Mother
‘s Day Week! Have you been snooping for gifts or trying to pry the surprises out of your kids like we have? We have no shame!
Spring means Festivals in the Magic City and this week is no exception. Buck Creek Festival, Mudbugs and Music, Homestead Hollow, lots to do!
If you’re a big on Library storytimes, make sure to check with your favorite Library before heading out. Many have canceled programming for May as they gear up for Summer Reading that kicks off later this month. SUMMER READING!! That means we are super close to SUMMER!
Have a great week everyone!
It’s Not Our Fault if Your Kids are Bored!
Sunday May 5th:
Eco-Wheels – Railroad Park
It’s the first green vehicle show in Birmingham! Aside from a showcase of green vehicles and on-site industry related groups, there will be plenty of fun activities for the kids to enjoy as well!
Featured as our Event of the Week, you can get all of the details here.
Birmingham Barons – Regions Park
Barons take on Chattanooga Lookouts
3:00 pm
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Monday May 6th:
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 May 7th:
Lunch With Vulcan – Vulcan Park
In Celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week (May 4 – 12), we invite you to join us for lunch on Tuesday, May 7. Shindigs Food Truck will be on hand so come grab a tasty lunch and spend some time with Vulcan. Visit Vulcan Center Museum and Observation Tower before you head back to work (regular admission rates apply) or bring your laptop and work outside. We have WiFi! You don’t have to travel far to be a tourist. Be a tourist in your own city and explore the many wonderful attractions that are within a short drive from home!
11:30 – 1pm
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
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Wednesday May 8th:
Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Join us as we celebrate Mother’s Day and read Are You My Mother? Find out what happens when a baby bird can’t find his mother. We will make cards for mom 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 May 9th:
Brookwood Live! Colonial Brookwood Village
Live Music On the Street – Featured Band, Honey Island Swamp Band
5pm – 9pm
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Friday May 10th:
Drive In Movie – Emmet O Neal Library
Join us for a drive-in movie as we celebrate the grand opening our our expanded parking lot.
7:45
Buck Creek Festival – Helena Amphitheater
The Buck Creek Festival is a free, family-friendly community event held on the second weekend of May in Helena’s Amphitheater Park. On the banks of Buck Creek, just below the dam, the heavily wooded site together with the incredible stage provides a wonderful venue for people of all ages to enjoy crafts, children’s activities, great food, and fabulous music. During the life of the Festival, over $170,000 has been returned to the community for a variety of projects that benefit all of Helena.
6pm – 10pm
Homestead Hollow Festival
Homestead Hollow festivals feature fine arts, unique – one of a kind – hand made crafts, pioneer demonstrations of the old time days. See wood carving, ironwork, blacksmithing, smoke house cooking, gardening, quilting, whiskey making at our original working still, and tour original cabins as they were built by the early settlers. Relax by one of our many streams and listen to live local entertainment all day. Enjoy our great food that makes your mouth scream for more.
Children’s activities: ride the ponies, circle in our wagon ride or jump in the moon walk. Visit and talk with our Herbalist and find out more about grandma’s remedies or those nature produces naturally.
Homestead Hollow’s General store is open for you to visit and shop for those home-made fried pies and other great items all day during show dates.
Directions: Homestead Hollow is located in Springville, Alabama, just 2 miles off I-59, exit 154. 27 acres of parking and our trams make it easy to park, get to the entrance and start having fun immediately.
Admission Info:
Adults – $7 ~ Children (ages 3 to 12) – $3
Children (ages 2 and under) – Free.
Groups of 20 or more-$6 each. Free Parking. NO PETS ALLOWED.
9am – 5pm
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Saturday May 11th:
Buck Creek Festival – Helena Amphitheater
The Buck Creek Festival is a free, family-friendly community event held on the second weekend of May in Helena’s Amphitheater Park. On the banks of Buck Creek, just below the dam, the heavily wooded site together with the incredible stage provides a wonderful venue for people of all ages to enjoy crafts, children’s activities, great food, and fabulous music. During the life of the Festival, over $170,000 has been returned.
