HOT: Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention, Scienceworks, 2 Booker St, Spotswood + Giveaway!

by Jetsetting Joyce on May 18, 2012 · 5 comments

in Activities and Events for children,Giveaways,HOT,Museums and Exhibitions

My favourite English claymation characters Wallace and Gromit are in Melbourne for a cracking exhibition at Scienceworks.

If you haven’t been to Scienceworks since you were in school, now is the time to go and take your kids. As evidenced by the preview night that I was invited to, Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

In fact, I think the adults will get more out of the exhbition because a lot of the more serious, educational information is at adult height. And frankly if I was a kid I’m not sure how interested I’d be in learning about using and protecting intellectual property when there’s a Karaoke Disco Shower to enjoy!

The exhibition is set out in a life-size version of 62 West Wallaby Street, Wallace and Gromit’s home. Inside you’ll find some of the wacky inventions that have featured in the movies, including the Telly-scope II and Hat Barometer…

…plus original film sets such as the Vegetable Plot, Dining Room and Living Room.

It’s worthwhile spending some time examining the sets as the attention to detail is amazing and quite often amusing. Look at the names of Wallace’s records and the fridge :–)

Interspersed with the Wallace and Gromit displays is really interesting information about many Australian inventions such as plastic money, the Victa lawn mower and ByK kids bike.

The exhibition contains lots of fun interactive elements – buttons to push, levers to pull, games to play and drawing and art activities – plus modelling clay right at the end!

Toddlers like NKOTB they will enjoy Gromit’s kennel and veggie patch right at the end of the exhibition. It’s padded and contains giant puzzles and velcro bits to stick onto walls with spaces to crawl and explore.

And once you’re done with the exhibition make sure you drop by the Scienceworks shop. I really want this set of nesting cake tins and do you think NKOTB would like the Porridge Blaster?

Giveaway! Thanks to Museum Victoria I have 5 x family passes (2 adults, 2 kids) to see Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention, which includes entry into the general Scienceworks exhibits (but not the Planetarium or Lightning Room which is extra).

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment and the winners will be drawn next Friday 25 May. Good luck!

Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention, Scienceworks, 2 Booker St, Spotswood

Daily, 19 May – 11 Nov 2012
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Adult $9, Child $6, Concession $7.50 + Scienceworks General Entry Adults $10, Child and concession free.

{ 5 comments }

HOT: Gourmet Garden herbs (Part 2)

by Tim on May 18, 2012 · 0 comments

in Food,HOT,Recipes

In Part 2 of my experiment with Gourmet Garden‘s tube of fresh herbs I tried the herbs ‘fresh’ ie not cooked and used as if they were garnishes or salad ingredients. We had this as a simple Sunday night supper. You can read Part 1 here. 

Slow-cooked pork sandwich with carrot and coriander soup

Slow-cooked pork ingredients (inspired by this recipe)

Sandwich ingredients
  • 2-3 slices good quality crusty bread, toasted. I like the spelt loaf from Brunetti.
  • 2 radishes, julienned
  • 1/4 apple, julienned
  • a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley
  • 1 tsp Gourmet Garden coriander

Carrot and coriander ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Gourmet Garden chunky garlic paste
  • 1/2 tbsp Gourmet Garden hot chilli paste
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 750g carrots, chopped into large chunks. Use organic carrots, that way you don’t have to peel them and the peel is where all the nutrients are. Plus there really is a difference in the flavour which is important when it’s the main ingredient. I assure you the difference in price is something like $2.
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 1/2 cups full cream milk
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp Gourmet Garden coriander or to taste

Instructions

  1. Rub the chilli and garlic over the pork then pack the brown sugar on top.
  2. Put the pork in a slow cooker and pour over the Worcestershire sauce. Cook on high for 1 hour then low for 3 hours, baste regularly.
  3. While the pork is cooking, make the soup which will take about 30 minutes.
  1. Fry the garlic, chilli, onion with a dash of vegetable or olive oil. When the onion is softened (but not browned) add carrots. Stir the carrots for about 5 minutes then add chicken stock.
  2. Bring mixture to boil then keep it at a rolling simmer until carrot is soft.
  1. Take saucepan off heat and blend mixture. It’s much easier using a stick blender if you have it.
  2. Add milk slowly until you reach the desired consistency. Some people like their soup really chunky, others like it smooth.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When you’re ready to eat, slice the pork into thick chunks. Swirl the coriander through the soup and taste to see whether you want more. Spread the toasted bread with the coriander and put some radish, apple and parsley on the bread, topped with pork.
Even Tim, who’s not readily a soup fan, loved this concoction! And we’re still eating the pork sandwich days later…

{ 0 comments }

NOT: Foxy Brown Espresso, 31a South Crescent, Westgarth

by Jetsetting Joyce on May 18, 2012 · 0 comments

in Child-friendly restaurants and cafes,Melbourne - north,NOT

Features:

  • multiple high chairs;
  • change table;
  • toys and books;
  • courtyard/play area;
  • pram access:
  • kids menu; and
  • child-friendly standard menu.

