Festival includes a Battle Buddy 5k in conjunction with the military, a BBQ Challenge, live music, samples of Highwood's best food and drinks, military vehicles on display, Bocce Ball, and commemorative speeches to pay tribute to the armed forces. Culminates in a display of airborne lanterns where citizens light and launch papered candle lanterns into the night sky with personal wishes written on the outside. Right before the launch, a military jet flies over.

Children enter into the world of tree buds, discover different types and hunt for them in the garden.

Drop in anytime between 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the conservatory's Elizabeth Morse Genius Children's Garden to plant an imaginary garden, build a tropical habitat, help water the plants, or read a book under the tropical canopy. Runs through entire 2012.

Volunteers in the Potawatomi Indian camp will demonstrate how the Woodland Indians made maple sugar. Dress warmly, as the program is entirely outdoors.

Exhibit features native nocturnal animals and their adaptations for survival at night.  Feel for your food, listen to your nocturnal neighbors, play in the bat cave, look for skunks and more.

Children can immerse themselves in backstage preparation, perform routines in center ring or manage the behind-the-scenes action of lights and sound. Plus, try making a circus balance toy or dress up like a clown.

Exhibit tells the story of Girl Scouting and Boy Scouting in America.

A visually explosive journey of discovery that weighs the solutions aimed at restoring our planet's orbits. Visitors experience mind-boggling collisions in time lapse sequences captured with the magical imagery of 3D.

Through the discovery of exoplanets, we have learned our solar system is not alone in the universe. IN this new space show, learn how, with new instruments like the Kepler Telescope and rapidly improving technologies, the discovery of exoplanets puts us one step closer to finding an Earth-like world.

New space show gives audiences the chance to see the sun up close in dazzling, high-definition 3D. Stand above the Arctic Circle and witness brilliant auroras. Take a ride on a solar blast from the Sun's surface to Earth's Magnetosphere. Witness the most powerful explosions in the solar system - equal to the force of a billion megaton nuclear bombs.

View more than 20 mummified humans and animals from Egypt and Peru. The Field Museum obtained most of these remains from the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and many have not been on display since. The mummies are shown along with detailed scan images, allowing visitors to see pointers to the methods used for mummification, signs of serious injuries and illnesses, and offerings and jewelry placed inside the wrappings.

Public Observing for Mars Opposition  | Lowell

FREE

Calumet Astronomical Society presents public star gazing programs with telescopes and binoculars, star charts and astronomy-related activities. Dress for the weather; program is outdoors. Program may be canceled without notice if weather is inclement. Call the hotline at (773) 639-5491 for updated information.

Features a selection of jades used at the table, in the studio and as personal adornment. Qing Dynasty China produced exceptional carving for a growing jade market.

Visitors go on an interactive journey through the world of ancient Greece, where they can meet the gods, experience ancient Greek daily life and interact with the epic poem The Odyssey through more than 25 engaging interactive components, including climbing into a 13-foot tall Trojan Horse. Kids play and learn as they navigate rocky caves and open seas on "The Odyssey: A Hero's Journey" and e-mail home their Hero Record, belt tunes in the Sirens Karaoke Cave, discover which Greek god they are most like, match wits with Aristotle in a game of 20 questions, test their arm wrestling prowess in the Gymnasium and marvel at a working replica of the Antikythera Mechanism, believed to be the world's oldest computer.

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.

As famed escape artist Harry Houdini circles the globe performing one incredible stunt after another, Victor, a young devotee goes through his own rigorous magician's training - locking himself in closets, holding his breath under water and walking into walls.  After a chance encounter with his hero, Victor receives a special box that just might contain the secrets of Houdini's great success. Performances run Jan. 24-March 4 at Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago and from March 14-25, 2012 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie.

Competing improv teams, improvised songs and audience members on stage in this family-friendly show. Performances are the first Saturday of the month September 2011 through March 2012 at 7 p.m. (excluding January) Show dates: Sept. 3, Oct. 1, Nov. 5, Dec. 3, Feb. 4 and March 3

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.

Performances run most Tuesdays through Saturdays at 10 a.m., and added performances March 27, 29 and 30 at 12:30 p.m. 

Set in the center ring, The People's Barnum! tells the true story of Phineas Taylor Barnum and the acts that made him famous. The tale is set to Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart's legendary music and features Quest Theatre Ensemble's well known shadow/rod puppetry. See General Tom Thumb only 25 inches from toe to crown. Witness Jumbo, the largest elephant in the world. Behold the oldest woman on the planet with your very own eyes. Marvel at the feats of contortionists, gymnasts, tumblers, and stilt-dancers. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. from Feb. 10-March 18.

