A film festival is probably the last place you'd expect to experience Silly Safaris, but if you've…read moreever experienced the coolness of Heartland Film then you know that you should always expect the unexpected. In this case, the 2023 Indy Shorts International Film Festival had a "camp" theme this year. As a result, the fine folks from Silly Safaris showed up at least a couple times showing off their fabulous animal actors including such beautiful wonders as Owlbert the Spectacled Owl, Chip the Bunny Rabbit, Ruffles the Screaming Hairy Armadillo, Radar the Fennec Fox, and a handful of others including a seriously ginormous snake. Their human counterparts handled the animals well and were entertaining, informative, and great despite the unusual settings - one was the kick-off event and the other was the awards night event. People loved the animals and everyone wanted photos. My favorites were the armadillo and the owl. Silly Safaris offers a variety of programs for a variety of settings including schools, libraries, birthday parties, and faith-based programs. They also offer sponsorship opportunities and even "safari shoutouts" where you can get an "animalgram" from one of their animals. This was so perfect for the camp theme, though it probably stretched the truth of what kinds of animals you might experience at an Indiana campout. Who cares? It was so much fun. While this is an obvious program for kids, I couldn't help but notice how much all the adults enjoyed this unique experience. Indy Shorts was just voted one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world - this is exactly why right here. These kinds of events are a blast and a great way to balance out the demands of a busy film festival. If you get the chance, I'd definitely consider a Silly Safaris program.

They are 45 minutes late to the Lawrence Library today, Monday December 1st, with no estimate on…read moretheir arrival. The place is filled with impatient parents and children, it's dark and snowing and we should all be heading home by now. There is no excuse for this kind of poor time management and disrespect for the people that are waiting.

This farm was awesome! The owner Kadeem is very personable, friendly, and loves interacting with…read morethe kids. The farm land is huge and the animals are all well behaved so even if you're scared, you won't be for long. We took the Girl Scout troop on an outing here and the girls loved it. Kadeem is really eager about introducing farm life to city kids and helping make the comfortable and knowledgeable. I loved the way he allowed them to interact with the animals in ways they would never be able to other places. He does not restrict the kids and uses everything as a learning opportunity. My daughter was upset we had to leave without the alpaca. We will definitely be returning again. They also do petting zoo and horse rides for parties. He was so nice to even walk with my daughter bc she was scared to ride. 10/10 I definitely recommend to anyone looking for an up close, personal. Memorable animal experience!

Omgggg I absolutely love this farm! It really brought out the kid in me and brought up so many…read morememories from childhood fieldtrips! Broganville is a family owned farm and the atmosphere gives just that! Kadeem Brogan (the owner) was so nice and welcoming. He gave us a full tour of the grounds as well as a horse and buggy ride. We got to meet all of the animals and we even got to feed some of them. This is definitely a great place for children and adults alike to really connect with nature and learn about the farm life!

We had such an amazing time here! We came here to celebrate my little cousins birthday. They have a…read moretoddler section (for those still in diapers) and it was perfect for our girls. They were the only ones there at the time, so it was as if it was their own personal playground. The staff was extremely friendly. It was $19 for one child and two adults enter in for free. You needed to have sock, but if you don't, they have you covered. They also had snack available to purchase. They also have birthday packages available. Parking is right outside the door. This was a fun place to let the little run free, safely. As an adult, I had a blast playing with my little. We will be back sooner than later .

Great place for the kids to cut loose, not a lot food options an the snacks they have ARE priced…read morevery high, but your not there for the snacks. Sometimes you get a few kids and adults that don't mesh with others so if don't have a strong tolerance for stupidity you might want to hold off on going because you patience could be tested... the stuff is fun an friendly

We love that they have a multitude of events happening at the community center which can be enjoyed…read moreby residents and even non-residents (like us). We went during the holidays to walk through their lighted trail and found it enchanting. It isn't a long path but lots of fun with arches, reindeer, Santa's and more. The lights extended through the whole common area and were a delight! We also went inside for a bit and saw some great displays. The fitness area was busy but there were many spaces for people to sit or have kids play while waiting on others. This is a great aspect of the community and we are so thankful for their commitment to providing concerts, activities and other community activities.

This is a great place with a lot of variety for my kiddo. We attend the reading class for 0-35…read moremonths old at the library and she loves it. The community center has a lot of ways to stay active and engaged

After reserving lanes for a birthday at a different bowling spot just to show up and find out that…read morethey didn't have lanes available for us, we were super bummed. Found this place on google and drove right on over. We were helped by Clyde. He was super friendly and attentive! We had an amazing time. Will be returning, highly recommend. So happy we ended up at Beech Grove Bowl!

