Just in time for summer!  In addition to its fascinating Gold Rush past, the Sacramento area is rich with an amazing array of state-of-the-art museums and historic sites that offer visitors the chance to explore California’s fine art, history, science, and wildlife treasures all year long.   And while all the 29 participating local museums offer a wealth of experiences just waiting to be explored, a few museums offer specially-designed activities and programs perfect for inspiring and engaging children during the more leisurely summer months.  Outlined below is a sampling of available summer programs and activities coordinated by local museums: Four-Day Aerospace Summer Camp at the Aero

Where do old regional transit buses go when they get replaced? Two of them went to local businessman Dave Carpenter, who, after spending 11 years in the children’s party rental business, wanted to put a new spin on a saturated market. The Busy Bus is his take on modern party rentals, and he set up one bus as a video game center and another as a gymnastics and tumbling gym on wheels. Carpenter bought the buses from Davis transit in 2008. “I was trying to offer something new,” Carpenter said, adding that he launched his business in early 2009. He’d heard about a company on the East Coast that had set up a similar operation, and he said he thought the idea was intriguing. Mobile business

Citizen Voice, a rapidly growing non-profit movement based in Sacramento, is announcing the kick-off of a brand-new project during Week of the Young Child aimed at helping kids have an impact on their world in unique ways tailored just for children. “World Change Kids” is a special project that offers fun ways for children to support groundbreaking Citizen Voice efforts such as the highly acclaimed CV SAFELY OUT™ project, which has just gone national.   SAFELY OUT™ helps protect the vulnerable by getting specially designed evacuation kits into the homes of frail elderly, people with disabilities, families with young children, and anyone who might be impacted by a sudden disaster that requ

Sacramento's best storytellers will be entertaining at the very first Spring into Stories festival on Saturday, April 21. From 10am to 10pm, Carol's Books at 1913 Del Paso Boulevard will feature stories, music, poetry, dance, juggling, food and more. The all-day entertainment includes a Story Slam, a Liar's Contest, Kids' Place, Spoken Word, and cultural performances. A story concert begins at 7pm. All events are free, with a suggested donation of $5 during the reception and story concert. The program is “a must for the entire family” according to Angela James of Fenix Drum and Dance. The festival is sponsored by Carol’s Books and Fenix Drum and Dance Company, Sacramento's premier West A

More than 150 short scripts from children in elementary and junior high schools were submitted to the B Street Theatre's annual playwriting contest for kids, but only five plays were selected for this year's 26th annual Fantasy Festival tour, which runs through June 8. The Fantasy Festival is a spring segment of what is now called B Street Theatre School Tour, according to B Street Theatre School Tour Administrator Alison Whismore. The festival was created to assist children in developing literary skills, problem-solving techniques and a mode of artistic expression, according to B Street Theatre's website. The Fantasy Festival reaches more than 60,000 children per year through its 155 a

Fun for all ages, every child or child-at-heart will enter a fantastical Victorian Era where top hats and petticoats are mixed with contemporary elements such as human pyramids and juggling, during the two hour, high-energy, extravaganza of dazzling acrobatics, death-defying feats, irreverent humor and rock-n-roll also known as Circus Oz. The world renown, Australia-based circus is performing at the Mondavi Center in Davis this weekend. The show "Steampowered" is animal-free and performed by 13 people, one of which is a rigger (person whose job is very heavy lifting), all of whom juggle between different jobs within the chaos of the show, such as being part of the live band, performing a

The Donut Dash, a homegrown benefit race that started out with 25 participants in 2009, has grown to more than 1,000 participants this year who will run four miles with a break in the middle to eat up to four Marie’s Donuts in Land Park on March 24. This unusual race is organized by Zack Wandell, a Sacramento insurance agent who volunteers and is on the board at Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento, a children’s hospital inside Sutter Memorial Hospital. The Donut Dash benefits the Sutter Children’s Center Child Life Program, whose goal is to make the young patients’ stay at the hospital as enjoyable and comforting as possible. That first Donut Dash in 2009 consisted of Wandell and two-do

Sacramento is coming alive this weekend for St. Patrick's Day! To build upon the great round-up of events included in this article, here are a few more to consider for this Saturday. Block Parties & Pub Parties: -St. Paddy's R Street Pub Crawl: R Street Corridor (14th-15th Streets), Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Paddy's Day at your favorite R District bars: R15 Bar, Ace of Spades, Burgers & Brew, and the Shady Lady. Enjoy a performance by The Cheeseballs, drink specials, and Irish grub at all locations. -St. Paddy's in The Sutter District: The Sutter District, Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day at your favorite Sutter District bars: Ink Eats & Drinks, Blue Cue, BarWest, Mon

Lance Briggs, NFL linebacker of the Chicago Bears and comic book writer, visited his hometown on Friday, March 2, to celebrate the life of a legend.  At 3:30 p.m. you would have found an army of toddlers, a sprinkle of teenagers, and parents promptly at the Elk Grove Library, listening to one of the most memorable books of our time—“Green Eggs and Ham.”  “Green Eggs and Ham” was one of 44 books that Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, wrote and illustrated before he died in 1991.  Over his lifetime, his books have been purchased by around 200 million people worldwide and translated into 15 different languages, according to DrSeussArts.com.  As an acclaimed children’s b

There’s something about toy trains that captures the imagination of adults and children alike. This year’s “Small Train Holiday” at the California State Railroad Museum is drawing a steady stream of wide-eyed admirers to its special displays of toy and model trains over Thanksgiving weekend. Grown-ups and kids clustered around the working train displays run by avid toy train operators. Joe Montgomery’s train layout includes treasured trains from his youth. When he was a boy, his father traded several bushels of corn to a store-owner so that his son could have a pre-1950s Marx electric train. Montgomery played with the set for years until called into the armed services, and now he comes ev

