Ideas for what to do with the kids now that Spring Break is here

OK parents, Spring Break from school is here for most of you. So what the heck are you going to do with your kids?

You've probably used up all your good ideas for around-the-house fun during the slew of snow days we recently suffered through.

Well, we're here to help. Here's a collection of ideas to keep your kids occupied and entertained - and maybe even have some fun yourself.

* Tellus Science Museum. Science becomes fun at the museum in Cartersville, Ga. Get up close to the fully built skeletons of a tyrannosaurus rex and a sabertooth cat and the 9-foot wide jaw of a Megaladon shark. Fly through our solar system and out in the Milky Way in the planetarium. Special guests over Spring Break include astronomer Galileo Galeilei, scientist Marie Curie and paleontologist Mary Anning (actors, of course, since they're all dead). On Saturday, early risers can see the total lunar eclipse through the museum's observatory; the event, which runs from 6 to 9:45 a.m., will happen rain or shine because Tellus can plug into other observatories around the world and find one where there are no clouds. Adults are $14, children age 3 to 17 and students with ID are $10; seniors are $12 and active military with ID get in free. It costs an extra $3.50 per person to get into the planetarium, however. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. 770-606-5700. tellusmuseum.org.

Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center. Science takes on new life when you're out in the wild, touching, hearing, seeing, smelling and embracing nature. The Arboretum and Nature Center are now open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with full access to the public with paid admission, including the scenic driving loop, 317 acres of trails for hiking, biking and walking, visits with the center's Animal Ambassadors, canoeing and more. Ticket prices are $7 ages 4-11 and 65-plus and $10 ages 12 to adult. 821-1160.

Chattanooga Zoo. On Saturday, the zoo will celebrate Hug-A-Bunny Day, giving visitors the chance to visit with the Easter Bunny and the zoo's live rabbits. Ticket prices are 5.95 children ages 3-12, $8.95 agest 13 to adult, and $6.95 65-plus. Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park is located at 301 Holtzclaw Ave. and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 697-1322. chatzoo.org.

Free Play in East Hamilton County. Short on cash? Spend a morning taking advantage of free fun in Collegedale, starting with preschool storytime at the Collegedale Public Library, 9318 Apison Pike, 1t 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Afterward, drive a half-mile up Apison Pike to Southern Adventist University's duck pond at the campus entrance. Bring some bread from home so the kids can feed the ducks. Parents be advised: These ducks are used to visitors and aren't shy at all about walking right to the hand that feeds then, which may intimidate little ones who are as tall as the mallards.

Tellus Science Museum

Then just across Apison Pike from the duck pond, you'll find the entrance to the Wolftever Creek Greenway, an easy, shaded walk on a concrete pathway beside the meandering creek. In addition to power walkers, there are usually parents pulling toddlers in wagons, older children on inline skates, and pet owners out walking their dogs. There are even picnic tables scattered along the greenway to enjoy lunch outside. For more free children's events at the Ooltewah Public Library, call 396-9300 or go to collegedalepubliclibrary.org.

Check out the night sky. Do you know how to find Taurus in the night sky? Jack Pitkin will show you how the stars align so you can find the constellation during a free astronomy talk tonight at the Clarence T. Jones Observatory, 10 N. Tuxedo Ave., off Brainerd Road one block past the light at Belvoir Avenue. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., a lecture and planetarium show on "After Stars Explode: Black Holes and Neutron Stars" follows at 7, and viewing in the observatory's telescope continues until 9 p.m. Pitkin says there is not a specified age minimum for children, but parents should be advised that kids do have to sit still for 30 to 40 minutes in a darkened room. "It just all depends on the individual child. I've had third-graders who are more interested and knowledgeable than college sophomores," Pitkin says. ^

Art you ready for spring? On Wednesday, parents of miniature Monets and budding O'Keefes can indulge their child's creative side with an afternoon art camp at ArtsyU, 5080 South Terrace. The $40 class - designed for ages 6 through 12 - runs from 1-5 p.m., during which time instructors will walk participants through a trio of kid-friendly art projects that they can take home with them. ArtsyU's typical classes include step-by-step instruction to complete a predetermined composition, but for the Spring Fling Kids Camp, the kids will be given a freer hand, says communications manager Rachel Tatum. "We'll be doing some Jackson Pollock-inspired work, so they can drizzle paint over the canvas," she says. "We wanted to do something more fun and vibrant with colors for the kids where they can get really creative." 321-2317. artsychattanooga.com.

Get out, get up. Kids getting a bit stir-crazy? Climbing the wall, so to speak? High Point Climbing and Fitness, 219 Broad St., has just the ticket to help channel that overflowing energy. The newly opened downtown ascending gurus are hosting two-day Spring Break camps that cover the basics of climbing, from equipment use and ascending techniques to the importance of trust and communication. Aimed at participants ages 5 to 14, the $70 classes run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on consecutive days of Monday-Tuesday and Wednesday-Thursday. Sessions are available March 30-31, April 1-2, April 6-7 and April 8-9. The camps tend to fill up fast, so early registration is recommended. 602-7625. highpointclimbing.com/even/spring-break-camp.

High Point Climbing and Fitness

Inspire the next inventor. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, One Tranquility Base, in Huntsville, Ala., has several exhibits on display, but one of the coolest is "101 Rocket City Inventions." It showcases inventions, products, services and technologies that helped change Huntsville from a cotton town to Rocket City. And beyond that, the center has tons of interesting displays that follow the history of the U.S. space program, from the early days of rockets in the 1940s to the Mercury and Apollo missions that got us to the moon, to the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and beyond. 1-800-637-7223. rocketcenter.com.

Learn to cook. Sprouts Cooking, a mobile culinary school for budding young chefs, will offer a five-day cooking camp from Monday through Friday at the Brainerd BX, 4011 Austin St. Campers will attend from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will learn new recipes and techniques. On the final day, attendees will get to show off their new culinary skills in an "Iron Chef" type of competition. Cost is $199. Registration is open. 504-0060.

Zip through trees, sleep in teepees. It's not exactly glamping but sleeping in a teepee with a comfy bed - not a hard cot or air mattress - electricity and AC is super fun. North Georgia Canopy Tours in Lula offers a forest zipline and a disc golf course that sprawls across rolling hills, wooden bridges and rushing rivers. Visitors can end their day in a teepee decorated with authentic symbols from one of the seven Cherokee clans: Wolf, Panther, Wind, Bear, Buffalo, Red (War) Paint and Bird. There are also places to pitch a tent. Prices range from $90-$199. 770-869-7272.

Trout fishing and fine dining. Georgia's charming town of Blue Ridge has gorgeous scenery and rental cabins with amenities like Wi-Fi and iPod docking stations. Burn up calories swimming or rafting on a river teeming with trout then enjoy the town's restaurants. The Harvest on Main restaurant owners open their Farm to Table Camp for Kids so visitors can see the birthplace of the restaurant's food. Call 706-946-3276 for hours. Over at Cabin Cuisine, the chef trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France. But prices are small-town nice; rainbow trout baked in crushed pecans with sweet potato spears and a lobster tail for $15.

Air Bounce Part & Play/Parent's Night Out. Located in Bradley Square Mall in Cleveland, Tenn., next to the Kmart, this business has a full array of arcade games plus a bunch of inflatables for the kids to get into and bounce themselves to exhaustion. Admission is $6 per person and you can also buy multi-day passes or packages for eight to 15 kids. In its Parent's Night Out package, you can drop off your kid(s) - kindergarten through fifth grade - on Fridays from 6-9 p.m., plenty of time get a meal or take in a movie. 423-458-4149. airbounceparty.com.