14:
Father’s Day on the Field at Cowboys Stadium
You’ve watched the Dallas Cowboys in high-definition, either from your own television or on the stadium’s colossal video board over the field. Now from 10am–9pm on Saturday, you can get down on the field for an even closer look at where the players do their thing and for some football fun with the family at the same time.
Father’s Day experience includes a stadium tour, games with the kids on the field, and a meet-and-greet with some cool people: the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, alumni members of the team, and two Minions from Despicable Me 2. For tickets, call 817/892-8687. Tickets sold over the phone until noon today are $12, and you can get in for $17.50 for adults and $14.50 for kids tomorrow at the door.
A Reely Super Saturday in Fort Worth
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is the place to be on Saturday night for three reasons:
1) Super Saturday
First off, get the in the door for half price and a free comic book by doing what the kids already like to do, i.e. wear a superhero costume out in public. Kids 12 and younger can come dressed as their favorite superhero in honor of Superman’s 75th birthday. DC Comics published the first Superman comic book in 1938. Don’t have a costume? Make your own mask and cape inside Innovation Studios and meet the stormtroopers from the 501st Legion.
2) Reel Adventures Scavenger Hunts: The museum recently began showing the 2006 film Night at the Museum on the Omni Theater’s IMAX screen. Get your tickets for Saturday’s 7:10pm showtime, and for some actual live entertainment at the museum, show up at 5:30pm for a scavenger hunt, live animal demonstrations, historical characters and science-related activities.
3) Star Party: After the screening, head to the south parking lot and look for the group of people surrounding impressive looking telescopes. Those are members of the Fort Worth Astronomical Society and the Noble Planetarium staff, and they’ll be inviting kids and adults alike to look through their telescopes and see which celestial bodies are showing their faces.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/calendar.
11:
Get up to dance, get crafty, and get out of the house this week with these five playful programs near you.
The Bubble Wonder Show
Think you’ve seen some cool juggling acts? Watch the Bubble Juggler master the slightly less tangible objects during the Bubble Wonder Show on Thursday at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. See him form a caterpillar, volcano and even a merry-go-round from bubbles, and you can learn how to make a cube-shaped bubble at the 1pm in Grand Court. The shopping center’s seventh annual Summer Fun Thursdays program continues each week (except July 4) through July 25.
Silly Circles at Amon Carter
Speaking of shapes, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth is beginning their story time series on Wednesday for ages 8 and younger that focuses of a variety of shapes: circles, squares, triangles, stars, hexagons, ovals, rectangles and polygons. Show up each Wednesday through July 31 at 10:30am for a storybook reading and crafts related to a different shape, get cookies and lemonade, and register to win the week’s featured books.
Wonderful Wednesday at The Modern
Stick around the Fort Worth Cultural District for the Modern Art Museum’s free children’s program at 4pm. The kids will do projects inspired by the works of Dan Flavin, whose pieces feature fluorescent light, and of Jenny Holzer, whose installation Kind of Blue will test your speed-reading skills.
Weaving the Rainbow with Barnyard Buddies
Do the kids have a favorite colorful T-shirt? Show them how fabric is spun and dyed (and in the case of wool, sheared) in this program on Wednesday at Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park. At 11am you’ll meet sheep Matilda, Maribel and Madeleine, listen to a reading of Weaving the Rainbow by George Ella Lyon and discover firsthand how early Texas pioneers would spin and weave their wool.
Lannaya West African Drum & Dance Ensemble
The Austin-based performing group hits the stage at Levitt Pavilion in Arlington for a free children’s concert on Wednesday at 9:30am and 7:30pm. Pick a spot out on the grassy lawn or close to the stage so the kids can dance to along to the traditional songs and rhythms from Guinea and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/showcalendar.asp.
10:
William Shakespeare wrote in Sonnet 18: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” While you ponder that metaphor, make plans this week for a summertime dose of the Bard’s lyrical prose with these two Shakespearean festivals opening this week in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Shakespeare in the Park in Dallas
Have you and the kids ever watched Puck, King Oberon and Queen Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? See the comedy on stage in what is probably the most perfect setting for fairy mischief: the grassy amphitheater and wooded backdrop of Samuell-Grand Park. The professional actors of Shakespeare Dallas will present evening performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream beginning on Wednesday (preview night is $10) and Pericles, the Prince of Tyre will be on stage through July 20. Kids are welcome, so bring a blanket big enough for the whole family and a picnic to snack on during the show.
Trinity Shakespeare Festival in Fort Worth
You can see another of Shakespeare’s comedies on the cheap at Texas Christian University. The Taming of the Shrew premieres Tuesday at 7:30pm with a pay-what-you-can preview performance at Buschman Theatre. Your young thespians may not be able to keep up with the meaning of each line but will have fun laughing along with the crowd nevertheless. For the adults, Julius Caesar will be on stage through June 30 just across the hall in Hays Theatre for the festival’s fifth season. Admission is only $5.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/showcalendar.asp.
