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NEW YEAR'S EVE / MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM Dec. 31: Admission is free to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to anyone with cross country skis or snowshoes. Head out on more than 8 miles of ski trails and 1 mile of snowshoe trails and then enjoy a free hot drink in the Arboretum restaurants. Trails open 8 a.m. to sunset. Visitor center open until 4:30 p.m. Ski and snowshoe equipment demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. courtesy Hoigaard's sporting goods. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. Free. 952-443-1400.
NEW YEAR'S EVE / HOLIDAY LIGHTS IN THE PARK Dec. 31: This is the last night to see Holiday Lights in the Park, a drive-by light display featuring dozens of animated scenes along a half-mile drive around Lake Phalen. Money raised goes to local charities. 5:30 to 10 p.m., $8 per vehicle (Friday and Saturday $10), cash only; 1615 Phalen Drive E., St. Paul; Information at lightsinthepark.org.
NEW YEAR'S EVE / MALL OF AMERICA Dec. 31: Ring in 2009 with SpongeBob at the Nickelodeon New Year's Bash at Mall of America. In addition to amusement park rides there will be music, food, dancing, an indoor beach party, and a countdown with a 10 p.m. ball drop. 6 p.m. to midnight; free admission, rides $30; West Market Square and Nickelodeon Universe, Mall of America, 60 E. Broadway, Bloomington; 612-321-0100 or www.nickelodeonuniverse.com.
NEW YEAR'S
Dec. 31: Spend the last day of 2008 with the monkeys and Sparky. The Como Zoo and Conservatory is offering live entertainment, crafts, activities and a dramatic countdown for those with early bedtimes, not to midnight, but to noon. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 1225 Estabrook Drive, Como Park, St. Paul. Free. 651-487-8201 or 651-487-8200 or www.comozooconservatory.org.
— Maja Beckstrom
NEW YEAR'S EVE / HIKING, SKATING & STORYTELLING
Dec. 31: Spend New Year's Eve with nature. Walk the the trails or skate by candlelight. Follow a naturalist into the woods. Huddle around a bonfire and then head indoors for storytelling and crafts. You can rent snowshoes and/or bring your own ice skates. 5 to 8 p.m. Count down and ball-drop at 7:59 p.m. Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Visitor Center, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. Registration encouraged. $5 if registered by December 30; $10 at the door; Children age 5 and under are free. 952-891-7000 or www.dakotacounty.us/parks.
— Maja Beckstrom
HOLIDAY / A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ELF AT MACY'S SANTALAND
Through Dec. 31: Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa's elves have arrived at Macy's. The annual holiday display "A Day in the Life of an Elf at Macy's Santaland" opens on the eighth floor of the Minneapolis store. North Pole vignettes show elves fetching Santa's mail and teaching reindeer to fly. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.Sundays, Macy's Minneapolis, 700 Nicollet Mall; free; 612-375-5020.
NEW YEAR'S DAY / VICTORIAN
Jan. 1: Pay a call at the Alexander Ramsey House on New Year's Day just like the Victorians did. Tour the historic mansion, learn bygone social etiquette and see how Minnesotans celebrated New Year's Day in the 19th century. Noon to 3 p.m. Alexander Ramsey House, 265 S. Exchange St., St. Paul. $9 adults; $7 seniors and college students; $6 children age 6-17; $3 children age 5 and under. 651-296-8760 or www.mnhs.org.
— Maja Beckstrom
FILM / CHRISTMAS STORY
Jan. 2-4: Was Santa Claus ever a child? The Finnish film "Christmas Story" showing at Oak St. Cinema tells the story of orphaned Nikolas who enlists reindeer in snowcapped Lapland to help him deliver presents. The 2007 movie never saw theatrical release in the United States. 4:30 p.m. dubbed into English version, 7 p.m. for original Finnish with English subtitles; $8-$4; Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St SE, Minneapolis. $5 612-331-7563 or 612-331-3134 or www.mnfilmarts.org.
NATURE / FREE FAMILY ACTIVITIES Jan. 3: Free family activities are scheduled on the first Friday of every month at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. Come for an evening of yoga, music and movement for all ages. Next month it's nature bingo. 7 to 8:30 p.m. Visitor Center, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan. Free. 651-554-6530
ETIQUETTE / DOLL TEA PARTY Jan. 3: Bring a girl and her doll (or any favorite doll) to a three-course tea party complete with china cups and finger food. 11 a.m. seating, $17.95 per person, Avalon Tea Room, 2179 4th St., White Bear Lake; reservations required; 651-653-3822 or www.avalontearoom.com.
