FAMILY OUTING
HEAD TO DISCOVERY GREEN FOR SOME FAMILY-FRIENDLY ADVENTURES BEFORE THE WINTER WONDERLAND CLOSES.
This is your last chance this season to take the kids skating, we hope.
This is the last weekend Discovery Green’s seasonal ice-skating rink is open until next winter, and there are familyfriendly events to mark the final days on the ice.
Tonight, families take part in Screen on the Green. The movie “Miracle,” which documents the U.S. men’s hockey team winning the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics, will be projected on the rink’s stage. The best view of the film is from the ice, but guests can bring a blanket and watch the movie from the hill outside the rink, free of charge. Refreshments and food trucks will be on hand, of course.
For Funfetti Friday, a DJ will play Top 40 music, retro tunes and songs to “get you moving” on the rink, says Ren Mitchell, the park’s marketing manager. A special disco-inspired light show will illuminate the ice.
On Saturday evening, there’s a onehour opportunity to skate with storybook characters who are in costume. So far this season, Sleeping Beauty, Elsa from “Frozen” and Spider-Man have all made appearances, engaging with kids and taking their hands to encourage them to improve their skating skills.
Since ice skating is a brand-new experience for many park guests, “it takes the fear out of it a bit,” Mitchell says. The children see recognizable characters on the ice and feel empowered — or, at least, compelled. It’s also an excellent photo op. “Most people in Houston don’t know how to ice skate, so people clinging to the walls is much more normal than skating well,” says Jill Jarvis, a mom of four and the founder of the blog Big Kid Small City, which is involved with the storybook series.
Ice skating is “novel” for all ages, and she says kids tend to get the hang of it quicker than adults.
“If the skates fit, the kids just put them on and don’t know to be intimidated,” she says. “They’re actually much more comfortable than the adults.”
This year, colder weather has added to the magic of the “very unique” opportunity to ice skate in Texas, she says.
Discovery Green is also well-known for its public art, which changes seasonally. One of the more innovative works is “Hello, Trees!,” a series of arches along the park’s promenade conceived by an art collective from Montreal. Here, a person speaks into a funnel-shaped input station on either end of the arches. As he walks under the arches, his voice transforms into music and travels with him. The tone and depth of voice dictates which bright neon color lights up each arch.
When the park is crowded, multiple voices create a melodic chorus, “like a crowd-sourced concerto,” Mitchell says. The interactive art has been extremely popular with all ages. “Tiny kids and grandparents all have a blast,” she says. “It’s really easy to use.”
The arches were installed near the park’s well-established live oaks in an effort to “mimic the way trees communicate nonverbally,” she says.
Jarvis, a frequent visitor to Discovery Green, says “Hello, Trees!” is her family’s favorite art piece the park has ever featured.
Walking up to a set of white arches doesn’t seem like much at first, she says, but by using your voice to create light and sound, “it becomes magical. It’s really beautiful.”