Plenty to do outdoors as winter winds down
You might want to hibernate during the winter but local animals and plants are still getting by outside. If staying indoors all day are making your family restless bundle up and show your kids what life is like during the colder seasons at these local outdoor events.
• Cool Kids Nature Hikes, Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle, 630-968-0074; mortonarb.org
When: 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday; 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through February
Ages: 2-10
Price: Included with admission ($11, $8 for kids, $10 for seniors. Discounted admission Wednesday)
Staff at the Arboretum will tailor the activities of the nature walks depending on the ages of the kids there at the time. Part of the trip through the four acre children's garden includes visiting Evergreen Lookout to learn about the difference between trees and how they deal with the winter. After the walk kids all get hot chocolate.
Other cold weather activities include going on a gnome hunt, scouting gnomes scattered throughout the children's garden each of which has a note explaining something about nature. Depending on the weather families can also rent snowshoes and hike or bike around the 16 miles of trail.
• Family Winter Play Day, Lakeview Nature Center, 17 W 063 Hodges Road, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 941-8747; obtpd.org/lvnc
When: 1-4 p.m. Feb. 22
Ages: 13 and under
Price: Free
Packed with activities, kids at the play day can meet a sled dog team and sip hot chocolate by a campfire. There will also be plenty of outdoor games and if there's enough snow you can bring a sled to slide down a hill or try out snowshoes. The fire department will demonstrate a water-ice rescue and you can take a hike around the lake with a scavenger hunt sheet for kids. If you need to warm up, head inside and check out the center's bald eagle exhibit.
• Aquatic Mammals, Independence Grove Visitors Center, 16400 W. Buckley Road, Libertyville, (847) 968-3321; lcfpd.org
When: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 22
Ages: 8 and older
Price: $5 residents, $7 nonresidents
An environmental educator will present a lecture on the different aquatic mammals in Lake County followed by a hike. Families can try to spot animals or the signs of places where muskrat, beaver or otters might live.
• National Pig Day, Brookfield Zoo, 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield, (708) 688-8000; czs.org
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 1
Ages: All ages
Price: Included with admission ($12, $8 for kids 3-11 and seniors, free for kids 2 and under)
Brookfield celebrates the intelligent farm animals, which got their own holiday in 1972. The party starts with performances by resident pigs Harley and Penelope followed by singing "Happy Pig Day" to the animals who will be rewarded with a bouquet of carrots. At 1:30 p.m. you can line up outside the children's zoo for a parade, led by the pink and curly-tailed Pigmobile, ending up at the Hamil Family Zoo where kids can make pig puppets, play with mud and learn about pigs through games. At 2 p.m. Laura Doherty from the Old Town School of Folk Music will perform animal- and pig-themed songs at the Play Zoo.
• Winter Walk, Hawthorne Hills Nature Center, 28 Brookside Drive, Elgin, (847) 531-7009; cityofelgin.org
When: 2-3 p.m. Feb. 28
Ages: All ages
Price: Free
A naturalist leads a walk through the nature center's paved paths looking for signs of life and the starts of spring in both plants and animals. Depending on the weather traces can involve anything from paw prints in the snow or mud to sightings of deer, rabbits, squirrels and various birds.