OUTDOORS / WINTER CARNIVAL Jan. 3: Meet the 2009 Queen of the Snows candidates and other Winter Carnival royalty and figures. Then tour the Alexander Ramsey House and learn how St. Paul kicked off the first The Winter Carnival in 1885 after an east coast reporter said our cold winters made us "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation." Finish up with a ride on the Vulcans' fire truck around Irvine Park. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; $6 children age 6-17; $3 children age 5 and under; Alexander Ramsey House, 265 S. Exchange St., St. Paul; 651-296-8760 or www.mnhs.org.
THEATER / CIRCUS MINIMUS PUPPETRY Jan. 3: Circus Minimus Puppetry dims the lights in the children's room at the downtown St. Paul Library and presents a glow-in-the-dark, ping-pong puppet show. 11:15 a.m.; free; Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., St. Paul; 651- 266-7034 or www.stpaul.lib.mn.us.
COOKING / BROWNIE BAKE-OFF Jan. 4: Bake brownies from scratch and from a mix and vote on which is best. Every weekend this winter the staff at Mill City Museum will lead demonstrations in the baking lab where visitors can learn about baking history and taste the results. 1 p.m.; adults $6, seniors $5, children 4-17 $4, children under 4 free; Mill City Museum; 704 S. Second St., Minneapolis, 612-341-7555.
EXERCISE / STROLLER STRIDES CLASSES Jan. 6 and 8: Does your New Year's resolution include getting in shape? New parents can try working out with their babies and toddlers - for free - this week. It's a trial offer from the Stroller Strides fitness program that offers classes Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Mall of America. Participants push the stroller in an aerobic routine. 9 a.m.-10 a.m., free, Best Buy Rotunda, Mall of America, 60 E. Broadway, Bloomington. Free. 612-321-0100.
OUTDOORS / WINTERSKATE
Through January: Ice skate in downtown St. Paul under the white lights of Rice Park and the towers of Landmark Center. Wells Fargo WinterSkate is open for the season. When you're done gliding and spinning, warm up with cocoa in the tent and check out the 90-foot-tall lighted tree in Rice Park. 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays; bounded by Market, St. Peter and Fifth streets, St. Paul; free, $2 skate rental (free rental if you show a Wells Fargo check or credit card); 651-291-5608 or www.capitalcitypartnership.com.
CULTURE / SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS
Through Jan. 18: The American Swedish Institute is decked out for Christmas. Tour the mansion and the Santa Lucia exhibit, shop for Scandinavian holiday decorations, eat baked goods heavy on cardamom and put the kiddies on the mechanical Dala horse. Related family programs include: Children of all ages can climb to the attic of the Minneapolis mansion and listen to storybooks by Swedish authors, including holiday tales from Elsa Beskow and Astrid Lindgren Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; preschoolers and an adult can learn all about tomtes, Sweden's version of Santa, through crafts, stories and a treasure hunt on Monday, Dec. 8 at 9:30 a.m. or Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Ave., Mpls; $6 adults, $4 ages 6-12, under 6 free (additional fees for some programs); 612-871-4907 or www.americanswedishinst.org.
NATURE / HOLIDAY FLOWER SHOW
Through Jan. 19: The annual holiday flower show at Marjorie McNeely Conservatory showcases hundreds of poinsettias and lots of welcome humidity. Challenge your kids to spot the six wooden horses from the antique Cafesjian's Carousel that are nestled among the flowers in the conservatory's Sunken Garden. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily; 1225 Estabrook Drive, Como Park, St. Paul; free; 651-487-8201, 651-487-8200 or www.comozooconservatory.org.
— Maja Beckstrom
SCIENCE / BALL-O-RAMA
Though Feb. 1: The Minnesota Children's Museum has revamped its annual Raceways exhibit into a extravaganza of ball-rolling, spinning and bouncing called Ball-o-rama. Kids can roll balls down twisting tracks, send them on ski jumps and wack them into buckets. Shhhh. Don't tell them that the games are modeled on physics experiments designed by Galileo and Newton. Museum hours; Minnesota Children's Museum, 10 W. 7th St., St. Paul; $7.95; 651-225-6000.
