Fun for the Kids at Local Ventura County Shopping Malls

Shop and plop yourself down while your kids get entertained or, better yet, entertain themselves.  Here is a roundup of kids' activities and play areas at local shopping malls.  In addition to these ongoing activities, seasonal/holiday events are posted regularly here on Conejo Valley Guide.

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks has a nicely appointed outdoor playground with swings, slide and sandbox, large grassy area, two lakes (with ducks usually enjoying it) and waterfall.

Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks has Kids Fun Zone arts and crafts on the last Saturday of the month.  There is a small outdoor kids play area for the little ones and an impressive outdoor water fountain, not to mention a NEOS interactive play wall. And Sky Zone Trampoline Park is fun for all ages.

The Commons at Calabasas offers a Kids Club for kids 10 and under on Tuesday nights at 5pm typically March through October as well as an Edwards Theater.

Simi Valley Town Center has a small outdoor kids play area, dragon structure and $2 mini train rides. There’s also the Rockin’ Kids Play Center and Studio Movie Grill to round out the action.

The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks offers an indoor kids play area for little ones, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Jumpify Indoor Playground, Galactic Challenge airsoft B target range on level 2 of the outdoor shops area and the AMC Movie Theater.

Pacific View Mall in Ventura has a nice kids' play area near the food court, Bouncing Fun Land and a monthly Kids Club. Soon the Harbor View Carousel will be operating there in the level 2 food court area.

Camarillo Premium Outlets expanded by 220,000 sq ft in April 2009 with The Promenade, which has a Spanish style courtyard area.  In 2019, a kids playground area was constructed at The Promenade.

Playground installed at the Camarillo Premium Outlets in 2019.

The Promenade at Westlake does not have a kids play area but they do have several nice fountains, live music on most summer weekends, the upscale Cinepolis movie theater and a koi pond.

Malibu Country Mart has a nice outdoor kids' playground area with cool ocean breezes.

The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard has the 16 screen Century Theatre, Color Me Mine ceramics studio and a nice outdoor playground/park area and the Bowlero bowling alley and Jump ‘N Jammin indoor play center. The Annex Food Hall at The Collection offers a Kids Club the last Wednesday of the month. There are board games available daily at Park View Court.

Indoor Play Places In and Around Ventura County

There are hundreds of parks with play areas throughout the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County compiled at THIS LINK, but if you are looking for an indoor playtime experience with your little ones, from toddlers to teens, here are a number of options to check out.

• My Gym Children's Fitness Center in Thousand Oaks and Ventura has both classes for various age groups as well as open play at designated times.

• The Oaks Mall Indoor Play Area is a small area open for kids up to age 5 anytime the mall is open. Located on the first floor, adjacent to the Food Court area and near JC Penney.

• Jumpify Indoor Playground is located at The Oaks Mall on the 2nd floor. Inflatables, bounce houses, ball/foam block pits and more. Geared towards ages 1 to 12.

• Jump n’ Jammin Children’s Entertainment Center opened at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard in January 2020. Fun indoor place with similarities to Kids World in Oak Park.

• Rockin' Kids Play Center at Simi Valley Town Center is for kids up to age 7 for open play seven days a week.

• We Rock the Spectrum Kid's Gym in Agoura Hills has open play for kids up to age 13 on weekdays and weekends when there are no special events planned.

• Kids World Indoor Playground in Oak Park is open daily for open play, geared towards ages 2 to 15. Huge play structure, climbing tubes, slides, foam balls and much more.

• Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Ventura offers open jump and toddler time on designated days and times.

• Sky Zone Trampoline Park Thousand Oaks at Janss Marketplace offers wall to wall trampolines, ball pits, foam block pit and much more.

• Imagymnation Gymnastics in Simi Valley offers open play on designated days and times.

• Play Out Loud Indoor Playground in Agoura Hills is a 3100 sq ft facility that opened 2/16/24. Geared towards little kids.

• How could we leave Chuck E. Cheese’s off this list for indoor play! A local staple for young set birthday parties and drop-in play.

• K1 Speed Indoor Go Karting and Arcade in Thousand Oaks has karts for kids that go up to 20 mph as well as an arcade.

This is just a small sampling of kids' activities highlighted here on Conejo Valley Guide.

FUN FOR THE KIDS AT LOCAL VENTURA COUNTY AREA SHOPPING MALLS

The three story foam ball projectile and climbing area at Kids World in Oak Park.

Would You Like Slides with That? Fast Food Places in Ventura County with Play Areas!