This weekend, Fairytale Town will host the 11th Annual ScholarShare Children's Book Festival. The festival will include hands-on literacy activities for children, dramatic performances and readings and presentations by numerous authors and illustrators. The event will feature a special appearance by Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi will read her first book, "Dream Big, Little Pig!" on Saturday on the Mother Goose Stage at 3:00 p.m. The 2011 release by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. "Dream Big, Little Pig!" was illustrated by Tim Bowers. Fairytale Town will host the book festival this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25. O

September 19th will mark the first day of classes for adult students at midtown’s newest addition, CASA de ESPAÑOL. Part gallery, part language center for kids and adults, CASA hopes to add its own sazón (spice) to midtown’s growing Spanish and Latino flavor.   Already speckled with restaurants and galleries like Zocalo, Spanglish, Tapa the World, ArtWork 21, and La Raza Galeria Posada, midtown is beginning to boast a strong Hispanic/Latino presence. CASA de ESPAÑOL intends to contribute to their work by also bringing awareness and love for the diversity and richness within the Latino world.  

"I did it!" is an often heard refrain after the Mustard Seed bike ride for kids. On Sunday, September 25th the 7th annual Mustard Seed Spin in Sacramento will take place on the American River bike trail. This bike ride -- by kids for kids -- has already raised and donated $120,000 to the Mustard Seed School for homeless children. All rider fees are donated directly to the school. More than 700 riders are expected this year, slightly more than last year. The bike ride introduces kids under the age of 18 to organized cycling, teaches bike safety, and hopefully creates a whole new generation of bike commuters.  There is also a bike Scholarship Program which hosts 50 underprivileged kids at t

With everything they’ve worked for the entire season on the line, the Sacramento River Cats found themselves down 0-2 after two games of the first round of the Pacific Coast League Playoffs. After losing the first two games in Reno, 7-4 and 4-2, the Cats force a fourth game after beating the Reno Aces 5-2 at Raley Field on Friday evening and keep the best-of-five series alive. That’s good news for the team with the best record in the regular season. Josh Donaldson, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, knew that it was just a matter of time before the offense woke up. “It’s something that we really haven’t been tested all year because we had such a big league all year”, said Donaldson as he l

FREE FAMILY EVENT with a canned food donation to the Sacramento Food Bank.  The Seafarer’s Marketplace & Pirate Festival captures the essence of a caribbean seaport in the 1800s. This family festival features live music, entertainment, contests, games, cannon battles, sword fights and other seafaring activities. Multicultural food and drinks will be available (Portion of food and beverage sales go to the A.T. Valdez Foundation). The Rio Ramaza RV Park and Marina, and the entertainers, vendors and musicians have all have come together to help collect canned food and donations for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services while offering a fun filled adventure on the banks of the Sacramen

On August 28th, 2011 Walt Gray and Hope Productions revved-up their engines, at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort for the ninth annual Walt Gray Ride for Kids. Starting at 8:00 am thousands of motorcycles lined-up in the Thunder Valley Casino parking lot in Lincoln, CA and prepared for a beautiful ride to the Nevada County Fairgrounds. With over 3000 riders raising money for charity it was another fantastic turn-out for the annual event. With a new venue, Thunder Valley Casino and Resort, and amazing weather the event started off with a bang. Walt walked around greeting the riders and making sure to thank everyone for attending. Like in years past, you can tell that this is an event close

On a night that had the Sacramento River Cats thinking about grounding up Round Rock Express pitcher Mark Hamburger, the first time starter was serving up filet mignon as he blanked Sacramento in his four innings of work to help the Express beat the Cats 7-3 at Raley Field on Friday evening. For the home team, Josh Outman started to slip a little in the second when the hitters for Round Rock started taking him up the middle with several solid hits. After Val Majewski and Joey Butler had back-to-back singles, Matt Kata hit into what looked like a tailor-made double play. Cats second baseman Andy LaRoche’s throw was offline and pulled Brandon Allen off the bag. With two men on, one of the

Q: I am a single mother with a 5-year-old daughter. Her father has not been a part of our lives for many years. I have been on several dates, but it is hard to get past the first date when I feel the need to drop the "I have a kid" bomb on them before anything serious develops. It seems like there is no guy on earth who is willing to take on that kind of baggage, regardless of how well we hit it off. I am pretty frustrated, but at the same time I don't feel like keeping that from guys until later in the dating process is the right decision either. How do I get to the next step in dating without selling out my first priority, my daughter, in the process? A: You are absolutely right: Keep

This was one to remember. On a beautiful afternoon at Raley Field on Saturday, one rare occurrence seemed to open the door for several more as the day went on and the Sacramento River Cats split a rare double header against their bitter rivals, the Reno Aces. The Aces won the first contest 3-2 and the Cats won the nightcap 5-4 in a game that had just about everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. How about both managers being ejected during the same at-bat, a foul ball that found it’s way into the press box, a guy being about a foot short of hitting for the cycle and a walk-off homer run all occurring during the crazy second game? We'll save that for later.  How about the first game

School is out for the summer! Summer camps are up and running until mid-August in the Sacramento area, and there are plenty of children’s camps for both indoor and outdoor preferences including giraffes or superhero comic books, gravity tag, classic camp songs, 3-D abstract sculptures and even rock climbing or slime. KidzArt Parents who choose KidzArt can expect their kids to get messy and explore with different art media such as silk painting, acrylic painting, watercolor, clay, oil pastels, sand and even rock salt, centered around themes like Go Wet n’ Wild with KidzArt and KidzArt Animal Style. “Our ultimate goal is to build self confidence, teach them some art fundamentals and make s