Bubhub: The Perth Cultural Centre and the Piggyback Rider

The Bubhub

The Perth Cultural Centre and the Piggyback Rider

by PerthMama , 16-11-2011 at 12:38 AM

I find sometimes in life with kids that days slip into weeks, and before you know it, entire months have swooshed by! We’ve been having a wonderful time out and about in Perth though, and will be back here a little more regularly than we have during the past, ahem, while.

One of our favourite discoveries since moving back to Perth is the Perth Cultural Centre, which is the area next to the Perth train station that includes the Art Gallery, Museum, State Library, PICA and the State Theatre. We usually park our car at the local train station, grab the awesome Piggyback Rider, hop on the train into the city and away we go!

Outside the Perth Museum is a wonderful new nature-inspired play space filled with sensory activities for imaginative play and musical fun with chimes and drums. And of course the Perth Museum itself, although in need of a bit of a revamp and update, always has something to entertain especially with the hands-on activities in the Discovery Centre.

On a sunny day the Wetlands are a fun place to explore and to jump from one stone to the next to cross the water. We are yet to see or hear any of the frogs which were recently released in there – perhaps they’ve all moved out again??

The Art Gallery has a small space set aside for children to draw their own still life and they provide paper and coloured pencils for your budding artist who can then hang their work of art on a wall in the gallery. There’s also a family-friendly interactive space called ‘Wonderland‘ where weary parents can rest their feet while the kids draw, do puzzles and learn about colours and painting. The cafe at the art gallery is also a must-do on our visits to the Perth Cultural Centre and it’s always buzzing.

We also enjoy a visit to the State Library and The Place, their very family and child friendly lounge/hang out area on the mezzanine overlooking the entrance. Every Wednesday at 11am there is story time, as well as a range of other reading-related activities you can enjoy throughout the week.

At the end of a visit to the Perth Cultural Centre we usually see what’s growing in the Urban Orchard (outside the gallery), sprawl on the lawn for a quick rest before hopping on the train home again.

The Piggyback Rider, in case you were wondering, is a carrier for older children which makes it possible to take your child out and about without a stroller. It’s got a comfortable padded shoulder/chest harness for the adult to wear and a height adjustable bar that sits across your rear which your child stands on for a great view. The child also wears a harness which clips to the adult harness and holds onto handles, so even if they slip they aren’t going anywhere. Because of where the bar sits it creates a low centre of gravity which makes it comfortable and stable, and after a few practice runs around the house you soon learn how to position the adult harness so the child has to lean forward a little to grab their hand straps. We absolutely love the Piggyback Rider, and the only downside I’ve found is that parents walking by will keep staring at your behind. It took me a while to work out that’s because the name of the product is written prominently across the bar!