We have been going to LA COUNTY FAIR almost every year, and, each year, there are new exhibits to add to our old favorites from the animal farms, railroad models and miniature trains, barn races, art exhibits and students' winning entries, horse-racing and horse shows, and, of course, all the goat-milking (which you can also do) and cow-milking demonstrations and acrobatic and entertaining shows. We like to do the educational exhibits and farm shows or see blacksmiths and leathersmiths at work in the Heritage Mission in the morning before the public comes in at 11am, and then stay cool with inside art and car exhibits at the NHRA Motorsports Museum (free if you are with an educational fieldtrip) and acrobatic shows (this year, it is a Beijing troupe) within the shopping malls before doing rides when the sun is down and catch the evening shows such as before going home ... and it is the only place we get huge barbecued turkey legs to share :)
Here is a downloadable map or you can get a hard copy as you enter: http://www.lacountyfair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014LACF_GroundsMap.pdf
and here are schedule of shows for both this Thursday and Friday so you can play your day and minimize backtracking:
Some Thursday excerpted schedules give you a sense of what you do at the Farm areas:
Aunt Cindi & Uncle Bob Ice Cream & Butter ALL DAY
Five-acre farm of specialty crops ALL DAY
Extreme Equine Show 11:30 AM, 2:30, 4:30, 8 PM
Barnyard Racers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 PM
Magic Farm Science Show 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 PM
Chicken & Rabbit Talks 2:30, 6, 8 PM
Thummer, Daisy & Lily Meet & Greets
5:45, 6:45, 7:45 PM
ESMERALDA’S TRAVELING CIRCUS
presented by Circus Circus
Circus School ALL DAY (you can learn how to juggle here!)
Esmeralda’s Traveling Circus ALL DAY
This End Up 1:30, 3:30, 7 PM
Aerial Arts Circus Show 2, 4, 6, 7:30, 9 PM
Venardos Circus 2:30, 6:30, 8:30 PM
Conjurer 3, 6, 8 PM
Mango and Dango 3, 8 PM (funny action comedy)
You might not expect to see underwater creatures, but some of these shows are well worth seeing:
BENEATH THE SEA: AN UNDERWATER ADVENTURE
Beneath the Sea ALL DAY
Live Stingray Encounter ALL DAY
Sea Lion Splash 2:30, 6, 9:30 PM
Mermaid Linden 3, 4, 5, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 PM
Live Shark Encounter 3:30, 7, 9 PM
http://www.lacountyfair.com/play/whats-new/
http://www.lacountyfair.com/play/hall-of-heroes/
Here's a description from the link above about the Hall of Heroes:
Your adventure begins at the “Identification Station” where you learn about the various kinds of Superpowers. You then travel through our towering Cityscape and into the various Galleries of Power. They are: “Powers of the Body”, “Powers of the Mind”, “Elements”, “Mastery”, Real Life Heroes”, Gadgets”, and the “Superhero Gallery”. In each gallery you will find dramatic artwork and interactive devices demonstrating the real life forces employed by your favorite Superheroes.
In Powers of the Body you can learn about radiation from a very angry Hulk, and test your strength, balance, and senses, under the watchful eyes of Superman. Have your brain scrambled by the puzzles of the Riddler in Powers of the Mind. Test your reflexes and your skills with magic in Mastery. Elements will expose you to the shocking secrets of a Tesla Coil, and let you walk into a Tornado Chamber.
In Gadgets you can check out Dr. Who’s Tardis, and another iconic Time Travel vehicle, the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future (don’t forget your Flux Capacitor). Batman is there with his cool Batcycle from the 1960s, although he is not happy about being given a ticket by a CHIPS Officer. Iron Man and Optimus Prime are also present, as a couple of examples of the ultimate in Gadgets. Across the hall in the Superhero Gallery is an assortment of Superhero Fine Art, along with Rubbings and Coloring Stations allowing you to create your own Superhero Art."
LUMINASIA is completely new and there is an additional fee to enter, and here is a description from the website:Luminasia "lights up LACF’s hillside with a spectacular, larger-than-life Asian themed and whimsical lanterns. Each is hand-crafted and custom built using an ancient art form and 100 artisans from China. No exhibition of its kind has ever been seen in California, and it’s only here at LACF."
