John Ball Park Zoo

December 3 John Ball Park Zoo Christmas For The Animals – FREE with Donation!

November 30, 2011 By Big Binder 1 Comment

What does a Chimpanzee want for Christmas? According to Zookeepers at John Ball Park Zoo; SOCKS! They actually put them on! Other Christmas List items for Zoo animals include:

ALL NATURAL GRANOLA BARS – Bongos, wart hogs & duikers get them as treat.
CANNED PUMPKIN – Goats love it and when keepers smear it around, they’ll search for it all day!
LIVESTOCK BRUSHES – To stock the petting corral. How many hours have your kids spent brushing the goats?!

Here is a complete list; and as a thank you for bringing a ‘gift’ – the Christmas For The Animals event is ENTIRELY FREE! Even better – Santa and his reindeer will be there too, along with a variety of other activities! It’s Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 10:00AM to 2:00PM.

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Filed Under: Calendar Tagged With: Christmas With The Animals, Free Admission, John Ball Park Zoo

Things To Do

March 2, 2010 By bigbinder 1 Comment

It’s a little early for the “Things to Do” post, but there are two contests for Playhouse Disney Live tickets to Saturday’s show and I wanted to give you all a fighting chance. Head over to GR Kids and Stacey Says to find out more and to enter. Good luck!

The Zoo reopened Monday after a winter and budget induced three month closing, but there is a Grand Re-Opening Bash on Saturday. Personally, I’m going to wait until the weather is a little warmer. I know what you’re going to say. The animals are more active when it’s cold. Here’s the problem with that: I’m more cold when it’s cold.

The Home And Garden Show runs all weekend and while it isn’t exactly a kid’s event but they have a lot of kid-specific activities planned this year. I’m glad to hear that, because last year there were some professional sand castle builders who were very intense and serious about their craft, and a mob of kids who wanted to play in the sand and it got kind of ugly. There is nothing worse than getting the stink eye from a Sand Castle Builder.

The Grand Rapids Symphony presents Ferdinand the Bull Saturday. If you can’t go to one of the school performances, this is worth going on the weekend. It’s a fantastic book and your kids will love it.

Blandford Nature Center’s Sugarbush is back. This is a fantastic and unique learning opportunity you will be hearing more about from me next week. I love me some maple syrup and need an entire post dedicated to it’s harvest.

On Sunday, a warmer, free-er event is happening at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. The Target Free Sunday series wraps up. Get it while it lasts, folks.

Meijer Gardens brought back its butterflies. Personally, they freak me out but I go every year. For the children. We have a membership, but you can win tickets from GR Now too (hurry and enter by Wednesday!) Or, check out the Circulating Membership for a free pass from the Grand Rapids Public Library.

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Filed Under: Things to do Thursday Tagged With: Blandford Nature Center, Circulating Membership, Ferdinand the Bull, Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Grand Rapids Symphony, John Ball Park Zoo, Meijer Gardens, Playhouse Disney Live, Sugarbush, Target Free Sunday, West Michigan Home and Garden Show

Happy Thursday (I think)

June 18, 2009 By bigbinder 1 Comment

I just had to laugh for a minute because I couldn’t remember what day it was when I sat down to write this. That is my definition of summer. My computer is taking a summer vacation too. What it doesn’t know is that I am shopping for a new computer. One that doesn’t tease me, and let me create some nice posts, and calendars, and then abruptly shut down so it can’t even hear me scream at it for making me waste so much time.

The bike weekends are over. My husband reminded me that he could be one of those guys who hunts, and is gone for weeks at a time. He’s right. What he doesn’t know is that he’s about to get a list of what I could be doing for my own personal entertainment that would make his life rough. Just in time for Father’s Day!

The kids and I saw Up! (meh), and Willy Wonka at the Civic (awesome). We also saw Mufaro the Story King at the library and have been reading like fiends so as to collect upon our Reading Program Swag. No I haven’t forgotten to compile the program information for y’all. My computer ate part of it and I have to re-do it.

I do have some goodies to tell you about. First, the Kalamazoo Air Zoo has free admission all summer. This is amazing – and is definitely on our list of things to do this summer. I read about it at Grand Rapids Tightwad. The press release is on the Air Zoo’s website, which has further details about the cost of rides.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is also making entertainment a little less expensive this summer. According to REVUE, they are having “71 Days of Fun” and dropping admission prices to $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. I don’t know if this eliminates free admission for GR residents on Monday or not though.