Storyteller Megan Wells performs with the CSO at 10 and 11:45 a.m. March 3 and March 24.

The Second City's performers lace up their sneakers and reach deep into their imaginations to present an hour of interactive, family-friendly improvisation and sketch comedy where they pull ideas straight from the audience, and make it all up on the spot. For tickets (312) 662-4562 or www.UPComedyClub.com. Performances are noon Saturdays beginning Jan. 21, with an open run.

Includes a bouncy house, popcorn, cotton candy, crafts, games, and activities for the whole family. For more information visit www.lamonavenuebaptist.com.

Features hundreds of custom cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Plus, appearances by celebrities including "Chumlee" from TV's Pawnstars, Billy the Exterminator, WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio, Zendaya from Disney's "Shake It Up" and the BIGFOOT Monster Truck. Link directly to the show here.

Halloween Hayrides  | Naperville

Dress up in your favorite Halloween costume (parents included) and come to Knoch Knolls Park or Seager Park. Each registered child ages 1-12 who checks in with the hayride coordinator will receive a Halloween goodie bag filled with treats and prizes. Bring your own food to cook over the bonfire or bring the fixings for s'mores. Hot chocolate and apple juice provided. Registration required. Oct. 20, 21 and 27.

Training includes  fingerprinting, make-your-own spy kit, obstacle course and a meeting and snack with a real top secret agent. Register by Feb. 24.

Opening reception includes a performance of Bulgarian national dances by ensemble "Horo." The primary goal of the Bulgarian Artist Abroad group is to make the Bulgarian art and culture more popular in the U.S. and the world. For more information, visit www.bulgarianartistsabroad.net.

Families are encouraged to discover navigational tools, maps and prints in "Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge" by using Block Museum's explorers kit, available for free checkout during public hours.

Each week, a new theme introduces young music enthusiasts and their adult companions to basic musical concepts and helps them get to know the woodwind family by solving The Mystery of the Missing Musical Clock (Feb. 25), choosing a Quintet Idol winner (March 3), and playing Where in the World is Quintet Attacca? (March 10). After the concert, a special treasure hunt is available for families to explore the Museum together.

Families can participate in a "Wonderful World of Worms" workshop, create insect crafts, and taste-test a variety of different honeys at the bee exhibit. Other exhibits include a giant ant farm and terrarium with live, exotic critters. Also showcases mural-size illustrations of popular characters "The Very Busy Spider" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Kids can climb around a butterfly crawl space, play "I Spy" on a giant bug wall, learn to identify insects by their sound, and practice insect math in the math center.

Families with young children join Marieth Quintero, musician and educator, for a delightful, interactive concert featuring songs and instruments from Central and South America. Call for information and directions.

Includes gently worn baby, kids and maternity clothing, baby equipment, toys, games and more "kids' stuff."

One- and two-hour classes offer projects for all ages, including Painted Flower Pots, Fashion Illustration, Watercolor Painting to Comic Books, Tie Dying, Clay and Ceramics, Glass Pendant Necklaces, Rubber Block Printing, Artsy Manicures and more.

Day features three special guests, each paired with a unique Seuss-inspired activity. At 1 p.m., Seuss-themed dramatic play and theatre games with the Emerald City Theatre Company; at 2 p.m., Nili Yelin, the Storybook Mom, reads a variety of Dr. Seuss books while entertaining and engaging children through her "Sit Down Stand-Up" storytelling method; at 3 p.m. The Wishcraft Workshop inspires budding, young artists to bring the world of Seuss to life with craft projects. Plus, creative face painting, sweet treats, and imaginative coloring.

Meet and have your picture taken with WTTW Kids' stars Maya & Miguel. Coloring pages, snacks and a take home craft available for the first 50 kids.

Kids are introduced to popular vegetable plants, how to grow them from the seed stage and how to transfer their plantings into the ground when the time is right. Plus, learn the growth cycle of a plant in a fun and informative way. Kids receive their very own plant kit (either a Pizza, Salad or Taco Kit) that also has an educational internet based program that they can use at home as their plant grows.

Just in time for the big screen release of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, honor Dr. Seuss' birthday. The free hour-long event includes an interactive story-time and engaging craft session presented by the Skokie Public Library, and highlight themes from some of the iconic storyteller's books.

Fun art projects and other surprises to celebrate the birthday of a favorite author.