Granary Road: Review

07/24/2017

Last Wednesday, our Travelling Tot 1-2 SE Program went to the brand new family entertainment park, Granary Road. It’s a family entertainment, market and dining experience located just outside of the city in the deep S.W. (just past Spruce Meadows). The active learning park opened in early July while the market and dining areas are not quite open yet, but check out their website as it will be open soon!

The active learning park is three kilometres of trails that connect 11 different educational exhibits. Each of the stops along the way is based on an animal, insect or agricultural theme with an interactive learning component. From frogs to bees, spiders to ants and bats, it’s quite amazing to see up close.

If you are planning to attend, make sure you’re there for the 9:30 Goat Stampede. Our group didn’t make it in time, but I hear it’s quite amazing to see! There’s numerous educational exhibits at Granary Road but the ones our groups loved the most were the Frog Pond, Arachnid Web and the Farm Friends Petting Zoo! The Frog Pond has ground trampolines and a really neat frog slide (his tongue is the slide), so between the jumping and sliding, we had troubles getting our kids to want to ‘move on’! The Arachnid Web is a huge climbing structure (too big for our kiddos), but they did have these mini spider web swings that kept our little ones swinging over and over and over again!

But it was the Petting Zoo that kept our kids active and engaged for hours! From brushing the goats, to petting two week old bunnies, to seeing pigs, horses and the alpaca’s (one of them kisses:), we mostly followed along as our littles made their way from animal to animal. Of course the rocks were at times just as entertaining, as at this age range (1-2), they find most things new and exciting! But it did hold their attention and they were very interested in watching the animals.

The older the child gets, I believe the more and more they’ll get out of Granary Road. The exhibits are interactive, there’s so much to see, do, read and play with that I don’t think kids will walk away disappointed. Our little ones weren’t fully able to take advantage of all the park offers as we didn’t get to all of it! However if you bring 1-2 year olds, there’s also ant farm eggs to roll around, swings in the Chicken Coop, a toddler Corn Maze by the Croplands and climbing the Portabella Tower in Mushroom Meander. Even the names are creative and interesting!

Here is a snapshot of our groups feedback from their day at Granary:

* The goats were fun; you can pet, feed & brush them. Staff was super friendly and the guy up in the animal area was great, he was a wealth of knowledge. The trampolines looked like a blast. Lots of picnic tables, so great to bring a picnic. The pathways are loose rocks and are a bit challenging with a stroller. – Kristi C.

* The Granary Road experience combines the animal interaction of the zoo with the hands on learning of a science centre. It has multiple play areas that are wonderful opportunities to get your kids active outdoors and learning about the natural habitat of our beautiful prairie province. I think it is best suited for elementary aged children, since the play centres are geared towards their physical stature, but I do think all ages can take something away from the unique culture created there. It looks like the animals are treated with respect and have good sized enclosures with some enrichment opportunities as well. That was one of my main concerns today since I am a BIG animal person;) – Erin S.

* I had a great morning with my mommy connections group at Granary Road. It was fun to see my daughter get so excited petting the goats. Beautiful area and facility. I’ll certainly be coming back when she’s a little older to enjoy all the activities. – Ginette A.

* Granary Road was great. My little one loved the petting zoo the best. I do feel most of it is for older children as even my 3 year old needed direct supervision on play structures. – Jennifer P.

Here’s some details you’ll need to go, to help make your trip smoother:

* It is 36 acres, so be prepared to walk from exhibit to exhibit.
* The pathways are rocky but strollers are welcome (of course).
* Pack sunscreen and water (on hot days), as it’s in a large open farmers field, so not much shade.
* They have a snack shack open for beverages and food. Stay tuned to their website as the market will be open soon.
* Be prepared to stay the morning or afternoon or all day (depending on ages of kids). With so much to see and do, there’s enough to keep kids entertained for much more than just a day. * They do offer season passes *

Overall, I found it to be a fun, educational and interactive place for kids. Calgary does not have anything like this, so I have no doubt it will be a feature attraction for those who visit the city, to attend. While our younger ones may have only explored a few of the centres, there’s so much to see and do, we just couldn’t get to it all. So if you are planning to go, make a full day out of it and explore everything Granary Road has to offer!