Explore the ideas from nature that inspired some great scientific inventions. Participants watch a short presentation and visit stations to experiment with some of nature's inventions, then end with a hike outside to make discoveries.

If you're looking for an alternative to skating at Millennium Park this winter, look up. Way up-94 stories, to be exact. Touted as the World's Highest Ice Skating Rink, the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center gives ice skaters a bird's-eye view of the city and the lake.

At 20 feet by 45 feet, the rink is probably too small to be your solo destination of the day, but paired with a trip to see the view from the Hancock, it's a nice way for kids to burn off energy while parents enjoy the great view. And because it's synthetic ice, skaters stay warm and don't get wet.

The rink is scheduled to be open for skating from 9 a.m.-11 p.m. through April 18. A 25-minute skate session costs $6 (in addition to the cost to get into the Hancock Observatory). You can bring your own skates or rent some there for a dollar.

Free, fun and educational arts project for kids. Projects change bi-weekly.

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.

Megan Hovany, whose "A Windy Day" mural adorns the wall outside the Unboxed exhibit, helps guests create a mini-cardboard relief mural.

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.

Discover how sounds make music, and how music makes you feel, with activities like making melodies on bolt- and wrench-a-phones, using soft sculpture pegs to make a music box, blowing air over a reed, moving musical notes on a staff, beating percussion instruments, and creating an artistic masterpiece that reflects how music makes you feel

Hundreds of objects and documents from the exclusive private collection, together with a rare collection of first editions of his most famous works, tell the story of how Charles Dickens and his characters became enduring cultural icons. Interactive and multi-media displays and personal effects take visitors through a chronological tour of the life, literature and legacy of Dickens. View his personal traveling inkwell, take a ride in an early century carriage, and learn about the memorable characters, stories and themes of his famous tales through games, time period puzzles and Dickens' own personal Facebook page.

Visitors become space adventurers and set off on a journey to discover the Universe in a way never done before. Travel a billion light-years and back, fly through space, orbit the Moon, zoom into a canyon on Mars, and soar through the cosmic web where a million galaxies shower down. The experience was created utilizing real telescopic data and the best scientific imagery.

The longest-running exhibition of African-American art in the U.S. features more than 100 dynamic works of art from amateur and professional African-American artists from around the nation.