Robelle Domain Springfield Parklands

~ Exploring Qld Parks & Playgrounds ~

We recently had the opportunity to visit the much talked about Robelle Domain Parklands area over at Springfield. This has been on the list to do since the grand opening earlier this year. It is definitely a must visit park for those living within reasonable driving distance to the area.

A largish water play area was the perfect spot on the day we visited, with temps climbing the children ran to cool off at every opportunity. The water areas' main feature is the dump bucket. The large bucket overhead fills until it can fill no more and consequently all the water that is held within must be released.

Dumping huge splashes of water over unsuspecting, well actually, eagerly awaiting, children below. Around the perimeter of the dump bucket are a handful of water spouts, that randomly spray water from the ground.

Across to one side is a small, ankle deep, wet area, designed for the younger children to play in. Small scramble mounds also spray water, but not quite as ferociously as over near the dump bucket area.

This is a very well planned parklands area. Bordering the edge of the play area is a large oval, that also features an ampitheatre, which will be used for community events. A great spot to kick a ball around or have a hit of cricket.

Whilst the parklands are an easy walk to the nearby Orion Shopping Centre, they have chosen to include a Cafe on site. If you're a coffee loving mamma, then you'll agree that this is a fabulous addition. If you have kids that nag at you for snacks all day, then you may be at the other end of the spectrum ;-)

Right near the water play area is the play equipment area. The FIRST of its' kind in Australia. The Icon on Galaxy equipment combines play with electronic gaming. Fun fun fun!

This slide was a first for all us, we've never witnessed anything and in the end Fairy Princess chose not to tackle it.

Another piece of the equipment. Whilst perfect for the older childer this portion of the playground can be used by younger children. Some may need adult supervision and assistance on the equipment though.

Signage is dotted through the play area to guide the 'players' in getting the most out of the equipment.

This piece of the equipment spins 360 degrees. Fairy Princess loved it and used it many times. After a few revolutions she realised however that it was far easier to stand on the inside and spin.

The perimeter of the parklands houses walking paths, boardwalks and a lake area. Currently shade is an issue. Whilst there are a large number of trees planted they will obviously take a considerable amount of time to produce  the shade required for a picnic under a tree.

I would recommend taking your own shade where possible.

Onsite bathroom facilities, make this an easy place to settle down with the kids for a few hours.

Yet another fabulous community addition to the greater Ipswich area.

For more information on Robelle Domain see the Greater Springfield website.

Ipswich Art Gallery - Mirror Exhibition

After spending a good few hours in the morning sun, getting up close and personal with some of our native wildlife we ventured indoors to the Ipswich Art Gallery.

In the entrance we were all enthralled by this enormous Kaleidoscope. See the little camera on the top left catching all of the images. Every move, wiggle, jump or hop was caught and projected onto the screen.

The main reason we visited the Art Gallery today was to see the Jeannie Baker Mirror Exhibition.

On first entering the area I thought this would end up being one those super quick visits, until we took the time to look more closely.

The exhibition showcases the artwork from Jeannie's book "Mirror". This artwork is paperpiecing at it's finest, truly magnificent. I was first introduced to paper piecing when I began scrapbooking Lego Lover's baby photo's, it was a simple yet effective way to embellish the pages.

Jennie's paper piecings are so inspiring. Lego Lover and myself spent our entire visit wondering just how long each one of the pieces would have taken to create. The photographs really do not do them justice.

It didn't take everyone long to find themselves seated at the creating area. Lego Lover was enthralled with the images in the book. Hence this is on our current wish list of books to buy.

Little Surfer Dude is in an amazing cutting sensory period. I mean he is literally cutting everything. So whilst he did create, his piece didn't last long enough for me to photograph it!

Whilst Lego Lover was extremely impressed with the artwork he chose to wait until he has the book in his hot little hands (at home) so he can study the images more, before tackling any kind of intricate design work.....yes true perfectionist here (anyone else have one of those).

He ended up with a simple but playful one eyed monster. I believe it was the use of sticky tape as the only option that held him back from trying other creations

Little Princess Girl, however was full of concentration whilst working on her piece. Torn waves, teeny, tiny fish and crabs. This really caught her attention and she immersed herself fully in the activity.

I do believe that this particular exhibition has now finished, it is however travelling the country so be on the lookout for it at a gallery near you.

What a day in Ispwich, it was huge but lots of fun.

We visited the Nature Centre
Called into the Enviromental Centre
Played in Queens Park 
Finished up here at the Gallery.

We still have a few others thing to see in do in Ipswich, maybe another day.

Queens Garden (Ipswich) Playground

Once we had some lunch in our hot little hands, we moved on over to the Playground component of Queens Park, gathered ourselves under a shady tree, straight down on the grass. No picnic mat, shoes off, feeling the earth beneath our toes.

After a few bites the children were off. Who could resist a playground that was not only brand new to them, but one that was as well kept and gorgeous as this.

Surfer Dude is in that in between stage in playground land, he's kind outgrown the little kids structures but he finds the larger ones a slightly scary place at times.

Although, he often tries to tackle them.

The playground area is set into the side of the hill, which creates a whole host of smaller play areas for the children to explore.Although not so great if you are the sort of parent that needs to have one eye on all kids at all times.

At the base of the park are twin bright yellow slides, that, to the bigger kids disappointment, were a little slow, but still enjoyed several times, none the less.

Surfer Dude loved hanging upside down within this rope area.

Add water to a play area and you will entertain the children there for hours. Two large water pumps, that really pumped water, into small river like channels, is a great inclusion to this play zone.

Surfer Dude was most disappointed that the train was without a steering wheel, he was planning to head off exploring, but when you are unable to steer your train, well, let's just say he wasn't having  a bar of that.

