KCKidsFun

Kansas City, MO Mayor Sly James recently proclaimed October 19th “K- SEA day” to commemorate the ground breaking of SEA LIFE Aquarium.  SEA LIFE Aquarium is located in Kansas City, Missouri at Crown Center and is expected to open in April 2012.

Mayor James and dignitaries from Merlin Entertainments and Crown Center dug into over 2 tons of sand after talking about how SEA LIFE Aquarium will  benefit Kansas City tourism, continue to revitalize downtown Kansas City and  increase employment opportunities in the Kansas City area.  For locals, it’s a welcome addition to our city!  My kids are thrilled and can hardly wait for this to open.  We’ve always enjoyed visits to Crown Center, and have spent many summer and winter days exploring the area.  This will be an amazing addition!

If that weren’t enough, did you know that Kansas City is also welcoming a LEGOLAND Discovery Center? Scheduled to open just behind SEA LIFE (in May 2012), this will be the fourth LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the United States.  To commemorate LEGOLAND Discovery Center’s groundbreaking earlier this month, twenty thousand LEGO bricks spilled to the ground outside the construction site!

Described as stepping into the biggest box of LEGO bricks in the world, the $15 million, 30,000-square-foot interactive attraction will feature a MINILAND® exhibit which recreates landmark buildings in Kansas City out of LEGO® bricks, hands-on play areas, a 4-D Cinema, master classes from the LEGO® Master Model Builder, rides, and special party rooms for birthdays and other celebrations.

The MINILAND exhibit will be amazing- and you can vote on your favorite KC landmarks to be memorialized in LEGOs! Vote from landmarks like Arrowhead Stadium, Kauffman Center, J. C. Nichols Fountain and Union Station.   The top 10 will be announced November 7th.  (Personally, I would like nothing more than to see the Country Club Plaza in LEGOs!)

*images courtesy of INK inc.

The time has arrived… there are 15,000 little rubber ducks ready to be adopted. They have trained for the race, and are ready to win you one of the many great available prizes! Each duck is also a chance at a $1 million cash prize. Every duck adopted will make a difference in the life of a child with special needs, as 100% of the proceeds from the Duck Derby benefit Children’s TLC.

What is the best way to adopt a duck? By dining at a restaurant in the KC Hopps family starting on May 27th! It’s a great way to kick off your long weekend… not only will you enjoy a delicious meal, you will be able to add your adoption right to your check. Your server will give you an adoption number that you register online*, and it’s as easy as that! Dine at any of these restaurants between May 27th and June 25th, 2011,  and be sure to tell your server that you want to adopt a duck.

KC Hopps, Ltd Restaurants and Breweries

75th Street Brewery (Waldo)
810 Zone (The Country Club Plaza, Leawood, Harrah’s Casino)
O’Dowd’s Little Dublin (The Country Club Plaza, Zona Rosa)
Barley’s Brewhaus (Shawnee, Overland Park)
Blue Moose Bar & Grill (Prairie Village, Overland Park)
Los Cabos (Leawood)
Wild Bills (Legends in Kansas City, KS)

*Your registration must be completed by 11:00 p.m. on June 25th for your adoption to be valid. If you do not register your duck online, then your adoption will be considered a donation to Children’s TLC. Visit Children’s TLC website to learn of other ways to Adopt a Duck.

RED Development’s Duck Derby benefitting Children’s TLC will take place this SUNDAY–June 27, 2010 on the Country Club Plaza’s Brush Creek.  The fun begins at 11:00 am and will include food vendors, a Kids Zone with inflatables, face and hair painting, performances by Funky Mama and the JoCo All Star Band, and much, much more. There will also be a special performance by the Jewish Community Center Theater as they showcase excerpts from their summer production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

What is Duck Derby, you might ask?  Imagine tens of thousands of rubber ducks floating down Brush Creek–all for a good cause!  The ducks are individually numbered and “adopted” with lots of cool prizes up for grabs. Prizes include Justin Bieber concert tickets, KC Hopps dining packages, original art by Mike Savage and numerous tickets to KC sporting and cultural events.  The “duck drop” is a sight your family won’t soon forget–they are dropped from a net suspended from a crane!

A duck adoption will cost you only $5, with online adoptions closing at midnight Saturday!  New this year is the option to adopt at area KC Hopps restaurants.  These include:  75th Street Brewery, Barley’s Brewhaus, 810 Zone, O’Dowd’s Little Dublin, Blue Moose Bar & Grill, Los Cabos and Wild Bill’s Legendary Steakhouse and Saloon.

A great afternoon on the Plaza for a great cause–the kids at our city’s own Children’s TLC preschool. Kate and I love this organization and wish everyone the best on Sunday!  Good luck.