Spring has finally sprung in Birmingham, Moms!! Let’s get those kids out and start enjoying this beautiful weather!
The Birmingham Barons kick off their season this week at their NEW Stadium in downtown Birmingham. Lots of special events going on to celebrate!
Check out the family movie happening at Ruffner Mountain, or some great weekend events going on at Railroad Park.
Lots of storytimes and might we suggest some outside time at your favorites park!
We’re still raising money for Jordan, through Magic Moments and our online auction is still live! A few great items and we’ll be adding more this week! Check it out here and help us send this little girl to Disney!
It’s Not Our Fault if Your Kids are Bored!
Sunday April 7th:
Chasing Hippos – Birmingham Museum of Art
Sarah Louise Galbraith, photographer of the hippos who are featured on the porcelain dinner service in Hip, Hippo, Hooray!, will disucss the hippo service and its genesis. You don’t want to miss her adventurous tales and stories of her travels to capture the likes of hippos from around the globe! She traveled to 33 countries across the world from January 2004 – January 2005, photographing as many hippos as possible. Come hear her adventures and struggles from visits to the world’s best and worst zoos!
2pm – 3pm
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Monday April 8th:
Toddler Tales – North Shelby Library
A story program for children and a caregiver. Stories, songs, finger plays and crafts make up a lively program designed especially for short attention spans. Best suited for ages 19 months to 3 years. Must Register
9:30am and 10:30am
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Tuesday April 9th:
LEGO Ninja – Hoover Public Library
Calling all ninjas! Join the quest to build and demolish. All spin masters entered into drawing for Lego door prizes. Grades 2-5. Must Register.
6:30m
Hippo Adventures – Birmingham Museum of Art
Meet at the Information Desk outside Bart’s ArtVenture! Join us for a new in-gallery family experience! Children aged 3 – 8 and their adult companions are invited to join Museum educators to explore Hip, Hippo, Hooray!, discover activities that make looking at art fun and exciting, and create new family memories about art and hippos.
No reservations required. Hippo Adventures are also available by appointment for groups of 10 or more children aged 3 – 8. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 205.254.2964.
10:30am
Storytime – Homewood Public Library
Join us for the best part of your week with stories that make you laugh and songs that make you dance! Join us for the fun of it! All ages welcome. For large groups, a call to 332-6619 is nice.
10:30am
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Wednesday April 10th:
Birmingham Barons Opening Week – The NEW Regions Field
The 2013 season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Birmingham Barons with the opening of Regions Field. The Barons will kick off the home slate with Opening Night on April 10th against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Numerous events will highlight a weeklong celebration to commemorate the opening of Regions Field.
Commemorative Lanyard Giveaway, ZooperStars Appearance, Fireworks, Magnetic Schedule Giveaway
7:05pm
Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Join us as we read Open This Little Book. We will find out what it’s like to have many stories inside one book. We will make a craft and have something delicious from the Cafe.
11am
Family Story Time with Mr Mac – North Shelby Library
Storyteller Extraordinaire – Come join Mr Mac and his musical storytime complete with puppets! All Ages, no registration required.
10:45am
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Thursday April 11th:
Birmingham Barons Opening Week – The NEW Regions Field
The 2013 season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Birmingham Barons with the opening of Regions Field. The Barons will kick off the home slate this week against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Numerous events will highlight a weeklong celebration to commemorate the opening of Regions Field.
Magnetic Schedule Giveaway, Thirsty Thursday
7:05pm
SNAP Movie and Popcorn – Emmet O’Neal Lirbrary
Movie and popcorn. Grades 3-6. No registration required.
3:30pm
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Friday April 12th:
Birmingham Barons Opening Week – The NEW Regions Field
The 2013 season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Birmingham Barons with the opening of Regions Field. The Barons will kick off the home slate this week against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Numerous events will highlight a weeklong celebration to commemorate the opening of Regions Field.
Friday Night Fireworks, Magnetic Schedule Giveaway
7:05pm
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Saturday April 13th:
Birmingham Barons Opening Week – The NEW Regions Field
The 2013 season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Birmingham Barons with the opening of Regions Field. The Barons will kick off the home slate this week against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Numerous events will highlight a weeklong celebration to commemorate the opening of Regions Field.
Friday Night Fireworks, Magnetic Schedule Giveaway
6:30pm
Family Movie – Ruffner Mountain Nature Center
Join us for the family-friendly movie, “The Lorax.” Start your weekend with a movie under our covered pavilion. This is the perfect family activity. Feel free to bring comfy chairs and find yourself a spot on the porch. In the event of severe weather, we will move to the Treehouse. Snacks will be available for purchase.