No matter your age or size, the lure of water play eventually grabs your attention.

The playground also boasts a large spider web climbing area, swings and a wheelchair swing. With large amounts of shady trees surrounding the perimeter.

When next visiting Ipswich this playground will be a definite on our must do's, with a picnic lunch in hand.

Want to see what else we got up to whilst visiting Ipswich on this particular day. Have a look here and here.

Ipswich Environmental Education Centre

After spending a couple of hours at the Ipswich Nature Centre, we headed over to the Environmental Centre, right next door to the Queen's Park Cafe.

The Environmental Centre is a smallish building situated at the top of Queen's Park. There were a few touchy feely tables out with various items from nature. The children loved these.

A nice collection of birds nests, eggs and snake skins are kept behind glass in this cabinet.

However there was at least one birds nest they could pick up and inspect more closely.

The centre offers an array of brochures covering many environmental issues within Ipswich. There were also flyers showing off things to do around Ipswich, including many great looking walking trails.

The back corner was complete with children's tables and chairs and an abundance of nature inspired colouring pages.

We took the opportunity to wander through the Nature Centre whilst waiting for our lunch to be prepared at the next door cafe.

A word of note, take your own lunch with you and have a picnic, unless of course you are happy to pay nearly $50 for a few basic sandwiches and a couple of drinks.Both my mum and my jaws nearly hit the floor when the cashier gave me the total of our bill......definitely the only downside to our day.

We visited the Ipswich Nature Centre earlier in the day, you can read about that here.

Ipswich Nature Centre

Things to do in and around Ipswich seem to be the talk of the town at the moment. Everywhere I turn someone mentions something great to do in Ipswich. So I figured it was about time we ventured over to that neck of woods, again.

We took my mum with us, its' been a while since we have spent an entire day together, something we must do more often :-)

Our last visit was quite some time ago and we spent our entire time in the Art Gallery. Oh hang on, we have been to the Train Museum a few times also.

The Ipswich Nature Centre far exceeded all of our expectations.

Actually I should probably reword that as I planned this day with no expectations, something I've been working on for awhile now. Removing expectations funnily enough also removes the feeling of disappointment, we often have when our expectations are not met.

If only we could enter a situation with no expectations at all. Reducing expectations gives us the opportunity for our hearts and minds to be truly open and so we often find ourselves pleasantly surprised by the experience at hand.

This particular day is true testament of this.

The Nature Centre is located in central Ipswich, within the Queens Garden precinct. Parking is plentiful, though I would expect it to be an extremely popular destination on weekends and school holidays. Entry to the Nature Centre is free. At the gate they have a donation box, every penny placed in that box is well worth it.

Australian wildlife abounds here, in these gorgeous, well kept gardens.

Extensive board walks elevate the visitor from the ground, giving a superb view of the encompassing wildlife enclosures.

Lego Lover and Princess Girl delighted in pushing little Surfer Dude around in his pram. Surfer Dude of course obliged, why walk when you can be pushed! As you can see, they've gone off ahead to see what surprises were in store for us.

I know most three year old's don't want anything to do with their pram/stroller, however Surfer Dude has never been made to stay in his, riding in it has always been his choice. Up until he began to walk he was always in a sling (or carried) and even after walking took hold he enjoyed being carried. Our stroller was there as an option on outings where we felt that it may be of use. It has never been a place where he was made to stay seated and strapped in.

The freedom of this and utilising the stroller as a true tool and not a neccessity is surely why he loves to 'ride' in his stroller on occassions like today.

The wildlife enclosures themselves were extremely well maintained and built to a very high standard. With every turn we continued to be impressed with the quality of the Nature Centre. This little Quoll caught Surfer Dude's attention.

Oh such is the life of a wombat, sleeping the day away.

The turtles are in the process of shedding, a new experience for us to witness.

An abundance of wildlife also calls the Nature Centre home. A sure sign that even the caged animals here are happy.

Baby water dragons soaked up the warmth of the sun.

Looking back over one portion of the gardens, beautifully maintained. A pleasure to wander through. Ipswicher's should certainly be very proud of this place.

Further towards the back of the centre they have a good sized Ampitheatre where we were all intrigued by the mosaic work that was intwined within this structure.

A terrible photo, but it's not often that I get the opportunity of being in them with the children, the sun was glaring in our eyes.

The centre also houses a small farm area with your regular baby farm animals, pigs, calves, chickens, guinea pigs etc According to a small sign hanging in the area they also have regular feeding sessions where the children can get up close and personal with the animals.

The Nature Centre can be found at Queens Park, Milford Street, Ipswich.

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 9.30am to 4.00pm
Public Holidays: 9.30am to 4.00pm
School Holidays: 9.30am to 4.00pm, 7 days a week. 

Workshops Rail Museum - Build It

Yesterday we took a trip to the Ipswich Rail Museum, it's roughly 45 minutes from home, but is a great place to visit, especially if you have train loving kids in your house.

The children participated in a Crane Construction Workshop for a part of the visit.

They learnt about cranes, their function and the various types of cranes, via a series of slides and a presentation.

Then they proceeded to construct their own crane and work/play with its' various functions. Discussing what they were taught during the presentation.

Whilst the Bulid It Exhibition is on there are several activity stations placed around the museum all revolving around construction of some kind or another.

I don't think we got the opportunity to see even half of the hands on activities they had available.

Never the less, everyone had a fabulous time. During the week you are virturally the only ones there so definitely a great place to go for a day out.

Over the back of the museum they have a children's play area, with roads, a train track, bikes and trikes, large builidng blocks and trucks and trains to play in.

However, I warn you, it may be bery difficult to get your children to leave, I'm just sayin!

This post is linked to the Field Trip Blog Hop