1. It's Bluenose weekend in town! If your kids aren't running in the Doctors NS run on Saturday morning then get out and cheer, it's an amazing sight to see over 4000 kids running through downtown with their little blue noses! 2. If you would rather skip the chaos and head out of town then the sheep at Ross Farm Museum have had their lambs and are ready for their annual shearing at Wooly Weekend! There will be demonstrations in sheep shearing, washing & spinning wool. Learn about the importance of sheep to early settlers and about the work involved to produce yarn and how woolen yarn was used to make material for the clothing necessary for the cold winter days. 3. On Saturday, the Discovery Shop will host a Q-Ball Maze day that involves maze challenges and prizes! Come by and have some fun creating different mazes and test your skills. There will be prizes for tallest working maze and speed challenges — as well as draws and giveaways throughout the day! 4. Halifax's fine feathered friend Merlin will be celebrating his birthday in style on Saturday and you're invited. Head to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for crafts, activities and cake to celebrate the big day. Throughout the day, you can try their Seek-a-Macaw scavenger hunt with a draw for a prize pack. At 1:00, they'll be offering a variety of fun crafts and at 2:00, they'll have cake and juice in the foyer before everyone sings Happy Birthday to Merlin and he gets his presents. 5. Maritime Midways returns for its first time since last years Fall Fair to Exhibition Park in Goodwood! They will have all your favourite rides and games as well as plenty of food and refreshments available and be operating from 3pm on Friday and closing on Monday at 10pm, Rain or Shine! 

This is by far the easiest cake recipe going and is perfect for any celebration that would involve kids who may have egg or nut allergies.  I have been making cakes for weddings, birthdays etc for a few years now and this continues to be one of my favourite chocolate recipes.  It always a hit with the kids as well, which is the most important part!

The original recipe calls for an 8 x 12 pan but I've used it for all different sized cake pans and cupcakes.  You'll just need to double or triple it for larger pans and alter the oven temperate accordingly. 

Finally, the best part....you don't even need a mixer!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 cup cold water

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp vinegar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease the pan. 

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients - flour, cocoa, soda, salt, sugar.

In a small bowl combine the oil, water, vanilla and vinegar.

Add the wet to dry and stir well to combine.

Pour into baking pan.  Bake for 25-30 mins.

Let cool slightly before removing from the pan.  Cool completely before icing.  This cake also freezes well.  

Enjoy!

Day camps are an ideal childcare option for many parents once kids are out of school for the summer. Not only will your kids learn a variety of new skills and get plenty of exercise, they will build valuable social skills, spending their days having fun and learning with other kids their age.

And you don’t usually have to look far to find a camp that offers the right fit for you and your family – a quick Google search will likely yield a plethora of conveniently located day camps that specialize in all sorts of areas, from art and music to sports and recreation to education and technology.

To help you narrow down your options, here are a few tips designed to help you choose the right camp for your son or daughter this summer:

Location: Make getting to and from camp as easy as possible for you and your child. Consider a camp that isn’t too far away from your home or work, for ease of drop-off and pick up. If you commute to work, look for a camp location that is on (or at least near) your regular route to keep from over-complicating you and your family’s regular routine. Many camps also offer early drop-offs and late pick-up options to allow parents a bit of flexibility – fair warning though, check with the camp administrators first as some camps charge extra for this convenience.

Duration: Many camps offer both full-day and half-day options. Half-day camps can be a great option for very young children or for a child's first camp experience. They can also work well for children who don't like to be away from home.

Camp type: Ideally you’ll want to make sure that the camp you ultimately choose will have activities your little one will enjoy. After all, you want them to want to go to camp rather than having to fight to get them out of bed and out the door every morning, right?

Ask yourself some of these questions when trying to narrow down the type of camp your child will attend:

-Are you simply looking for childcare during the summer months, or are you hoping to help your child learn or refine a particular skill?

-Does your child want to hang out with friends or try something totally new? 

-Do you want him/her to gain leadership skills or learn how to be a better team player?

-Does your child need to learn how to manage responsibilities or is he/she learning to be more independent?

Cost: While researching the cost of the camp program, be sure to figure out the total cost. Are there additional charges for some of the activities or field trips? Are you expected to provide additional equipment? Is lunch included, is that an extra cost or do you have to provide it yourself? What about snacks? What is the refund policy if your child gets sick? Is your camp registration fee eligible for a Federal Children’s Fitness or Arts tax credit?

Decision Time: Once you’ve narrowed down the options, ask for your child’s input in making the final choice. Involving children in the selection process is a great way to get them excited and looking forward to their summer camp adventure.

Dalplex, Dalhousie University's main fitness and recreation facility, has been proudly serving the community for over 30 years, offering a wide variety of fitness, wellness and recreation programs and classes for adults, children, youth and seniors.  Visit their website or follow them on facebook.

This Spring we have a lot to look forward to, including the return of astronaut Chris Hadfield! In honour of our country’s most famous astronaut returning to Earth, we are celebrating everything astronomy and space during the month of May at the Discovery Centre. To celebrate the momentous occasion we give you balloon rockets!

For balloon rockets, you will need a few basic supplies: drinking straws (big enough to get a string through), string or line, balloons, tape and paper-crafting supplies (paper and/or card, scissors, drawing stuff, optionally: glue). The basic premise is very simple: put up a long, straight string line in your house or in your yard, and make sure one end can be freed up. This will be a guide for your rockets. By inflating a balloon, and attaching a piece or two of straw to its top, you can string your balloon rocket onto your line to guide the rocket’s path. Launch inflated rockets by releasing the air from one end (either release the pinched end for a reusable one, or cut off the tied end).

The fun comes from elaborating: any kind of rubber balloon works well, but some look more like rockets than others (tip: long “modelling” balloons often need a pump for inflating).  Adding paper or cardboard nose-cones, bodies and stabilizer fins not only improves the “rocket” image, but could very well improve your rocket’s performance. Measure your success either by timing the speed of your rocket, or tracking how far it goes on a very long track.

Your balloon rockets (bet you can’t make just one!) will function similarly to a real rocket. Space-going rockets burn materials to produce gasses that push out their nozzles, pushing them into the air at the same time. Your balloons squeeze the air out of their bodies and through their ends, pushing them along a string.

During May, we not only have rocket-making sessions at Discovery Centre (no strings attached, and a little more oomph), check our website for daily planetarium sessions and more – not even the sky is the limit! Bring the whole family!

For more great things to discover - visit the Discovery Centre on Barrington Street in Halifax, check out their website or join them on facebook