This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Grab & Go Kids Planner

Family Best Bets Of The Week: Meet Jennette McCurdy (ICarly), Rainforest Cafe, Mentos Geyser, Kid's Night Out

Glad you clicked on our new Grab & Go Kids Planner! 

We've assembled a weekly calendar of kid-friendly activities and new places to try out with children. Each week, we'll give you the info on the best family activities or events for the week.

You're time-pressed enough, so we're happy to do the research and find the best things to do and places to go, both locally and within reasonable striking distance.

Find out what's happening in Clintonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Look for the kids’ planner each Wednesday, and help us build the planner with your own suggestions and tips — just add them to the comment box. Even if you disagree with our picks, let us know. We want to hear from you!

So pick and choose from events such as Dadd’s Extreme Indoor Sports, Meeting Jennette McCurdy and a Mentos Geyser. Enjoy!

Find out what's happening in Clintonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

FAMILY BEST BETS OF THE WEEK

Jennette McCurdy AKA Sam from ICarly at Meridan Mall

Where/When: Westfield Meridan Mall Center Court

                        Wednesday March 9, 2011 6-9pm

Why Go: Jennette will be at the mall promoting her new cd. She will be performing and signing autographs. Sure to be a huge hit with your budding starlet!

Pricing:  $10 will get you an autograph bundle which includes a 2-song cd single and a 8x10 photo of Jennette!

 

• Dadd’s Extreme Indoor Sports ( www.dadds.net )

Where/When: 867 Boston Post Road, West Haven

Why Go: Kids can choose from arcade games, laser tag, go karts and so much more. Definitely a step up from Chuck E Cheese. Here you can have fun WITH your kids instead up just watching the madness. While you’re there be sure to indulge in a family game of laser tag.

Pricing: Check out their website for package deals

1 Go Kart Race  $6.50

1 Laser Tag Game  $4.50

9 Hole Mini Golf  $4.00

Batting Cages1 Token  12 Pitches $  1.00  or  6 Tokens    72 Pitches      $  5.00

Paint Ball Shooting Games   20 Shots    $  3.00   or  40 Shots    $  5.00

Arcade & Redemption Game Tokens      .25 ea   Special  100 Tokens  $ 20.00

 

• Rainforest Café ( www.rainforestcafe.com )

Where/When: West Farms Mall, Farmington CT

Why Go: “Part Adventure, Part Restaurant” At Rainforest Café all the staff are dressed in true safari attire. They give you a quick tour of all the animals you will see at the restaurant while you are on the way to your table. All the animals move and make noises while you are eating. Every 15-30 minutes there is a lightning storm inside the restaurant that causes the animals to really let loose. The elephants wave their trunks and the gorillas jump up and down. It really is an amazing site. Best part is...your kids can be noisy and they blend in with the rest of the wild animals.

Pricing: Kid’s meals range from $5.99 to $6.99

 

• Kid’s Night In/ Parent’s Night Out

Where/When: Shoreline Health & Fitness

5:30 pm to 8:30 pm Saturday nights rotating between the Clinton and Old Saybrook gyms

Why Go: The kids can socialize with other children while they play carnival-style games and win tickets. They also get to choose from two age- appropriate movies and get pizza and popcorn. Bonus- the older kids are separated from the younger ones. You must pre-register by Friday to ensure there will be space for your child.

    *2 for 1- the kids have fun while the adults get to escape for a couple hours*

Pricing: $12.50 per child

 

• Mentos Diet Coke Geyser

Where/When: At home on your own time. What’s better than that?

Why Do it: Drop Mentos candies into a bottle of diet Coke and watch the 20-foot geyser erupt! Make it even more fun by inviting a couple kids from the neighborhood over, cook a frozen pizza, then watch the geyser blast off! Check out the website for details, tricks and tips. http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/original-mentos-diet-coke-geyser

Pricing: You can find the Geyser Tube in the soda aisle at ShopRite for approximately $5.99

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?