Get out there and play

As the leaves are beginning to change, help your family find that festive fall spirit at the Scarecrow Harvest Festival at Midway Village and Museum Center. The festival, going on Saturday and Sunday, has plenty of fall fun, including wagon rides, fall treats, harvest crafts and of course, scarecrow building.

Bring some old clothes from home or purchase hand-me-downs to build your own scarecrow with free straw. After building a scarecrow and a few harvest crafts, play a few old-time games or take a wagon ride around the Victorian village.

The Scarecrow Harvest Festival is from noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Midway Village Museum, located at 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, is ¼ mile from Perryville and Guilford roads and one mile west of the I-90 State Street exit. Admission is $6, $4 kids 3-17, and free for museum members. Parking is free. Food and fall treats are available for a fee. For more information, call (815) 397-9112 or visit midwayvillage.com.

Sweet prize

Let your kids’ creativity shine. One lucky Chicago Parent reader will win a Step2 Creative Projects Table. For more information, visit step2.com. To win, visit our discussion board.

Get out there and play some more

Explore outer space with your family this weekend as you meet an astronaut, snag a real-time view of our planet Earth and check out plenty of space-themed activities and exhibits at the Space Celebration Weekend at the Museum of Science and Industry. The event is in conjunction with NASA’s 50th Anniversary and the NASA Future Forums event, a program dedicated to discussing the future and role of space exploration across the United States.
 
Your space-loving kids will be over the moon at the chance to meet a real astronaut. Commander Ken Ham, who has logged more than 13 days in space as the pilot aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-124 mission to the International Space Station this year, will sign autographs and meet with museum visitors to discuss his mission during his visit at 2 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Commander Ham will talk about his STS-124 mission and present a compass to the museum that he took into space at 10:15 a.m. Saturday as well. The compass will become a part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Explore the surface of the Earth in the museum’s new permanent exhibit, “Earth Revealed,” with special shows at 11:15 a.m., 2:15 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The show will delve into topics that shape the planet such as the atmosphere, geophysical forces and human impact. Other space-themed, live-science activities include “NASA made my toothpaste,” “No air out there” and “Seeing stars.” For activity schedule, visit the Web site.

Space Celebration Weekend is at the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, during museum hours Saturday and Sunday. The event is free with general admission. For a complete schedule of events and more information, call (773) 684-1414 or visit msichicago.org.

Get your tickets here

Two lucky Chicago Parent readers will win a family five-pack to see “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” in theaters at a Classic Cinemas location and time of their choice. For more information, visit classiccinemas.com. To win, visit our discussion board.

Outside fun

Grab your “pardners” this weekend to do-ci-do at the Chicago Country Music Festival at Soldier Field Stadium and Field, 1410 S. Museum Campus Drive, Chicago. With three performance tents and a dance tent, the free music festival hosts plenty of honky tonk and Americana music, line dancing and a Kids’ Corral. A few of the headliners include Gretchen Wilson, 7 p.m. Saturday, Lady Antebellum, 5 p.m. Sunday, and Taylor Swift, 7 p.m. Sunday. The Kids’ Corral will have plenty of family-friendly music and arts and crafts for your little buckaroos.

The Chicago Country Music Festival is free and is open 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (312) 744-3315, chicagocountrymusicfestival.us.

Piece of the prize

This week, five lucky Chicago Parent readers will win a Stroll-a-Tune stroller stereo system. The system is compatible with iPods, MP3 players, portable satellite systems and AM/FM receivers. For more information, visit stroll-a-tune.com. To read the Chicago Parent review in Parents Know Best, click here. To win, visit our discussion board. Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\article-detail.xslt