Family Storytelling: Solve a Mystery with Makinto
The Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles 90049; (310) 440-7300
Sunday, May 17
11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Ages: All
Cost: FREE (sign up at the Museum Information Desk beginning at 10:00 a.m. on the day of the program. Arrive early to reserve your spot—spaces often fill up)

Look at art in a new and different way. Storyteller Makinto will unlock the mystery hidden in James Ensor’s colossal painting Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889. You and your kids solve the puzzle as Makinto weaves an imaginative tale with music and motion.

Children’s Art Festival
STAR ECO Station
10101 Jefferson Blvd., Culver City; (310) 842-8060 ext. 116
Sunday, May 17
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Ages: ALL
Cost: FREE

Enjoy the work of young artists from all across California. Create! Participate in art activities. Awards for most innovative and more. Individual and group projects on display.

Bookworms: The Earpod Tree
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007; (626) 821-5897
Sunday, May 17
2 p.m.
Ages: 5-12
Cost: Free with paid admission: Adults $7; Students and Seniors $5; Children Ages 5-12 $2.50; Children under 5 FREE

A Free Storytelling Program: Come explore The Arboretum Library and the great story trees! Enjoy plant and nature stories and a take-home craft. It is an indoor/outdoor program that will go rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Meet your bookworms guide at the Main Entrance.

Bug Fair
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007; (213) 763-DINO
Saturday & Sunday, May 16-17
9:30 am -5:00 pm
Ages: All
Cost: Free with Museum Admission: Children under 5 – FREE; Children 5 through 12 – $2 50; Children 13 through 17 – $6.50; Adults – $9; Seniors (62+) – $6.50; Students 18 and over with ID – $6.50.

The Museum’s hugely popular Bug Fair is North America’s largest celebration of our multi-legged friends. This one-of-a-kind weekend event features displays and vendors, specimens to collect and hold, a bug chef and music, and assorted (and sometimes costumed) bug aficionados who come in from all over the country. Museum curatorial staff will be at interactive tables where visitors can ask questions and discuss science.

Zoo Kapers: A River Runs Through It
Los Angeles Zoo
5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027; (323) 644-4211
Saturday, May 16
9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Ages: 5-6
Cost: Members: $18 per child/adult pair; Nonmembers: $23 per child/adult pair (Registration begins one month prior to the class date. Confirmation letter required for class admission.)

Grab your wading boots and jump in as you explore what wet and wild animals make their homes in the world’s creeks and rivers. Peer into streams, look under algae, and get your hands wet while discovering what it takes to live the life aquatic.

26th Annual Children’s Day Celebration
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, Streets of Little Tokyo
244 S. San Pedro St., Downtown Los Angeles (213) 628-2725
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Ages: All
Cost: Free
website

A one day festival where kids rule, families have a blast and people can engross themselves in cultural activities, cuisine, arts and entertainment around Japanese culture. The Children’s Day Celebration is JACCC’s signature festival honoring the cultural diversity and children of Southern California. Make your way downtown this May 16th and once in Little Tokyo look up to the skies for the giant multi-colored carp kites billowing in the wind off of the top of the JACCC building. Carp kites are the traditional symbols of Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day) and signify aspirations for long life, strength and determination to travel upstream, against the river’s current, as carp fish do. Events include taiko drumming workshops, the Chibi-K: Kids Fun Run, a Youth Basketball Tournament and an Asian Pacific Arts & Crafts Fair.

Sunshine Drum Circle Stories (2009 Erza Jack Keats Family Storytelling Festival)
Castaic Public Library
27971 Sloan Canyon Road, Castaic, CA 91384; (661) 247-7410
Tuesday, May 12
3:30 p.m.
Ages: All
Cost: FREE

The Sunshine Storyteller, Ina Buckner-Barnette, and the Great Percussionist, Chazz Ross, perform Sunshine Drum Circle Stories as part of this year’s Family Storytelling Festival. Embark on a global storytelling adventure with stories from around the world and the rhythms and sounds of Djembe drums. Enjoy these treasured music and storytelling traditions handed down through generations.

INCA, Music from Peru
Junipero Serra Public Library
4607 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90037; (323) 234-1685
Tuesday, May 12
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Ages: 3-5 and up
Cost: FREE

Discover the beautiful and exciting music and dance of the Incans with Inca, Peruvian Ensemble. An exciting introduction to the music of the Incas, the Hispanic cities of coastal Peru, the Afro-Peruvian villages south of Lima and the natives of the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon jungle.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro, CA 90731; (310) 548-7562

Disneyland

1313 S Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92802; (714) 781-4565

Disney’s California Adventure

1313 S Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92802; (714) 781-4565

Knott’s Berry Farm

8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park CA 90620; (714) 220-5200

Legoland California

1 Legoland Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92008; (760) 918-5346

Pacific Park

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401; (310) 260-8744

Raging Waters

111 Raging Waters Dr., San Dimas, CA 91773; (909) 802-2200

Seaworld San Diego

500 Sea World Dr., San Diego, CA 92109; (619) 226-3900

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor

26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia CA 91355; (661) 255.4527

Six Flags Magic Mountain

26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355; (661) 255-4100

Star Eco Station

10101 W. Jefferson Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 • (310) 842 8060

Universal Studios Hollywood

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608; (818) 622-3801

Aquarium of the Pacific

100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802; (562) 590-3100

Los Angeles Zoo

5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90027; (323) 644-6400

Orange County Zoo

1 Irvine Park Rd., Orange, CA 92869; (714) 973-6847

Santa Barbara Zoo

500 Ninos Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93103; (805) 962-5339

San Diego Wild Animal Park

15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd., Escondido, CA 92027; (800) 407-9534

San Diego Zoo

2920 Zoo Dr., San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 231-1515

Santa Ana Zoo

1801 E. Chestnut Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701; (714) 835-7484

Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, CA 90401; (310) 393-6149

Sea Life Aquarium

1 Legoland Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92008; (760) 918-5346

Bowers Kidseum

1802 North Main Street Santa Ana, Ca 92706 (714) 480-1520

Broad Contemporary Art Museum (at LACMA)

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036; (323) 857-6000

California Science Center

700 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037; (323) 724-3623

California African American Museum

600 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037; (213) 744-7432

Craft and Folk Art Museum

5814 Wilshire Boulevard (at Curson) Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 937.4230

The Getty Center

1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90049; (310) 440-7300

The Getty Villa in Malibu

17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu; (310) 440-7300

Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens

1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108; (626) 405-2141

Kidspace Museum

480 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91103

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036; (323) 857-6000

Museum of Contemporary Art

250 S Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012; (213) 626-6222

Museum of Jurassic Technology

9341 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232; (310) 836-6131

Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)

628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 437-1689

Museum of Tolerance

9786 West Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035; (310) 553-9036

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007; (213) 763-DINO (3466)

Norton Simon Museum of Art

411 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105; (626) 449-6840

Pacific Asia Museum

46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena California 91101; (626) 449-2742

Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits

5801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036; (323) 934-PAGE (7243)

Petersen Automotive Museum

6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036;  (323) 930-CARS

Skirball Cultural Center

2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049;  (310) 440-4500

Zimmer Children’s Museum

6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90048;  (323) 761-8910