Get out there and play

Even though most of the snow has melted, your family can still play in the cold white stuff this weekend. The city of Chicago and the Mayor’s Office of Special Events hosts the Inaugural Snow Days Chicago through Monday with plenty of man-made mountains of snow for snow sculpting, snowboarding demonstrations and dog sled racing.

The snow sculpting competition begins today in the Spirit of Music Garden, located at Balbo and Michigan, from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily through Monday (note that the festival closes at 6 p.m. that day). Fifteen teams of professional snow sculptors and 12 teams of Chicago Public School students will carve masterpieces out of 10-foot blocks of snow during the competition. Pick your favorites and vote for the best sculpture Friday and Saturday until 2 p.m. Winners are announced at the 3 p.m. awards ceremony on Saturday at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave.

If snow sculpting doesn’t curb your craving for carving, check out the snowboarding demonstrations from 6-8 p.m. daily or get into the grind with snowboarding competitions at 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 4 p.m. Monday. Or watch dog sled racing and weight pulling demonstrations with Siberian Huskies hourly from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For a more hands-on approach, head over to the Activities Igloo for crafts and storytelling, each focused on Presidents Day, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, African American History Month and Valentine’s Day.

Snow Days Chicago is held in Grant Park on Michigan Avenue, Chicago, and will take place with or without snow. This event is free. For more information, call (312) 744-3370 or visit snowdayschicago.us.

Get your tickets here

One lucky Chicago Parent reader will win five tickets to “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” at one of nine Classic Cinemas locations. “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” opens Feb. 27, tickets are $15. Classic Cinemas locations include: Elk Grove Theatre in Elk Grove Village, the Charlestowne 18 in St. Charles, the Lake Theatre in Oak Park, the Fox Lake Theatre in Fox Lake, the York Theatre in Elmhurst, the Cinema 12 in Carpentersville, the Lindo Theatre in Freeport, the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove and the Paramount Theatre in Kankakee. For more information, visit classiccinemas.com. To win, visit our discussion board.

Get out there and play some more

Nothing beats free admission, which is why the Shedd Aquarium is extra awesome this coming week. Feb. 16-20 and every Monday and Tuesday in February, the Shedd Aquarium is offering its Community Discount and Free Days: offering discounted prices for the Total Experience Pass and Mini Pass and opening its doors to the original galleries with no admission fee.

The Total Experience Pass includes the Wild Reef, Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World, the new Pet Show and a choice of 4-D Experience features: “Planet Earth: Shallow Seas” or a “SpongeBob SquarePants Adventure.” Total Experience Passes are $9.95, $7.95 seniors and kids 3-11. Mini Passes are also included in the deal and offer aquarium visitors access to the Wild Reef, Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef and Waters of the World. Mini Passes are $7.95, $5.95 seniors and kids 3-11.

The Shedd Aquarium is located at 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. Advance tickets are recommended and may be ordered by calling (312) 559-0200 or visiting ticketmaster.com. For more information, call (312) 939-2438 or visit sheddaquarium.com.

Inside fun

Your family doesn’t have to be geeky to enjoy the Family Science Days this weekend at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago. With hands-on interactive exhibits, demonstrations and informative experts, your family is certain to discover just how cool science is.

Family Science Days is Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. This event is free and best suited to middle and high school students. For more information and a full list of activities, call (773) 947-3150 or visit aaas.org.

Piece of the prize

This week, five Chicago Parent readers will win a Silver Label Hershey’s Barbie Doll. The dolls are limited edition and retail for $43.15. The Silver Label Hershey’s Barbie Doll is also available at the Hershey store, 822 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago. For more information, visit barbiecollector.com. To win, visit our discussion board. Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\article-detail.xslt