Free – 7:30pm
TEMPO Family Fun Festival – Railroad Park
A FREE event got the whole family. Bring or ride your bike! First 500 children will receive a FREE bike helmet. Family bike ride through downtown Birmingham, performance by checkerboard guy, meet members of the Birmingham Barons, register to win a bike, Cycling Activities, Street Performers and MORE!
10am – 2pm
Hippo Adventures – Birmingham Museum of Art
Meet at the Information Desk outside Bart’s ArtVenture! Join us for a new in-gallery family experience! Children aged 3 – 8 and their adult companions are invited to join Museum educators to explore Hip, Hippo, Hooray!, discover activities that make looking at art fun and exciting, and create new family memories about art and hippos.
No reservations required. Hippo Adventures are also available by appointment for groups of 10 or more children aged 3 – 8. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 205.254.2964.
10:30am
Bart’s Art Cart – Birmingham Museum of Art
This drop-in art program for kids and families features a different theme from our galleries and art activity each month. Stop by to make art with Bart!
April Abstractions // African Patterns! Try your hand at creating textures and patterns found in the new African Ceramics gallery.
11am
Studio for Kids – Birmingham Museum of Art
$30 ($20 Bart’s Kids Club Members)
Education Studio // Kids ages 5-12
Discover the ancient Indian folk art of Rangoli, an art form using sand, flower petals, and even flour to create beautiful and colorful geometric and organic designs. Design your own with Shanthi Ravikumar, who has been awarded prizes at Rangoli competitions throughout India and has a true passion for this unique art form!
3rd Annual Cajun Cookoff – Linn Park
Make plans to attend the 3rd Annual Girls Inc. Cajun Cook-off! This casual, family-friendly event features a Cajun cooking competition as well as live music from The Swamp Poppas in Birmingham’s beautiful Linn Park. Enjoy taste-testing all your Cajun favorites including gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice and more! Your vote will help determine the winner of the cook-off competition.
All funds generated by the Cajun Cook-off benefit Girls Inc. programs that inspire Central Alabama girls to be strong, smart and bold!
$25 for adults ($30 day-of)
$5 for children
Online sale ends at 10:00 am April 12th.
11am – 3pm
Family Storytime – Emmet O’Neal Library
Bring the entire family and join Mr. Mac for stories and music each Saturday morning.
10:30 a.m.
Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Spot is stopping by for a visit as we read Spot Goes to the Park. We will make something fun and have a treat from the Cafe.
11am
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Sunday April 14th:
Birmingham Barons Opening Week – The NEW Regions Field
The 2013 season will mark the beginning of a new era for the Birmingham Barons with the opening of Regions Field. The Barons will kick off the home slate this week against the Mississippi Braves, Double-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Numerous events will highlight a weeklong celebration to commemorate the opening of Regions Field.
Friday Night Fireworks, Magnetic Schedule Giveaway
3pm
Neighborhood Block Party – Railroad Park
From your block to ours, join us at Railroad Park for our Neighborhood Block Party, with delicious food truck fare, lawn games and outstanding musical talent including Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires.
The Birmingham Barons will play at Regions Field later that afternoon, so come down early to enjoy Birmingham at its best. Food trucks: Shindigs, Melt, Off The Hook, Dreamcakes, Steel City Pops, Taqueria Guzman Taco Truck, Spoonfed Grill, Avalanche Delights.
Bands: Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Wilder Adkins, The Old Paints, Wilder Adkins
Activities: Sanspointe Dance Company, face painting, cornhole, zumba, kite flying. Thanks to Coca-Cola, Good People Brewing, Pinnacle Imports.
This event is free and open to the general public.
12pm – 5pm
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Local Attractions Open Daily!
McWane Science Center:
IMAX
McWane Science Center’s IMAX® Dome Theater puts you in the center of the action by projecting breathtaking quality images onto the 5-story-tall dome screen and delivering intense surround sound through almost 3 tons of speakers and subwoofers.
Now Showing: The Last Reef, Santa and the Snowman, Rocky Mountain Express
The Tornadoes of April 27th – Looking Back — Moving Forward, a new exhibit at McWane Science Center, reflects on the experiences of the April 27th, 2011 storms. The exhibit shares personal stories from those who experienced the devastation of the storms firsthand, while emphasizing the importance of tornado preparedness and explaining the science behind tornadoes.
Photos and stories from The Birmingham News help tell the story of the storms and the affect they had on survivors, volunteers, and the community as a whole. Students from Daniel Payne Middle School also help tell the story of their school and community through photos and artifacts from the storm for the exhibit. UAB students worked with the children from Daniel Payne Middle School to create short documentaries that can be seen in the exhibit as well.
In addition to sharing the personal stories from that day, the goal of this exhibit is to inform the community about how to prepare for extreme weather conditions, explaining the science of tornadoes and stressing awareness.