10am – 10pm
Mudbugs and Music – Avondale Brewing Company
Mudbugs & Music is a family-friendly fundraising event complete with live music all day long, kid’s activities, auction and crawfish & fixin’s cooked on-site. You’ll have plenty of beer to cool you off, a children’s area with activity stations, moonwalk, face painting and other activities for the kiddos, and pups are always welcome!
Tickets are $25/person in advance and $30/person day-of and includes your entry into the event as well as one plate of crawfish and fixin’s.
Drink tickets are $1 each.
12pm – 8pm
Mother Daughter Tea Party – Birmingham Museum of Art
$60 ($50 Bart’s Kids Club Members) per mother/daughter couple, extra kids add-on
Education Studio and Oscar’s Café
Tea for two and a hippo, too! The Hippo Service is the inspiration for this pre-Mother’s Day event! Explore the teacups in the exhibition and then decorate your own custom ceramic teacups and plates. Following the activity, enjoy a light lunch tea party in the café upstairs!
10:30am
Bart’s Art Cart – Birmingham Museum of Art
Spring into May!This drop-in art program for kids and families features a different gallery activity each month. Stop by to make art with Bart!
Be inspired by the weather and craft your own three-dimensional flower still life!
11am
Homestead Hollow Festival
Homestead Hollow festivals feature fine arts, unique – one of a kind – hand made crafts, pioneer demonstrations of the old time days. See wood carving, ironwork, blacksmithing, smoke house cooking, gardening, quilting, whiskey making at our original working still, and tour original cabins as they were built by the early settlers. Relax by one of our many streams and listen to live local entertainment all day. Enjoy our great food that makes your mouth scream for more.
Children’s activities: ride the ponies, circle in our wagon ride or jump in the moon walk. Visit and talk with our Herbalist and find out more about grandma’s remedies or those nature produces naturally.
Homestead Hollow’s General store is open for you to visit and shop for those home-made fried pies and other great items all day during show dates.
Directions: Homestead Hollow is located in Springville, Alabama, just 2 miles off I-59, exit 154. 27 acres of parking and our trams make it easy to park, get to the entrance and start having fun immediately.
Admission Info:
Adults – $7 ~ Children (ages 3 to 12) – $3
Children (ages 2 and under) – Free.
Groups of 20 or more-$6 each. Free Parking. NO PETS ALLOWED.
9am – 5pm
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
Join us as we read Can I Play Too? Find out what happens when a snake wants to join Elephant and Piggie, who are playing catch. We will make something fun and have a treat from the Cafe.
11am
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Sunday May 12th:
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
Homestead Hollow Festival
Homestead Hollow festivals feature fine arts, unique – one of a kind – hand made crafts, pioneer demonstrations of the old time days. See wood carving, ironwork, blacksmithing, smoke house cooking, gardening, quilting, whiskey making at our original working still, and tour original cabins as they were built by the early settlers. Relax by one of our many streams and listen to live local entertainment all day. Enjoy our great food that makes your mouth scream for more.
Children’s activities: ride the ponies, circle in our wagon ride or jump in the moon walk. Visit and talk with our Herbalist and find out more about grandma’s remedies or those nature produces naturally.
Homestead Hollow’s General store is open for you to visit and shop for those home-made fried pies and other great items all day during show dates.
Directions: Homestead Hollow is located in Springville, Alabama, just 2 miles off I-59, exit 154. 27 acres of parking and our trams make it easy to park, get to the entrance and start having fun immediately.
Admission Info:
Adults – $7 ~ Children (ages 3 to 12) – $3
Children (ages 2 and under) – Free.
Groups of 20 or more-$6 each. Free Parking. NO PETS ALLOWED.
9am – 5pm
Birmingham Barons – Regions Park
Against Montgomery 3pm
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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.
As excited as we all are for summer, don’t let your little one be a victim of “summer slide.” Some of the skills they’ve worked so hard on can be forgotten while they’re relaxin’ in the sun. Here are some Teacher Picks for Workbooks that also fall in line with the new Common Core standards:
