19 Feb, 2012
Checking out Ottawa’s Funatorium Explorium
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy|Multimedia experiments|Ottawa
When I was first approached about the Funatorium Explorium I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea at first. I’ll spare you similar kinds of wonderings and describe it as it really is: two giant halls in Ottawa’s CE Centre (which is near the airport) filled with all kinds of things for families to do together. There’s active play, quieter play, and lots of really interesting activities that you may not have tried before. (Me: I love trying new things. This, in my view, is what life is all about!) Standouts for us included…
Balloon Darth:
The climbing wall… (Sarah made it to the top!):
A spider wall – complete with magnetic boots and gloves (is this a kid’s dream come true or what?):
Gyro gym (no one barfed!):
Bodyzorbs (inflatable spheres… think of them as inflatable “body” bumper cars):
Jousting (although I think the girls used this as a sanctioned opportunity to beat the pulp out of one another):
There was also padded costume sumo wrestling to try, which Emma and I did together. I’ve always wanted to try this and it was HILARIOUS. You can catch a glimpse of it in this 30-second video Mark made on his iPhone:
What I liked most about the Funatorium Explorium is that we all had an opportunity to try something new and exciting … and excel at it. Whether it’s scaling to the top of a rock wall or tackling your mother while wearing padded pants, well, isn’t it nice when something fun ends up being a confidence booster too?
Family Day Monday is your last chance to check the Funatorium Explorium it out before it’s gone. So go!