05:
Share a piece of local history with your kids this Thursday by joining a Native American ground blessing at the future site of a plaza honoring Fort Worth founder Major Ripley Allen Arnold and businessman John V. McMillan. The plaza is to be completed in 2014 and will be located near the original site of the fort, at the confluence of the Clear Fork and the West Fork of the Trinity River.
Before construction is set to begin, Eddie Sandoval, an Apache spiritual leader, medicine man and sun dancer, will perform the blessing, and the Sovo Family of the Comanche Nation will dance to honor Native Americans who once lived in what now is called Fort Worth. At the ceremony, you’ll also see a replica of the 12-foot-tall bronze statue of Major Arnold that will be part of the plaza.
The ceremony begins at 10am. You can park in the lot at the Trinity River Campus of Tarrant County College, located at 300 Trinity Campus Circle in Fort Worth, and attendants will help direct you to the ceremony. For more information, call the Trinity River Vision Authority at 817/698-0700.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/showcalendar.asp.
04:
Oh, summer nights. When the breeze is warm and parks, parking lots and grassy spots around town transform into prime movie-watching locales with the help of giant screens and popcorn machines. Check out these outdoor movie series, beginning this week around DFW, and plan to bring your blankets or chairs for some free entertainment.
Brave at Sundance Square
Come early to the Stars Under the Stars series in Fort Worth on Thursday for kid-friendly games, archery, music and trivia from 8–10pm. Then watch the bow-welding, Scottish princess Merida on an outdoor movie screen at the Gateway parking lot, and stay tuned for more movies each Thursday night in June. Chair rentals are available for $2.
Wreck-It Ralph at Keller Town Hall
Keller is combining its Family Fun Films series with jazz performances on Thursdays in June. Browse works by local art vendors and produce from the Keller Farmers Market starting at 6:30pm, listen to Adonis Rose & The Fort Worth Jazz Orchestra at 7:15pm and enjoy kids activities at sunset. Then watch Ralph and his computer-animated teammates at the amphitheater, starting around 9:15pm while you munch on free popcorn.
Escape from Planet Earth in Dallas
The computer-animated alien astronauts are coming to The Shops at Park Lane on Friday for the Movies Under the Moon series. Bring a picnic, chair and blanket to settle in for the film, part of the series each Friday in June. Popcorn will be sold for $1 per bag.
Three Ages at A.W. Perry Homestead Museum
Have the kids – or you – ever seen a silent film? Watch silent film star Buster Keaton travel from the Stone Age, to the height of the Roman Empire and to modern times, i.e. 1923, on Saturday for Carrollton’s Movie on the Lawn.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/showcalendar.asp.
30:
The first Saturday in June is always the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day, and several parks and nature centers in Dallas-Fort Worth are planning special activities for the whole family. Check out these six kid-friendly nature hikes near you.
Nature Hike at Fort Worth Nature Center
Join the hike from 10am–noon at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, but get there early. Space is limited and it’s first come, first in line on the trail.
Outdoor Fun Day at Clear Creek
Get more than a walk through the woods at the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center in Denton. Take your pick between geocaching programs and hikes at 10am and 1pm, archery lessons at 10am and 12:30pm, and seedball crafts from 12:30–3pm. Don’t miss a look at live birds from the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center at 11:30am.
National Trails Day at River Legacy
Naturalists will host three guided hikes – at 10am, 11am and noon – at the River Legacy Living Science Center in Arlington. Call 817/860-6752 to register for the hike and for the Animal Exploration program to follow at 2pm.
Ray Roberts Lake State Park
This state park north of Denton is actually planning four hikes at the Isle du Bois and the Johnson Branch units for young hikers, bird lovers and dog lovers. Check out their schedule for hikes leaving at 8am, 10am and 1:30pm.
Cedar Hill State Park
Meet at the Duck Pond trailhead for one-mile hikes for beginners at 9am and 11am, or join the 3-mile hike at 9am. Make sure to bring sun protection, snacks and plenty of water. Sorry, these trails are not stroller friendly.
Birding Basics and Nature Walk
Also in Cedar Hill, the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center will be hosting its weekly half-hour guided hike at 1pm. However, consider an earlier arrival for their birding basics class for beginners. Get tips on how to identify local birds from 8:30–10:30am. $15 for nonmembers. Call 469/526-1980 to register.
Sign up to receive our Weekend Guide newsletters each Thursday to your inbox, and for more family-friendly events every day, visit the calendar at dfwchild.com/showcalendar.asp.
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