#68 For Kids' Sake

Kiwanis Chico Community
Observatory & Planetarium
Upper Bidwell Park near Horseshoe Lake parking lot
530-879-0207 • 530-513-0135
www.chicoobservatory.com

Chuck E Cheese's
966 East Ave. • 530-894-0400

Farm Sanctuary
Hwy. 32, 19080 Newville Rd., Orland • 530-865-4617
Open to visitors • April 1-Nov. 30
E-mail: farmsanc@farmsanctuary.org

If they've learned about the natural world at Chico Creek Nature Center, explored the wonders of Bidwell Park, played their way around Chico, and they're still full of energy, then, maybe its time to try one of these.

From sunset and for the next three hours, Kiwanis Chico Community Observatory & Planetarium is open to the public. Located in Bidwell Park, near Horseshoe Lake parking lot, check out the planets yourself.

A short hop away from Chico, in Orland, the Farm Sanctuary is a 300-acre farm that shelters, rescues, rehabilitates, and provides life-long care for hundreds of animals (cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and turkeys) every year. Open to the public for tours on Saturdays. Tours begin every hour on the hour, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Chuck E Cheese has video games and other high-tech stuff that todays young adults as well as kids seem to revel in, plus kiddie rides for the wee tots.

Known as Childcare with an Ocean View, Kids in Motions 6,000 sq. ft. wing serves children from infants through teens with over a dozen programs and is an absolute visual delight.

Kids will view a 150 ft. Under the Sea mural; mermaid, sea turtles and octopus mosaics; and three salt water aquariums (some of the largest in the Chico area). One aqarium features a living reef with corals and other creatures. The next houses larger, more aggressive sea life. And the top tank is the largest of them all. Its no wonder that kids call it the In Motion Ocean.

Kids Park is a childcare indoor play and party center. They offer a preschool program, arts and crafts, and games galore. They also host birthday parties. They are open seven days a week.

Two by Two Ranch & Petting Zoo is a unique educational opportunity for kids to experience a variety of animals including any or all of the following: a llama, emu, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, and a pig.

Tours are by appointment only, and, if you're lucky, you'll get to see a bottle feeding of a baby critter. This zoo has mobile capabilities and attends many area events.