, beloved children’s choo-choo train Thomas and his railway friend Percy are chugging into the Orange Empire Railway Museum to greet fans of all ages!

Departure dates are Nov. 8, 9, 11, 15 and 16

Day Out With Thomas™: The Thrill of the Ride Tour 2014 offers aspiring engineers and their families the opportunity to take a 25-minute ride with the famous #1 engine. This year, for the first time, Percy, the locomotive, will be at the Orange Empire Railway Museum. Children can also meet Sir Topham Hatt®, the Superintendent of the Railroad.

Spend the day enjoying a wide range of activities perfect for children.

See and hear Thomas The Tank Engine talk to his fans for the very FIRST time!
Stop by the Thomas & Friends Imagination Station with train tables and building activities.
There will be Thomas-themed stamps, temporary tattoos, arts and crafts, storytelling and videos.
There will also be games, coloring, live children’s music, a petting zoo, bounce houses, sing-alongs and a Thomas gift store.
Plus street car and trolley rides for the entire family!

Tickets start at $21 for ages two and older. For ticket purchases and information, call the Orange Empire Railway Museum office at 951-943-3020 or click here.

BONUS TIP: Families should arrive no later than one hour prior to scheduled departure.

The Orange Empire Railway Museum is giving away a Family Four Pack of Tickets to attend A Day Out With Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends on either Nov. 15 or Nov. 16!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Field Tripping,

Jilleen

Disclosure: This is non-sponsored post. All images used by permission. Please see the Rafflecopter link above for full contest guidelines and disclosure.

Best Places To Explore in the Inland Empire

Posted on August 24, 2014 | Filed Under: Field Trips in Riverside | 5 Comments

One of my favorite parts about blogging is sharing with you some of the most unique and unusual places to spend a day or weekend exploring in Southern California. Today, I take you back out to the Inland Empire to discover 2 MORE great places to visit either on a school field trip or with your family.

Fortcross Wilderness Education, Cherry Valley

Archery at Fortcross Wilderness Education

Last September, Celebration Education kicked off their school year with a field trip to Fortcross Wilderness Education located within the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains. When you visit Fortcross you feel like you have stepped back in time. In fact, one of the employees named TJ Black, lives on the mountain full time and is a true mountain man! He lives with no power and is often accompanied by his blind horse Bridger, who can only see with TJ on his back.

Fortcross Wilderness Education’s purpose is to educate, inform, and experience nature through the use of hands on activities. They offer a variety of day trips, overnight camping and guided tours.

Panning for gold at Fortcross Wilderness Education

Specifically, our students went on the Native American tour where they participated in acorn grinding, tomahawk throwing, bow and arrow making, swimming in the lake and taking a canoe ride. We were there from 9 am to 3 pm and could have stayed longer.

Fortcross Wilderness Education also hosts monthly U-pick fruit and vegetables tours. The cost is $25 person and includes fruit, a guided nature hike, t-hawk throwing, archery, canoeing and musical entertainment.

Apple picking at Fortcross Wilderness Education

Their monthly U-pick schedule is as follows:

January thru April – Mushroom Hunt
May – Strawberries
June – Cherries
July thru September – Raspberries & Blackberries
October – Apples
November – Beautiful Scenery and Fall Leaves
December – Mistletoe

To learn more about Fortcross Wilderness Education’s story and living history tours visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVYPEuRpNmY&feature=youtu.be

Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center, Jurupa

Field Trip Boy at The Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center

Last spring, my kids and I went with my friend’s homeschool co-op to The Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center in Jurupa. When you visit Jurupa imagine pure dessert. It is very hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

We went on their Rock Collecting at the Dinosaurs tour and collected some very interesting rocks. We learned about minerals, how rocks and fossils were formed, saw giant dinosaurs as we hiked up to the dinosaur mesa and collected 12 rock and mineral specimens to take home.

Field Trip Girl and Field Trip Boy collecting rocks at The Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center

After our rock collecting tour, we visited their museum which includes specimens of rocks, minerals and fossils from around the world. Inside they have the largest Dinosaur Egg Collection from China on display in United States, a Mining display, Fluorescent Mineral display, Crestmore Quarry display and much more.

Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center in The Inland Empire

The Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sundays 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Also every Saturday is Family Day at the JMDC!

The center’s field trip options include:

Gold Panning (With Gold & Pyrite)
Introductory Lapidary*
Fossil Shack
Archaeology Dig
Geology of California*
Rock Collecting at the Dinosaurs (their most popular)
Indian Pictograph
California Rockhound
Dinosaur Dig
Adobe
Brick Making
Magic of Minerals

So the next time you have a free weekend, think about traveling to the Inland Empire for some exploration and fun!

Happy Field Tripping!

Jilleen

More Things To Do With Kids in the Inland Empire

Logan’s Candies Candy Cane Making Demonstration

Insider Tips For Visiting Cabazon Dinosaurs

Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center

Best Homeschool Field Trips in San Bernardino County

Best Places To See Wildflowers in the Inland Empire

Apple Picking Season kicks off on Labor Day Weekend in Oak Glen!

Posted on August 22, 2014 | Filed Under: Field Trips in Riverside | 3 Comments

APPLE PICKING SEASON

KICKS OFF ON LABOR DAY WEEKEND IN OAK GLEN!

Oak Glen’s Apple Picking Season officially kicks off on Labor Day weekend and runs through Thanksgiving weekend. You may find a few apple farms open prior to this date, but the majority of the farms officially start welcoming visitors in September.

Oak Glen’s apple orchards produce a variety of apple selections including the Vasquez and King David varieties, which are grown only in Oak Glen, as well as antique varieties no longer commercially available such as Ben Davis, Gravenstein and Pink Pearl.

Before 1940, Oak Glen grew apples mainly for export purposes. Then several farms began to sell apples, apple pies, apple cider and apple butter at roadside stands. Today now growers earn the majority of their profit from visitors who pick apples directly off the trees in the orchards.

Field Trip Boy and Field Trip Girl visiting Oak Glen, CA (2012)

My family and I have visited Oak Glen on two separate occasions. Once in 2011 to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary and in 2012 to go apple picking with our children.

In 2011, while visiting Oak Glen, my husband and I stayed at the Serendipity Ranch. The Serendipity Ranch is the only bed and breakfast located in Oak Glen and is surrounded by an abundance of nature and animal life. You can sit by the koi pond and relax in the park-like setting, or read a book under the wisteria-laden gazebo in the English garden.

Field Trip Girl enjoying the nature in Oak Glen, CA

The Serendipity Ranch is also a Certified Wildlife Habitat. During peak wildlife season (spring through fall), woodland creatures from weasels to coyote, bobcat and bears visit the ranch. If you are lucky enough, and visit in the wintertime, you may find snow on the mountain too.

In 2012, my husband and I took our kids back to the Serendipity Ranch to visit with the inn keepers and spend time with their animals. For guests only, the ranch is home to llamas, goats, deer, ducks and more.

Field Trip Boy hanging out with the animals at Serendipity Ranch in Oak Glen, CA

After visiting the Serendipity Ranch, we went to Riley’s Farm for some apple picking. Nestled in the apple growing foothills of historic Oak Glen, Riley’s Farm is a working apple orchard and living history farm featuring pick-your-own fruit, living history education, dinner theater, group banquet facilities and extended and historically-themed overnight stays.

Field Trip Girl visiting Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen, CA

They also offer year round educational trips for schools and homeschool groups.

Revolutionary War Adventure
The Civil War Adventure
Gold Rush Adventure
Old Joe Homestead Tour
Colonial Farm Life Adventure
Overnight Revolutionary War Adventure.

Riley’s Farm is located at 12261 S. Oak Glen Road in Oak Glen.

However, I bet you didn’t know that there are two additional apple farms in Oak Glen that are owned and operated by different members of the Riley family?

Riley’s at Los Rios Rancho features apple-wood smoked BBQ dishes and a bakery with homemade pies, hand-held pies, turnovers and cookies. Picnic grounds, a petting zoo, nature trails are also on the property. During apple season, they are open 7 days/week from 9am to 5pm.

Riley’s Apple Farm is celebrating 33 years of apple growing where families are entertained with old fashioned harvest fun! Their apple picking season runs Labor Day thru Thanksgiving Weekend. On the weekend they are open 10am – 4pm and weekdays by reservations only.

In addition to the Riley farms, there are several other smaller farms available for apple picking: Willowbrook Apple Farm, Law’s Cider Mill & Ranch, Wood Acres, Snow-Line Orchard (see California’s oldest Chestnut Tree here), Stone Soup Farm & Heritage Orchard and Parrish Pioneer Ranch.

My top 5 tips for apple picking in Oak Glen:

1. The best time to go apple picking is during the week when the farms are not as crowded.

2. The weather up on the mountain in unpredictable at times. I recommend that you bring a hat, sunscreen and a jacket for all scenarios.

3. You can bring your own reusable bags for apple picking.

4. There are a few public parks in the area where you can have a picnic.

5. Purchase a few homemade apple pies to take home with you for Thanksgiving. They freeze well.

To get your children inspired to go apple picking this fall, check out these apple learning activities on Pinterest.

Happy Field Tripping,

Jilleen

Disclosure: This is a non-sponsored post. All opinions and points of view are our own. Some images used by permission from Wikimedia Commons.

5 Great Places to Visit in the Inland Empire (Part I)

Posted on August 12, 2014 | Filed Under: Field Trips in Riverside, Field Trips in San Bernardino | 4 Comments

5 GREAT PLACES TO VISIT IN THE INLAND EMPIRE

~ PART I ~

When you think about Southern California, what cities come to mind? Los Angeles for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. San Diego for Sea World. Or Anaheim for Disneyland?

Today, I want to challenge you to think beyond the traditional Southern California hot spots. Instead, I want you to consider Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, otherwise known as The Inland Empire, as a great place to visit and explore with your family. There are several non-traditional places that offer visitors a unique experience and are worth a second glance.

[Read more…]