Anyone who has watched Phineas and Ferb knows that “there’s 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it." We want to make the summer break the best it can be, so we have put together a checklist of all the great things to do in Calgary and the surrounding area. As an added bonus, take photos of your child doing the activities and upload to Twitter for a chance to win awesome giveaways! Be sure to tag us in your photos and use the #YYCSummerFun hashtag.
1. Take a walk or a spin on one of Calgary’s 800 kilometres of pathways.
2. Ride the train at Heritage Park Historical Village.
3. Check out the ‘Leg Up’ program during show jumping at Spruce Meadows.
4. Go roller-skating with friends at Lloyds Recreation.
5. Have a picnic and listen to live music at the Folk Music Festival.
6. Check out the peacocks at the Calgary Zoo - don’t get too close.
7. Gather round and listen in at one of Calgary Public Library’s storytimes.
8. Feed the ducks and geese at Prince’s Island Park.
9. Compare your height to a Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.
10. Splash down at one of the local spray parks.
11. Eat, play and listen to live music at the International Blues Festival.
12. Go for a spin around the track at Kartworld Family Fun Centre or at Shakers Family Fun Centre.
13. Celebrate Canada Dayyyc. at Fort Calgary or with The City of Calgary, Canada Day YYC.
14. Check out storytime or a puppet show at your local library.
15. Take a stroll on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens in Silver Springs.
16. Go stargazing with your whole family at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory.
17. Get a bang out of your summer at the GlobalFest fireworks show.
18. Satisfy your need for speed and experience 5G forces on the Summer Bobsled at WinSport Canada Olympic Park.
19. Catch-and-release a fish at the Bow Habitat Station’s Kids Can Catch Trout Pond.
20. Cheer for the home team at an Okotoks Dawgs baseball game.
21. Park it at one of Calgary’s more than 1,000 parks and playgrounds.
22. Cool down with a swim at Sikome Lake.
23. Take your photo in front of the “Up the Wall” mural painted by the Boys & Girls Clubs (on Centre Street SE, between 13 and 14 Avenue).
24.Do a ‘drive-in movie’or check out Movie in the Park.
25. Show off your camp pride or a craft you made at summer camp.
26. Explore Cabinets of Curiosity! at the Glenbow Museum.
27. Indulge in a cool treat at one of Calgary’s fabulous ice cream shops.
28. Test out the Calgary Zoo’s Dinosaurs Alive app.
29. Go see The Tempest by Alberta Theatre Project’s Shakespeare by the Bow (through August 16, 2015).
30. Get some local fruits and veggies at a Farmers’ Market.
31. Take a tube ride at Discovery Canyon in Red Deer.
32. Float on the Bow or Elbow River - wear a life jacket!
33. Swing into summer at Pebble Beach Miniature Golf Course.
34. Flip your stack at one of the Calgary Stampede pancake breakfasts.
35. Play sponge ball tag (with buckets of water and ordinary kitchen sponges) in the back yard.
36. Go wading in the shallow parts of Fish Creek.
37. Learn how to make the biggest bubbles ever - including ones that you can stand inside.
38. Have a teddy bear picnic on July 24, 2015 (Teddy Bear Picnic Day).
39. Go Geocaching at one of the many sites including Paddy Flats campground.
40. Win the ‘Stanley Cup’of street hockey with your friends.
41. Feed the goats at Kayben Farms in Okotoks.
42. Pick a park and give back by cleaning up any trash you see on the ground.
43. Have a nighttime photo shoot with sparklers.
44. Grab a treat in East Village and investigate the development of St Patrick’s Island.
45. Be a billy goat and find the troll under the bridge at Troll Falls in Kananaskis.
46. Cool down on a hot day and make your own silly sprinkler.
47. Plant a butterfly garden.
48. Have a fling at the Calgary Highland Games.
49. Go for a tractor ride at Butterfield Acres Children’s Farm.
50. Investigate the hoodoos and petroglyphs at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in Southern Alberta.
51. Take up shadow boxing at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
52. Make music with water in cups.
53. On a really hot day, try to cook an egg on tinfoil on the sidewalk.
54. Go on a photography scavenger hunt (see sidebar).
55. Experience the flavors of Calgary at Taste of Calgary.
56. Earn some money and run a lemonade stand.
57. Join the circus on one of Aspen Crossing’s scenic train tours.
58. Bury a time capsule in your back yard.
59. Cheer on the Red and White at a Stampeders football game.
60. Learn how to fly a kite.
61. Find a new haunt and go on a Ghostwalk.
62. Learn how to ollie at one of Calgary’s community skateparks.
63. Check out corn as high as an elephant’s eye at the Calgary Corn Maze & Fun Farm.
64. Dance to the beat by creating a summer dance mix.
65. Freeze some toys in ice and chip them free.
66. Pick a flower and make a flower print.
67. Go on a night walk around the neighborhood with flashlights.
68. Test out the 63-foot slide at TELUS Spark’s Brainasium.
69. See how many times you can do the new Timber Falls log ride at Calaway Park.
70. Make a back yard obstacle course with cardboard boxes, wading pools, ropes, etc.
71. Make a pie with berries you picked yourself at the Saskatoon Farm in Okotoks.
72. Rock out at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre.
73. Create a water balloon batting cage.
74. Dance in the street during the Inglewood Night Market.
75. Paddle a canoe or kayak at the Calgary Canoe Club.
76. Read one of the Calgary Public Library’s summer reads.
Photo scavenger hunt ideas:
1. Shaking hands with a statue.
2. Eating ice cream while wearing mittens.
3. Going down a slide in a park.
4. Standing on the top of a hill.
5. Hiding behind a tree.
6. Holding a copy of today’s newspaper.
7. Reading a book about a monkey.
8. Making a sandcastle.
9. Standing under a street sign and doing exactly what it says to do.
10. Holding a bug.
11. Being as small as you can be.
12. Standing beside something red.
13. Finding an animal that doesn’t live in your house.
14. Finding a purple flower.
15. Hanging out with a friend.
Capture Your Summer Adventures Contest
As an added bonus, take photos of your child doing the activities and upload to our Twitter @CalgarysChild for your chance to win 4 tickets to Heritage Park Historical Village or The Calgary Zoo or TELUS Spark! Contest deadline is Friday, August 7, 2015. Be sure to tag us in your photos and use the #YYCSummerFun hashtag.
Nanica is the proud parent to Benjamin and Fable. Truly a child at heart, she is constantly exploring Calgary for new things to keep her kids from destroying her house and happily occupied year-round.
Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2024 Calgary’s Child
