Search for gnomes in the Children's Garden using your best "I Spy" skills. Checklist provided.

Collect and compare different sources of ice: pond, stream, parking lot. Discover how they are different by looking at them up close and testing them. Pre-registration and payment is required. Space is limited.

Bud, Not Buddy  follows the journey of a young African-American orphan as he searches for his father. Clues kept in a suitcase lead him to adventures in Depression-era Michigan, where he finds community among a group of jazz musicians and, ultimately, an unexpected sense of home. Performances are Jan. 12-Feb. 24, 2013.

This third installment continues the marriage of classic literature to music. Students will be introduced to Blues concepts along with other contemporary music. Playwright J. e Franklin reconstructs timeless fables about morals and values that stimulate critical thinking in a setting filled with music, fun, and laughter. Showtimes are 10 a.m. and noon Monday-Friday from Oct. 29-June 14. Summer performances are June 24-Aug. 2.

Teenage DeShawn goes from making exceptional to poor grades in a matter of months due to the violent death of his best friend and the break-up of his family. Presented in collaboration with the University of Chicago Urban Health Initiative, this performance examines the need to recognize signs of depression in youth due to family disintegration and violence. Performances run Oct. 29-June 14.

Stanley Lambchop wants to travel the world to escape his ordinary life. One night, a bulletin board falls right on top of Stanley and he wakes up really flat. Recommended for kids 3-10.

Interactive learning centers include a barn slide, apple orchard and chicken coop. Maggie, a life-sized fiberglass milking cow sponsored by Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, will be the focus of the new exhibit. Maggie is over five feet tall and features a working udder that recirculates the water that children "milk."

After school programming for kids with special needs that includes a healthy snack, arts and crafts, physical activity, and socialization.

Classes are designed to generate interest in science in children with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Apsergers' and encourage them to develop questions about our natural world. They have opportunities to question and problem solve alongside their peers in a supportive environment. ​In class we will explore things like: what is a scientist?; movement and motion of objects; the growth and development of living things; social interactions and group behavio; relationships in ecosystems; adaptation; weather and climate; the roles of water on earth; earth materials; space science; dinosaurs.