I almost did not attend. A gloomy overcast sky had painted the world in dreary shades of gray. The weather forecast suggested a cold drizzle of rain, not my favorite conditions for hiking or photography. I had all but decided it would be a miserable day for the hike being offered by the Hawk Woods Nature Center to explore “seasonal changes” and look for signs of wildlife. However I had promised my old friend Mike Mansour, the long-term naturalist at Hawk Woods that I would be there. And so I went.
Children in Oakland County will be snorting with excitement as they jump into the world of hit British animation series, Peppa Pig. Laugh, learn, and play at their brand-new ADA accessible indoor play center Peppa Pig’s World of Play at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills.
Spark the imagination of your favorite little piggies as they explore the sensory garden with Suzy Sheep or ride on Grandpa Pig’s train. The 14,000-square-foot indoor play center features 14 interactive, activity-based play areas designed to fuel the imaginations of pre-school children while bringing the world of Peppa Pig to life.
This is only the second Peppa Pig’s World of Play located in the United States. The other U.S. location is in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. There is also a location in Shanghai, China.
Peppa Pig World of Play is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last admission for entry is 90 minutes before closing.
Your ticket will allow for 2 hours of play time and it is recommend that you arrive 15 minutes before the time printed on your tickets. Adult-and-child combo tickets start at $22.50 with additional adults (ages 9 and older) tickets for $5 and additional children (6 months to 8) for $15. Photo packages and activity packages are also available to purchase. Tickets and extras can be purchased in advance on their website.
For hygiene and safety reasons, please pack children’s non-slip socks as they’ll need to remove their shoes in some of the play areas.
Great Lakes Crossing is located at 4632 Baldwin Road, Auburn Hills, MI 48326. You can find Peppa Pig World of Play between Districts 6 and 7.
Check out the Peppa Pig World of Play Michigan website, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram, for more information on the new indoor play center.
Our Dancing Lights in Auburn Hills is a holiday sound and light spectacular. Located at 3111 Paramount Lane, this exciting display uses traditional Christmas lights that are programmed to dance along with music that you can listen to by tuning into 91.3 FM.
Get a sneak peek in our video before you go, and read on to hear the story of Our Dancing Lights, including how the holiday display started and expanded over the years, from its creator, Brent Waldrep. Check it out in person: Sunday–Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday–Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
The distant din of traffic from M-24 and I-75 was barely audible when I heard a rather odd sound. It seemed to come from a small pond nestled away on the west side of Bald Mountain Road in Auburn Hills. It sounded something like a hoarse frog struggling to sing an unknown melody. I knew it wasn’t a spring peeper, wood frog, or chorus frog, the three species most likely to have been singing in the last weeks of April. I tried to peer through a thick wall of invasive phragmites for a better view of the hidden songster, but had no luck. As I advanced off trail, my steps made a crunching noise on dried sticks. Then, in a burst of speed and flurry of wings the “frog” and his companion erupted into flight. That’s how my unforgettable and most delightful early morning exploration of the 80-acre Hawk Woods Nature Center began.
One hundred and ninety-six years have passed by since Aaron Webster became the first permanent European settler along the banks of the Clinton River in what is now the City of Auburn Hills. He died of typhoid fever just two years later in the summer of 1823, but before his death he constructed a dam on the river that captured the power of the water’s flow to operate a saw mill. The timber from his saw mill was then was used to build a grist mill to grind grain. That’s how Auburn Hills began.
