BUDGET-MINDED ACTIVITIES, CAMPS FOR SPRING BREAK
Family-friendly activities and camps to make the most of your time off
Colorado’s late-winter blasts of snow have given outdoor enthusiasts the ideal excuse to suit up and head outside. But it’s also kept many of us homebound, or at least indoors (even while in public) for long stretches of time in recent weeks.
That’s especially daunting for budgetminded parents approaching Denver Public Schools’ spring break, March 25-29. Chances are you’ve played all the games, watched all the movies, and explored every inch of your property by now.
So what’s next — especially with hints of green beginning to peak through the melting snow? Here’s a curated sample of family-friendly ideas for spring-break
activities to keep your household from contracting cabin fever. (Note: We did not include events that were already sold out or close to sold out.)
Also, be sure to check which public institutions are open in light of the César Chávez Day holiday, which falls on March 31 but which will be observed by some (including the Denver Public Library system) on March 25 with all-day closures.
Activities and camps
Planning for the metro area’s warm-weather camps usually begins months before the actual programs, considering the competition in securing the best spots. But spring break camps and classes are easier to get into than summer camps, even if there aren’t as many (given that they’re shorter-term experiences).
Of course, “camp” is loosely defined here, as many programs are simply weeklong day-camps or individual classes. For example, Bounce Stapleton is offering both daily sessions and a three-day Spring Break Camp, March 26-28, which includes gymnastics, obstacle courses, sports, fitness and team-building activities. 8:30 a.m.-noon, for kindergarten-eighth grade; $45 per day. bouncestapleton.com
The denver.kidsoutandabout.com site also collects a number of sports and activity camps taking place March 25-29, as well as coding camps and science and nature activities. The Butterfly Pavilions’ cool-sounding “Transformers” camp looks at our ecosystem’s real-life superheroes (bugs, in case you didn’t know).
Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, which houses the aforementioned Bounce, has the MindCraft Makerspace, a store describing itself as a digital fabrication lab (i.e., 3-D printing) and collaborative workspace. It offers workshops, classes and tool rentals, with free tours 2-6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. See the full schedule and prices at mindcraftmakerspace.com.
Golden’s Earth Treks offers “open climbs,” or walk-in climbing classes for beginners. Bring the family 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For $22 per climber (ages 5 and up), you’ll get a harness and three climbs. Additional climbs are $5 each,
with availability determined by peak-hour capacity. earthtreksclimbing.com
If your kids are more of the “American Ninja Warrior” types, you’re in luck: Colorado is home to many of the NBC show’s top champs, and Ninja Warrior-style gyms are easy to find. The Ninja Nation chain, for example, is continuing its Spring Break Day Play at its Centennial and Lafayette locations, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays through March 29. An all-day pass is $30, but there are also one-and-two-hour passes ($15 and $25, respectively) for ages 5 and up. ninjanation.com
Museums and parks
Before you canvas the metro area looking for the best and most affordable museums, check out our guide to SCFD free days at theknow.denverpost.com, which includes yearlong details on all the biggest players — including the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Denver Zoo — plus smaller community museums.
While those big institutions realize that spring break is a revenue-generating time, a handful continue to offer late-March free days — including the Clyfford Still Museum on March 26 — and regular, weekly free days. Hudson Gardens (6115 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton) offers free daily entry for leisurely strolls, picnics and birdwatching. New this year: The Golden History
Museum & Park is offering free admission throughout its 80th anniversary (i.e., all of 2019) to a private donor.
If visiting the wildly popular Denver Zoo is a foregone conclusion, look for the $5 off daily admission offer when you buy online through March 31 (denverzoo.org). Lorikeet Adventure, an interactive and kidfriendly parrot exhibit, also reopens for the season on March 22.
For art lovers, the Arvada Center Galleries (6901 Wadsworth Blvd.) has offered free admission seven days a week since opening in 1976, while every day at downtown Denver’s prestigious Clyfford Still Museum (1250 Bannock St.) is free for attendees 17 and under.
The Museum of Outdoor Arts also will offer a free day April 2. And the biggest of them all — the Denver Art Museum — still offers daily free admission to attendees 18 and under, as well as a free play (“Art Emergency: Sculpture Edition”) at 11 a.m. March 25-29, and free print-making activities through March 31. denverartmuseum.org
The Colorado Railroad Museum, which plenty of toddlers will remember from their “Day Out with Thomas” visits, is holding spring break Model Railroad sessions 10 a.m.-1 p.m. March 25-29. They include rotating daily themes (including Thomas & Friends), scavenger hunts, crafts, expert modelers and more. It’s included in regular admission: $10 adults, $5 children (2-15; under 2 free); $8 seniors. coloradorailroadmuseum.org For kids 10 and up, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s VR Arcade is up and running with Space Pirate Trainer, HoloBall and other titles ($6-$8, not including museum admission), while spring break day-camps that sample the museum’s wares (from IMAX films to “Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius”) offer early morning drop-off and late pickup options for working parents. The kindergarten and first-grade camp is sold out, but (as of press time) spots are still open for the second-third grade and fourth-sixth grade camps for $260-$290 for the full week. dmns.org Arts and entertainment
Kids ages 6-12 can put down the crayon and pick up a brush, as well as an appreciation of fine art, with sessions from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 26-28 at Foothills Art Center. Each day includes gallery activities and the viewing of original works of art, a one-hour lunch break and creative studio projects, according to organizers. $65 per day. foothillsartcenter.org
If you thought high-altitude YMCAs didn’t know how to exploit Harry Potter fandom and short vacations, you’d be wrong: YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center is offering a “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” package in addition to its usual swimming, roller/ice-skating, indoor climbing and arts/ crafts through April 11. It includes a make-your-own potion class, science experiments, Quidditch, wand-making and an ”Escape from Azkathanks ban”-themed escape room. Lodge rooms start at $84 and cabins start at $109. Spring Break activities are included in lodging fees; day passes are $25. ymcarockies.org
And, we should note, if the weather’s good, nothing beats watching your kids exhaust themselves on a good, old-fashioned playground. Sites like milehighmamas. com offer comprehensive, spring breakspecific guides to metro-area parks, while denvergov.org has interactive and searchable maps, details on activities and programs offered at city rec centers (both indoor and outdoor), and information on rentals and permits for parties and large events.
Libraries
If you’re north of Denver and nursing a wilted green thumb, reinvigorate it with one of Anythink Libraries’ “Dig It” classes, which continue through March 31 at more than a half-dozen locations in Thornton, Commerce City, Denver, Bennett and Brighton. It’s recommended for kids in upper elementary and tweens/teens. Anythink’s modest Perl Mack location (7611 Hilltop Circle in Denver) also has “Tiny Tales” (ages 1-6) and a video-game design class (for tweens and teens) on March 27, and the “Make It, Take It” class for kids aged 3-6 on March 29. Toddler story times, music-andmovement classes and more abound. All are free and open to the public, though the “Dig It” and “Video Game 101” require advanced registration online. anythinklibraries.org
Denver Public Library’s citywide system offers dozens of free classes daily, including story times, film screenings, science and art activities, and performances. The central location (10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway) has a spring break-specific Tinker Studio (2-4 p.m. March 26March 29, ages 3-12), while the Woodbury branch is offering a YouthBiz Startup Spring Break Camp (registration ends March 25) for kids aged 11-14. See more and sign up at denverlibrary.org.
A number of first-run movies and titles recently in theaters are playing at Jefferson County Libraries March 26-30, including “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” and “Avengers: Inf inity War.” Visit milehighonthecheap.com for screening times and dates — none of which require registration, and all of which are free.