This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Grab & Go Planner: Feb. 9-15

Sweetheart dance, open mic for kids, maple syrup registration, black history at the zoo - pick and choose from this week's array of family events.

Family best bets for the week ahead: 

Sweetheart Date Night

Why go: Don’t miss this opportunity to tell your dad or favorite uncle how much you love him. Dress up in your Sunday best and enjoy a night of dancing and fun.

Where:

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When: 6-8 p.m. Friday

Cost: $9 per person includes refreshments, flower and a photo keepsake

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

What else: Pre-register by calling 248-544-6767

 

Open mic for kids at Four Green Fields

Why go: Give your talented little (and big) ones a chance to shine in the spotlight.

Where: , Royal Oak

When: 5-8p.m. Sunday

What else: A keyboard will be provided, bring your own guitars - no drums. "This is more of an acoustic open mic type feel," said organizer Paula Messner of the local rocker moms group the Candy Band. "There will be microphones. Great family atmosphere!"

 

World of Dinosaurs: The Expedition Continues

Why go: Dinophiles will love this exhibit, which expands the features of World of Dinosaurs and adds days (It now ends Sept. 4). So even if you’ve already been to the exhibit, there are now more than 60 dinosaur skeleton casts plus early birds and swimming reptiles, real bones and actual fossil dinosaur eggs. New attractions include the giant skull of the alligator Deinosuchus and the plant-eating Nothronychus skeleton – cousin to the T. rex.

Where: Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills

When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Friday until 10 p.m., noon-4 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $10.50 adults, $8.50 children ages 2-12 and seniors, free for members and those under 2 years. It’s free for everyone the first Friday of the month after 5 p.m. thanks to MASCO Corp. Foundation.

What else: Check out the gift shop for great dino-gifts for kids. 

 

 

Wild Winter Celebrates Black History Month

Why go:  If you go to the Detroit Zoo’s Wild Winter, your kids will get a better understanding of Black History Month and how it ties into the animals from Africa. There will be African drum lessons and dance performances by the Kuungaga Drum and Dance Company, stories told by Kevin Collins and Ivory Williams, African animal enrichment, games and arts and crafts.

 Where: Ford Education Center, , Royal Oak

 When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

 Cost: Free with admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors, $8 children (2-14), free for those younger than 2

What else: Take a stroller and dress for the weather – the animal enrichment take place in the animals’ homes in the park

 

Family Sundays at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Why go: If you want to make your children appreciate art, take them to the Detroit Institute of Arts. On Sunday afternoons, children can create in the drop-in art workshop from noon-4 p.m. and watch a 2 p.m. puppet show or a storyteller spin tales. This Sunday, kids will be using markers and muslin to create their own West African form of painting and listen to Ivory Williams weave tales. And then there’s the art …

 Where: Detroit Institute of Arts

 When: noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday drop-in art workshop; 2 p.m. Sunday storyteller

 Cost: Free with museum admission: $8 adult, $6 senior, $4 children, free for 5 and younger, members and Detroit residents on Friday

 What else: Your children will love browsing through the large children’s section of the gift shop. Park in the surface lot on John R, right across from the back of the DIA, for $5.

 

 

A Day in the Sugarbush

Why go: If you want your children to see behind the grocery store shelves and realize maple syrup comes from maple trees, sign up now for a tour in March at the E. L. Johnson Nature Center. You’ll help the naturalist tap the trees, collect the sap, and visit the sugar shack to watch the evaporation process that produces maple syrup. Every tour is approximately one hour and scheduled every 20 minutes.

Where: E. L. Johnson Nature Center

When: noon-3 p.m. March 19

Cost: $7 per person in the Bloomfield Hills Schools, nonresidents pay more

What else: There are maple syrup walks at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center, the Huron-Clinton Park’s Nature Centers, Dinosaur Hill Nature Center in Rochester and the Wint Nature Center at Independence Oaks County Park in Clarkston.

 More information: Online registration

Follow us on Twitter or "like" us on Facebook for Ferndale updates.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?