With vivid displays, the exhibit allows visitors the opportunity to learn about the scientific side of tornadoes. Graphics within the exhibit illustrate tornado formation and anatomy, educating visitors on how such extreme weather conditions develop. Additionally, the exhibit displays statistics and disputes common myths concerning the destructive storms.
Guests can watch live video from the storms that rolled across our state on April 27th, 2011, including the
weather forecasts from that day and actual images of the tornado as it made its way through our area provided by FOX6 WBRC. The exhibit is located in the City Gallery on Level 2 of the museum this summer.
Be Ready Alabama Exhibit Presented by:
The Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
www.readyalabama.org
Animal Grossology
Experience a new exhibit that is oozing with science as you meet some of the slimiest and yuckiest creatures on Earth! You’ll never look at the animal kingdom the same way after you see “ANIMAL GROSSOLOGY!”
The Animal Grossology exhibition, based on a popular series of books by science teacher Sylvia Branzei, is an educational experience grounded in the theory that the best way to get kids interested in science is to present it in terms they find most appealing. Let’s face it, topics such as slime, vomit, dookies and other gross stuff are completely fascinating for your average six to 14-year-old.
By physically stepping into the Animal Grossology exhibition, these subjects have become an interactive, larger-than-life biology lesson that harnesses kid’s natural curiosity about themselves and teaches them about how animals function.
Oozing with disgusting science and interactive learning games, the all-new “Animal Grossology” exhibit is sure to provide a unique perspective on the animal kingdom. Museum guests will experience some of the slimiest, stinkiest and downright yuckiest creatures on earth.
The exhibition contains solid science and introduces it in a way that makes kids giggle. It’s science disguised in interactive entertainment and kids are more apt to learn when they’re having fun doing it. You may think leeches are pretty gross but they’re used after some surgeries to assist in the healing process. Did you know that cows are one of the gassiest animals on earth? Learn why the dung beetle is nature’s living pooper scooper and why scientists are studying slug and snail slime production for clues in treating cystic fibrosis.
Animal Grossology is a temporary travelling exhibit created and produced by Advanced Exhibits, a division of Advanced Animations LLC, in collaboration with Sylvia Branzei, the author of the GROSSOLOGY series of books. The books are published through Price Stern Sloan, a member of Penguin (USA) Inc.
Birmingham Zoo:
Lorikeet Aviary – Our Lorikeet Aviary has more birds than ever! Zoo guests can feed these exotic birds every day. You and your family will see these birds’ behavior as they eat nectar out of your hand.
Weekends 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
PELICAN FEEDING – A great way to see our pelicans in action is to witness them eating their favorite treats near the pelican boardwalk.
RHINO ENCOUNTER – Embark on an African adventure and experience one of the world’s most extraordinary animals, the Southern White Rhino. Watch from only feet away as our zookeepers engage in hands-on interaction with the animals inside their African-themed exhibit. Don’t miss this exciting encounter with one of the largest mammals on the planet!
Weekdays: 3pm – 3:30pm
Weekends: 11:30am – Noon & 3pm – 3:30 pm
GIRAFFE FEEDING – This up close and personal animal encounter is a memory you and your family will have for a lifetime.
Weekday: 11am – Noon
Weekends: 10am – 11am & 2pm – 3pm
Vulcan Park and Museum:
Vulcan is the world’s largest cast iron statue; made of 100,000 pounds of iron and 56 feet tall, he stands at the top of Red Mountain overlooking the city of Birmingham. But, Vulcan is more than a statue. Vulcan Park and Museum features spectacular views of Birmingham, an interactive history museum that examines Vulcan and Birmingham’s story, and a beautiful public park for visitors and locals to enjoy. With an official information center that is operated by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, Vulcan Park and Museum serves as the first stop for visitors to the Birmingham area!
Railroad Park:
Railroad Park is a 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city. Situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is a joint effort between the City of Birmingham and the Railroad Park Foundation. Hailed as “Birmingham’s Living Room,” Railroad Park provides a historically rich venue for local recreation, family activities, concerts, and cultural events, while connecting Birmingham’s downtown area with Southside and UAB’s campus.
Southern Museum of Flight:
Earn Your Wings – Bring your little pilot and soar above the clouds in our little pilots room. Kids enjoy building aircrafts, flying kites, and more.
Museum Open Tuesday – Thursday
9:30am – 4:30pm
Do you have or know of an event you would like to have added to our weekly calendar? Please email us at contact@birminghammommy.com, subject line “Events Calendar” – We would love to hear from you!
** All information listed on our calendar is subject to change without notice to us or you… We do our best to keep the information accurate and will always update as soon as we learn that something has changed. It’s always best to double check with the event via their website or a quick call, especially when weather can impact the event.
