Docents help children and others learn through interactive displays and games in the showrooms. New topics every month. September: "Traveling Seeds"; October: "Cone Bearing Plants"; November: "Fruits, The Seasonal Food Harvest"; December: "Eggs and the Conservatory Critters"; January: "Urban Wildlife"; February: "Chocolate"; March topic: "Survival in the Jungle"; April: "Carnivorous Plants"; May: "Water Works."

Hold baby lambs, goats, chicks, piglet and calf, and  watch the sheep being sheared. Cameras are welcome.

Learn the history of maple sugaring and evolution of the sap collection process, then taste Coral Woods maple syrup.  Tours start every 15 minutes, last an hour, and involve a half-mile hike. Dress for the weather. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26-March 6. On Sunday, you can stop for breakfast before or after the Festival, at the Marengo United Methodist Church, 119 E. Washington, Marengo (March 3) or Donley's, 8512 South Union Rd., Union (March 10). Breakfast is $6 adults and $3 kids, and is served from 7 a.m.-noon.

With small solar lights to guide their way, hikers, skiers and snowshoers can traverse the 1.3-mile fitness trail at Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville or the 1.65-mile hilly section of the Millennium Trail adjacent to the winter Sports Area at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. Starting Sunday, Nov. 4, the trails and adjacent parking lots will remain open until 9 .m. daily until March 9.

Feature the black bear and its adaptations for survival in the forest. Crawl into the bear's den, compare your senses to that of the black bear, feel his fur, come face to face with a black bear mount and more.

Learn more about polar bears - and what can be done to help them. The zoo offers twice-daily Arctic activities at 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Resident polar bear Anana will be in for some extra treats, and staff and volunteers will be giving away free passes to see To The Arctic 3Dat Navy Pier IMAX Theater.

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.

Cardboard sculptor John Salhus shows how to transform drawings into cool 3D sculptures.