DANCE / BABY LOVES DISCO
Feb. 14: Boogie with your toddler at Baby Loves Disco, the monthly dance bash for parents and children sponsored by 89.3 The Current. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Trocaderos, 107 Third Ave. N., Minneapolis; $12 (babies in arms free); advance tickets at www.babylovesdisco.com; cash only at the door.
FILM / DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3-D
Through February: Through February: Can't afford a trip to Florida to swim with the dolphins? The next best thing may be this nature film, being shown with the IMAX Theatre Minnesota Zoo's superlative 3-D technology, which really does make it appear that creatures are floating past the head of the guy in the row in front of you. "Dolphins" was made by Jean-Michel (son of Jacques) Cousteau, who did "Coral Reef Adventure," and it's narrated by Daryl Hannah. IMAX Theatre Minnesota Zoo, 12000 Zoo Blvd., Apple Valley; $9-$7; 952-431-4629. — Chris Hewitt
NATURE / MINNESOTA LANSCAPE ARBORETUM
Through April: The blooms have died and the leaves have dropped, but the winter landscape at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is still fun to explore. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. Every Thursday from November through April; 952-443-1400 or www.arboretum.umn.edu.
FILM / FREE FAMILY FLICKS
ONGOING: The Theatres at Mall of America shows free family flicks every Saturday at 10 a.m. Arrive early to get a seat. Coming up: Jan. 3 "Kung Fu Panda."
NATURE / BIRDING Ongoing: See songbirds up close and watch experts band birds as part of an ongoing effort to help scientists learn more about bird migrations and habits. All ages welcome. Carpenter Nature Center has been capturing, banding and releasing birds for 26 years. 9 a.m. to noon every fourth Friday of the month, Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, 12805 St. Croix Trail, Hastings; free; please call ahead to let them know you're coming; 651-437-4359 or www.CarpenterNatureCenter.org.
SCIENCE / MINDBALL
Ongoing: Put down the Wii Remote. A new permanent interactive exhibit at The Bakken museum lets people use the electrical energy of their brain to power a ball toward their opponent. Mindball is the newest in gaming technology that uses headbands equipped with EEG sensors. Players relax and quiet their brain power to get the ball to move. Following Tuesday's opening, the Mindball exhibit will be open during museum hours as part of The Bakken's new Body Electric gallery. 3537 Zenith Ave. S., Minneapolis. $7; kids under 4 free; 612-926-3878 ext. 219 or www.TheBakken.org.
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ART / CLAY THROWING Jan. 10-Feb. 28: Set aside eight Saturday mornings to take an introductory clay throwing class with your child. For parents and youth ages 9 and up. Make basic cylinders, bowls and plates on the potter's wheel. Participants should wear old clothes and bring a one-gallon bucket and an old towel. 1 to 3 p.m., $145; Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Avenue E., Minneapolis; 612-339-8007 or www.northernclaycenter.org.
ART / MAKE A CALENDAR Jan. 10: Children age 2 and older can work alongside an adult to design, letterpress print and bind a personal calendar for 2009. Re-ring in the New Year with confetti and noisemakers at noon. 10 a.m. to noon, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1011 Washington Ave S., Minneapolis. $30 adult/child pair, $15 each additional participant. 612-215-2520 or www.bookarts.org.
Dodge Nature Center offers runs a weekly after-school nature program for elementary school age children. Sign up now for Young Explorers classes in January and February about eagles, owls and hawks. 4 to 5:30 p.m. Kindergarten through second graders meet Tuesdays (Jan. 20 and 27 and Feb. 3 and 10). Third through fifth graders meet Wednesdays (Jan. 21 and 28 and February 4 and 11). Dodge Nature Center, 365 Marie Ave, West St. Paul. Registration required. $77 for four sessions. 651-455-4531 or www.dodgenaturecenter.org.
Warner Nature Center offers a toddler and preschool nature class once a month. Learn about animals tracks and make your own in the snow during January. Classes are offered once a month from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, January 12, 14 and 16. Mondays are designed for 1-2 year olds, while Wednesdays and Fridays are designed for 3-4 year olds. Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center, 15375 Norell Av. N., Marine-on-St. Croix. $8 per child for individual classes. 651-433-2427 or www.warnernaturecenter.com or 651-433-2427.
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.