The boys wanted to go bowling on Christmas Day, and the one we wanted to go to was not open…read more Fortunately, this place was. It's a very small bowling alley and the parking lot looked full, but we took our chances and thankfully we did. The worker told us there was a very long wait, but since we only had 4 people, he said he would move us up the line, and we were able to get a lane right away (we felt very lucky). We have member cards, but since it was so busy, there was no discount on this day. This day was very crowded inside, but we did get a table close to our lane that had 4 seats, perfect for us. These lanes seem smaller than other bowling alleys, and the pins are on strings. The workers put the names in for you, unlike other bowling alleys we have been too. We had the choice of bowling for 1 hour or 1.5 hours, and we chose 1.5 hours. The cost for 1.5 hours of bowling time and shoes for four was $91. Even with the business, they had balls available to use. We were able to bowl two full games to completion in this time. They have food and drinks for sale. My husband purchased a tall mango cart can for $5. They have a machine to purchase songs, so music is played in the building. We enjoyed our time!

I was under the impression that the Skip + Alex Lange Innovation Center was for Boy Scouts and Girl…read moreScouts only, but no, it's open to the public! On Saturdays, day passes are available to the public, which are $20 and allow you in-and-out access all day. This center is located on the grounds of Camp Belzer, tucked near Ft. Harrison State Park in Lawrence. You'll find lots of fun, family-friendly activities for all ages, including a ropes course, rock climbing and bouldering walls, indoor archery, a makerspace, robotics and technology, and lots more. The ropes course (SkyTrail Air Adventure Course) has 10 different obstacles all connected and suspended 9 feet in the air. Kids must be at least 42 inches tall to go on the course with an adult, and 48 inches or taller to go on the course alone. The ropes course is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Lange has two rock climbing walls. The main rock climbing wall features seven lanes for climbing, each lane with four paths to the top that increase in difficulty. The north tower rock wall, with three lanes and three options to get to the top, offers a view out into the camp from the windows. They also have a bouldering wall and bouldering cave. The bouldering cave allows kids to climb around and practice different rock climbing holds freely, but each climber must wear a helmet. Assistants stand by, ready to catch or help each kid. There's also a makerspace room, where kids can learn about and try out different technology, including robots and drones. Here, you can fly drones or make robots move on command using a tablet, make robots move along a path using special markers, and lots more. The room also includes space to try out 3D printing and laser-cutting, tinker with toys, and get hands on while learning about technology and science. Some of the activities change out weekly, and that includes some of the sports. When we visited, they had an indoor badminton court set up, but the week before, that area was designated for indoor archery. There was also a basketball shooting area, cornhole and velcro darts. Drop-ins are welcome at Lange Innovation Center, but the center can also be rented for groups, such as Scouts, clubs and schools. So, calling ahead and reserving a time is highly recommended.

My 4 year old daughter attended a birthday party at Gymnastics Unlimited today. The facility was…read moretidy and in good repair but seriously understaffed. There were two birthday parties occurring simultaneously, our group of 4 and 5 year olds along side another group of what appeared to be much larger older kids (maybe 8 or 9 year olds?) each group had well over a dozen members. The staffing was painfully sparse and consisted of merely a front desk woman and two teens on the gym floor. Upon arrival, we were greeted and immediately asked to fill out a waiver. I did inform the employee that this was our first visit. After receiving lack-luster instruction of rules and guidelines, we removed both mine, and my daughter's shoes/ socks, then headed to the tumbling room floor. Once on the floor, one of the teen employees approached quickly informing me, "All parents, except birthday child's parents, are to go upstairs in the viewing area." I was very hesitant to leave my 4 year old daughter and decided to mostly obey the girl's request by moving to the sidelines near the door. Once off to the side, I noticed NONE of the other 6 "non-birthday child parents" were asked to leave!! Not wanting to make a scene, I continued to watch carefully from the floor entrance. Here is what I witnessed: The teen girl employee only actively monitored one trampoline that was immediately in front of the foam pit. She repeatedly instructed my daughter to wait in line but did not appear at all concerned about how many children were already actually in the foam pit! I was very concerned because I did not want any of the little kids crushed by the much larger, considerably heavier older kids. While It is not reasonable to expect two girls to monitor a whole gym with over two dozen children running and jumping; it is also unreasonable to expect a small child to understand protocol and expectations in an alien environment. Why not allow parents to monitor their kids in an unobtrusive manner? Is it so difficult to also be consistent with the application of rules? I felt singled out, discriminated against and unwelcome. I had high hopes for Gymnastics Unlimited as a local, future scheduled, energy burn-off activity for my daughter but after today's off-putting experience, we will not be returning and would not recommend the facility to anyone wanting a safe experience for their young child.

Such an amazing place to take your kiddos! My daughter adores her weekly classes and shes growing…read moreso much! The staff is so sweet and friendly!!