We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
Get your little zoologists some first-hand experience with a few close encounters of the furry kind at Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort. This plush and well-established zoo with landscaped parkland, picnic areas, adventure playgrounds and more four-legged residents than you can chuck peanuts at, provides the perfect ‘day out’ opportunity now the weather’s cooled down a tad. With their finger firmly on the pulse when it comes to preserving species and providing an educational experience, 2012 at the zoo promises to be a fun year for the family. Check out the giraffe feeding station where children can get close enough to feed the gentle giants by hand. The Elezba petting zoo is not to be missed, either. Designed in the style of a local farm, children are invited to stroke, feed and learn about domesticated furry friends, such as sheep, goats, camels, llamas, chickens and ducks. If you have very young children or granny is visiting, why not book a personal golf kart with the Ahlan service? And if your kids are driving you bonkers during the holidays, why not book them in for their educational camp? They run through each of the school holidays, and the next is December 18-29.They’ll learn all about how a zoo is run, and there’s also the chance for them to get a few hands-on experiences with the animals too. General zoo entry fees are; Dhs15 (adults) Dhs5 (children 3-12) and nippers under three go free.
Open daily, 9am-8pm. www.awpr.ae (03 782 8188).
Get karted away!
If your brood has a penchant for speed – and four-wheeled vehicles – perhaps you could channel their passions productively this year by booking them in for a few sessions at the Yas Kartzone. Nippers aged eight to 12 can get stuck into the Cadets Karts, while those aged 13 and above can try their steering skills on the Senior Karts. For older kids however, we don’t advise mums stick around, as your beloved adolescent racing around the track at 70kph might just send you into anxiety orbit. The fleet of karts for younger ones provide a more sedate experience, though, and the track has strict safety regulations regarding mandatory use of full race gear (protective body suit, helmet and racing brief) prior to the green light. Plus, you don’t need to book in advance for the 10-minute ‘arrive and drive sessions’ where you can literally rock up on the day, grab yourself a kart and get in a few speedy laps.
Dhs80 (cadets) Dhs100 (Seniors) for a ten-minute race around the track. Open Tues-Sat, 2-10pm (800 927).
Get the spa treatment
Get some much-needed respite from the ‘little darlings’ in 2012, by checking out the new supervised play zone facility at the Grand Millennium Al Wahda, which is opening its new kids’ club, called Wonderland. The secure and safe environment offers indoor games, arts and crafts, movies and lots of constructive supervised play. Parents can leave their nippers (aged from three to nine years) for a maximum of three hours at the new centre. It’s especially handy for mums and dads attempting to shift those pesky extra pounds that have piled on during the festive season, because while the kids are being amused in a safe environment, they can take themselves off to the state-of-the-art Al Wahda health club for a pounding session on the treadmill, or mums can indulge themselves in some much needed pampering at the luxurious Zayna spa. Oooh, we like the sound of that!
Dhs50 (per child for up to three hours of supervised play). Open daily, 9am-9pm. www.milleniumhotels.com/ae (02 443 9999).
Sail the oceans blue at the Volvo Ocean Race
Arriving in Abu Dhabi on December 31, and sticking around for two weeks until January 14, the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race is one of the capital’s most anticipated events for 2012 – an estimated 100,000 fans will be in town to join in the fun. In fact, the city has been building a vast Destination Village on the Corniche breakwater to welcome the yachts that are taking part in one of the world’s most gruelling races.
Free to attend, and the size of EIGHT (!) football pitches, the Village will be hosting a whole programme of must-visit events and happenings while the race is in Abu Dhabi. Inside, there’ll be a 40-person interactive 3D cinema, ‘Life at the Extreme’ rides and simulators, which recreate the conditions on board a Volva Open 70 yacht (complete with surf and spray!), the Grinding Challenge, where you can pit your strength against your friends using the same pedestal grinders used by the crews on the race, and ‘Air Balls’ which enable kids to actually run across water. Alongside the fun activities, there’ll also be demonstrations, exhibitions, concerts (including Coldplay on New Year’s Eve!), and a wide range of F&B options.
And in addition to the activities on dry land, there will be a full sailing and watersports programme that both adults and kids can sign up to – the Volvo Ocean Race will be running both classroom and practical workshops to teach budding sailors of all ages, and there’s going to be a series of local regattas for newcomers too.
Local schools will also be getting involved in the Ocean Race, by joining up with the ‘Keep the Oceans Clean’ campaign, which is working to protect the sea-life from pollution, and will be running a series of free community art projects at the Destination Village. As well as creating an albatross sculpture from beach trash with the artists of Skeleton Sea, kids will be working on a number of beach clean up activities, and educated on environmental issues.
December 31 to January 14. To find out more about the Volvo Ocean Race, go to www.volvooceanraceabudhabi.com. To find out more about the work of Skeleton Sea, visit www.skeletonsea.com.
Time for tee at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship
Golf isn’t just for the grown ups, you know – at least it won’t be at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which is running from January 26 to 29. While the 2012 tournament is going to be graced by big names including Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy, away from the action on the greens, there’s heaps for kids to enjoy too. For 2012, the Championship Village has expanded to a whopping 1,200m², with an exhausting range of games, live performances, competitions and lots of fun activities such as a bouncy castle or golf simulator to get involved in. We hear that the Village is set to be even busier than last year, with special activities by the event’s sponsors, including Etihad’s ‘round the world putting challenge’, and falconry, henna painting and face painting in the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority Tent. While the details were being finalized as Time Out Kids went to press, there’ll also be a family picnic day, as well as the first ever ‘dress in red’ day, where everyone who is wearing red will be able to enter the tournament for free.
