School’s out for the week! If you’re wondering what to do with all that free time, the Syracuse-area libraries, museums and nature centers have you covered. There’s lots to do as a family or just for kids, like ballet performances at the Everson Museum of Art, arthropod tours at the Museum of the Earth, snowshoeing and nature walks at the Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, card games, story time, cartoons and lots more. All the libraries and museums have been preparing for this week. Now go have fun!
(And a pro-tip for the parents: if you need a wine night mid-week but can’t snag a sitter, there’s a virtual wine tasting with your name on it.)
Landon Bennett, 8, and his aunt Cissy Bennett lest their reflexes at a display at the M.O.S.T. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comSYR
Museum events
The Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse will be open every day this week, and their calendar is packed full of events for kids like STEM story time, nebula spin art flight simulations and more. Go to their event calendar at most.org for more information.
The Museum of the Earth in Ithaca will also be open every day this week, and it will have a 30-minute tour on the history of arthropods on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m. They’ve also got a couple other tours and a science video series on their website for kids, with short flicks on solar power, reusable clothing, snowflakes and more. Go to their website at museumoftheearth.org for more information about the tour and to access the videos.
Madeline Schubert (age 7) pushes snow as she digs a snow cave during Winter Wonders Week at Beaver Lake Nature Center, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. She and her sister are the daughters of one of the center's naturalists, Dave Schubert and are helping out during the February school break. David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com
Outdoor adventures
If you start to feel cooped up inside, head to the great outdoors. A lot of the week-long outdoors camps at the local nature centers are all sold out, but the Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville has daily guided snowshoe walks and critter talks for families that you can register for at 8 a.m. on the day of the event by calling the nature center at (315) 638-2519. Learn about beavers, turtles, owls and other wildlife, or try snowshoeing, snow sculpting or hiking. There’s an event every day, check onondagacountyparks.com for the full list.
The Sterling Nature Center still has room in their free events – they’re hosting wildlife observation hikes on Wednesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. and outdoor botany explorations on Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m. Email snc@cayugacounty.us to register and call (315) 947-6143 for more information. There’s also birdwatching for citizen science at the Rice Creek Field Station in Oswego on Tuesday at 9 a.m. if you’re up for a bit of a drive. More information about that event can be found at calendar.oswego.edu.
Sisters-in-law Karen McPeak (left), of Syracuse, with her daughter Lizzy, 4, and Emily McPeak, of Onondaga Hill, with her son Benji, 5, playing in the picture book area in Onondaga Free Library. Peter Chen | The Post-Standard.
Card games, crafting and STEM at the libraries
The Onondaga County Public Libraries are closed on Monday for President’s Day, but they’ve got some great events planned for the rest of the week. Register your kids for “How to Speak Doggie” at the Liverpool Library on Monday so they can learn how to approach and recognize a happy dog with Helping Hounds Dog Rescue.
On Tuesday, head to the Beauchamp Branch Library to make a Ghanaian Sankofa Bird out of cellophane and tissue paper. There’s teen card game night at Liverpool Library on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and “Tween Scene” at the same time for younger kids (that event requires registration). On Thursday, stop in at the Petit Library and craft a red paper fish for the Lunar New Year or check out the “Boredom Busters” STEM kits.
There’s also storytelling at the Liverpool Library every day during the week at 10 a.m. and then a Swiss-style chess tournament for anyone under 18 on Saturday at 1 p.m. In-person registration is required for the tourney. There are lots of events planned all week at the libraries. Check out the libraries calendar at onlib.org for more.
(HBO Max Family/ YouTube)
Cartoon Madness
Rome Capitol Theatre will host its annual “Cartoon Madness” shows during break. The theater will screen a dozen shorts with popular Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies characters like Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, the Roadrunner, Tweety Bird and more. This year’s theme is “Daffy Deep Dive,” so Daffy Duck will make frequent appearances. All the cartoons are rated “G” and are family-friendly. Showtimes are Monday through Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 7 p.m. Go to romecapitol.com for tickets and more information.
Lindsey Best
Blue Man Group
Cap the week with tickets to Blue Man Group at the Landmark Theatre downtown. It’s a great event for kids with wacky comedy, splashy drumming performances and the blue men themselves. More than 35 million people around the world have seen the Blue Man Group in action, and now they’re coming to Syracuse a month earlier than originally planned, just in time for February break. Tickets are $35 to $59 per person. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Go to landmarktheatre.org for more information and to buy tickets. Proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test is required for those 12 and older. The show is not recommended for children under 3 years old.
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Still looking for more to do? Get out and hunt for the syracuse.com / The Post-Standard medallion, hidden somewhere in public in Onondaga County. Whoever finds it will win a $2,000 prize.
You can browse the list of clues here.
Jules Struck writes about life and culture in and around Syracuse. Contact her anytime at jstruck@syracuse.com or on Instagram at julesstruck.journo.