Sometimes it's fun to take the kids out where you know they'll be able to burn off some steam after their chicken nuggets and fries. Mind you, my kids much prefer going to a park to play, but sometimes it’s nice to eat and play at these (mostly) indoor play areas.

Here are places to eat that have play areas.  Know of other places?  Well then, give me the scoop (the news, not the fries).

McDonalds Locations with Play Areas

• 1730 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (805.777.9162)

• 501 New Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark (805.532.2043)

• 3120 South Saviers Road, Oxnard (805.486.1245)

• 401 West Channel Islands Blvd., Port Hueneme (805.985.3298)

• 1495 East Los Angeles Street, Simi Valley (805.527.9975)

• 2375 Tapo Street, Simi Valley (805.526.2222)

Carl's Jr Locations with Play Areas

• 411 South Reino Road, Newbury Park (805.499.0014)

• 1208 Madera Road, Simi Valley (805.522.8627)

Chick-fil-A Locations with Play Areas

• Chick-fil-A Ventura at 1321 Eastman Avenue (805.339.0977)

• Chick-fil-A Thousand Oaks at 449 N. Moorpark Road (805.379.1611)

• Chick-fil-A Simi Valley at 2460 Sycamore Drive

Other Places with Play Areas

• Chuck E. Cheese's in Thousand Oaks and Ventura of course have big time play areas and small/big kids' arcades.

• Kids World Indoor Playground in Oak Park has an eatery you can chow down at while your kids play in the massive play structures.

• Most of the local Ventura County shopping malls have kids' play areas, some inside, some outside, and there is always food close at hand.

Mountains Restoration Trust Preserves Land in the Santa Monica Mountains

Based in Calabasas, Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) is a non-profit land trust dedicated to preserving natural land in the Santa Monica Mountains, a range traversing from Griffith Park to Point Mugu in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. through restoration, education and land acquisition. MRT was founded in 1981.

Restoration projects are a top priority for MRT. Non-native plant invasion has been occurring in the fragile ecology of the Santa Monica Mountains since early explorers arrived with mustard seeds to mark their trails. Non-native grasses, trees and plants have found a similar home far from their lands of origin, and are a threat to native plants and animals.

Non-native, invasive crayfish in Malibu Creek eat native amphibians and fish, wrecking havoc on the creek's ecosystem. Volunteers have removed over 11,000 crayfish from the creek! MRT encourages volunteers every Thursday through Saturday to help remove these crayfish. I signed up with my kids and it certainly was fun, interesting and rewarding!

We learned how to tell a male from a female crayfish from the biologist volunteer.

After retrieving the crayfish from traps set by MRT staff, my kids helped measure their length for a long-term study.

The kids had a blast. Sign up to help at www.mountainstrust.org/events-grid.

In addition to restoration projects, MRT hosts nature walks, rattlesnake avoidance training, youth naturalist programs, summer camps, senior programs and more.

To learn more, visit www.mountainstrust.org or call 818.591.1701.

New Farm Motif Playground at Borchard Community Park in Newbury Park

Borchard Community Park is located at Reino Road and Borchard Road in Newbury Park. Recently a new play area was completed in this cool barnyard motif. Based on initial response on the CVG Facebook page, this new playground is already a big hit!

This nicely appointed park and community center also has softball/soccer fields, restrooms, tennis courts, a labyrinth and fitness area, skate park, basketball courts and more. Visit crpd.org for more information.

Casa Pacifica "Building New Foundations of Hope" $21 Million Capital Campaign

Headquartered on a rural 24-acre campus in Camarillo, Casa Pacifica serves abused and neglected children and adolescents, and those with severe emotional, social, behavioral, and mental health challenges. The non-profit was established in 1994 with the support of the County of Ventura and has served over 18,000 children and youth and their families.

In October 2013, Casa Pacifica launched a $21 million capital campaign to add new cottages, housing for transition-age foster youth, a therapeutic activities building, vocational education and training space, classrooms, and a suitable site for clinical services. Temporary structures will be replaced with state-of-the-art treatment facilities and administrative functions will be consolidated in one new building. Additional space will be added to Casa Pacifica's health clinic to address the growing number of children with unmet medical needs in the foster care population.

Since 1994, local community needs have grown; as a result, one-fifth of Casa Pacifica's services are now housed in temporary buildings or offsite. The capital campaign will enable the organization to respond to growing community needs and increase by at least 50% the number of children and youth served annually. Funds raised will also help replace 12,000 sq ft of temporary structures and add 46,000 sq ft of state-of-art buildings.

To learn more, visit www.casapacifica.org/about/capital_campaign.