Throughout the tournament, entry is free for all under-18s that are accompanied by an adult, while Emirates Gold Federation Members and HSBC customers can also take advantage of free entry, too. Standard adult tickets are Dhs50 (day pass), and Dhs150 (four-day pass). For more information and tickets, visit www.abudhabigolfchampionship.com. Tickets are also available from www.timeouttickets.com, or by calling 800 4669.
Movie buffs join the club!
Shape your children’s viewing habits and educate them in the arts of film critique and analysis by booking them in to some sessions with The Magic Lantern. This popular children’s film club has thousands of members worldwide and offers a range of different screenings dealing with several cinematic genres and styles. After becoming members, children and parents are sent PDF booklets a week prior to each screening so they can discuss it beforehand. The actual show kicks off with a performance by professional actors, who explain the content of the film, and tell children the things they should be looking out for. Screenings are monthly, with six screenings per season. Suitable for kids aged six to 12, look out for Magic Lantern screenings at Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi on January 30, Febuary 27 and March 25 at 4pm, or the Al Ain Mall on December 6, January 3, February 7 and March 3 at 4pm. We won’t be revealing the film titles (that’s all part of the fun) but do make becoming a member of this unique world-wide club, high on your list of priorities for 2012.
Dhs150 for six scheduled film screenings and educational sessions. For more information on joining the Magic Lantern club, visit www.magiclantern.ae.
All the fun of the fair!
If you haven’t been to Hili Fun City of late, it’s about time you ventured to Al Ain to take a turn on the latest rides and make use of the brand new annual passes available for 2012. That’s right – if your nippers are total thrill seekers and like nothing better than being thrown around on stomach-churning, adrenaline pumping rides whenever they can, then this is the place for you. As well as the Hili Mouse (a hair-raising roller coaster) and the terrifying Thunderbolt, there are loads of exciting things for little ones to explore and try out. Check out the beautifully restored antique carousel, a mini train that takes you around the entire park, a safari car ride where tots can tear around on multi-coloured mini jeeps, along with bumper cars, bikes for hire and lots of safe rides for small people. The theme park has also had a bit of a make-over of late, and has two new attractions. The first is the new family skill game the Al Ain Derby where you race a horse against the clock – and your siblings – to win a prize. The second is a mini race track that has been built especially for small children to try. If you purchase an annual pass, you can enjoy all the fun of the fair every day (if you like) at the theme park, which offers you unlimited access to 31 attractions. WOOHOO!
Dhs200 (annual pass per person) Dhs1,000 (annual family pass for six people) Dhs100 (lady’s annual pass – valid on Wednesdays only). Daily rates, Dhs45 (Wed-Sat) Dhs40 (Mon-Tues) and Wednesday is ladies only day. Open 12noon-10pm Fri-Sat; 4-10pm Mon-Thurs; 10am-10pm on public holidays. www.hilifuncity.ae (03 784 5542).
Kick off with some Street Soccer!
Now, Abu Dhabi might have more than its fair share of football coaching, but how about learning the fancy footwork and freestyle skills of street soccer? Since the end of 2011, street soccer group Streetkings has set up a permanent home at The Dome@Rawdhat, where they’ll be running all manner of workshops, tournaments and street soccer clinics for UAE residents to learn the basics of the game.
Originating from Holland, the company was set up by legendary Dutch footballer, Edward van Gils, who has appeared in numerous ads for some of the world’s biggest sports brands, along with the likes of Ronaldinho and Ruud van Nistelroy. He teaches budding students a vast array of unique tricks and skills, from basic keep-me-ups to ‘panna’ or the art of playing the ball through your opponents legs. ‘We can’t wait to share our freestyle skills with the people of Abu Dhabi,’ says Edward.
After demonstrations at Marina Mall at the end of 2011 to show the public what it’s all about, there’ll be a one-day tournament on December 17 at The Dome@Rawdhat, while Peter Van Gils will be running a six-week street soccer clinic from January 2012. The clinics will be open to budding street soccer stars of all ages (so parents can get involved too!), with coaching for under-12s, under-17s and 17+.
To register for the tournament or clinic, go to www.thedome.ae or vall 02 449 8480.
But if traditional football played on grass is more your little kicker’s style, Manchester United Soccer Schools in Abu Dhabi are offering a brand new training module for 2012. ‘Learn to dribble and dominate the United way’ begins on January 7, and will be running until March 22, 2012. Open to girls and boys between the ages of seven and 16, the 10-week training programme includes 12½ hours of on-field coaching, catch up sessions, individual player evaluation and an exclusive Manchester United Soccer Schools training kit by Nike (which includes shorts, t-shirt and socks). Kids on the course will also get the opportunity to compete to win a place at the World Soccer Skills Final, which could potentially see them playing at Old Trafford Stadium, home to Manchester United, before a Premiership game.
Dhs1,650 (one module); Dhs2,700 (two modules). Register online at www.manutdsoccerschools.ae, or call 02 449 8480.