Foxy Brown Espresso is a retro-tastic oasis for Northcote families in need of a feed, but I’d be careful with what you order.

As the name suggests the décor is all groovy 70s – swirling paisley prints and 60s orange and brown pleather, with Foxy Brown and her big Afro being the mascot of the café.

The breakfast and lunch menu is extensive, with a special kids menu under $6.

I tried the haloumi burger ($14), made with Dench bread and stuffed to the brim with cheese, lettuce, shredded carrot, roasted mushrooms and beetroot relish.

It was a scrumptious-looking two-handed affair marred by two small details. The bread quickly became a soggy mess and would have held all the juicy ingredients better if it’d been toasted first and the haloumi was barely fried so it was just a slab of tasteless rubber in the mix.

NKOTB tried the mini organic sausage rolls ($5.50), the equivalent of half a sausage roll cut up into 3 pieces. The meat mixture was quite fragrant but the pastry was still mostly raw. I know it’s a kids meal but I don’t think the quality should be any less for young palates and the sausage roll would have been much improved with more care in the baking. Evidently NKOTB felt the same and basically ignored the flaccid, uncooked pastry.

I was so put off by our food that I didn’t even order my customary sweet treat at the end.

On the upside, the café had great facilities for little ones – lots of high chairs, lots of toys, lots of books and service was friendly. There’s space for prams and people and the back courtyard can be closed off if you want to completely commandeer the space with your Mothers Group.

But as far as the food goes I didn’t love it so I wouldn’t recommend Foxy Brown Espresso unless you happened to be in the area. 

{ 0 comments }

HOT: Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

by Jetsetting Joyce on May 17, 2012 · 0 comments

in Children's Books,Culture for children,HOT

One of the results of being an Australian immigrant aged 7 is that I never experienced some of the quintessential childhood books, music, TV shows and cultural references that most (white) Australian or Western kids generally have as part of their childhood.

So until I had NKOTB I’d never heard of the nursery rhyme ‘Galumph went the little green frog’. I’ve never watched an episode of Humphrey B Bear.

When it comes to books there are also gaps in my experience. I’d never heard of Hairy Maclairy or ‘Where is the green sheep‘ or ‘Dear Zoo‘, all of which are standards in kid’s bookshelves. Most parents I know can recite these books off by heart :–)

NKOTB received Dear Zoo as a gift from her Grandma and it’s one of her favourite books. It’s got big print she can point to, fold-out flaps and animals which we can sign together.

In case, like me, you also don’t know what happens in Dear Zoo, a child writes to the zoo for a pet. The zoo sends a series of unsuitable animals, all of which are sent back – except the last one, which is perfect! Yay!

And now to bring this book into the new technological age, you can buy an ipad app for Dear Zoo! You can read the story or have it read to you and the whole experience is interactive with jumping frogs and swinging monkeys.

{ 0 comments }

HOT: Gourmet Garden herbs (Part 1)

May 15, 2012

I’m fussy with my cooking herbs. In fact, I like to grow my own and in every house I’ve lived in since I moved out I’ve grown potted herbs through scorching sun, torrential rain and general neglect and mismanagement. As I’ve tended to have a ready supply of fresh, organic herbs on my balcony I’ve [...]

Read the full article →

HOT: Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

May 14, 2012

Yesterday the whole family trooped off to Readings Carlton so we could meet the Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer, Oliver Jeffers and get him to autograph NKOTB’s copy of Lost and Found. The marketing collateral tells you that Lost and Found is a “magical tale of friendship and loneliness, a boy and a penguin”. Penguins are inherently cute animals and the naive [...]

Read the full article →

Mothers Day: Now that I have my own kid….

May 13, 2012

My mum is overseas at the moment but this is the card I would have sent her if she’d been around to receive it. I actually hate it when people describe motherhood as a ‘job’. The term ‘job’ to me implies the corporate rat race – dragging yourself out of bed every day, pushing your [...]

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries