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Nothing thrills the child within us more than setting off on an adventure to discover the wonders of the South Australian Museum. No matter what age there’s something about the eerie excitement of seeing the mummy in the Egyptian exhibit, which really never gets old. Or maybe the giant squid is the best thing? Nah it’s definitely the mineral crystal wall. Actually NO it’s a chance to try and mould our hand into the Antarctic ice wall, cough, NOPE to old for that, it’s 100% the taxidermy tiger, did you see it’s tail MOVE?!! Okay, okay the real dino-mite question here is… Dinosaurs reigned supreme in different environments all over the world for 169 million years and vanished 66 million years ago when the Earth was struck by an asteroid. Are they all really extinct? Surely the only place to discover the answer to this worldwide mystery would be the Museum. This question will be answered when the SA Museum brings everyone’s favourite reptiles and dinosaurs to town in February 2018 as part of a new touring exhibition from Gondwana Studios. Dinosaur rEvolution is an exciting and interactive display which will challenge people’s perceptions of dinosaurs. When the asteroid struck all those years ago, the global wildfires, ash clouds and fall in temperature made it unbearable for large animals, including most dinosaurs to survive. However research has shown that some small dinosaurs had already evolved to survive such a catastrophe – by taking to the air! Exceptionally well preserved fossils found in China have shown for the first time feathers and quills present in dinosaur skin. Birds are the last branch in the dinosaur family tree, to be living (and flying) with us today. South Australian Museum and Flinders University researcher Professor Mike Lee has spent his career researching reptile evolution and will help to curate the scientific content in the exhibition. “This exciting exhibition showcases the latest discoveries on how dinosaurs became birds,” Professor Lee said. “Children are always fascinated with dinosaurs but many adults will be just as engrossed. The exhibition is not just about bones and fossils, it brings these incredible creatures to life through animatronics, 3D models, life-sized murals and fossil casts that visitors can actually touch,” said Dr. Lee. Dinosaur rEvolution will be on at the South Australian Museum from 23 February – 06 May 2018. To purchase tickets please phone 0466 464 112, email foundation@samuseum.sa.gov.au, visit the Museum Shop or buy online here. www.samuseum.sa.gov.au Facebook: @southaustralianmuseum Instagram: @southaustralianmuseum

We have selected the finest, juiciest cream of the crop garden pickings from The Garden of Unearthly Delights 2018 Fringe Program. Juggling, acrobatics, puppetry, comedy and much more are all part of the harvest. The Garden of Unearthly Delights began with just one Spiegeltent in 2000. Over the past seventeen years it has evolved into the greatest arts event in town and the heart of Adelaide’s summer arts festival season. Its unique festival playground environment will include multiple performance venues, bars, carnival rides, an array of world foods, market stalls, and the most unexpected sideshow surprises. KAPUT  February 17, 18, 24, 25 and March 3, 4, 12 Kaput, the multi-award winning family show has melted hearts around the world, young and old, with its glorious brand of slapstick, acrobatics and total silliness. Slapstick and silent clowning at its absolute finest, star of Club Swizzle, Circus Oz and The Tom Tom Crew, Tom Flanagan amazes, delights and leaves audiences in stiches as he pays homage to the greats Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton in this one-man comedy for all ages. Wild Imagination… Drop and Go Nature Play Just For Kids! February 16 to March 18 NO PARENTS ALLOWED! Grown-ups, take a break and go see a show while your mini nature warrior will get into the wild world of nature play! Water play, potion making, nature crafts, loose parts play, tree climbing, bush cubbies and more! Supervised by qualified teachers with Police Checks and First Aid. Kids 5-12 years. Suitable for ages 5-12 Monski  10-12 March Why toddle when you can dance?! Selling out shows around the world, come find out why Adelaide’s own DJ Monski Mouse is a hit with the under fives and their parents/carers. Expect to do some high-energy smiling to retro hits, pop favourites and funky nursery rhymes as heads and shoulders, knees and toes bop till they drop. Get glam and put your disco-dancing- booties on! “The best dance party with your under 5-year-old that you’ve ever had… absolutely joyous” ★★★★★ Edinburgh Families. Suitable for ages 0-5 My Brown Paper Clouds March 10,11,12,17,18 This is a professional contemporary dance made specially for young audiences (aged 2-7) that takes you on a journey into the whims of imagination through dance, physical theatre, music and play. Drawing inspiration from the every day to the never-in-a-million-years, Splash Test Dummies  16 February to 18 March Rub-a- dub-dub, The Dummies are back with some splish splashing circus set to drown you in tears of laughter.From the makers of hit show Trash Test Dummies comes a new production of oceanic proportions! Splash Test Dummies are here, ready to roll out their beach towels and spring into a brand new hour of circus-filled hilarity for the whole family. See a brilliant array of catch-your-breath stunt work, acrobatics, juggling and the side-splitting, slapstick comedy for which the dummies are famous. For more information and ticket bookings visit www.adelaidefringe.com.au Instagram: @adlfringe Facebook: Adelaide Fringe 

Could you have the world’s next tech genius in your fam? Turning your child into the next Bill Gates could definitely make retiring a whole lot more fun. Maybe priming them up for technological success at a young age isn’t such a bad thing. They could learn how to create an app while you can’t even remember your Apple ID. At Code Camp more than 27,000 kids have designed and built their own iPhone apps at 100+ locations! Code Camp hosts educational sessions at schools all around Australia and offer a variety of different options to suit different ages and capabilities. Little League Younger Kids – AGES 5-6 Little coders make their first small but important leap from consumers to creators of tech. Spark First Timers – AGES 7-12 This is the most popular camp designed specifically for first time Code Campers. Learn Drag & Drop coding with ‘Code Camp World’. Ignite Returning students – AGES 7-12 Start with Drag & Drop and then move to Line Coding with JavaScript (for kids who have completed Spark). Blast Advances – AGES 8-13 For the more advanced superheroes who have conquered Spark and Ignite and are ready for a full Code Camp in the world of JavaScript For more information and locations head to  codecamp.com.au Edit

What is nature play all about? Once upon a time, and not all that long ago, children spent their free time climbing trees, exploring the local creek, building forts and cubbies and making all kinds of discoveries with their friends. Days were spent outdoors, unsupervised and unstructured. This is nature play. There were no smartphones, laptops or tablets to entertain. There were no structured play dates or indoor play centres and it was safe to roam around the neighbourhood and play with children in the street. But in just one generation, technology has become the substitute for free play and life for children has moved from outdoors to indoors, from active to sedentary. According to a 2013 Planet Ark study, 1 in 4 children have never even climbed a tree. 1 in 5 children today aged 6-9 years old, spend more than 2 hours/day in front of a TV, increasing as children get older. Children are losing their connection to the natural world. The loss of ‘nature play’, is having a negative impact on children’s physical, emotional and social development, their health and wellbeing, their ability to make decisions, solve problems, assess risks and become resilient young people and adults. So what can you do? There is loads you can do to help restore the balance for your children. The first step is to replace children’s screen time with green time. Allowing children the opportunity and permission to spend uninterrupted time outdoors will lay the groundwork for children to learn about themselves, the world around them and how they function in it. Their senses will be fully engaged, curiosity nurtured, problem solving skills put to the test and they will learn about their capabilities and limitations, lifelong skills that will be invaluable. Nature Play SA is a small not for profit organisation that understands how important it is for children to recapture the time to play and be in nature. It has been established to empower parents, educators and the broader community to help make unstructured time in nature, an everyday part of childhood. Nature Play SA’s website, Facebook and Instagram sites aim to make it easy for families seeking ideas, inspiration and guidance. Their website includes lists and information sheets you can download free. Affordable events families can enjoy throughout the year showcase nature play in action – cubby building, mud play, whittling and weaving, geocaching. The summer program of events will be released soon. A small online shop offers books to inspire and products to support children’s time outdoors. And a newly launched, unique membership program, designed for families, the Nature Play SA Collective, will provide members with ideas, encouragement and guidance on the little things you can do that will make a big difference. Get your family started with your very own backyard nature play space By using a few simple elements from nature, you can create an inspiring backyard for your children where they will be immersed in sensory stimulation that will provide endless creative fun, discovery and creativity. Excerpt from Natural Playspaces Families available on the Nature Play SA website Secret Places – children love hiding spaces and building cubbies and forts where they can play by themselves or with their friends. Water & Sand – a sandpit and water source, the perfect combination for hours of creative fun and play. Mud – the ultimate sensory experience. Build a mud kitchen, create a mud pit, or make a mud wheelbarrow. Something to climb – Climbing is instinctive for children and climbing trees, a rite of passage. It develops their fine and gross motor skills, co-ordination and risk-taking exploits. A Garden to grow – having their own little patch of garden to tend with their own tools, teaches children how to care for things and to understand where food comes from. Inspiring Creativity – provide a space and props to nurture your budding artist, actor, musician, explorer or engineer. Something to swing on – and make it long! There is nothing better than the freedom and exhilaration of seeing how high and fast you can go. Loose parts – unstructured play at its finest – build a collection of pinecones, log rounds, rocks, sticks and seedpods. They have no defined purpose so children can move, sort, cart, roll, build, carry, collect and manipulate how they wish. Nature play @natureplaysa natureplaysa.org.au