Playground Review - Jamestown, MA

Jamestown Community Playground, RI

Teacher, Mom, and 3 Boys (under 7) Rating:   * * * * (out of 4)

Note:  Although I'm currently a preschool teacher and no longer a nanny, I still love all things early childhood!  This means taking field trips with my friend and her three young boys (Ages 7, 5, and 4)  and sharing our findings with others.  We especially love free and low-cost outings, so playgrounds are at the top of our list!  When we find ice-cream or other treats nearby, we include that information as well.  

The newly updated Jamestown playground still has that fresh mulch smell and is attactive, clean and spacious!  The pathways are made of compressed rubber and have a nice cushiony bounce as you walk.  The playground is located directly behind the town library (directions below), which might be an additional little stop if you have the time.  

New Mulch and Rubber Pathways at Jamestown Community Playground, RI

Pros:

Two large themed structures are the first things you notice as you approach the white picketed fence playground:  

• Spaceship area and Pirate ship area with multiple covered slides and stairs to climb:  

Climber and Space Ship area at Jamestown Community Playground, RI

Pirate Ship area at the Jamestown Community Playground, RI

You'll also find:  

• Climber: a large netted pyramid-shaped climber between the two.  

• Swings:  a row of swings (including an adapted/safety swing) for children and infants

• Zipline with platforms on both sides and a disc seat attached to a thick rope.  THIS was one of the most popular attractions at the Jamestown playground.  Parental intervention was needed at times to make sure children in line received a turn!  (There is no close-up photo of the zipline, but it is along the back fence in the photo below.)

Swings and Zipline at the Jamestown Community Playground, RI

Bonuses:  

• Fenced in along street/parking areas and latched gate. Children can run around and have fun, but they can't run away faster than you can catch them.

• About three picnic tables and a small grassy area to put down a blanket.  At this stage, there are no benches, which might be a nice future addition.  

Our three boys played for three hours straight before they started getting hungry and realized it was about an hour past their usual dinner time!

Cons: 

Other than swings, there isn't much here for infants or toddlers.  We taked to some grandparents with their one-year-old, and they were disappointed that there wasn't something more her size or speed.



Town Webpage:  Jamestown Parks and Recreation - Community Playground

Location/Map:  Jamestown Library at 26 North Road - Playground behind

Nearby Ice Cream can be found at Spinnaker's, located in the beautiful Ferry Wharf area where the Jamestown Ferry launches.  There are a few outside tables adjacent to a parking lot, and they offer basic food fare for children and adults (nothing to write home about), but the ice cream was a hit. 

Spinnaker's Cafe, 3 Ferry Wharf, Jamestown, RI

 There's also a small beach a few steps away from the wharf for walking, boat watching, and shell hunting.

Beach Near Ferry Wharf, Jamestown, RI 

View of the Newport Bridge from Beach Near Ferry Wharf, Jamestown, RI

Best Preschool Egg Hunt

I’ve tried all types of egg hunts, but this has been my favorite for four years straight. The children are excited, happy, and content! What more can you ask for?

To view the rest of the article and photos, please head over to my newest blog, which I started to store and share my favorite early childhood activities:

My Preschool File Cabinet - Best Preschool Egg Hunt

Mid-Week Mom Tip: Review of The Dinosaur Place in Montville, CT

My friend, Melissa, is a home daycare provider/owner and inventor of  Pick-Ease, a utensil that makes eating fun for children, including picky eaters.  She's also the mom of two young boys and likes to take them on fun-filled field trips. She writes about this trip and other topics of interest to parents on her Pick-Ease blog, so you can check them out at Pick-Ease.com.  I'm sharing her review of their recent trip to The Dinosaur Place in Montville, CT below:

This Summer, my family visited The Dinosaur Place for the very first time. The Dinosaur Place is located in Montville, CT, just minutes from Mystic Aquarium. Now, we’ve been to Mystic Aquarium numerous time, but I had never heard of The Dinosaur Place until last year. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend it! What an amazing day trip that’s fun for the whole family! 

The Dinosaur Place

At The Dinosaur Place you will find over 40 Life-Sized Dinosaurs on 1.5 miles of nature trails. You’ll also enjoy playing in Monty’s Dino-sized playground, finding your way through the A “Maze” asaurus, bouncing in the Jurassic Moon Bounce, splashing in New England’s largest splashpad, and much more!

Monty’s Dino-Sized Playground

When entering the The Dinosaur Place you will first see Monty’s Dino-Sized Playground. I love that the playground was designed for children of all ages. There are multiple Jungle Gyms of varying difficulties throughout Monty’s Playground, including a separate toddler-sized play area for little ones! My boys especially loved climbing on and through the 3 foot tall Pachyrhinosaurus (thick-nosed lizard) skull!

