The nation's largest and longest-running auto exposition showcases over 1,000 domestic and imported vehicles, auto-related exhibits, competition vehicles and project, antique and collector cars. Monday, Feb. 18 is Family Day and includes a special appearance by Disney Channel/Disney XD star Leo Howard.

Kids can play in the straw maze, take a 30-minute hayride through the snowy fields, visit with the horses and check out the new Scottish Highland bull calves who were born in early January.

Kids create a decadent chocolate log cake, made of yellow sponge cake filled with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate butter cream. Meringue mushrooms and edible decorations will complete the delicious creation. Participants earn a Chocoholic Certificate and take home a chef hat and recipe.

Experts from SOAR (Save Our American Raptors) talk about their owls. After the presentation, dissect owl pellets and make a craft to take home.

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

Learn the basics about cacti and succulents and see how simple they are to grow and nurture. Please register one week in advance.

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.

Families drop in for nature-related crafts and educational activities.

From gibbons to gorillas, tails to thumbs, find out what makes you similar and different from our closest primate relatives. Put your tool-use skills to the test while fishing for termites. Feb. 18 and March 23.

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.

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.

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

Celebrate President's Day with music, Presidential trivia, crafts and appearances by a modern Mary Todd and President Abe Lincoln.

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.

Discover the hidden symbols on currency, go undercover to learn the secrets used by spies throughout history and write your own secret messages using codes and invisible ink. Take our spy challenge to test your espionage skills.

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.

Exhibit explores Schulz's personal history and his role as the sole inspiration and artistic talent behind Peanuts and its unique cast of characters. Through original cartoons, reproductions and related Peanuts ephemera, guests see how characters were developed and evolved. Schulz's Santa Rosa, Calif. studio, recreated for the first time, allows for a deeper look into his work and life. Kids and families have a chance to exercise their own Schultz-like creativity with activities like making a zoetrope.

Chicago Kids Company performs the classic tale from Feb. 6-April 12.

Activities include: an epic battle of good vs. evil as heroes join forces to save MINILAND from an invasion of criminal villains; a hero-themed costume contest; a super hero scavenger hunt for a chance to win four free annual passes; build your own crime-fighting super hero; creative building challenges for a chance to win prizes; and more.

Professor McBumble's group of traveling actor's teach the lesson's of Anti-Bullying by using fairtales as their backdrop. Performances run from Jan. 23-May 3 at various locations. Check website for dates and location schedule.

A series of sketches and songs written by Chicago Public School students in grades 3-6 and performed by the Barrel of Monkeys troupe of actors. The program changes each week. Performances are Sundays at 2 p.m. Barrel of Monkeys resumes regular Monday night performances on March 11 at 8 p.m. in conjunction with the matinees. Starting March 10, BOM will also incorporate Spanish language and stories into its productions. Starting June 17, performances are at 8 p.m. Mondays only.

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.