Enjoy winter activities and games, including a bonfire, cross-country skiing, winter bingo, snowball accuracy throw and dog musher demonstration.

Chicago Winter Dance  | Chicago

FREE

Free, introductory one-hour dance lessons by professional instructors followed by music and dancing.

Enjoy indoor and outdoor lighted displays, designer wreaths and trees, a replica English country train platform, and the Model Railroad Garden in seasonal decor.

170,000 square feet of holiday fun features indoor ice skating, entertainment, rides and inflatable slides. There are also thousands of glistening lights, plush holiday décor, and holiday trees. Plus, special family fireworks on New Year's Eve at 7 p.m.

See model trains loop around a holiday-themed track. Santa has his own car. Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas.

A guided glimpse into the world of outdoor play will depend on the day. Possibilities include snowman and snow fort building with natural materials or garden scavenger hunt for natural objects

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

Model trains will wind their way through a miniature village set in a field of poinsettias. The village is made entirely of natural materials and features a variety of Chicago-style homes and famous buildings such as the neighborhood bungalow, Chicago Theatre and Chicago Water Tower Place. Nov. 26-Jan. 8.

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."

Build a snowman out of biodegradable and natural items to win. Fill out an entry form at the main office.

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.

Find out why and how some animals sleep through this time of year while others brave the challenging conditions of the season. Dress for a hike to spot any of the ones that choose not to snooze.

Learn more about local wildlife and how they live through hands-on activities and some outdoor time to develop our skills. Dress for a hike.

This program takes a look at how animals walk as a clue to identifying their tracks, then moves outside to search for tracks and prints. Dress for the weather with winter footgear. Registration requested.

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.

Build a snow fort, throw snowballs, dress up a snowman and ice skate - all inside.
The brand new "ice" rink has more space to skate in your socks.

A new traveling exhibit created by Children's Museum of Pittsburgh that links familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology. Inspired by the factory tour segments from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the exhibit offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects including crayons, a baseball bat and a matchbox car, just to name a few.

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

Find out how wild animals survive winter's cold. Meet some live bugs and worms that spend the winter deep in the soil and help pretend animals find places that protect them from winter winds and snow.

Take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world of magic and its historic roots in Chicago. Features a multimedia object theater experience, artifact display and live performances. Discover the tricks of the trade and witness Chicago's magical past reappear before your very eyes.

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.

A special extra exhibit which encompasses the classic Dickens tale A Christmas Carol. Stroll through a mid-1800s street to learn how Dickens influenced the look and feel of the holiday season, and view a private collection of vintage cards and calendars.

Follow bear tracks, feel a bearskin rug and touch some real bear claws and teeth.

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.

View the winter spectacle from inside the 70' Grainger Sky Theater dome.

A live show that explores the connections between the sights and sounds of the holiday season and our experience of the night sky during this special time of year. Discover the reason for the winter solstice, examine the significance surrounding the Star of Bethlehem, witness the beauty of the Aurora Borealis, and explore the winter sky celebrations of cultures all around the globe from past and present.

Exhibit examines the ancestry and evolution of numerous species, ranging from huge to tiny, from speedy to sloth-like, and displays animals with oversized claws, fangs, snouts, and horns. Highlights include taxidermy specimens, an entire skeleton of a giant hoofed plant-eater, a life-size model of the largest land mammal that ever lived, one of the oldest fossilized bats ever found, and an impressive diorama featuring the swamps and forests of an island in the Arctic. Runs May 26, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.

Multispecies holiday aquatic show features dolphins, beluga whales and a sea lion, accompanied by multicultural holiday music and festive backgrounds from around the world. The Oceanarium will be transformed with snow covered trees, rocks and twinkling lights. Special holiday costumed characters, including Santa, will make an appearance.

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.

Exhibit challenges guests to communicate, move and live like bugs at interactive stations. Live insects are featured throughout the exhibition, plus larger-than-life robotic creatures allow visitors to observe the often overlooked beauty and complexity of the insect world.

A day of dinosaur related activities for all age levels. Activities include assembling large wooden dinosaur skeletons, excavating bones and assembling them, dinosaur floor puzzles and other games. Estimated time for each activity is 10 to 60 minutes.

Snowflake "Learn to Skate" Clinics are an introduction to Rink Side's learn to skate classes. They are open to any child ages 2-11, there will be 30 minutes of instruction and 15 minutes of free time. There is a public session following the clinic and everyone can stay to skate! (Regular admission fees apply.) Sessions are held Dec. 26-29, 31, Jan. 2-5.

Activities include daily family public skate sessions, pictures on the Zamboni, a charity hockey game, hockey and figure skating lessons, skating exhibitions, Sundaes on Sundays, Pancakes with Mickey and more.  Special guest appearances include "Skates" the Chicago Wolves mascot, Ronald McDonald, Frosty the Snowman, Sponge Bob and Mickey.

Watch men painted blue do unusual performance art and original slapstick comedy. It's fun to sit in the front, but remember to wear a plastic poncho to avoid the flying food and liquids. Buy tickets at the box office, online, via Ticketmaster or by calling (773) 348-4000.

The ComedySportz crew gets in the Imagination Machine to visit the Snow Queen, in this version of the classic story by Hans Christian Andersen. They'll meet a goblin who shatters a mirror that makes you only see bad things, a Summer Sorceress, who keeps it summer around her at all times, a Helpful Reindeer and a very confused married couple of Crows.

In a world where a trip to the Laundromat threatens to separate Trixie from her beloved bunny, a girl needs a hero to help--Dad. Can her parents understand what she's saying in time to rescue Knuffle Bunny? Performances run Oct. 2, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.

Musical that chronicles the sociological effects upon youth from fatherless homes and how they manage to uplift themselves in spite of it. Kwanzaa week holiday performances are Dec. 26, 27, 28. Regular run is Jan. 12-June 1, 2013.

From superheroes to undersea adventures, princesses to dinosaurs, Storytown takes children on an interactive, improvised adventure. The actors use kids' suggestions and ideas to create a different story each week. Kids design the setting and help shapes the story. Runs through the end of February 2013, then moves to Stage 773 in Chicago.

Celebrates the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation 150 years ago by Abraham Lincoln with a combination of narration, dramatizations, music and interaction between the cast and the audience. The theme is the role that multi-racial unity played in abolishing the slave-labor system in this country.

Local fishing experts reveal the tips and tricks of ice fishing through free instruction and live demonstrations. Kids enjoy games and activities or roasting marshmallows and a live DJ plays music and announce prizes. Food and hot beverages available to purchase.

Enjoy an evening of camping with the whole family on the turf at Falcon Park Recreation Center. Games, crafts, movie, and more.

Enjoy the story of Tintin and Captain Haddock on the big screen at Cutting Hall Performing Arts Center in Palatine.

Join the American Indian Center and Latvian Folk Art Museum for winter games and storytelling. Meet at Trickster Gallery.

Exhibit includes numerous artifacts, photographs and other documentary items that tell the story of Chicago's iconic candy makers, including Snickers, Lemonheads, Butterfingers and Cracker Jack.

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."

Several lovely family customs are associated with Epiphany, the day that the Christmas crèche is finally completed, as the figures of the three wise men at last arrive at the crib. A time-honored custom, especially in France, is the baking of a cake with a bean or trinket hidden inside. The person whose cake contains the bean is made king or queen of the feast. Come enjoy this French Tradition at the French Market. Receive a complimentary piece of cake to see if you become the lucky king or queen for the day.

Crafts, games, activities, ASL story, Latin foods and gifts for children. Event is co-sponsored by Choice for Parents and the Illinois Deaf Latino Association and is held in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. RSVP to vicepresidentidla@gmail.com or (773) 273-6477.