Interactive story time and fun crafts indoors before heading out on the grounds for a winter walk. Themes change each week. Wednesdays and Fridays.

Throughout October, visitors enjoy spooky sights and sounds, plus special events during Twilight Witching Hours (4-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday October 6-29). Spooky trees, raving ravens and creepy crawlies will take up residence in the garden, joining the thousands of miniature plants, dozens of handmade bridges, and of course, an assemblage G-gauge steam trains.

Visitors can walk inside the two-story silo and turn the crank of a silage machine, watching "corn plants" delivered to the top of the silo. Plus, learn about the history of silos and silage, build miniature silos with building blocks simulating wood, brick and metal and much more.

Breathe in the crisp fall air as you enter the zoo through a cornstalk lined path, hear the crunch of the leaves underneath your feet, listen to the children conquering the straw pyramid or enjoy the sight of thousands of pumpkins on display. Nature-made fall decorations, including pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks, available to purchase.

See a toy so amazing, so unbelievable, it has the power to transform into anything you want it to be. Enter a world where imagination rules, and ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Create your own creepy costume, decorate a mini-pumpkin and explore our Spooky Backyard. Includes special crafts and Monster Mash Dance Party (Friday-Sunday) and face painting daily.

Cut open gourds and pumpkins and take a closer look. Scoop, weigh and measure what's inside of them. Count and make a seed collage.

Kids enter artist Gino Severini's interpretation of trains by role-playing engineer, passenger or conductor in a child-size train and look for objects in an eight-foot wide "hidden pictures" mural of artist Don Stewart's "Steam Train."  Plus, enjoy specially designed wooden train tables and a huge new interactive crane.

The exhibit features the illustrations of W. W. Denslow, a Chicago resident whose famous illustrations helped to inspire the design of the classic 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland. The bright and colorful exhibit provides a variety of learning opportunities and hands-on activities within a three-dimensional representation of Denslow's distinctive illustrations.

Artist-in-residence Michell Martinez hosts a real painting studio, each week. Kids experiment with a variety of paints, canvas materials, and painting tools as they strengthen their imaginative abilities, experiment with textures and learn artistic concepts all through creative play.