More outing ideas from helpful mommies, including beaches...

Malkie G. suggests Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey as an outing. There's a park, picnic area, and playground on Admiralty Way near the pier. There's a beach too (I think it even has a lifeguard at peak hours). However, according to the reviews online (which are overall very positive) the water quality is not always the best, particularly after rain. Apparently Heal the Bay gives beaches report cards you can check online.

http://brc.healthebay.org/

You might want to check the current rating for any beach you visit before letting the kids swim. Mother's Beach sounds like a great place to go on a hot day despite that caveat! There's a lot of clean sand to play in and the breeze cools everyone off as they play. Plus, it's really close.

My family usually goes to the beach in Palos Verdes, but during the record-breaking heat at the end of last summer, my husband (who is from O.C.) discovered West Newport Park in Newport Beach. The park is sandwiched between PCH and Seashore Dr. at Prospect St. There's a fabulous playground just a block from the beach with lots of shade and decent (not fabulous, but more than serviceable) bathrooms. The beach itself is great there, with a really wide shallow stretch for the kids to wade around in. I'm not sure what it's like on weekends, but on the weekday on which we visited, it was not crowded and mostly little kids.

Karen F. sent me an amazing list of outings, including Mother's Beach. I'm editing out those already mentioned, but there are a lot that haven't been. Many of these are not so much the freebie type, more for splurges, but they're still fabulous:

Bitter Root Pottery Class (Beverly & Martel) - Sundays 11:00am
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Mondays Fairfax Branch Library
LACMA Families ART (Mondays 4–5pm)
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Aquarium of the Pacific - Long Beach
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KidSpace
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Zoo

There's a lot of good zoos, actually: L.A., Santa Ana, Orange County (in Irvine), Santa Barbara, and San Diego. The Santa Ana zoo has lots of highly-entertaining monkeys and a first-rate petting zoo, while Santa Barbara has a nice train ride.
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McGrath Street Pumpkin Patch
in Ventura, CA 93003
McGrath Street Pumpkin Patch, 5156 McGrath St., Ventura, CA 93003 Call: (805) 658-9972 October 1, to October 31; 9 a.m. to dusk
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Live Steamers
http://www.lals.org/
5202 Zoo Drive
Los Angeles, California 90027
trains for the general public to ride from 11 am - 3 pm every Sunday (weather permitting). except for the Sunday before Memorial Day and the first Sunday in October. The gate is open from 10:45 am to 3 pm. Train rides begin at 11 am.
Recorded Information
(323) 662-8030
Telephone
(323) 661-8958
E-mail
info@lals.org
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Rent Bikes in Griffith Park, or go horse back riding, ride carousel, visit Shane's Inspiration playground. And don't forget the Griffith Observatory.
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Eco Star Station
http://www.ecostation.org/
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La Brea Tar Pits
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Marina Del Rey Waterbus
JUNE 26 - SEPTEMBER 7
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Audubon Center
at Debs Park
4700 North Griffin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 221-2255
Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
9 a.m to 5 p.m.
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Mother's Beach - Marina Del Rey
Serene swimming in the calm waters of a lifeguard-protected haven. Playground-on-the-sand with swings and slides.
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Culver City Ice Arena
4545 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 398-5718

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LACMA: Korean brush painting, Sunday family activities
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Peterson Automotive Museum
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Zimmer Children's Museum
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Santa Monica Beach and Pier, including: Santa Monica Pier Aquarium - Heal the Bay
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Jumpin Jamin in Arcadia
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Natural History Museum:

Dinosaur Encounters
Wednesdays - Fridays 10 am, 11:30 am, 2:30 pm
Saturdays - Sundays 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm

Live Animal Presentations
Weekdays, 3 pm; Weekends 11 am
Located in the Discovery Center

I'd like to add, the butterfly pavillion should be open!
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The Coop in Studio City
11118 Ventura Blvd
818.760.9613
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Disney's California Adventure
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Family Swim Sundays at the JCC on Olympic 2:30
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http://www.pretendcity.org/
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Arbortorium Arcadia
Open daily from 9AM to 5PM • 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
To verify the tram schedule on the day of your visit
please call (626) 821-3222.
LAST ADMISSION AT 4:30 PM
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Ikea - has a supervised kids playground you can drop them off while you shop
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Adventure City
1238 South Beach Blvd
(between Ball and Cerritos)
Anaheim, California
in the Hobby City Complex
M_Th - 11-6 Sun 11-7
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Science and Discovery
http://www.discoverycube.org
Main Number: 714-542-2823
Fax: 714-542-2828
Address:
2500 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92705
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Mountain High Tubing
Directions
The North Pole Tubing Park is located at the North Resort, which is directly across Hwy 2 from West. Make a right at the entrance road off Hwy 2 and continue one mile up the road.
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Lake Casitas WaterPark Recreation Area
11311 Santa Ana Road
Ventura, CA. 93001
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Santa Monica Playhouse
1211 Fourth Street
The Playhouse offers its own musical version of the classic tale, featuring a handsome prince, a zany fairy...
invite a friend
Ages: 2-18
Time: 12:30pm & 3pm
Cost: Adults $12.50; Children (under 13) $10.50
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Giggle Gaggle, Children's Comedy
Joy Theatre
5233 Lankershim Blvd
Raven Playhouse
Kids ages four to 11 perform, including sketch, improv, characters, stand-up, and more.
invite a friend
Ages: All Ages
Time: 2pm
Cost: $8
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Huntington Beach Adventure Playground
Adventure Playground runs mid-June through mid-August. This experience is suitable for kids six to twelve years old. It is only open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday.

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Iceland is the first and only rink in California to offer Bumper Cars on ice. Bumper cars are available for public and Birthday Parties on Saturdays & Sundays from 12:00pm - 2:00pm
http://www.vannuysiceland.com/