Saturday, March 3, 2018

Badlands, Rockville

My kids were off school yesterday because it was time for parent teacher conferences again. My conference times weren't until the end of the day though so my friend Lisa, her husband Jeff and I drove the kids out to Rockville to try out Badlands.

We chose the very first entry time of the day since Evelyn still naps in the afternoon, so we were one of the first people there at 9 am. There were only a handful of us there at first and the kids were able to run around and climb everything without worrying about other kids being in the way.

This is the view from the front check in area. If you look to the left of the photo you can see the two slides coming down the rock climbing area and a small grass covered hill in front. The path you see leads to the white birch tree forest. Behind the trees is a small play area with some wooden building toys and a pretend stream. On the right you can see all the lime green chairs that are near the cafe.


When you first go in there is a desk to check in and then they give you a wrist band and a bit of a safety lesson; keep shoes on and both hands down on the rocks as you climb.

Before letting the kids run wild we made them get together for a quick picture. These kids are just too stinking cute!








There was an area called "workshop" where the kids could play with all kinds of building toys. There was a light table that Harper just loved and spent a long time building at. There was also a magnetic wall and things to build a marble run on it which the kids really enjoyed. They had a giant guinea pig cage and pet guinea pig the kids could observe as well as a chameleon and a few other animals. There was also an interesting vertical garden display. There were lots of tools and equipment the kids could use as well as a table that the kids could sit and draw or color. 




While we were there we were experiencing a crazy wind storm and the power kept flickering on and off. It always came back on after a few seconds but around 10:30 or so a staff member came in to tell us that we were going to have to evacuate the building because there was smoke coming in through the vents. I hadn't noticed anything until she mentioned it and then I realized I could smell smoke. We all hurriedly gathered up our kids and got out of there since we didn't know what was going on. It was an abrupt end to our play time but and hour and a half seemed long enough so no one was in tears as we left. 

The kids enjoyed their time there but both Lisa and I felt that there wasn't much to do for the price of admission ($20 per child over age 3 for 2 hours $12.50 3 and under; 2 adults free with each paying child.) I don't think we'd go back since it's quite pricey and an hour away, but it was a neat place to burn an hour and a half. 

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