Splashpad

The Dinosaur Place is also home to New England’s largest Splashpad! Once again, accommodating children of all ages was considered during the design of this splashpad. My youngest son loves water but hates being splashed in the face, so I was very pleased to find that there was an area that he too could enjoy! In the Splashpad area you will find over 30 dinosaur-themed features including dinosaur head water cannons, a dinosaur “ribcage” waterfall, a spitting Stegosaurus, and more! There are also bathrooms and changing areas located right outside the Splashpad. 

Dinosaur Trails

Once again, at The Dinosaur Place you will find over 40 Life-Sized Dinosaurs on 1.5 miles of nature trails. To enter the Dinosaur Trails, you will walk under the belly of a life-sized Brachiosaurus. This dinosaur is 75 feet long and 40 feet tall! Walking through the Dinosaur Trails truly was an amazing experience for all of us. I had never seen anything like it before. The kids really loved exploring the trails and discovering all of the different types of dinosaurs! They also loved stopping at each of the “What am I?” touch and learn activity boxes located throughout the trails. In these boxes you will discover different objects including dinosaur teeth, seashells and more! Towards the end of the dinosaur trails you will find a life-like interactive animatronic Dilophosaurus hiding in a cave! We had to visit this dinosaur a few times during our visit, as it was a favorite for all of us!  

Raptor Bay

Upon exiting the Dinosaur Trails, you will come to Raptor Bay which is a seven-acre man-made lake. Along the edge of the lake there is a volcano that “erupts” every hour on the hour. When the volcano erupts you will feel the ground vibrate and see mist spray out of the top.

Jurassic Moon Bounce

The Jurassic Moon Bounce is a great addition to The Dinosaur Place. What kid doesn’t love jumping in a bouncy house? 

A “Maze” asaurus

If you go towards the right, upon entering the dinosaur trails, you will come to the A “Maze” asaurus. This is a large maze with lots of twists and turns than you have find your way though. I love that maze is raised so you can see your little one’s feet, making it easier to find them if they get lost! To exit the maze you will slide through the mouth of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Discovery Depot

Everything I’ve listed above is included in the admission to The Dinosaur Place, and it’s more than enough fun to fill your day, but if you’re up for a little more adventure, stop by the Discovery Depot, located right next door! For an additional fee, at the Discovery Depot you can mine for gems, pan for gold, and dig for dinosaur bones! Some of these activities are only done at certain hours of the day so be sure to check for times on the big board located in The Dinosaur Place gift shop, where you also purchase tickets to The Dinosaur Place.

The Bone Zone

In The Bone Zone your child will work along side other children to uncover the skeleton of a dinosaur. Dr. Bonz teaches the children a bit about paleontologists, and walks them through the proper techniques for digging for dinosaur bones. After about 15 minutes of digging, Dr. Bonz will talk a bit more about the dinosaur that was uncovered. She will then hand each child a small case with 5 real fossils in it. The fossils alone made this activity worth the price, and the kids had lots of fun digging in the sand! 

Jackpot Mine

The Jackpot Mine is Southeastern Connecticut’s only replica silver mine. Before you enter, you will be given a souvenir bucket to place whatever your find in. In the mine your child will dig with their hands to try find over 50 kinds of real gemstones, crystals and minerals. Best of all, you get keep everything you find! This was definitely one of my favorite parts of our trip. Just beware that you are not allowed to help your child dig, so if your child is on the younger side and will require help, make sure you purchase a ticket for yourself too!

Thunder Creek 

Unfortunately, we didn’t participate in the Thunder Creek activity. After an extremely long day, our kids were just too tired to keep going, but this is definitely on our to-do list for next year! At Thunder Creek your child will be given a souvenir pouch to keep all of the “fools gold” they find while panning for gold!

What’s to Eat?

Inside The Dinosaur Place, you can grab some food at Monty’s Munchies, located next to the Splashpad. There you can get traditional concession foods – burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc. Although the food was good, the wait was extremely long, so I would recommend you pack your own lunch. This has nothing to do with the servers, as they were working as hard as they could. There were just so many people ordering, that they couldn’t keep up with it.

Another food option would be to eat at the Cobalt Cafe, located in The Shops at Nature’s Art Village. We didn’t visit this restaurant but from their website, I see that they offer a bit more than Monty’s Munchies.

Lastly, there is an ice cream shop at The Dinosaur Place which is the perfect way to end an amazing day! On top of ice cream, they also offer Root Beer Floats and other beverages

Tips

Don’t forget your bug spray and sun block! Also, bring lots of water and wear comfortable shoes!