To see how Luminasia was planned and structures were created, see this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNaXGV6OeRY
To see what it looks like at the fair, here's a preview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyypRF9_5Uk
Luminasia admission fees:
| Adult Admission | (ages 18+) | $9.00 |
| Child Admission | (ages 6-17) | $5.00 |
| Child Admission | (ages 5 and under) | Free |
Most schools are unable to stay more than a few hours, but if you drive your own children or carpool with others, you can stay till closing time at 9pm if you arrive with an educational group between 9am and 11.30am. It is a long day at the fair, but if you keep cool and rest in between walking and sit-down shows, it is completely doable even with kids :)
Other tips from many years of going to the fair:
Click on your specifc day to see the schedule of educational and entertaining shows for the day and many shows are presented twice or more a day. Allow extra time for children to go slower and enjoy what they see along the way. However, if you have never been to the fair before, it is a good idea to plan out your route based on performance shows or demonstrations you want to catch. You can do that ahead of time with this online interactive map in the blue box above.
It is always hot at the fair, so plan any rides for after the sun has gone down when it is cool, Bring hats and sunglasses and sunscreen ...and have plenty of water bottles. I know there is good ice-cream opposite the cow-milking areas.
My best tip for managing the heat is to alternate between outdoor activities and indoor events in air-conditioned buildings - the art gallery, car museum and all the shopping areas as well as the garden/flower buildings. Look at the map to see where things are and look at the schedule to see what times you want to be in a certain areas.
Bring these to cool off: a light-weight baby-stroller (lighter than a wagon) even if you don't have a toddler so you can carry ice-cold frozen waterbottles without breaking your back as well as any healthy snacks (although the turkey legs is really something if you are not vegetarian!). Neckerchiefs or even paper towels that you can wet to cool off around the necks, or handheld battery-operated fans, or the watermisters for fun cooling,
When you first enter, you will be near Fairview Farms and you can see prize-winning 4-H animals, bee-exhibits and you can hang out near the FarmViews and Heritage Farm and Crafts earlier in the day if you are interested in all the animals' exhibit (don't miss the cow-milking by machine, goat-milking by hand, and pig races), and the air-conditioned America Kids Building where you get your read-to-ride tickets in the morning. For the horse lovers, you can see some horse shows near the farm area and you can also see real horse racing at the fair .. another place to cool off and rest :)
Oh, if your kids want to earn some free junior ride tickets for up to 8th grade, you can get up to 6 free tickets-to- ride by printing out this form:
http://www.lacountyfair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2014_ReadToRideProgram.pdf
By listing the titles of books your child have read this summer and making pictures reports (K-2nd) about them or brief book reports between 25-50 words depending on their grade. They can type or write them .. and the retired teacher volunteers would sometimes ask them about the books they read :) Bring the form and "book reports" to the counter near the entrance at America Kids and get the read-to-ride tickets. This building also has all the winning art work worth looking at and also dress up and play areas. See if your child's favorite books have special features and activities here .. don't miss the Magic Tree House Stage for some action:)
Wells Fargo provided a new educational resource on financial education called Hands-On Banking at different grade levels:
To organize a trip for next year, here's where you can find Fairkids fieldtrips info:
For curriculum connections, click on each topic below:
- America’s Kids
- Beneath the Sea
- California’s Heritage Square
- The Farm at Fairplex
- Flower & Garden Pavilion - this year the focus is on rainforests of China
- Historic Trains - see the real thing retired here and, yes, you can pull the whistle/horn!!
- Millard Sheets - art museum
- Mojo’s Wild & Crazy Lagoon
- Hall of Heroes – New!
- Wilderness Ridge - where you can see animal shows and learn about ecological conservation
Field Trip Resources
- Important Field Trip Information
- Scavenger Hunt
- Free Milk Coupon - if you wish to get free milk, each registered group can get milk for everyone in the group.
- FairKids Map
- Read to Ride Program - write-up 6 books you have read over the summer, and get 6 junior ride free
- Millard Sheets Tours - this is the art museum and this year, the exhibit is Mid-Centuy Art - the retro, classic, and cool. Details at: http://www.lacountyfair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2014_LACF_GuidedTours_LetterToSchool.pdf
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The official address of the fair is:
1101 W McKinley Ave
Pomona, CA 91768
But Gate 9 in the BLUE GATE area is off WHITE AVE if you are doing a homeschooler/private school fieldtrip.
is a good map to orient yourself and you can see WHITE AVE and GATE 9 as well as the freeways.
I would gps the intersection of McKinley and White Ave unless you see a closer route from the freeway you are taking. This map is interactive so you can click on each named areas.
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