While you’re checking that out, hang around REVUE a minute. They have some contests with pretty sweet odds. I know this because I won a gift certificate to GRPD (Grand Rapids Pizza Delivery).

It’s not on the John Ball Park Zoo’s website yet, but there is information on the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum site about “Monkey See Monkey Do” on July 16th. It’s a trolley that shuttles you and your kids around to the three locations. We’ve done the Penguin Express, the Lions (I REALLY went to town on that; read about it here), and are totally looking forward to the monkeys. I love a good theme and am currently working on reading materials, crafts, and snacks to augment the experience. Tickets go on sale June 22 – get them at the Zoo or Douglas J.

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Filed Under: Things I Love Thursday Tagged With: Douglas J Aveda Salon, Free Admission Air Zoo, Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, John Ball Park Zoo, Monkey See Monkey Do

Workin' for the Weekend

April 15, 2009 By bigbinder 1 Comment

There is just a TON of stuff to do this weekend. I hope it’s nice outside! It’s only Wednesday – but you might need a few days to develop a plan to fit all of this goodness in.

John Ball Park Zoo is having it’s Party For the Planetevent Saturday from 10-3. This is fun, and there are lots of different organizations and activites that come out for this. It’s $3.50 for adults, and $3.00 for children.

Don’t forget that Dairy Discovery is having a Family Fun weekend this Saturday. It’s $5.00 per person, or $20.00 max per family.

The following events are all free:

The Grand Rapids Public Library is having a ton of stuff for Earth Week that kicks off this weekend:

An indoor farmers’ and artisans’ market.
Re-shirt (take an old shirt, and make something new from it)
Slow food presentation
Movies: Who Killed the Electric Car? and Wall-e
Musicians
Bio-diesel workshop
Clothes exchange
Rain Garden tour
Green Cleaning

The East Grand Rapids Kent District Library is having a Green Fair on Saturday at 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM with some very cool activities planned.

Michaels is having ”The Knack” crafting event Saturday rom 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can make these ‘spring critters’.

This requires a drive, but admission is free on Saturday to the Kalamazoo Nature Center in honor of Earth Day. It’s not easy to get free admission here, I think Earth Day is the only free event. You won’t be disappointed!

This last one is so unique, and I am so excited about it. Rob Bliss, who brought the Zombie Walk and Giant Pillow Fight to Grand Rapids,

Bliss plans to hand out 30,000 pieces of sidewalk chalk at Rosa Parks Circle…to see what collective creative energy will bring to the core city. He hopes the Sidewalk Chalk Flood will bring the most age diverse crowd to downtown Grand Rapids of all his prior social experiments that received…national television coverage on CBS News last fall.

Coming soon on Big Binder: summer camp info!

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Filed Under: Things to do Thursday Tagged With: Dairy Discovery, Earth Day, GRPL, John Ball Park Zoo, Kalamazoo Nature Center, KDL, Rob Bliss, Sidewalk Chalk, Swiss Lane Farms

The Best News Since Hockey Season Ended

May 28, 2008 By bigbinder 4 Comments

I know a few of you took advantage of the great deal my friend Jill told me about - the one where you could trade in a used Griffin’s ticket for a free service at Douglas J Aveda Institute.

An event called, “The Mane Event”, brings back free haircuts for doing fun things with our kids. According to GR Now and Grand Rapids Family Magazine, this event will be held Thursday, June 18 from 11:00am-3:00pm. **Correction: This is Thursday June 19th from 11:00am-3:00pm.**

You can go to the Zoo and see the new lions exhibit, which is brought to you by Bissell in case that fact somehow managed to escape you (but I doubt it…)

You can also visit the Douglas J. Aveda Institute for face painting and fun ”mane”-styling for kids, and a little pampering for grown-ups. Also, you can play at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and make a Lion Mane Mask to take home.

There is free parking at the Zoo and a trolley will be running between all 3 locations with snacks and prizes. Here is the best part – receive a gift certificate for a complimentary haircut from the Douglas J Aveda Institute so kids and adults can come back and get their “manes” tamed!”

I hereby award Douglas J. Aveda Institute the Big Binder Community Involvement award. I hereby award myself the right to make up awards as I see fit.

Tickets are $8 per person ages 2 years old and above. Children under 2 are free. John Ball Zoo and GRCM Pals members receive $2 off. That’s a lot for six bucks. Advance tickets are available. Call John Ball Zoo at (616) 336-4300 or visit the Douglas J Aveda Institute at 138 Commerce Ave. SW in downtown Grand Rapids.