During our recent trip home to Regina, Saskatchewan, we had the great pleasure of visiting the Saskatchewan Science Centre. Their current visiting exhibition is JoyLab! It’s a real must for every family this summer, I promise this will bring you joy!
Thanks go to Leasa and the Saskatchewan Science Centre for providing us with a joyous afternoon, and a lifetime of memories. We toured around the whole Science Centre, (which I’ll tell you more about in a later post) but our first stop was to the newly-opened JoyLab!
“The experience is inspired by Ingrid Fetell Lee’s book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness that draws on insights from neuroscience and psychology in exploring how the world around us can influence our lives.” – Sask Science Centre
I dare anyone to make a visit to JoyLab with children and not crack a smile or burst out in laughter from watching the young have fun! JoyLab is the ideal place to take youngsters for great photographs that won’t soon be forgotten! Take your children, your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, those you babysit, your daycare kids….you’ll be the coolest parent around in their eyes!
The JoyLab is a big hands-on experience that is joy to the eyes with the sights, a joy to the ears to hear children laughing, giggling, and having the time of their lives, and just perfect for those children who like to move around and can’t sit still.
Don’t forget to bring your camera – you’ll certainly be taking many photos to capture the moments. And if you post on social media, use the hashtag #thisisjoylab so you can share the joy with others, too. There are no end to the photo opportunities presented in this fun and unique area of the Science Centre.
There’s something for everyone – and for those of us who grew up in the ’80s, you’ll appreciate the backdrops, too!
Start your JoyLab experience with a ‘ride’ on a unicorn to find your happy place. This unicorn doesn’t move, but it’s still lots of fun for youngsters.
For fans of outer space, this is a great photo opp! Too bad Tristan had left his astronaut costume back in Northern Ireland…but he wasn’t totally unprepared with his hoodie/Storm Trooper persona 🙂
I love this fluffy cloud area – I saw some great photos being taken in there by others. Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground…isn’t that the old saying?….
….unless…
you walk over to this upended area where you’ll find the world has turned!
Later in the experience, there’s a room of mirrors and lights. Kallista found her happy place here dancing. She loves to dance in front of mirrors (just ask the ladies where we get our hair cut).
If you have very young children/toddlers/babies, then you’ll love this giant nest as much as they will! Can you just imagine curling up and having a restful nap here? My kids preferred to act like hangry birds and flap their wings.
When we reached the second unicorn (this time, a big, giant blow-up character), I think Leasa had as much fun as the kids! Ride the unicorn, imagine a fantasy picnic with a huge watermelon slice, and then play a game of dodge ball with the emoji balls 🙂 How fun is that?
After you’ve had your fill of excitement, slow down and take some time to smell the flowers on the wall. Kallista wasn’t a fan of the smell, but the wall itself is pretty in purple.
And finally, when you’ve experienced all the joy one human can handle, pick up a piece of paper and write on it what gives you joy and hang it on the Joy Wall.
JoyLab is a real joy to visit and an experience your family will love. It was a big highlight of our month in Regina, and the kids have been buzzing about it ever since. So if you’re in the Regina area, get yourself down to the Saskatchewan Science Centre now to experience JoyLab for yourself!
